Takara Tomy AD31 Silver Knight Optimus Prime face changing gimmick

Okay...I cam dig that...I can dig it pretty deep.

Definitely worth picking up. I still have no use for those accessories, however. I'll be keeping the original's gun/shield and I'll be ordering a Dr. Wu sword because that one's UGLY. UGALEE.

Autobot032 wrote:Definitely worth picking up. I still have no use for those accessories, however. I'll be keeping the original's gun/shield and I'll be ordering a Dr. Wu sword because that one's UGLY. UGALEE.

Will be really expensive to get... I wonder if they're leaving the hitch alone for an MP Trailer to use.

The figure looks great.

Too bad it didn't come with alternate head(s) and or some power ups that would make Armada leader class Optimus Prime jealous

But I will keep quiet a little and not complain

Hasbro's Silver Knight Optimus Prime



Takara's Silver Knight Optimus Prime

mooncake623 wrote:Hasbro's Silver Knight Optimus Prime



Takara's Silver Knight Optimus Prime

I actually like both versions a lot; for different reasons. If Hasbro's version was cheaper I would have picked it up already. Any idea for price comparison's sake between these two?

BBTS has this for $80 bucks

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11943&mode=retail

Online Retailer Amiami has posted Official Images of Takara Tomy AD31 Silver Knight Optimus Prime. These images show Optimus in both robot and alt modes, his different faces and his Weapons. Check out the images we've mirrored below and remember keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!

this is the kind of premium we deserve for a leader prime. cant wait!

These images were already released some time ago.

KirbyForce1 wrote:These images were already released some time ago.

the face switching pics? dont think so. they appear to be "new" news on a number of sites. you should really let go of your anger towards the news staff guy.

$80? Thats it?? Man I hope these dont sell out before christmas. It looks great.

shajaki wrote:

KirbyForce1 wrote:These images were already released some time ago.

the face switching pics? dont think so. they appear to be "new" news on a number of sites. you should really let go of your anger towards the news staff guy.

I think he means the official pics.

Sabrblade wrote:

shajaki wrote:

KirbyForce1 wrote:These images were already released some time ago.

the face switching pics? dont think so. they appear to be "new" news on a number of sites. you should really let go of your anger towards the news staff guy.

I think he means the official pics.

Maybe so but we never posted it here.

Reminds me a little of the MG Unicorn Gundams and how the heads change. The mechanics are similar.

every movie prime should have this gimmick or something similar

TOOK'EM SEVEN YEARS

If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

Is it just me, or is the head with no face the best looking?



(I'm sure it's just a trick of the camera angle, but...)

shajaki wrote:

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

great? that's laughable.

these figures are awful. they're cheap feeling, they lack paint, they lack articulation, and they're tiny. so no, they're FAR from great.

you're telling me that, had hasbro put in more effort, the shoulder kibble couldn't have folded up neater? the waist panels couldn't have folded up more neatly? the fuel tanks on his back couldn't have been hidden somewhere?

see.. i believe they could've done all of that.. but no, not with a simplistic line like this, that would add too many steps.. cause, you know, that's way too many steps for a kid.. cause.. apparently there are tons of kids out there with $47 to purchase this thing.

the whole line has been a failure.. there are two main line bad guys TWO. the on screen dinobots aren't even close to being in scale and aren't even close to being colored correctly.. as for the main autobots.. if you want those figure colored correctly, you're going to have to pay extra. it's ridiculous.

Hmmm new face, and coloring.....

same old backpack!!!! NO DICE!

TimothyR wrote:

shajaki wrote:

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

great? that's laughable.

these figures are awful. they're cheap feeling, they lack paint, they lack articulation, and they're tiny. so no, they're FAR from great.

you're telling me that, had hasbro put in more effort, the shoulder kibble couldn't have folded up neater? the waist panels couldn't have folded up more neatly? the fuel tanks on his back couldn't have been hidden somewhere?

see.. i believe they could've done all of that.. but no, not with a simplistic line like this, that would add too many steps.. cause, you know, that's way too many steps for a kid.. cause.. apparently there are tons of kids out there with $47 to purchase this thing.

the whole line has been a failure.. there are two main line bad guys TWO. the on screen dinobots aren't even close to being in scale and aren't even close to being colored correctly.. as for the main autobots.. if you want those figure colored correctly, you're going to have to pay extra. it's ridiculous.

