Shockwave wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:36 pm And, I'm going to further ostracize myself by defending another mostly universally hated figure: POTP Optimal Optimus. I have one and I do not regret buying it. I wanted an Optimal Optimus in my collection and have been perfectly happy with him for the last... whenever he came out. The lack of ground mode doesn't bother me and the added fun of having a regular Primal that turns into a surfboard thing is actually pretty fun. I also like the inclusion of the Matrix. Now, there's a local toy shop here where I could just go and buy a complete original and for a reasonable price. I have yet to do so because every time I've thought of doing so, I always think "Nah, I already have an Optimal Optimus" and then I usually buy something else.
To each their own... But to me, a good update of Optimal Optimus should absolutely have all four modes. Especially when the flight mode isn't really all that different from the ground mode. It's a bit careless that they didn't include it. And unlike the contemporary figures in the PotP line, Evolution Optimus Prime and Evolution Rodimus Prime, I don't feel that they incorporated the Optimus Primal figure very well into the Optimal Optimus design. Orion Pax and Hot Rod both worked well as their own individual figure and incorporated seamlessly into the larger body, where as Primal sticks out (literally, on Optimal's back). I like the idea of a Cybertronian Primal figure, but the surfboard thing they went with just isn't very creative to me. Doesn't help that Primal's color scheme somewhat clashes with Optimal's, making the figure stand out more when he's plugged into the Optimal body. The "Throne of the Primes" repaint, which used Primal's colors for the Optimal body, looks a little better with the colors blending into each other.
There are a a few things I do like about the PotP Optimal Optimus though. The Optimal head sculpt is better, more accurate to the show, as is how the cockpit is situated on his chest when the canons aren't deployed. Although, I feel like they could have figured out a way for it to slide down and have the canons come out (or plug in, since they are removable) like they do in the show rather than just sitting on his shoulders. The overall proportions of the figure are better, and I like the improved ankle joints. As I mentioned, I like the idea of the Cybertronian Optimus Primal figure, I just wish they'd been more creative in coming up with an alt mode for it, and integrated better into the Optimal figure. To me, the negatives outweigh the positives, I prefer the original Optimal Optimus of the two.
Shockwave wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 1:24 pm
Ok, so I thought of something else regarding articulation. I recently purchased a copy of Armada Overload. This is a figure that was released in... I believe 2005. The original Optimal Primal was what, 1998? 99? About 6-7 years earlier. The original Primal has WAY more articulation than Overload. Seriously, this thing, for as big as it is, has almost no articulation. The shoulders rotate (they don't swing out!) and the legs have hip joints and that's it. There's better articulation on 1980's Star Wars figures. And again, this was 6-7 years AFTER the Beast Era. But, I certainly think the Beast Era standardized articulation to the point where it is expected. I purchased Overload only seeing him in vehicle mode and, figuring that it was a post Beast Era toy that the bot mode would have better articulation. I have to admit, that I am a little disappointed with it. This was bought from the same shop that has that original Primal figure and when I got Overload home, for the first time since I saw Primal there, I found myself wishing I'd bought that instead. Come to think of it, I believe Wing Saber suffered from the same problem. Some UT toys did not live up to the articulation standards that were normalized in the Beast Era and I think we could all probably agree that it's "unacceptable".
I almost brought up Armada as well. The Armada toyline was a huge step back compared to the Beast-era figures. Supposedly, Hasbro wanted to make the figures a little more simple after the complexities of some of the later Beast-era figures, and with how gimmick heavy the Armada line was, needed to cut costs. I think they overcompensated. A lot of the Armada figures were severely lacking on articulation and detail, they felt so much cheaper than the Beast-era toys. I remember being disappointed by so many of the Armada figures. Hotshot as an example has no head articulation (just a visor that moves up and down), wonky shoulders that could only move outward, has elbows, hips and knees... This is a deluxe figure with only 8 points of articulation. Even the basic Beast Wars figures had at least 9 points of articulation, if not more. Another example: Super mode Optimus Prime... Because the trailer has an auto transforming gimmick, he can't move his legs at all. Just his arms and head. You'd think Jetfire's "superpants" mode would be better, give him knees or something, but the way his transformation works, it's just as bad as the trailer. So yeah, I'd agree the Armada figures were "unacceptable". Even for the time they came out in, they were lacking. I can see why fans of Armada get so excited when Hasbro announces new versions, they really needed improved articulation. The difference with new Beast-era figures is that they're taking what was a great figure and making them even better in most cases.