Optimus Primal Robot [Classic Class]

During Christmas last year, the beast mode companion to today’s post played the narrator in our Christmas Carol production. That’s ironic, because the robot mode kit of that same guy was one of the presents the Mrs. got me for Christmas. A neat bit of synchronicity, and a much-appreciated gift. These larger Blokees model kits are an absolute pleasure, and I really like having a small pile of them waiting in my backlog.

Optimus Primal’s robot mode wasn’t seen much in Rise of the Beasts, which honestly makes today’s kit even more fun. It lets us get a better look at the Maximal leader. Frankly, his robot mode isn’t all that dissimilar from his classic gorilla design. It’s a little more techno-organic, a little more live-action movie dark and gritty, but it’s mostly classic Optimus Primal. Really, a simple repaint in classic colors and he’d make a solid, ultra-serious update of the original toy. And yeah, I’m into that.

Building this kit was fun, though slightly more challenging than some of the other larger Blokees kits I’ve put together. There are a few smaller parts that took a moment to get just right — specifically a set of pins that insert into his knees to hold everything together. It’s not hard, exactly… but I’ve got big fingers. It was just awkward enough that my bent tweezers didn’t really help either. The first one took a few tries. The second went right in. I guess my fingers retained a little muscle memory.

His shoulders were a little odd as well. They use the normal jointing you expect from a Blokees kit - actually, like the Megatron we talked about a few weeks ago, he’s got the upper torso of a Shining Version at his core. That said, my Primal’s upper arms didn’t want to stay connected at first. I’d snap them on and they’d pop right back off. After a few cycles of snapping them on, them popping off, me cussing, and putting them back on, they finally stayed put. Weird, but fine. Blokees kits are made from a pleasantly softer material than a lot of other model kits, so I’m guessing the joint stretched just enough after a few tries.

Once assembled, Optimus Primal is a solid robot mode figure loaded with articulation. He shares the mostly inky black color scheme of his beast mode kit, but there’s silver detailing here and there, along with green glowing parts like his eyes and the Maximal symbol on his chest. My copy’s battery was apparently dead, so I’ll swap that out eventually. CVS keeps sending me those $4–$5 off coupons, so I’ll probably score one cheap… maybe even free.

Optimus comes with two alternate faces. One has the mouthplate like the one I’m using in the photos, and the other has the plate open enough to show his mouth, just like in the original cartoon. You can swap them out anytime, and combined with his articulation and the choice between open hands or closed fists, you can get a surprisingly expressive Optimus.

He also comes with the twin scimitars that his first two toys had. In the movie, he mostly wielded them combined as a double blade, so you might have thought he had a spear - but nope, they split apart and can be used individually. I’ve always really liked these swords, so of course this makes me a little giddy. As usual, there’s an included display stand with whooshing energy effects. Those work great in a display case, though they’re a little less practical around the base.

This is a great kit of Optimus Primal, just like the beast mode version was. And really… that’s just Prime.

I swear it was just Sunday...

Good morning! Another week has begun on Planet Zone. Another week of robots, monsters, and misadventure! I hope everyone had a great weekend, mine was just what I needed after a rough week. The last two weekends had been ones spent at home due to the winter weather, so getting out was a lot of fun. We finally finished the Mrs birthday shopping weekend with a trip to Daiso! We really love it there, if only one were closer with the closest being about 40 minutes away with some less than ideal traffic. While my focus was on showing her a good time (we also went to other stores she likes), I picked up a few fun things for myself. Some new tweezers for smaller parts and stickers for when my bent tweezers aren't a good fit. Some retractable cutters for various reasons and to fill in for that missing hobby knife. I also picked up a Shin Chan pouch to store the new site stickers in when out and about. A Street Fighter acrylic standee and an eraser set of a gorilla, toilet, and poop. Yep, I bought pooping keshi. I got a few other things, but those are most notable. I doubt my new tablet bag is that interesting to you.

I also picked up Blast-Off and Sureshot from Age of the Primes. I guess the universe heard my annoyance at being behind on the line and threw me a bone. I spent a lot of time catching up with Kamen Rider Zezt some and playing games this weekend. I finally got that SD Card into my Gamestation Go and played my Switch 2 as well. My Blokees Wheels came in during the week and I built 3 as well as 4 Defender Version kits. Wheels are very interesting, more so than I thought they'd be going in. I'm going to enjoy this line. Wonderfest Winter took place this weekend and I've been appreciative of pictures from the event. There's going to be a lot of time spent perusing them.