Dude i couldnt agree with u more........this line has been the biggest bust in the movie lines. I wont get into my hatred for the movies cuz someone will freak out lol, but i agree with all the money hasbro charges for a damn smaller toy, u think they would have engineered it better........oh well thats why i didnt bother with any of the leaders etc, just the dinos, and those were hit and miss too

That Prime looks awesome and I want him. Even if he's not as well engineered, that paintjob puts him on ROTF Optimus Prime levels of awesome.

Let's hope a 3P company is kind enough to make a replacement backpack assembly that can fold up better. It shouldn't be too difficult, you could probably do it on Shapeways (although painting it would be an arse). If someone did that, this would be pushed from almost perfect to perfect. We can't get a perfectly movie accurate AoE Prime because his transformation, whilst not outright physics-defying, certainly defies all modern engineering.

Also, I...kinda like the orange sword. It looks like hot metal...

TimothyR wrote:

shajaki wrote:

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

great? that's laughable.

these figures are awful. they're cheap feeling, they lack paint, they lack articulation, and they're tiny. so no, they're FAR from great.

you're telling me that, had hasbro put in more effort, the shoulder kibble couldn't have folded up neater? the waist panels couldn't have folded up more neatly? the fuel tanks on his back couldn't have been hidden somewhere?

see.. i believe they could've done all of that.. but no, not with a simplistic line like this, that would add too many steps.. cause, you know, that's way too many steps for a kid.. cause.. apparently there are tons of kids out there with $47 to purchase this thing.

the whole line has been a failure.. there are two main line bad guys TWO. the on screen dinobots aren't even close to being in scale and aren't even close to being colored correctly.. as for the main autobots.. if you want those figure colored correctly, you're going to have to pay extra. it's ridiculous.

The whole line a failure? Now THAT'S laughable.

Some figures are better than others, and some are plain bad, but there are plenty of winners.

mooncake623 wrote:Hasbro's Silver Knight Optimus Prime



Takara's Silver Knight Optimus Prime

But those are different molds... the first is FE, and the other is based on the mainline Leader.

megatronus wrote:

whiners wrote:Waaaaahhhh!

The whole line a failure? Now THAT'S laughable.

Some figures are better than others, and some are plain bad, but there are plenty of winners.

Drama queens have feeling too, you know.

shajaki wrote:

I agree after seeing this picture

Defenders of the movie4 Optimus leader mold - relax. I was very specific in saying that if anyone DID like it, they should buy it, and enjoy it to your heart's content.

I don't 'hate' the mold - I just ain't buyin' because I don't like it. That's my choice, and I'm only saying why it is so. No one who loves this toy should take it as some kind of personal attack. Just because I'm not buying it and saying so directly, doesn't mean that everyone else has to hang their heads and slink away from the toy.

My thoughts as an adult collector are: If they're going to depict movie Optimus the way they did on film, they should put more effort into making the leader figure, which is targeted more at the adult collector, to be more movie-accurate. They did a bang-up job with ROTF Prime, so they CAN do it when they try.

It was rightly pointed out, little kids are NOT going to be able to afford/buy/collect the movie 4 leader class figure (unless they have a parent who buys it for them). I recognize and accept that Hasbro made a bunch of movie figures this time out that were targeted specifically at little kids. I don't hold those toys to the same standards that I do the figures that were targeted more at the adult collectors. Hasbro said they did this on purpose to try and cater to both markets - the crumb crunchers and the purists.

It's just in my case, and in the minds of some others, the end result didn't impress.

Shockwave7 wrote:TL;Dr

Personally, I think the AoE Leader OP mold is great, but not perfect. We have been spoiled by Leader ROTF OP. Despite his perfect vehicle and bot modes, Leader ROTF OP is a bitch to transform for a novice. Hasbro just wanted to tone down the difficulty of transformations after the madness that was the ROTF line. Making TF fun for EVERYONE again. The price to pay is a less screen accurate figure with more kibble.

