Transformers Studio Series Optimus Prime 38 with G1 Optimus Prime Reissue Through TakaraTomy Mall

Comparison pix --



it's weird how the original deco didn't have any Autobot symbols. But the biggest improvement is the blue paint on his crutch. Like with SIEGE, it was obviously sculpted but left unpainted.

I like both of them as I still very much need the g1 prime and really dig the studio series one. Siege commitments stopped me before however.

the packaging doesn't look like a two pack - which tbh might be better, however I'd rather have had the studio series in a bumblebee movie theme package more than the g1 style.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:Actually the more complicated engineering needed might be what is holding back the height. The taller you go, the more top-heavy it will become, which in turn means the feet have to be bigger for stability, which in turn throws off scale for the leg bots. My guess is that what we are ending up with was the best balance of scale and weight management they could come up with while still fitting things into their size class system.

I think even without the weight/stability concerns, needing to fit things into the size class size system might be enough in and of itself.

Still, the bigger and more impressive this thing is, the better. $260 is a pretty steep price to ask for someone who couldn't even manage to kill Skids and Mudflap. (Seriously, for the all the hype he got in the merchandising, Devastator was pretty much useless in the movie. I was disappointed.)

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Nemesis Primal wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:And bear in mind, we still haven't seen Scavenger, Mixmaster, or Overload yet.

Or Scrapper.

I wonder how long he'll be as an arm... in other words, if Devastator will have arms of different lengths to add to his hodgepodge appearance

I doubt it. In the movie, he supported himself on all fours, so I'd imagine his arms are about the same length. (I'm tying to find some decent screencaps so I can check, but the process is going rather tediously at the moment.) I can't really imagine why they'd make them uneven. if we're really lucky, maybe they'll give this thing some neck articulation so it can look forwards if it's posed on all fours.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I also wonder who's gonna be the meat in the torso sandwich.

According to the chart in Scrapmetal's instructions, Mixmaster will be the head, Scavenger will be the upper torso, and Overload will be the lower torso. So technically Scavenger, although it looks more like Scavenger and Overload are two scoops of ice cream and Mixmaster is the cherry on top.

Lol, not at that price. What a ripoff.

The 2-pack is called "Convoy & Optimus Prime Set".

The Convoy reissue included in this set is basically the same as Hasbro's recent Walmart exclusive Vintage G1 reissue, complete with both guns and no trailer, but with the text on the packaging changed from resembling the classic English packaging to the classic Japanese packaging.

Cyberpath wrote:it's weird how the original deco didn't have any Autobot symbols.

That's what it was that was weird looking about SS-38. Well repro to the rescue.

It's weird, I like somethings better and somethings less. The blue crotch and back of hands, yes; the torso no. It's a fantastic mold regardless.

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:it's weird how the original deco didn't have any Autobot symbols.

That's what it was that was weird looking about SS-38. Well repro to the rescue.

It's weird, I like somethings better and somethings less. The blue crotch and back of hands, yes; the torso no. It's a fantastic mold regardless.

Except maybe for the yellow markings on his arms I think I like everything better on the new edition. But not enough to go through the whole rigmarole of replacing it. And like you said it's a great mold regardless. (Even if sometimes parts pop out, sigh! His head base and the snakes on his shoulders could have used pins or something..)

Cyberpath wrote:

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:it's weird how the original deco didn't have any Autobot symbols.

That's what it was that was weird looking about SS-38. Well repro to the rescue.

It's weird, I like somethings better and somethings less. The blue crotch and back of hands, yes; the torso no. It's a fantastic mold regardless.

Except maybe for the yellow markings on his arms I think I like everything better on the new edition. But not enough to go through the whole rigmarole of replacing it. And like you said it's a great mold regardless. (Even if sometimes parts pop out, sigh! His head base and the snakes on his shoulders could have used pins or something..)

I just noticed the yellow arrows, that is a nice touch.

Get these monkey fighting snakes off my Monday to Friday shoulders! I like those painted as well. I also like the darker grey plastic used on SS-38, but the painted hip flaps look better in the alt mode of this new exclusive.

