I'm a bit behind in opening them, but the Mainline Transformer Legacy: United figures are still rolling in, though I don't think I've got too many left. One figure I did get out of sheer curiosity was none other than the hotly debated Voyager Vector Prime figure.
Vector Prime hails from the Energon Universe, and I'll be completely honest, I never thought the guy had a fan club. The show is over 20 years old by this point, and the original toy had a nice aesthetic, but wasn't particularly complex, nor did the character itself do anything super special. I mean, maybe he got more characterization in the comics or something. Worst of all, the Hasbro version was absolutely hideous compared to the Takara one. It was one of those figures that I was glad I spent time and effort tracking down.
So Vector Prime eventually gets announced, and when the final product is released people are FURIOUS that it doesn't match up to the original toy. I do understand and can visualize these concerns, but there are some improvements that I feel people never discuss or give credit to.
Before we even open the box, the angry comments already have started. So unsurprisingly, Vector Prime is retooled from an existing figure, the Voyager Jihaxus, which I never bought as I didn't read the comics. Unbeknownst to me, Vector Prime was significant enough to warrant cries for an original toy. to his fan base. The included accessories also caused an uproar, consisting of his sword and Cyber Planet Key, but no Minicon (understandable from a budget perspective).
Of course, things just get angrier when you open the box itself. There's a size difference between the actual toy itself. It's pretty noticeable in Robot mode. The general bulk isn't there, and there are some key visual elements on the original design that didn't make the cut, such as the Forearm guards and the Shins, though I do recall seeing an Aftermarket kit that takes care of that aspect of things.
This size differential actually gets worse when you compare the other aspects of the figure, namely the Vehicle mode, the Sword, and the Cyber Planet Key. I guess I might as well throw it out there that the new one doesn't have the electronics either, but at least that means the figure is less of a brick. Conversion to vehicle is pretty straight forward, as one would expect from a Mainline figure. Not sure if anyone got annoyed the weapons stowage methods are different.
Now having said all that, by itself there's a few things to not be thrilled with. I've mentioned the loss of visual elements, but what's stranger to me is the fact they didn't paint the wings. I mean, they have more money for this sort of thing, the Takara release had paint, and more importantly, I thought they were going for animation accuracy. While we're on the topic of paint, they didn't paint any of the Cyber Planet Keys... it's just that Vector Prime's looks particularly bad compared to the Takara release, and is unpainted just like the original Hasbro version.
Now on the plus side, this new version at least gets the colour scheme right. Both the Hasbro and Takara versions weren't as per the animation model, so at least that's something that worked out properly.
Updated face sculpt isn't terrible, and looks like the character. Mind you, it's not like the old one was off to begin with.
Articulation is Mainline Voyager standard, so ankles, knees, bicep/thigh swivels waist, elbow, shoulders, wrist, and neck. So like with most of the figures in this line, functional but it isn't exactly going to blow your mind. Having said that, this is night and day compared to the original toy, which was effectively a brick with articulated arms and legs.
Paint Applications are the usual - only where needed. Base plastic on this figure appears to be the Burgundy and the White, so you can probably visual that the quantity of paint apps are relatively low., and should have been higher to at least match the animation model. Having said that, at least they're nice and clean.
Finally Build Quality. There aren't that many pieces, and the figure is at a size where generally speaking assembly is pretty good. Quality of the joints and materials is as expected and will hold up to general play wear. Transformation itself is pretty robust with no fragile parts, which is of course expected on a Mainline figure.
It's a pretty average figure. I don't hate it, I don't love it. For me, it gets the job done of bringing the character into the present, which brings with it unfortunate changes to the classic formula, but the upgrade in articulation is worth it. Based on what I've seen, if you insist on going the upgrade route then you should be happy with the result. Having said that, by the time things are said and done, the price will have likely doubled and you're still short a few things. If you don't care much for posing, you might as well go after a Takara OG one instead.
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