Every year around this time, the new Transformers mainline figures start to show up in Canada. For 2024, this line is Transformers Legacy: United. The name of course means nothing to me, though maybe there's some comic or animated story line I'm not aware of. The concept remains the same; take established characters and bring their toys into the modern age. Sometimes that's a huge jump, other times, not so much.
Take my first entry for example: Transformers Animated Optimus Prime. I can't remember the exact year, but probably around 2008 or so? I loved the aesthetic of the show and the toys, while not perfect, tried so hard to give us that same look in the real world that I couldn't help but be impressed. Some figures worked out better than others, with the Voyager Class Optimus Prime doing a decent job representing, but not so much in the QC department.
The new figure is also a Voyager (though to be fair, it would be hard not to duplicate anything from the original series as there was an Optimus Prime for every single size class). Since I completely forgot to do a photo of the inside, the contents of the box are pretty standard for a Hasbro mainline release,:
1 x Main Figure
1 x Axe
1 x Signal Lights
Now, I think the signal lights were a separate piece due to cost cutting, but another part of me also says to me that maybe they're gonna retool/recolour this figure into something else.
The Battle Axe is now more accurate to the show, which wasn't the case with the Voyager toy back in the day. The Deluxe actually had the more accurate weapon. This time, the Axe doesn't transform in a part of the Cab mode - it's just there. The addition of a longer handle is a nice touch, again true to the show, but alas the mainline articulation can only do so much with it.
Here is the figure unboxed and fully assembled, as it were, including the aforementioned signal lights that include a spot for mounting the included Battle Axe. The overall figure is bulkier than OG, but at the same time that's OK as it's less lanky and more importantly, more stable. I'm lamenting the loss of the Blue windows, which are now Black for some odd reason. Actually, now that I think about it, there just seems to be a lot more Black than before., which isn't helped by the fact they decided not to paint the wheels this time around.
You also see the gaps that have spawned a new industry of people making pieces to fill in holes because it offends peoples sight, even if filling the holes in means you interfere with the operation of the figure.
While I have a few deep sighs about colour, a larger more vocal group has beef with the head. It's a bit chunkier, yes, but the main thing is that it doesn't have the swappable Battle Mask that the original toy did, It was a neat feature but again, lousy QC made operating it a bit of a pain. Me? Well I don't mind it being maskless - it's not something I'd lose sleep over. At least the underlying face looks pretty sharp.
Articulation is good, but again, this isn't that old of a character and mainline articulation hasn't exactly been improving - it's been pretty consistent, with a jump to MP levels generally required for more posing fun. I think the ankles on this new version work out a bit better than the OG, but ultimately you have your standard mainline articulation for a Voyager, which includes Bicep and Thigh twists, so there are no surprises there. It's always just the bulk that gets in the way, but due to the generally slim design of the body you're really not getting much in terms of interference.
Transformation into Cab mode is much more involved than the OG toy, which I can't remember exactly but I believe that one was more your standard Optimus transformation style. It's a well thought out sequence that uses a few more folding panels to achieve that hourglass shape the character has. The transformation of the legs is a bit more involved than usual, which is why you end up with that weird looking section on the rear of the Cab.
Paint Applications have generally been of a consistent quality since Unified Product was a thing, which kind of was the purpose of doing that, increasing the price of having a better overall product. The issue has always been there isn't enough of it. For a mainline figure, it's not terrible, certainly better than it would have been back in the good ol' days. The use of just base plastic for colour is also a thing that isn't going away. But why wouldn't they paint the wheels? It wasn't like they didn't have silver paint for this figure anyway. Funny thing is that if this was a cost cutting thing, the figure actually gained a set of wheels and I'm pretty sure the figure could have been designed without, sparing money for some Silver paint.
Build Quality wise, a very solid figure. Nothing really experimental here in terms of transformation or the way parts connect, which is fine as it works and offers a rock solid play experience. Otherwise, joints held together and limb positions just fine, Even the ankles are nice and tight on my figure.
A very solid figure. A decent update for a relatively recent figure, albeit one that has a few fan favourite features removed. Ultimately, though, there's nothing that really sucks with this figure, and the improved stability and general level of QC is much appreciated. Naturally Animated fans are going to love it more, but if you want a good all round toy to play with that is moderately priced (well in todays market anyway) this is a pretty good choice.
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