So with enough money and some parts swapping, one could have the ultimate Bee Prime or just wait for the inevitable MP

I prefer the original studio series. Even though I like the autobot symbol, I had to put my own, but I'm really irritated by this new release not having any chrome

That Takara 2-pack is one hell of a NEAT special edition. Contrary to a 200$ gold G1 Prime stuck on a base with a pile of cardboard, this 2 pack is legit awesome. The box of the special SS Optimus is pure genius!

Still, having already G1 Optimus, I wish there were a cheaper version with the SS special Geewun Optimus alone.

Hey G1OPT1MU5PR1M3 that trailer looks nice, which Prime did SS-38 steal that from? A little silver on the wheels and it'd be a perfect match.

Well curiosity got the better of my cat and I slapped some stickers on Bee Prime. Not sure about the clown nose though. I do like the "mass shifting" shoulder symbol, even if the placement is a little sketchy

-Kanrabat- wrote:That Takara 2-pack is one hell of a NEAT special edition. Contrary to a 200$ gold G1 Prime stuck on a base with a pile of cardboard, this 2 pack is legit awesome. The box of the special SS Optimus is pure genius!

The box is almost worth the price of admission

Nice mass shifting CarytheObvious!

Yeah! Just added the Autobot tattoo to his shoulder, too!

Scramjet wrote:Nice mass shifting CarytheObvious!

More like oblivious, amiright?

Nice shoulder tat, CP. Did our Primes go out drinking last night and make bad decisions?

Ooooooh I like Cyberpath's better. Sorry Cary. Cartoon detail vs normal correct?

Scramjet wrote:Ooooooh I like Cyberpath's better. Sorry Cary. Cartoon detail vs normal correct?

That's Captain to you

I like his better too, but I like the size and centering of mine better. I used what I had. Guess it's time to go to toyhax and place an order. Been wanting some of those pricey silver outline stickers for a while anyway.

I'll Captain you!!

Also, yeah, yours being smaller centers more with that giant tab. I sees it.

And, I want that Takara 2 pack, for the boxes alone!! And also since I don't have SS38 yet.

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:

Scramjet wrote:Nice mass shifting CarytheObvious!

More like oblivious, amiright?

Nice shoulder tat, CP. Did our Primes go out drinking last night and make bad decisions?

Tattoos are so cool. ;_;

Scramjet wrote:Ooooooh I like Cyberpath's better. Sorry Cary. Cartoon detail vs normal correct?

Thanks!

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:That's Captain to you

I like his better too, but I like the size and centering of mine better. I used what I had. Guess it's time to go to toyhax and place an order. Been wanting some of those pricey silver outline stickers for a while anyway.

I actually almost picked the same size symbol as yours, but I remember it being prominent in the cartoon so went a little bigger. Will do the cab one next time he's transformed.

Cyberpath wrote:Will do the cab one next time he's transformed.

Well I just TF'd him back to bot, and found a fatal flaw in the design. I forgot which way that peg hole is used - split roast.

So time to move, remove or reduce

My Studio Series Long Haul arrived in the mail today. Its a very good figure, but my only complaint is that it has a really wobbly waist, which sadly is Devastators ankle joint. Hopefully the weight of the rest of Devastator will hold it in place, but its still disappointing. Aside from that, amazing!

I've noticed that a few of the Studio Series figures don't seem to have faction symbols or they're very minimal. I don't have very many so I'm just going on what I own. So there's Bee Prime, Jazz doesn't seem to have one, I can't find one on Scrapmetal.

Hmmmmmmm.....


Is this a trend of the line?

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:I've noticed that a few of the Studio Series figures don't seem to have faction symbols or they're very minimal. I don't have very many so I'm just going on what I own. So there's Bee Prime, Jazz doesn't seem to have one, I can't find one on Scrapmetal.

Hmmmmmmm.....


Is this a trend of the line?

I believe so, I don’t recall Rampage having one as well.

Ig89ninja wrote:

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:I've noticed that a few of the Studio Series figures don't seem to have faction symbols or they're very minimal. I don't have very many so I'm just going on what I own. So there's Bee Prime, Jazz doesn't seem to have one, I can't find one on Scrapmetal.

Hmmmmmmm.....


Is this a trend of the line?

I believe so, I don’t recall Rampage having one as well.

