Machine Wars Optimus Prime

Well...why not?! Let's wrap up the Machine Wars series on this blog right now! This is the twelfth and final figure in the Machine Wars toy line, Optimus Prime. He is the only larger Machine Wars figure I have owned, but I could honestly say he was the best. However, that is not saying much compared to his Machine Wars brethren.

The toy is again a repainted version of a European exclusive figure called Thunder Clash. The toy was chosen obviously for his resemblance to the Autobot leader. The new paint job certainly feels the part of Optimus Prime. His vehicle mode is a futuristic tractor trailer combination. The trailer can transform into a massive standing battle station, and the truck transforms to the robot. The transformation for the truck is pretty simple. You split and flip back the front of the truck to reveal the arms, fold down the roof for the chest, flip up the head from the back, close the back panel, and flip down the legs and feet. Pretty standard Optimus Prime transformation. The color scheme resembles Prime, but there are now a lot of greys and some brownish greens in the scheme.

Although the figure looks good, there are some issues. The figure has limited articulation and can only move at the elbows. Also, this was the first Optimus Prime figure to have a mouth (very strange to see). The figure kind of looks like a cross between Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime or even Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus. Finally, the box art is just a cheap rehash of Laser Rod Optimus Prime's with a few updates. It again fits the motif of the Machine Wars toy line being thrown together.

The toy is a great figure to collect, but not a great figure in general. I have some fond memories of the toy because at the time I was a new collector trying to collect the few new boxed vehicle Transformers available, and I got it for a great price. Other than that, it really doesn't stand the test of time as a classic. I would pick it up definitely over Machine Wars Starscream, but you aren't missing a whole lot. One interesting note is the mold for this figure was planned to be re-released as Transformers: Universe Menasor (the Motormaster name was not available), but it fell through and never hit the stores.