The shoulder flaps of the AOE Leader mold are fine. It's just the backpack that could have folded better. Just a few more hinges/ratchets and it could have folded into a nice compact package like a folding fence:



It would be nice if a 3rd party company would release a upgrade kit of a foldable backpack.

Finally, I think it could be possible to make a transformable AOE leader OP that is 100% screen accurate in both modes. However, the figure would be at least big like the old leaders and would have a level of engeneering and transformation making the ROTF Leader OP mold seem like a flip-changer.
With a MP price tag to match.

megatronus wrote:

mooncake623 wrote:Hasbro's Silver Knight Optimus Prime



Takara's Silver Knight Optimus Prime

But those are different molds... the first is FE, and the other is based on the mainline Leader.

Just saying... They are both using the same name. Results are so different. One the most accurate movie 4 prime.. The other a repaint that I don't understand

I thought this dude was Armor Knight Optimus Prime. Did they change the name again? If so that would be the 3rd name he has gone by. Ultimate Power Mode...Armor Knight...Silver Knight, at least the Target exclusive looks like a toy that is named Silver Knight Optimus Prime.

LOST Cybertronian wrote:I thought this dude was Armor Knight Optimus Prime. Did they change the name again? If so that would be the 3rd name he has gone by. Ultimate Power Mode...Armor Knight...Silver Knight, at least the Target exclusive looks like a toy that is named Silver Knight Optimus Prime.

BBTS, TFsource calls itAD31 Ultimate Power Mode Optimus Prime

AmiAmi, HLJ calls it AD31 Silver Knight Optimus Prime

Maybe it's a Japan, US naming thing. I believe the Japanese.

mooncake623 wrote:

LOST Cybertronian wrote:I thought this dude was Armor Knight Optimus Prime. Did they change the name again? If so that would be the 3rd name he has gone by. Ultimate Power Mode...Armor Knight...Silver Knight, at least the Target exclusive looks like a toy that is named Silver Knight Optimus Prime.

BBTS, TFsource calls itAD31 Ultimate Power Mode Optimus Prime

AmiAmi, HLJ calls it AD31 Silver Knight Optimus Prime

Maybe it's a Japan, US naming thing. I believe the Japanese.

They know the way of the samurai!

"Personally, I think the AoE Leader OP mold is great, but not perfect. We have been spoiled by Leader ROTF OP. Despite his perfect vehicle and bot modes, Leader ROTF OP is a **** to transform for a novice. Hasbro just wanted to tone down the difficulty of transformations after the madness that was the ROTF line. Making TF fun for EVERYONE again. The price to pay is a less screen accurate figure with more kibble."

That, I think, is the crux of the issue. They tried to straddle the fence on some of these to get both the kiddies and the adults to like them both at the same time. Instead, the little kids can't afford it, and many of the adults just don't like it, making it a tough sell to BOTH markets. It's an old Confucious saying, 'Try to please all, and you please none'.

I think, since the latest leader figs don't have electronics, they COULD invest more into the transformations if they cared to...

"The shoulder flaps of the AOE Leader mold are fine. It's just the backpack that could have folded better. Just a few more hinges/ratchets and it could have folded into a nice compact package like a folding fence..."

The extreme of this is Voyager Galvatron, which is nothing BUT a fold-up shell over a robot interior

Shockwave7 wrote:The extreme of this is Voyager Galvatron, which is nothing BUT a fold-up shell over a robot interior

AoE Leader Galvatron is a marvel of engeneering. Looking closely, it's impossible to tell it's a transforming toy. either by looking at the bot or the vehicle!
Worth owning.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:The extreme of this is Voyager Galvatron, which is nothing BUT a fold-up shell over a robot interior

AoE Leader Galvatron is a marvel of engeneering. Looking closely, it's impossible to tell it's a transforming toy. either by looking at the bot or the vehicle!
Worth owning.

I agree. I think it looks good, but I am probably getting the power battlers version.

Is AD-31 going to see a limited release when it comes out in Japan? I'm trying to gauge how aggressively I need to pursue this one.

