Studio Series 86 Optimus Prime review
Evolution of circuity
For many of us kids of the ‘90s and late ‘80s, we had many shows, comic books, and toys that meant a lot to us. Many of us cannot get past the year 1988 as it’s like society for a five-year-old’s brain had reached its peak and will not go any further than that time period, despite the fact there was much to look forward to and despite Rush’s pleas. Time does not stand still, however for the people who made toys back then it has created a sort of infinite loop to continue mining, and honestly aside from some modern paint jobs, most people will be happy as is even if the thing they thought was amazing at the time was well…not…
Enter Hasbro’s Studio Series line of Transformers, which started as a way to release new figures from older movies. It slowly expanded to eventually celebrate the old movie from 1986. You know the one that left you scared seeing your favorite robots get thrashed in ways that haunt you to this very day. Don’t lie to me I see those flashbacks going on in your brain…
In all seriousness, despite my tone, I enjoy the studio line from what I have so far all…looks at the amount I have. Yes, all three of them, two of the 86 and one of the gamer line thing, while I feel the path forward is new things it is hard for me to deny the dopamine drip that I get from these things. The one we are looking at today I’ll be honest with you, I was not expecting to get at all. High-end Primes and are always seemingly worlds apart. For the longest time, I wanted to get at least A masterpiece line Optimus figure. But, be it chance, income or just not knowing it was out there I could never seem to get one. I jokingly call it my white whale, well with this one I think while it is not Masterpiece. It is about as close as I’ll come and while there are some flaws with it. It’s still a damn good item to have
The Stats:
Bought at: it rhymes with erget
Retail: $90 but thanks to all the discounts I abused I paid 60
TL:DR: A very solid figure that can be a definitive Optimus Prime if it’s taken care of, and if you can even find it.
Before we move on to the review, I have to say this: I did not expect to find this, I know people who work in retail telling me of scalpers going nuts with these types of figures and buying a bunch in bulk. Also, any website I checked usually had 1 or 2 in stock and when I got to the checkout were removed because the stock was pleated. The fact I feel ass-backward into this is a surprise to me. To those scalpers who use bots to track these down and screw over people who are just trying to do the honest thing: We all don’t like you, and a lot of people who work in the sections you rip off, from know who you are. They just can’t stop you cause of policy…
Now with that out of the way, on to the review
Packaging:
Normally, we don’t exactly go deep diving into the packaging, but since this is meant to be for collectors some of you will never open this box. I thought we should at least take a look at it for what it is.
Not going to lie, I am going to miss the boxes Hasbro did for environmental reasons, I like the fact that I know the figure is inside and sealed (I mean aside from possible factory errors) but also, if it is not tampered with its easier to know simply due to the box being opened and such. This is completely me thing, and I am not gonna hide it. The image on the front of the box is a pretty kick-ass one. Reminds me of the old pictures on the back showing “transformation” in pictures, so that is cool. On the side we got a nice little profile pic of Prime and on the back images of the figure and your usual flavor text in 10 languages. Included inside also is the backdrop you can use, and I admit for a lot of the photos on this shoot I used it, normally I just ignore those things. But I felt it added a nice sort of ambiance to the shooting and since it’s based off the 1986 movie, why the hell not?
The figure:
So I have to say, when I opened this up, I did not expect Prime to look this big. Like in general size big, he is taller than his more recent releases but he’s as my wife would say “a complete unit.” I like how the window panels on his chest have that animated style color vibe to them, also the Autobot symbol on the side actually holds up well and looks good as well.
The antenna on his head can surprisingly move around, and the head itself is nice looking and very animated vibe, Posing-wise, this figure can do a lot and to my shock has butterfly hinges on the chest allowing the arms to close into the chest. The reasoning is they wanted to that classic hammer fist from the movie. It can also allow you to do poses with intimidation like a robot somehow able to crack his knuckles before a fight among others.
I have heard a lot of people complain this is poseable, but not SUPER poseable and I think for the character he does more, way more than I expected the figure to do. I mean prime is not exactly going to be throwing down with the likes of animated Prowl or dancing with Jazz and Blaster in any way. He’s stoic and when the dude gets pissed throws all his weight into his punches. So it is not so much he needs to be able to stand on his hand at crazy angles instead just looks and poses like prime. For that aspect, it does the job and more than I expected it to. But set yourself up accordingly on expectations.
When it comes to accessories, they are not a lot but they are of good quality, you get his standard issue gun, though the weight of the gun feels very nice and has good detail on it. He also comes with the handy dandy beam axe, perfect for slashing down your gun-transforming megalomaniacs.
You also get some effect pieces including ones to put on the bottom of the truck, if you know, you know.
He also has a fun little matrix that seems to be the stock one they hold at Hasbro HQ to drop in a prime as needed. Also, you get some nice laser effects to put on the gun and trailer bits.
The trailer is even so big it is about to get its section in the review...
The Trailer:
Look it was not the best transition, but it did what it had to do alright?
Anyway, this thing is like Prime himself got some beef to it, this is very much an upgrade to the trailer that we’ve been seeing since Earthrise. It even has heft to it, whereas the other trailer I always felt was sort of put in there to attempt to justify the price. The size and feeling it isn’t going to break apart in my hands if I look at the TV funny kind of make this nice I won’t lie.
It also has those side parts so when you unfold the trailer, it won’t bend or anything, small but enjoyable things. It also includes a new Roller, complete with seating for the tiny little head guys (I know it’s a headmaster but I don’t know what the modern term in marketing is alright?) So they can ride around and do the body count of Autobot City in peace. Roller has a nice feel and heft to it also, which adds to the feeling of quality. And yes, you can also move the repair arm things up and they compact down, or even attach to the buggy.
Being that is meant to be an OG model prime, if you look inside the trailer you can see the old detail stuff on the sticker sheet did mold into the plastic. I kind of wish there was more color to them, but it’s fine as is, it of been a fun detail to punch up overall. Also, all those accessories can be stored inside the trailer, even the jump jets with a clever little compartment at the bottom of the trailer, so if you don’t want to use it all. It’ll be stored in the trailer.
Final Thoughts:
I will say once more, I did not expect to find this guy and I jumped as it was the last one in the store. I don’t regret it and honestly, I look forward to properly getting a display set up as a “classic” or “retro” prime I can use going forward. Is he worth 90. to be honest that is up to you and I feel for what I paid this is a great price, but 90 I mean we can kind of justify it, but I can see where others feel let down also. If you can somehow get it for about 25% off it’s a no-brainer, but if you’re stuck paying retail I’d still say to get it, more because in a few years, you’ll probably be paying a lot more on the secondary, so if you feel you need to get him, just get him.
This is a nice solid figure to wrap up the year in reviewing here at the desk, we’ll be MIA for a bit, but I’m hoping before we go to throw out a retro review I’ve been working on that may also be something to start off next year also. We’ll find out in time, but that is all for now…
-The Chaos Director