If they're movie accurate, then its probably because they don't have any in the films.

LeAwesome1 wrote:

Ig89ninja wrote:

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:I've noticed that a few of the Studio Series figures don't seem to have faction symbols or they're very minimal. I don't have very many so I'm just going on what I own. So there's Bee Prime, Jazz doesn't seem to have one, I can't find one on Scrapmetal.

Hmmmmmmm.....


Is this a trend of the line?

I believe so, I don’t recall Rampage having one as well.

If they're movie accurate, then its probably because they don't have any in the films.

Most designs in the movie didn't. Bumblebee was the only one that had a fairly prominent one on his head. Everyone else had them in vehicle mode if they had them at all

You think the two pack will be available in the US?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:You think the two pack will be available in the US?

Highly unlikely, but with US packaging might be worth a dip into doubles.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:You think the two pack will be available in the US?

Nah, this is just Japan's way of getting that Walmart Optimus reissue domestically.

Love, Cap'n Obvious wrote:Hey G1OPT1MU5PR1M3 that trailer looks nice, which Prime did SS-38 steal that from? A little silver on the wheels and it'd be a perfect match.

It's from the Movie Trilogy deluxe Optimus Prime set. I have the same one, and I also hooked it up when I got my SS-38. It's *almost* a perfect match, the trailer is not quite horizontal when hooked up. But I tried the trailer with various other Primes, and the only one it even matches up with is the deluxe TFP Optimus figure. But like you said, the lack of chrome on the trailer wheels kinda throw it off.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:You think the two pack will be available in the US?

It will be available at the usual online retailers for takara exclusives like bbts and such.

Cyberpath wrote:

Alt-mode tat!

This is a surprise and a bonus but why do the SS-38 Prime in more vivid colors when you already have the same toy released in Japan with the colors from the Hasbro version. I like it but I dont know If I could double dip. I would have loved to see Siege Prime get this treatment instead. If I didnt already have SS-38 Prime already then I would commit to this. All in all depsite no shiny or metallic vaccumized look, the paint job is really nice.

It was and still is fairly common for the movie guys to not have a symbol anywhere, it's odd but honestly doesn't bother me too much. In the movies the symbols were more on upholstery or hidden into the details of the robot and alt mode, helped more with the "disguise" part.

Also, did someone ask for a comparison of RotF Devastator, the SS Constructicons, and CW Devastator? If so, I can get a picture up tomorrow night if someone reminds me

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Also, did someone ask for a comparison of RotF Devastator, the SS Constructicons, and CW Devastator? If so, I can get a picture up tomorrow night if someone reminds me

Yeah, that was me.

Prime did have symbols on his shoulders in Bumblebee. I re-watched the opening scene today and was impressed how screen-accurate this mold is, and the new Takara deco. This should have been the design already in 2007. (And who's bright idea was it to give him a mouth?) (Oh well!)

No, that should't have been the design in 2007 - the movieverse was a new Transformers universe family, and like all such universes deserved its own style and designs. As such, that Optimus design shouldn't have been the design in 2019 either because this is the movieverse, not Steampunk G1. As for the mouth, most series' Optimus from Primal (discounting the original version of his Ultra Ape toy) onward have had a mouth for the sake of this little thing called expression.

Sunbow Prime managed to be expressive and arguably the most popular Transformer without a month. So much so that viewers even got the network to resurrect him after TFTM (and that was before the Internet!) People loved the original so much that they even got the 2007 people to cast Peter Cullen.

There are lots of well liked mouth-less characters in "G1."

And besides, the irony is, that Bumblebee can't even speak in the films, so which is it -- you need a mouth to be expressive & liked or you don't?

I was just pointing out the reasoning behind the mouth and that it wasn't unprecedented, in an irritated fashion. It's true that G1 had characters who were facially emotive even though they had mouthplates, although that's in no small part due to mouthplate waggle and being drawn cartoons. ...Also, where did whether characters were liked come into it? I never said a mouthplate made a character less likeable.

I agree that a visible mouth is not strictly necessary for an expressive face, but it does help. And I think with the movies it was considered extra important to show characters' lips moving when they talked, to make them more convincing.

