Holy hell that video is annoying. What is the time mark in which he does actually talk about mold degradation? I just have the Kingdom version.

 

Anyone have the Nonnef trailer upgrade for this?

 

His Kingdom trailer wont hold closed unlike his Earthrise trailer.

 

I have the Kingdom repack. No problems with the trailer whatsoever.

 

It took me a while after Earthrise Prime was released to find one with good face paint. Every one I saw at multiple Targets looked terrible. I finally found a nice one at BestBuy of all places. And then after that, he pretty much vanished from all retail stores around here. I got him just in the nick of time. But if you're still searching for a nice Earthrise packaging one, try Buy-It-Now eBay listings of 1 (not listings with multiples available) so you can physically see the item that's being sold and pick one based off of photos there. His price New seems to have gone down now that he's been carried over to Kingdom.

 

Of your good version yeah if you can.

 

Many do, including me. Not perfect, but a big improvement. Almost necessary, IMO.

 

I find so many people these days waaaay overstate the idea of mold degradation. Some releases or copies might have worse tolerances, but just a few reissues and repaints aren't really enough to destroy a mold like people seem to have in their heads these days.

What about opposite cases like Siege Megatron where early copies had super floppy joints that were corrected for future releases? Or what about my copy of the GS G2 Megatron which has a super loose Fusion Cannon? Was that figure, which was the only repaint (so far) of ER Megatron enough to degrade that mold?

 

Speaking of things like mold differences... Anyone who has the Kingdom release and the Netflix are the joints about as tight? I've got ER and he's a little loose, but my Netflix is perfect.

 

Does anyone know how to remove this gray piece from the front of ER Prime's torso (red piece)? I removed the screw from the back but I am still unable to separate these two pieces. Is there another point where these two pieces are secured together?

 

Thankfully, Toyhax has a decal set for both Optimus and his trailer. The only real reason to get it though is for the trailer to look better.

 

Does anyone know what exact color of metallic blue I need to fix ER Prime's head? Also I do know after fiddlin' with the thing that to avoid the chipping, there are grooves where Prime's head slides through, make sure you have his head perfectly strait or else his head will get chipped from the other parts in that hollow section.

 

Man. Had no idea of how easy it is to chip the paint on the ER Prime. Is the Kingdom rerelease the same?

 

I'm not sure as I haven't gotten Kingdom Prime. I do know (due to hindsight and fiddlin' with the thing) to prevent this, you need to have Prime's head perfectly strait so his head can slide through some grooves when you are changing him to truck mode. If you don't, his ears/antenna will start rubbing up against the top of his ab section (or the point where his arms meet the torso). I would assume the Kingdom release will have the same problem so be careful.

 

I'm finally uploading feet pics to the internet, but it's innocent, I swear.

I notice there's tabs on the outside edges of Earthrise Prime's feet, that look like they should tab together - but the feet never meet in this way. Anyone know if there's something they should do? Or are they a holdover from a previous mold?

The knees have tabs that flip up too, but neither the art nor instructions seem to reference them. They also seem like they should slot together, on the opposite side to which they meet

Finally, the gun that came with it won't fold properly, I'm afraid to push harder in case I break it - anyone else had this problem?

Thanks!

 

Hold overs from the siege mold. Because on the one the legs turn for transformation

 

Thanks!

 

The knee flaps are down on robot mode and flip up for truck mode, with the elbows tabbing into the knee pads to hold the truck cab secure with the legs, so they still have a purpose, even if the holdover trailer hitch is pointless now.

 

Ah, so they do! Thanks

 

I really like the Siege Optimus figure and was going to be content with that, but it kept nagging at me that last October I let a discounted ER Optimus slip through my fingers. After much internal debate and reading posts on here highlighting issues in the ER Optimus mold degrading in the Kingdom line and getting funky face paint, I tracked down a used sample in good shape for a decent price. Since this figure has been reviewed extensively on its own, I'll highlight the differences between ER and Siege and then review the trailer and the Centurion Drone accessories.

