AoE Evasion Mode Optimus Prime

Working area for reviews.

Moderators: Skyquake87, ganon578

Post Reply
User avatar
Firestrider57
Protoform
Posts: 91
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:39 am

AoE Evasion Mode Optimus Prime

Post by Firestrider57 »

Evasion Optimus Prime
Faction:Autobot
Function: Autobot Commander
Alternate Mode: Marmon Cab-over Tractor Trailer

"Autobots! Transform and Roll Out!!"-- I remember those words from the G1 "Sunbow" cartoons (The best EVER), as THE main line of the greatest warrior the Autobots ever knew or will ever know-- Optimus Prime. So, just in case anyone is questioning where I am going with this folksy folklore, yes, I do believe Evasion Optimus Prime is actually the best rendering of the Autobot Commander since G1. I even think this is G1 rebooted!! This is a great toy and captures all the grandeur of the G1 toy (with a few exceptions... I will explain).
This promises to be one of the most unusual reviews I have ever done because , I have PLENTY to write about here. I am impassioned about this figure because I am a true "dyed-in-the-wool" OP fan!
I don't want to spoil my review with needless drivel, so ON WITH THE REVIEW!!!!!
1.Aesthetics: So, why start with Aesthetics over Transformation? I need to create the occasion why EVERY FAN OF TRANSFORMERS should own THIS figure! First of all, why is he called "Evasion Mode Optimus Prime" anyway? The answer comes from the fact that early in the movie, the Cemetery Wind peeps are hunting Oppie because Harold Attinger is hunting his head. He scans an old beater ( which doesn't have the awesome paint job that this guy has)and becomes " Junkimus Prime|. When Wahlberg and Tessa are threatened , OP bursts out of a barn with his retro-looking cannon blazing, commando style. Somehow , Junkimus gets repaired before becoming revitalized Western Star Optimus Prime- The ultimate bad guy beater-upper, with king-sized dinos for pets, let alone, he has a way-cool sword ! Well , enough of the jackrabbit trail, This dude is totally Wyatt Earpish with his commanding sawed-off shotgun style equalizer and THAT FACE!!! It seems that he finally found one after sucking off all the bad guys faces in the past. Really, not a bad face AT ALL! In fact, I only wish it had the same feature that Cybertron Optimus and Animated Voyager Optimus had, and that is the movable mouthplate. Let's face it, What is Optimus without the mouthplate? Well, believe it or not , I only miss the mouthplate on this guy ever so slightly, and that is because the face is really awesome. As a minor point, the face paint could have been a darker shade of gray, maybe a "dirty" gray, and it would have made it slightly better. The overall paint job is PHENOMINAL for a "regular issue" figure. The AoE paint jobs have been impressive, but OP outshines everyone. The body of the figure has been criticized by some as having "gorilla arms". I like these because it is a unique treatment of the front-cab transformation. If anything, I think the hands are a bit small, but not bad. They hold the rifle fine. I like the arms.
What is also "odd" about this figure is how "plain" he appears compared to any of his other toys , especially anything from RiD, Unicron Trilogy, or even Prime. Remember G1? Optimus didn't have a lot of bells and whistles then, neither, but he got the job done. Face it , guys, this IS the new holy grail of Primes. He is better than Western Star leader class (Especially since the WS version is a "shell former"). His size is also almost as large as the 2007 line.

2. Transformation: Simply put, from robot to truck, this is the second hardest transformer I have EVER transformed! The first was deluxe WFC ( you guessed it) Cybertron Optimus Prime. Whodathunkit would NOT be identical to the transformation of the G1 character? Well, I suspected it, but until I had the guy in my eager fingers, I never knew how challenging he was. I was a big fan of the movie styling of the first 3 Bay films. Optimus looked beyond tough, even if the figures were lack-lustre ( I have First Strike OP from the 2007 run and the Voyager figure (gag!) from the DOTM line. ). First of all, the transformation is slightly reminiscent of the Cybertron OP , which transforms from the rear of the cab , and not the front. The windows are a faux -finish because no cab-over truck has rear-facing windows with wipers. Like I mentioned before, the arms somewhat come up and the sides of the cab invert to show the arms and to give the body those high shoulder "blades". The legs transform in typical OP tradition.Going from robot to truck-- although this is a very sturdy figure-- I would take the utmost caution transforming the arms. You must deconstruct the entire cab in the transformation of this figure, then reconstruct it , making sure all the panels snap back together. Watch the grille and the middle (head) panel. Mine had a single stress mark after a fair amount of force was exerted trying to get everything right.:p

