Gamer Edition Optimus Prime (Studio Series/Voyager Class)

While I still don't understand the Gamer Edition figures being in Studio Series and not Legacy, I am quite fond of them and am enjoying the updates to some generally neat looking takes on classic Transformers characters. This Gamer Edition Optimus Prime is his War for Cybertron design as a Voyager Class toy instead of the smaller deluxe class figure it was originally released as in 2010. Even for a Voyager Class, Optimus is really large and imposing. His War for Cybertron look was so bulky, he needs to be big for it to work properly. If it seems like I'm focusing on him needing to be big, then you've arrived at one of the reasons I like this figure. It's big and imposing as it should be. Optimus is not some little squirt, he's a big bruiser and this toy conveys that very well. While there's definitely larger scale Transformers toys out there, this feels substantially larger than other Voyager Class toys. Like a Armada era figure level of chonk. That's good.

Optimus is also pleasantly articulated with plenty of gimmicks. You can remove his lower right arm and replace it with a gun arm. This is more screen accurate to how he's portrayed in the War for Cybertron video game and similar to the live action movies. It's pretty neat, just be care not to lose that arm. Optimus is carrying his big axe as well. It can be unfolded to be double bladed as it is during melee attacks, or folded in half to match it's appearance in cut scenes. I've been told blast effects can attach to the gun, but I've never done so myself. Last but not least, Optimus's chest can open up and reveal a removable Autobot Matrix of Leadership. I'm always a sucker for this gimmick, no matter how many times they do it. Sadly the Matrix is too small for Optimus to hold it, but it's still super neat.

Optimus transforms into his Cybertroinan truck mode fairly easily. I say fairly as one of my major complaints about the original War for Cybertron figures was the complexity of the transformations. Some weren't so bad, but others.... look, it took years to run the Cenobites off. Everything goes where it should with minimal fiddling. With so many toys having odd clearance issues these days (I swear it's the CAD models being a little tight), it's nice having one with things just going where they're supposed too without trivial adjusting. Remember that removable arm I mentioned above? Make sure you've reattached it for transformation. Unfortunately the gun arm and axe don't have anywhere super convenient to go in vehicle mode. There's places to put them, but results may vary. The gun actually looks pretty decent on the roof, but you'll need to get creative with the axe. That or stick it somewhere and don't loose it. That's the closest to an actual complaint I have and it's really just a nit pick. I could complain about how easy it would be to loose the removable forearm, but that'd be a nitpick as well. This isn't intended for children to play with, it's meant to be a collectors thing like GI JOE Classified or Star Wars Black Series. These little extras are meant for a nicer figure to stick on a shelf and show off. They didn't sacrifice some details just so I could stick the axe somewhere. I get it. It's like buying a Lexus and complaining that the car was nicer than a Kia. That being said, it's a great figure of a cool design. I really appreciate having a nicer figure that's meant to be a more premium item available at standard retail. Not to mention, there's just nothing better than a big chonky Optimus Prime toy.