Movieverse Bumblebee does not speak directly much in the films, true (because that washed-out dolt Spielberg is addicted to the radio-talk gimmick), but even he has a moving mouth. It moves whenever he does talk or when makes those "Ooo" vocalizations.

Cyberpath wrote:Prime did have symbols on his shoulders in Bumblebee. I re-watched the opening scene today and was impressed how screen-accurate this mold is, and the new Takara deco. This should have been the design already in 2007. (And who's bright idea was it to give him a mouth?) (Oh well!)

That wasn't technologically feasible back then. Red was a color that was extremely difficult to animate in photo-realistic CGI back in 2007. That's why Movie Optimus was originally a blue truck instead of a red one.

It wasn't until 2008's Iron Man that the technology to do the color red properly was perfected, but by then Movie Optimus's design from the 2007 movie was already set in stone and cemented by pop culture as his definitive look for the time.

Nothing wrong with the 2007 Optimus design being different from G1.I was though it was pretty cool to give him a mouth with retractable mouth plate.It reminded me of Beast Wars

I also agree that the movie design was perfect for the new universe. There's plenty of other places to find G1 prime without him being brought in. Hasbro need to feel free to experiment more with styles, instead of constantly going back to the G1 well, afterall the movie verse has never been a direct adaption of the toon.

ZeroWolf wrote:I also agree that the movie design was perfect for the new universe. There's plenty of other places to find G1 prime without him being brought in. Hasbro need to feel free to experiment more with styles, instead of constantly going back to the G1 well, afterall the movie verse has never been a direct adaption of the toon.

Without change, there's no evolution
Without evolution, there's only extinction

TulioDude wrote:Nothing wrong with the 2007 Optimus design being different from G1.I was though it was pretty cool to give him a mouth with retractable mouth plate.It reminded me of Beast Wars

Of all the movie designs I was sure Optimus was the one people had the least of problems with.

Anyways, I wanted to write something here. While I didn't see it on Seibertron, I must say I have been seeing loads of evidence to the double standards the community has towards Hasbro and Takara. Hasbro released a trailer less G1 prime for $50 and everyone lost it. It was an affront to humanity. how could they? They audacity!!! takara does something worse and hey man, its great we want it.

And here is what I mean by worse. To get the Bumblebee Studio Series Prime from hasbro you just have to buy that figure. It's $30 at retail. The $50 trailer Less G1 prime is an individual release which you can take, leave or wait for an eventual sale. Takara is releasing that same two Primes in a two pack for $100. Of course, there is a slight difference. their Bumblebee Prime has a few more paint apps and comes in a G1 style box. But to get it, you have to spend $100 (instead of $30 for the Hasbro release) and you also get that trailer less G1 Prime everyone and their grandma bitched about. And I see very few complaints about that.

Of course, it could also be that those who participate in discussions on takara releases have the means and so its only people of said means that are discussing it while the vitriol towards Hasbro came from fans of humbler means who only buy local and thus dont even pay attention to Takara.

But regardless, I found this whole ordeal unsettling.

william-james88 wrote:Anyways, I wanted to write something here. While I didn't see it on Seibertron, I must say I have been seeing loads of evidence to the double standards the community has towards Hasbro and Takara. Hasbro released a trailer less G1 prime for $50 and everyone lost it. It was an affront to humanity. how could they? They audacity!!! takara does something worse and hey man, its great we want it.

And here is what I mean by worse. To get the Bumblebee Studio Series Prime from hasbro you just have to buy that figure. It's $30 at retail. The $50 trailer Less G1 prime is an individual release which you can take, leave or wait for an eventual sale. Takara is releasing that same two Primes in a two pack for $100. Of course, there is a slight difference. their Bumblebee Prime has a few more paint apps and comes in a G1 style box. But to get it, you have to spend $100 (instead of $30 for the Hasbro release) and you also get that trailer less G1 Prime everyone and their grandma bitched about. And I see very few complaints about that.

What makes you think that Takara isn't also releasing the normal version of Studio Series Bumblebee Optimus at Japanese retail?

They even advertised that normal version in last March's issue of Figure King:

Sabrblade wrote:What makes you think that Takara isn't also releasing the normal version of Studio Series Bumblebee Optimus at Japanese retail?