ER Optimus advantages over Siege:
- a sharper sculpt on the torso, arms and upper legs than Siege OP
- the Matrix chamber
- a metallic paint and plastic for the blue and gray parts
- better hip range of motion than Siege
- no arm kibble
- no weathering deco
- slightly taller
- no shoulder panel to move back into position after use
- more complete back lower legs
- backed windows look great
- dark gray elbows
- waist has blue paint and tighter yellow deco
- silver leg vents instead of gray
- opening hands
- vehicle mode is a little shorter which is more in proportion
- the ion blaster smartly folds up and slips over the gap in the back to fill it in not too conspicuously, while Siege has to have it sit over the hitch
- there's a better turning radius with the trailer than Siege's alt mode
- ER's alt mode front wheels don't get pulled under while handling
- alt mode has the side stripes and the vent under the windows painted silver

Siege Optimus advantages over ER:
- painted roof lights on the chest
- a more balanced physique with a chest that doesn't stick out as far and a better torso-to-leg ratio (ER Optimus has a shorter torso and longer legs)
- silver paint around the eyes, while the metallic blue eyes get lost in the blue plastic (the original idea of using yellow eyes would have worked here, but not been as popular with fans)
- Siege doesn't have painted hands so no risk of scraping off
- arm kibble that turns into arm-mounted machine guns
- less lower leg kibble
- shield turns into an ax instead of the trailer ramp
- $20 less
- solid color elbows instead of 50/50 on ER
- seems to look better in poses
- vehicle mode is more solid, filled in than ER which leaves gaps behind the rear wheel to the fuel tank, behind the cab, and a big gap under the back half of the cab
- vehicle mode doesn't have the fuel tanks fold in on handling
- vehicle mode has feet that fully lock together while ER has the legs reversed so a little leg kibble gets left on the outside edges
- the front wheels aren't super skinny, the back wheels aren't borrowed from a movieverse figure and don't have ugly gaps molded in, and all the wheels roll better than ER
- Siege has the fold-down wheels for hover mode
- Siege alt mode has the side windows painted in where it's not clear, sure it's silver instead of blue, but it's painted something while ER leaves the front half of those side windows painted red.

Elements that are stumbles between both of them:
- both have back kibble, ER has a wide silver panel that shows from the front and blocks range of movement in the waist but it's close to the body for a slimmer overall profile, while Siege has a longer panel jetpack type of thing that sticks out further but doesn't show from the front as much
- both have guns with compromises, Siege with waffling on either side missing the "clip"; ER with a stubby gun where the front half doesn't match the look at all
- why with the shields? When has Optimus been known for his use of shields?
- both have a trailer hitch hole too far forward, this is especially odd for ER since they added that hitch as an outside part to the legs and could have put the hole anywhere, the most ideal spot seems to be just behind the existing hitch
- neither Optimus' alt mode has a 5th-wheel hitch design, G1-accurate but seems odd in a modern line

Transformation thoughts:
- ER Optimus is a simpler transformation, the legs are dead simple while the upper body has less folding and parts passing
- ER Optimus' hip joints don't want to fold up all the way, causing the cab to lean forward slightly if not being careful
- Siege OP's transformation is genuinely challenging with a lot of folding parts having to pass by each other, but has a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing
- Siege OP's transformation locks everything down well, if done right nothing will be out of position


Overall, just comparing the figures, each one has a lot that I like, they complement each other's weaknesses. ER Optimus' sculpting and deco feels a touch nicer than Siege's, but for $20 he dang well better. Meanwhile, Siege has better proportions instead of being a pair of long legs with a short torso atop like ER. Siege has more kibble, but some is fun imaginative kibble making a jetpack and forearm guns, and it uses that kibble for to great benefit in vehicle mode and, for me, vehicle modes do make a big difference. It doesn't help that ER is a smaller truck than Siege since he's a leader-class. Having the Matrix functionality is a big deal no doubt, while each one's ion blaster has ups and downs, and each one's shield is a bit silly but has alternate uses. Siege doesn't reuse parts, and if you know recent figures, that reuse sticks out a bit on ER Prime. With price out of contention, it's tough to decide which I like most; if I paid full price, I'd definitely be happier with the Siege figure and that $20 in my pocket for another figure.