Probably just adding fuel to the fire, but the only AOE OP I'm getting is the DMK kit. I know it doesn't transform, but it works for me. I've been displaying ROTF leader OP as well as all my other TF's for years, and they've been in bot mode ever since I put them there. I might as well get a more accurate representation of AOE OP, since I probably won't ever transform him once he gets on that display shelf.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Probably just adding fuel to the fire, but the only AOE OP I'm getting is the DMK kit. I know it doesn't transform, but it works for me. I've been displaying ROTF leader OP as well as all my other TF's for years, and they've been in bot mode ever since I put them there. I might as well get a more accurate representation of AOE OP, since I probably won't ever transform him once he gets on that display shelf.

As emgo316 put it, "Why not? Dare I say, why not?"

-Kanrabat- wrote:

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:Probably just adding fuel to the fire, but the only AOE OP I'm getting is the DMK kit. I know it doesn't transform, but it works for me. I've been displaying ROTF leader OP as well as all my other TF's for years, and they've been in bot mode ever since I put them there. I might as well get a more accurate representation of AOE OP, since I probably won't ever transform him once he gets on that display shelf.

As emgo316 put it, "Why not? Dare I say, why not?"

Simple answer: I actually have some scale model cars on the shelf, and the movie TF's vehicle modes will look "toy-ish and plastic-ky". I will actually transform them into vehicle modes once I find time to give them a proper paint job, though.

Not an easy task for those with racing stripes and tampo's like Bee, Ratchet and the Twins, but Ironhide and Sideswipe should be no problem.

mooncake623 wrote:

LOST Cybertronian wrote:I thought this dude was Armor Knight Optimus Prime. Did they change the name again? If so that would be the 3rd name he has gone by. Ultimate Power Mode...Armor Knight...Silver Knight, at least the Target exclusive looks like a toy that is named Silver Knight Optimus Prime.

BBTS, TFsource calls itAD31 Ultimate Power Mode Optimus Prime

AmiAmi, HLJ calls it AD31 Silver Knight Optimus Prime

Maybe it's a Japan, US naming thing. I believe the Japanese.

Both of those names are wrong.

The first was a preliminary name, while the second is AmiAmi being too lazy to use the actual name and instead went with the name Hasbro's given to all of its gray Optimus redecos

This toy is officially called AD31 Armor Knight Optimus Prime - http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00O4OAFY4/?tag=seibertron00-22&

megatronus wrote:

TimothyR wrote:

shajaki wrote:

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

great? that's laughable.

these figures are awful. they're cheap feeling, they lack paint, they lack articulation, and they're tiny. so no, they're FAR from great.

you're telling me that, had hasbro put in more effort, the shoulder kibble couldn't have folded up neater? the waist panels couldn't have folded up more neatly? the fuel tanks on his back couldn't have been hidden somewhere?

see.. i believe they could've done all of that.. but no, not with a simplistic line like this, that would add too many steps.. cause, you know, that's way too many steps for a kid.. cause.. apparently there are tons of kids out there with $47 to purchase this thing.

the whole line has been a failure.. there are two main line bad guys TWO. the on screen dinobots aren't even close to being in scale and aren't even close to being colored correctly.. as for the main autobots.. if you want those figure colored correctly, you're going to have to pay extra. it's ridiculous.

The whole line a failure? Now THAT'S laughable.

Some figures are better than others, and some are plain bad, but there are plenty of winners.

"Plenty of winners"... Really? You can't actually believe that... Who.. Who is a winner?

Deluxe drift?.. With that paint job, nah.. A robot that comes with FOUR swords yet has no wrist rotation.. That's not winning to me.. No ankle pivots.. It's 2014 and the damn figure costs $16, I expect its feet to stand flush.

Or how bout new bumblebee.. Once again the ankles aren't articulated, his "battle mask" aka his battle sun glasses are just plain bad. Hasbro still hasn't figured out the yellow paint vs yellow plastic problem. So.. Yet another figure that I wouldn't consider a winner.

Deluxe scorn.. First off DELUXE scorn is the first problem, it should've been a voyager.. It's red, which is ridiculous. It's got a tail arm, which is perfectly fine because it's accurate.. But not a single joint in the tail itself? Really? That's just crazy. This figure comes close to being a winner but there's just too much wrong with it.