The new Voltron movie finally got announced to be released this year on Amazon Prime Video later this year. Hasbro will be handling the toys and with Toy Fair around the corner, it looks exciting! Speaking of, Armored Cyber Changer Arachnid got leaked this weekend. She looks great and I hope more reveals will come from Toy Fair. Speaking of shows that I'm looking forward to images from, All Hail Cybertron will be taking place in March. An all Transformers doujin event looks to be amazing and I wish I could go! Hopefully plenty of pictures will find their way online. Well, I've got some chores and exercise to do. I hope everyone has a great week, there's a bunch of fun posts coming your way here on the site. Thank you for reading Zone Base. Please remember to share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Transformers Overgear

Neat

Twin Mill [Hot Wheels X Transformers]

Getting back to our look at the Hot Wheels X Transformers line, today we’ve got Twin Mill — a classic Hot Wheels car that originally debuted way back in 1969. This Transformers incarnation is the blue Spectraflame version, and it looks fantastic.

It resembles a souped-up classic Corvette with twin engine blocks and gnarly exhaust pipes, complete with attachable flame effects. It’s the kind of car that just looks fast, and in the blue deco I can’t help but compare it to Sideburn from Robots in Disguise (2001).

These Hot Wheels Transformers are roughly comparable to a smaller Deluxe Class figure, similar in size to modern Mini-Bot updates. I know that probably sounds ridiculous… but I actually like the size. I often feel Transformers are just a touch too big. Not because I like small Transformers (see the site’s name), but because the details tend to come out sharper when they’re a little smaller. It’s like when you upscale an image and it loses some clarity. This feels like a real sweet spot, size-wise, for me.

Transformation isn’t hard at all and isn’t too dissimilar from other car bots. The front end becomes the upper torso, with the arms and head folded up inside, while the rear end forms the lower body and legs. I’ll say there are some strong Machine Robo / Gobots vibes here, mostly due to the smaller robot form and the look of his legs. I also can’t help but compare him to Armada Blurr, thanks to how the front fenders form his shoulders and the overall proportions. These are all things I really like, so those similarities are a plus in my book.

Ironically, back in 2001–2002 when Sideburn from Robots in Disguise was on shelves, Hot Wheels had a line called Robo Wheels. These were originally designed by PLEX to be a new Machine Robo series. PLEX has designed Machine Robo, Power Rangers, and Super Sentai toys for Bandai, and Robo Wheels were intended to follow Machine Robo CG Robo. That deal fell through, and the designs were eventually released as Hot Wheels instead. I distinctly remember staring at them on store shelves, very tempted to grab a few. At the time, though, I was pretty broke — finances were stretched paycheck to paycheck — so between rent and life expenses, I had to make some tough toy decisions. Transformers fit the budget, but other lines required being picky. Of course, it wasn’t until years later that I learned Robo Wheels were Machine Robo designs… and by then they were long gone. Here’s hoping I can track some down someday for a decent price — and not broken to hell.

Back to Twin Mill: man, this is a cool-looking robot. His head is a little reminiscent of bots like Smokescreen, but with some extra flair to the helmet and, of course, that fabulous visor. There’s a very post-1986 G1 vibe to the head sculpt. The way his robot parts mix with the car kibble and color scheme gives him an almost knightly look. It’s really sharp, and that blue is spectacular.

The twin engine blocks — which need to be removed first during transformation — become a pair of forearm-mounted guns. They slip over his arms and give him some serious firepower. The flame effects attach to the exhaust pipes, creating a blazing firing effect. It’s pretty great… damn, I really like these toys.

Articulation is solid, too. Twin Mill can pull off a variety of dynamic stances with his twin fire guns, though considering the length of the barrels, he’s going to need some room to swing them around. If it hasn’t already been painfully obvious, I’m really high on these Hot Wheels Transformers. According to rumors, there’s more coming, and I’m genuinely excited about that. These feel special to me, and I’m proud to own them. They’re definitely on a pedestal in my mind.

Here’s hoping those rumors are true and more are on the way. Even if they’re just repaints, I’m in. I’d absolutely love to see more Transformers follow this same approach.