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Trailer thoughts:
- the trailer is probably 20% too small
- the trailer works with either Optimus
- the trailer's blue stripe is too light and has no white backer
- the underside of the trailer looks very hollow from the sides and back
- the underside having fold-down legs with a tiny cut-away when they store is a nice touch, although they aren't blocked from rotating too far
- using ER Optmus' ion blaster unfolded to fill the rear space is available
- that ion blaster can be pegged into the trailer interior in a few ways
- opened up, the combat deck has a good amount of tech detaling sculpted to the floor, but the middle of the floor also has weight-saving slits cut into the front 2/3rds, those slits are 5mm so they work with accessories
- the combat deck has four 5mm holes sculpted into the upper portion of either half, but two of each are sculpted so high they don't seem to work with any accessories
- the lack of color inside the command deck is only broken up by the dark gray middle, it's very drab
- no supports means the open command deck sags
- the combat repair drone has a nicely-sculpted base and lift arm while the drone itself is a little plain
- the drone can rotate above the top hinge on the lift arm
- even fully lifted up, the combat repair drone is shrimpy, you can raise it up halfway and close the trailer around that
- the combat repair drone being gray is very drab in the already-stark gray interior
- the combat repair drone can be mounted to the front of the trailer by flipping its pegs out and then reversing its base
- the repair drone is hollow from the back
- the repair drone's claws are slightly too large to hold 5mm pegs, which is incredibly odd
- the drone has a pair of 5mm ports at the front for battle action
- the drone makes for a rather underwhelming backpack but does add jetpack and over-head combat function
- the shield clips nicely into the back door, it is not reversible
- the shield has a lot of tech detailing in the sculpt which makes the trailer look like a refrigerated trailer
- the shield has a trio of 3mm blast effect points and an AIR-lock connector


Overall, when considering the trailer with the set, it feels like a mixed bag, and an argument could be made that it's an albatross for ER Optimus since it inflates the price without justifying that value. While that is the curse of a lot of WFC Leader-Class figures, even Astrotrain's tender has a bunch of cool accessories and turns into dubious armor. This is just a cheap-looking empty box on cheap-looking wheels with a cheap interior and an unwanted little shield, as well as a tiny backpack drone that isn't a fit for the character. It's not utterly terrible, but it's not aiming high enough.

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Centurion Drone accessories:
- the ion blaster won't fit in Siege OP's hand at all
- the ion blaster can be put in ER Optimus' hand, feels like it might break off the thumb, and is so large it lifts him up off the ground a millimeter, all while stripping the paint off the handle
- the ion blaster fits in the trailer's second internal peg and lets the combat deck close, but strips paint off the handle
- Roller fits nicely in the trailer, very loosely mounts on 5mm peg in front of the combat deck repair drone, and covers the 5mm slits in the floor
- Roller can tow the trailer albeit a tighter fit due to paint inside Roller's 5mm tow hitch
- the Energon axe can easily mount in the trailer
- the Energon axe doesn't fit in Siege OP's hand, you can force it into the underside halfway but it stops at the mold line and likely that will lead to breakage
- the Energon axe fits fairly well in ER Optimus' left hand from the top and very comfortably his right hand from the underside, it looks quite good that way
- Sideswipe's jetpack doesn't fit on Siege OP, who already has a built-in jetpack anyway
- the jetpack fits on ER Optimus but is a very snug fit due to clearance issues a hinge in his back, it fits cleanly though once installed it blocks all waist movement
- the jetpack is blocked from using any peg in the trailer, although Roller can carry it in his towing port

Overall, when considering the add-on accessories from the Centurion Drone, it's another mixed bag but with higher highs and lower lows. The energon axe looks way better than expected, while the rifle is vastly too big with paint coming off and risks breaking your Optimus figures. Roller is alright but not mindblowing, likewise Sideswipe's jetpack looks decent on Optimus but it's unpainted and simple. It's fun to fill the trailer with a few more bits, if the jetpack had paint or could be mounted inside the trailer I might would have given this an enthusiastic approval instead of a tepid "it's kinda fun if you have it but not worth tracking down now".

If ER Optimus had come with all those accessories, I could have seen the set meeting its value better, even with the so-so trailer, but making you buy a second figure you may not want for its pack-in accessories is a lot to consider.