3. Articulation: One reason I am so pumped about this figure is the amount of articulation and articulation points. In 1984, OP was the halmark of articulation. His knees bent (slightly). His arms bent (because the had to). He couldn't turn his head and had no waist articulation, but he was FABULOUS for articulation in the beginning of the line ( I have one, I should know). Fast-forward to 2014 (that's 30 years , btw) This figure has waist, head, wrist and better foot articulation. This figure is light years ahead of 1984 in more ways than meets the eye ( pun intended). His arms can do not only elbow bends, but can do 180 degrees from the ball joint on the side panel. Legs can do a comfortable 90 degs, with bending knees and ankles,as well as turning ankles. The head is one nice feature, since once in place, it has a moderate amount of turning and up-and-down movement. It has some really awesome poses as well.:up:

[4. Alternate Mode:] I have seen many different versions of |flatnose| prime to know what I like. First of all, G1 Prime was a very authentic Freightliner cab-over, complete with detail lines all over the vehicle. The cab had no seats. G1 had two exhaust pipes, which made both the vehicle and robot semetrical. He looked like the real thing. No other version until the masterpiece line was that detailed. Enter AoE-- This is incredible detail. This too is a cab-over design.The cab is on par with the original or better.The tail section looks more realistic than the plain blue , blocky legs that it updates. The tail section has a very believable trailer hitch. There's decent -sized gas tanks. A single exhaust and air filter piece looks very convincing. The drawbacks of this truck are not that severe. There's no interior visible in this cab, and it would be so cool if the gun would have been a part of the exhaust , or if it swung on the shoulder to be a rocket launcher, but the exhaust has no function other than an exhaust and the gun has no other function than a gun. The gun can be positioned on the top of the cab, but it looks very goofy that way. The red ,gray and blue on this truck is very classy (later, there will be a beigish "junker" that will make it's debut). The windshield (front) parts are integrated into the arms, so it looks a hair wonky. No harm, however. :wave:

Robot Mode: This is where Prime shines. Not that the truck is bad,but the robot definitely is the most of the reason why anyone would buy this figure. The figure stands taller than DOTM figures. It lacks the rubber weapons that many of the other AoE figures have. This figure was built to last! Some things about this didn't get my "druther" vote-- such as the absence of the mouthplate and the better storability of the gun. I also am not a huge fan of that gun design, although it has a somewhat Bay-esque update to the ion cannon that Prime supposedly has. He also has closed fists instead of open hands. Since 2007, there has not been a better hand design for Optimus than the 2007 voyager model. They look so real, yet these are some of the smallest hands on a voyager I have ever seen. I think DOTM were the only smaller ones. The legs are great, in fact, the red parts are great as well. I have to say I LOVE the paint job on my figure. The paint is very glossy and first-rate. The head is a very good head and has a very good face. My color choice for the face would have been a shade darker, but who's barking about a silver face. He has all kinds of articulation, which beats G1 OP to a pulp!! And if you are talking poseability? You've got it! He has all the classic poses. Evasion and First Strike ( My two best voyagers) both have great poses, but Evasion's poses are less cumbersome.

Overall: If you have a list like mine, and did not like certain things, maybe wait for the "second edition" of this truck and get that figure. It has a mouth plate. Really, I have no qualms about this figure. Once you get the hang of the transformation, it will be a very rewarding figure. I put this figure in the top 5 Primes of all time.

Points out of 10 for the Following:

1.Transformation: 9.0/10 This is one of the most fun ,involved transformations ever! I don't think it's perfect, but it's not quite as exasperating as say WFC Cybertron Prime or G1 Megatron (which I never had, and don't want). Some points are intuitive.
2. Aesthetics:9.5/10 Nearly perfect in proportion. Rather cool "shoulder blades". The gun is ok. No mouthplate, but that's not going to knock it down an entire point.
3. Articulation:10/10 Better than any other Prime in almost every way. Head is great, arms are exceptional , and feet are turnable. Can't find any design flaws.
4. Fun:10/10 Might as well call this G1 Optimus: The Rebirth. Since 2007, Voyagers seem to outshine leaders for many reasons, one reason is that they have less junk to fall off, ease of transformation, and decent scalability. Prime only needs an axe and a sword to be "the perfect dude".
5. Price: 7/10 Do I think he deserves to be $30? Why not more? This is collector's material! Don't lose a piece of him, he'll be worth something later, if not now! He's still a crazy chunk of change for those looking to catch him at the best price ever, which is...er, now.
6. Durability: 9/10 Concerns are mostly on the cab-top parts and windows. other parts are very solid.
7. Overall: X/10 Ok, you didn't know I'd give him this rating, did you? For non-Prime fans-- SHOW SOME RESPECT!!!--This guy's earned it! Prime fans, THE BEST PRIME EVER!!!!!!:D
Post Reply