Now you could say voyager hound.. Which I'm on the fence about.. I'm not a fan of his feet at all, they really make him difficult to balance. All of the weapons are really cool but the fact that his arms and wrists aren't articulated enough to get the best possible poses is a shame. which is similar to drifts problems. His color, like all of the figures is plain wrong.. And, for me at least, getting his weapons to stay tabbed in in truck mode is an absolute nightmare.. It's to the point where I don't even bother putting them on the truck.

Galvatron comes close to being a winner.. But he's got no depth.. His color is awful, all of the molded details are lost, no wrist articulation.. And again he should've been larger.

The rest of the line doesn't even come close to winning.. Not by a long shot.

I understand that not every figure is going to be perfect.. But I expect the good to outweigh the bad.. It doesn't with this line.. Now take a figure like Takara's armada starscream.. No ankle pivots, no wrist swivel, simpler transformation.. Yet it's a great figure because it has a wonderful paint job, an accurate color scheme, looks good in both modes, and everything stays secure in jet mode. That's a winner.

And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the movies, they're not great but they're fun.. And I've really enjoyed the toys.. But AOE doesn't have any gems in the line.. It doesn't have figures like ROTF leader prime, leader starscream, leader ironhide, human alliance jazz, human alliance soundwave, human alliance barricade, voyager bludgeon, deluxe battle blades bumblebee, and so on.. This line just doesn't have any figures where in a couple years, when the engineering declines even further, we're going to say, "man, I wish they still made figures the way they were in AOE".

Dude, you and we, have been spoiled rotten with the ROTF/HFTD line. Those MASSIVE figures with MAD engeneering were so crazy, for an incredibly CHEAP price tag. Seriously. How could they afford to sell such big and complex figures for such a ridiculous low prices? Especially AMERICAN low-as-dirt prices?
Case in point, the Takara Movie Advanced Bumblebee, which is a re-issue/repaint of HFTD Battle Blades Bumblebee, is sold in a voyager box and sell for roughly 50% more than this line's deluxes.


Still, I wich Hasbro made an "advance" movie line with RTOF level of quality. However, would you pay those Hasbro Transformers the same price you'd pay premium Takara imports? Meaning 30$ for a deluxe, 60$ for a voyager, and 100$ for a leader?
Asking this question is answering it.


The days of ROTF engeneering for cheap are gone, man. Better deal with it.

These are the AoE figures I consider to be my personal "winners":

Voyager Evasion Mode Optimus
Voyager Galvatron
Voyager Hound
Voyager Drift
Deluxe Scorn
Deluxe Drift
Deluxe Lockdown
Deluxe Evolution Bumblebee

TimothyR wrote: I understand that not every figure is going to be perfect.. But I expect the good to outweigh the bad.. It doesn't with this line.. Now take a figure like Takara's armada starscream.. No ankle pivots, no wrist swivel, simpler transformation.. Yet it's a great figure because it has a wonderful paint job, an accurate color scheme, looks good in both modes, and everything stays secure in jet mode. That's a winner.

I expect ankle tilts and wrist swivels on Marvel Legends, not on simplified movie-line TF's that more popularly appeal to the kids. Maybe I have a looser definition of winner - which is fine, you're free to hate my selections - but these figures show a nice and in some cases above average level of engineering and style I just wasn't expecting out of the line, so they're winners in my book.

To be fair, though, I think you'd be impressed with Takara's Galvatron (much better paint scheme) if you liked their Armada Starscream.

A quick update on the Takara Tomy Carnivac Micron Campaign, courtesy of the Takara Transformers Twitter account. Check out below two mirrored images of the little Steeljaw stand-in with the One Step Changer Lockdown for comparison!

SO ADORABLE...Must...resist...buying...multiples!

Just for fun -- Transformable vs Non-Transformable:

TimothyR wrote:

megatronus wrote:

TimothyR wrote:

shajaki wrote:

TheVenocWarlord wrote:

Shockwave7 wrote:If you like movie4 leader Optimus - buy it. More power to you.

