Saturday, March 14, 2015

On tiny goddesses and being heavily armed

I've bought my first two latter-day RiD (the new cartoon sequel of TF: Prime, not the IDW comic series or the post-Beast Machines cartoon from 2001) toys. This show's toy line has not been the most impressive. It includes only two "normal" price points: a revived legion class and a renamed deluxe class ("warrior"). And while the deluxes do not really impress (some are worse than others, but none so far look like real knock-outs), the legion class looks just fine, and appears to pick up where TFP cyberverse left off, minus weapons and a complementary commander class. 

In short, I decided to pick up legion class Strongarm and Optimus Prime. Strongarm lives up to her namesake; the first Strongarm, from Energon, was deemed a "tiny god" back in 2004 by much of the fandom (I never quite got that, but it's a decent toy). This newer, smallest toy of the female police truck Strongarm is one of the "strongest" legion molds in a while, and that's saying something, as much of the TFP legion toys were pretty great. It's mostly about the articulation; it's nearly a rule that if s legion toy has elbow joints, it will lack knees of vice versa. Strongarm not only has knees, but also ball jointed shoulders and functional "elbows" (really additional shoulder joints, but whatever)! As such, she's pretty dynamic, especially next to her dead boss Optimus, whose only real poses are goose-stepping and looking like he's on a crucifix. Additionally, her door-wings (window-wings?) are adjustable too, adding to the dynamism.its really too bad she doesn't include a weapon, as that's her only shortcoming. I also appreciate her being molded with her faceplate activated; it looks great.

Optimus was a purchase that required more thought. He automatically came off as a downgrade, seeing as how there hasn't been a legion class Optimus since 2010 or so, shortly before the commander class was introduced. We now have commander Optimuses from DotM, TFP, Beast Hunters, and G1. While this new one is just, yes, an update of the same character that two of those moods already represent, I can't help but wish neo-RiD Optimus was a commander (this would have opened the door for a commander Grimlock, etc, as well). But as a legion Optimus, he's not bad. He's the first Optimus in a while that has a full cab/trailer alt mode that turns into a complete robot, Motormaster or Star Convoy style. The transformation is pretty neat too; he kind of unfolds like a flowe, with the only kibble being the cab on his back. I was tempted to get the deluxe version and may still, but this one will do well in the meantime. 

Lastly, I've found one more Combiner Warrior: Blackjack! He's currently attached as Optimus's chest armor (don't have Motormaster yet) with the help of some nail polish. As you can see, my Ultra Prime is a work in progress, and still needs legs. I look forward to completing the Stunticons soon, not just to put Menasor together, but also to see how Optimus looks with a full team of Decepticon limbs! But even now, with just two arms and two legends partners, he's got a ton of weapons.