Mad props for the analysis, but I do disagree with you about how they will do the individual robot mode. I think the backpack will stay a backpack, and I say this because if you look closely at the image of the convoy face poking out you can see this



which is clearly the top of the front of a convoy torso, the top of the truck headlights in say this picture



So I'm pretty sure they will just have modified the inner bot to be a more classic convoy by redoing the arms, legs and adding a new G1 style fake chest

 

I don’t personally own POTP Optimus Prime, but I have seen it as a friend of mine had it. If I remember correctly, I thought the front window of the combined form was a faux window and NOT the main front window of the main cab form. If that’s the case, Takara could still have retooled the faux windows to look more like Star Convoy AND retained the normal cab windows for truck mode. In fact, it would be a huge improvement not only for being more accurate to the source material (at least in combined form), but also the combined mode chest would no longer be a faux chest as it would look different.

 

I’ve came up with an official classification for This new Bumblebee, new prime, and MP-36 Megatron. Mullet-formers. Business in the front, mess in the back. Actually Mulletpiece!

 

It's pretty helpful for those of us who've just come to this thread, imo. I've read the 90+ pages so far, but I'm pretty sure not everyone is going to do that.

I'd actually recommend frontpaging StrifeZ's post.

 

Hrm yeah I missed that. You're right. It's probably that. Oh well. Sad they'll take the fake chest short cut. The toy is ready made for the mods I said.

I do think the boots are going to have some trickery though, somehow making the PotP Orion Pax "back" the front. Question is, how do they do that without having the wheels facing front too.

 

See that's what I'm unsure about too. My assumption is either there is an ankle rotation hidden by the side flap or that from this angle we cant see it but the wheels will fold onto the side of the legs we cant see from this angle exposing a new optimus style shin.

Either way, with the added engineering this is going to be an objective improvement over the POTP version (in terms of being a toy)

 

I think people are letting me their imaginations run a little too wild. It feels like *something* is going on with Seige Jetfire beyond what we've seen, but I don't think Armada Prime is related.

There may be a later Armada Jetfire released.

 

The way I see it, the remolding is actually more extensive than what we can observe right now. Apart from the external main robot mode stuff, they've also apparently also modified Orion Pax into a G1 Optimus Prime. That's not a minor remold, imo.

As for the truck mode, I wouldn't be surprised if they've made a few more Star Convoy-like changes to it that we can't see.. For example, they could easily swap out the double back wheels for tank treads, like the original.

 

I can't imagine there won't be some way to make the cab a long nose. That's what Star Convoy is. My best guess is either extra parts that become weapons, or maybe some extra fold out panels on the trailer. Sort of like how Rodimus has those two big panels his trailer has that clamp onto him. It would be odd to remold that much, only to stop at the front of the cab.

 

Some of those MP 10 repaints look really cool. I really like the Black, white and teal one.

 

That's the thing... I don't really think this is "Legends Star Convoy". Not really. Not in the way LG-EX Dai Atlas is "CHUG Dai Atlas".

I think this is a celebration / homage figure for the 35th anniversary. A cab that turns into a likeness of the G1 toy, which is something that's never been done. A trailer which through visual inspection in my post a page or two back, is unchanged externally (in terms of panels) in vehicle mode from the PotP release. And then a combined trailer+cab robot mode that homages the last G1 toy, Star Convoy. So "First becomes Last', something like that.

Thinking it over, I don't actually think there is an appropriate mold that could be modified for Star Convoy's vehicle form yet. But this makes a not bad hold over for a robot mode.

I'd say, given what seems to be going on here, the "real" CHUG Star Convoy is yet to come.

 

To add to that, I saw someone else post this, but it seems like they're going to imitate the art on the back of Star Convoys box where G1 Prime is seen becoming Star Convoy.

 

I just noticed something.



They remolded the top of the shoulder piece and the back of the shoulder (removing the smokestack) and put the guns on a hinge. Why? Because they fold backwards.



The yellow rectangles are where the hinge would be. This is a picture of the PotP Trailer interior from the bottom. The Star Convoy guns, when folded back 180 degrees would allow the same transformation. The bottom of that new panel would be touching the top of bottom (obverse) side of the Super Robot mode's chest "top". The turrets dome would be pointing towards the bottom of the waist.

In other words, the turrets are stored internally. This trailer is 100% going to look like G1 Optimus Prime (and thus, like PotP Optimus) and not Star Convoy. Only the super mode is Star Convoy. The rest - the cab and untransformed trailer is going to be a very toy-like G1 Optimus Prime.

 

They may do that. If they do, he’ll still have faux front windows that aren’t the actual cab windows. Either they do what you suggested or they retool Orion Pax’s torso with faux cab windows. There’s no escaping him having faux windows in his smaller robot form. Personally, I would prefer they retool the Orion Pax torso to resemble Optimus Prime’s torso and then retool those larger faux windows to resemble Star Convoy’s upper torso. I think that would have been the better route to go in my opinion.

 

"Wooow! I think I drank a little too much Engex."

 

I really doubt anyone outside of Japan is going to stock on Optimus Prime figures that are mainly intended for the Japanese market.

Sorry. The force made me do it.

 

you mean like how no western sellers stocked super or god ginrai?

 

Powermaster OP...

 

different character and remolded figure, plus i was piggybacking on the sarcasm of someone thinking western sellers might not carry a japanese prime figure

 

not sure if already posted here,