But to me, it's a clumsy, kibble-shackled mold that bears only a passing resemblance to the lithe, flexible CGI model they used for the movie. All the action sequences I saw showed Prime with a form-fitting, almost organic humanoid physique, that had extremely pliable armor plating. This toy? Nope.

Easy pass. Evasion Prime was the only no-brainer purchase of the lot, and that, only because it was so G1-friendly. So far the movie4 assortment has been a huge letdown.

Pray tell how they could make it more movie accurate? It's going to have back kibble no matter what. Or are you the type that's G1 or nothing?

Really, most of the Movie Generations are great, as is the Generations line in general.

agreed. as many others have pointed out, matching a toy to the actual movie model is damn near impossible. the silver knight prime from the movie has ZERO kibble. he cant conceivably transform into his iconic truck mode.

great? that's laughable.

these figures are awful. they're cheap feeling, they lack paint, they lack articulation, and they're tiny. so no, they're FAR from great.

you're telling me that, had hasbro put in more effort, the shoulder kibble couldn't have folded up neater? the waist panels couldn't have folded up more neatly? the fuel tanks on his back couldn't have been hidden somewhere?

see.. i believe they could've done all of that.. but no, not with a simplistic line like this, that would add too many steps.. cause, you know, that's way too many steps for a kid.. cause.. apparently there are tons of kids out there with $47 to purchase this thing.

the whole line has been a failure.. there are two main line bad guys TWO. the on screen dinobots aren't even close to being in scale and aren't even close to being colored correctly.. as for the main autobots.. if you want those figure colored correctly, you're going to have to pay extra. it's ridiculous.

The whole line a failure? Now THAT'S laughable.

Some figures are better than others, and some are plain bad, but there are plenty of winners.

"Plenty of winners"... Really? You can't actually believe that... Who.. Who is a winner?

Deluxe drift?.. With that paint job, nah.. A robot that comes with FOUR swords yet has no wrist rotation.. That's not winning to me.. No ankle pivots.. It's 2014 and the damn figure costs $16, I expect its feet to stand flush.

Or how bout new bumblebee.. Once again the ankles aren't articulated, his "battle mask" aka his battle sun glasses are just plain bad. Hasbro still hasn't figured out the yellow paint vs yellow plastic problem. So.. Yet another figure that I wouldn't consider a winner.

Deluxe scorn.. First off DELUXE scorn is the first problem, it should've been a voyager.. It's red, which is ridiculous. It's got a tail arm, which is perfectly fine because it's accurate.. But not a single joint in the tail itself? Really? That's just crazy. This figure comes close to being a winner but there's just too much wrong with it.

Now you could say voyager hound.. Which I'm on the fence about.. I'm not a fan of his feet at all, they really make him difficult to balance. All of the weapons are really cool but the fact that his arms and wrists aren't articulated enough to get the best possible poses is a shame. which is similar to drifts problems. His color, like all of the figures is plain wrong.. And, for me at least, getting his weapons to stay tabbed in in truck mode is an absolute nightmare.. It's to the point where I don't even bother putting them on the truck.

Galvatron comes close to being a winner.. But he's got no depth.. His color is awful, all of the molded details are lost, no wrist articulation.. And again he should've been larger.

The rest of the line doesn't even come close to winning.. Not by a long shot.

I understand that not every figure is going to be perfect.. But I expect the good to outweigh the bad.. It doesn't with this line.. Now take a figure like Takara's armada starscream.. No ankle pivots, no wrist swivel, simpler transformation.. Yet it's a great figure because it has a wonderful paint job, an accurate color scheme, looks good in both modes, and everything stays secure in jet mode. That's a winner.

And don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed the movies, they're not great but they're fun.. And I've really enjoyed the toys.. But AOE doesn't have any gems in the line.. It doesn't have figures like ROTF leader prime, leader starscream, leader ironhide, human alliance jazz, human alliance soundwave, human alliance barricade, voyager bludgeon, deluxe battle blades bumblebee, and so on.. This line just doesn't have any figures where in a couple years, when the engineering declines even further, we're going to say, "man, I wish they still made figures the way they were in AOE".

>complaining about wrist swivels and ankle tilts on Transformers

>>>TFW2005