They even advertised that normal version in last March's issue of Figure King

I forgot. Still, it doesnt change that people need to get that trailer less g1 prime is they want the slight repaint of bumblebee prime in the g1 box. And very few people are complaining about prices when thats all you could hear when we got Hasbro's trailer less Prime. That was my main point.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:What makes you think that Takara isn't also releasing the normal version of Studio Series Bumblebee Optimus at Japanese retail?

They even advertised that normal version in last March's issue of Figure King

I forgot. Still, it doesnt change that people need to get that trailer less g1 prime is they want the slight repaint of bumblebee prime in the g1 box. And very few people are complaining about prices when thats all you could hear when we got Hasbro's trailer less Prime. That was my main point.

In this case, though, it's two limited exclusive figures rather than one. I think people find that more justifiable.

On the other hand, we've yet to hear from folks who have already bought the Walmart Optimus and now want this redecoed Bumblebee Optimus, if there are any out there. And if there are, I'd imagine that they'd be bummed about having to get the same trailer-less Optimus that they already again in order to get that Bumblebee Optimus.

Otherwise, most folks may be content to just stick with the retail version, as I honestly haven't seen that many who actually want to drop $100 to get that Optimus. Most responses I've seen have been along the lines of "Ooh, that looks really good and I wouldn't object to having it, but I'm good."

william-james88 wrote:..."I don't get fans"...

No one does. In 2007 the movies weren't G1 enough, now it's "don't get G1 in my TF movie universe!" It's TRUKK not MUNKY all over again. In my experiences most people don't know what they want, but they know what they don't want when they see it.

All joking aside, I get that G1 Prime doesn't belong in the movieverse (even though I prefer that design and agree that's where they should have started in the first place). If you jumped in to TFs in 2007 or just prefer/view the movies to be separate and their own thing, the Bee movie is shoe horning in some unwelcome retconning. Perspective all depends on where you're standing. Different folks, different strokes. Ultimately when it comes down to it, there is no "correct" answer.

I agree that some people have double standards towards Takara, but I think this is more of a different market seeing different products differently. Let's be honest, those sweet G1 boxes make up a lot of the value there. Same for the western releases.

There's a famous quote - “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. I don't want Takara or Hasbro even trying to please all of the people all of the time. I'd rather they make cool fully realized products that may not appeal to the masses instead of "boring vanilla".

carytheone wrote:There's a famous quote - “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. I don't want Takara or Hasbro even trying to please all of the people all of the time. I'd rather they make cool fully realized products that may not appeal to the masses instead of "boring vanilla".

Or for any fan community:

"You must be this geeky to ride the ride" from Sabrina-Online, September 2006

It's amazing how timeless that comic is...

Sabrblade wrote:Most responses I've seen have been along the lines of "Ooh, that looks really good and I wouldn't object to having it, but I'm good."

yeah exactly, but there was no outrage like there was when Hasbro released an exclusive trailer less prime for $50. Instead people were chastizing hasbro for being greedy. And now takara is doing the same with their release of trailerless g1 prime, instead now its in a two pack for $100. I do think we are saying the same thing though, i just dont get why hasbro gets so much vitriol and takara doesnt.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

william-james88 wrote:i just dont get why hasbro gets so much vitriol

Because they make inferior products and are the worst. Jeez

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Most responses I've seen have been along the lines of "Ooh, that looks really good and I wouldn't object to having it, but I'm good."

yeah exactly, but there was no outrage like there was when Hasbro released an exclusive trailer less prime for $50. Instead people were chastizing hasbro for being greedy. And now takara is doing the same with their release of trailerless g1 prime, instead now its in a two pack for $100. I do think we are saying the same thing though, i just dont get why hasbro gets so much vitriol and takara doesnt.

I think it's because Hasbro's trailer-less Optimus was revealed first. Had Takara put out theirs before then they might have gotten a similar reaction instead of their Optimus just being viewed as following a precedent already set by Hasbro's.

Though, I admit that Takara putting out the trailer-less one first would have been less likely since it seems that the whole reason Takara's even putting out theirs in the first place is because of the Hasbro already existing, with Takara's version simply being the Japanese equivalent release (with the added bonus of a redecoed Bumblebee Optimus to boot).