BEAST
WARS: TOY REVIEW
Name: OPTIMUS PRIMAL
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Maximal General
Beast Mode: Mecha Gorilla
Average Price: 26 AUD
Note: Known in Japan as Convoy.
BEAST MODE
Height: 13.5cm
Gather round children, let me tell you a story. The first
time I saw this was when Griffin
(Matthew Griffin), Dirge
(Darren Cilenti), Darren Saint and myself gathered at Dirge's house where
Griffin had been parasitically staying at. :-)
Anyway, around late arvo, one of Dirge's mates pops over
(I think his name was Mark?) who's mum had just come back from the States
and brought back the two Transmetal leaders. I was kinda disappointed
that these once Ultra sized leaders had been shrunken down to Mega size.
The head and main torso is chrome-blue with a purple
tinge/hue. The eyes are fuchia and the teeth, which are moulded as a zig-zag
to show gritted pointed teeth (shrug). The torso has robotic muscle-like
features moulded on (pecs, abs etc). The right pectoral muscle has the
word "Optimus" written in silver writing. The left pectoral muscle has
some funky looking array attached on (coloured chrome-maroon). There are
two structures on either sides of the torso, which I've arbitrarily decided
to call "kidney guards." These are metallic beige. The back is a metallic
beige "backpack" structure. The shoulders and hands are metallic
brown, and the rest of the arms are metallic beige. The waist is
metallic brown, legs are metallic beige and geet are chrome-blue with the
purple tinge. The entire beast mode is almost totally covered with a plethora
of mechanical features such as wires, bolts, pistons and vents. Nice.
My major complaint about this mode is that it stands
too upright. Among primates, only humans stand in a fully upright position.
Gorillas hunch. This one doesn't... even for a robot gorilla.
TRANSFORMATION TO VEHICLE MODE
Flip down back section of legs. Turn them both 90 degrees
so that the edges face outwards. Join the connectors. Attach gun/thruster
to black connector on right leg.
VEHICLE MODE
Typical of Transmetals, the vehicle mode is just a modification
of the Beast Mode. An "intermediate" mode. You're just looking an the beast
mode on a flying surfboard. Sound silly? It is silly.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
The instruction booklet is really, really badly drawn (typical
of many American instruction booklets). Flip down and position "surfboard"
parts to form lower robot legs. Flip down "kidney guards" and flip up back
section, exposing robot chest. With the robot chest facing you, grab onto
the arms and push the blue shoulder hinges away from you with your thumbs,
opening the torso. Flip down gorilla head and flip up robot head. Turn
head and waist around 180 degrees. Open forearms and rotate hands on wrist
to switch between beast to robot fists.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 16.5cm
Points of Articulation: 14
This has got to be the ugliest Optimus/Convoy toy ever.
One of the features of all Transmetals is that the robot mode is supposed
to look beastlike and the robot modes are meant to be robotic. This is
done to an extreme in this toy. In beast mode, it doesn't look so bad...
but in robot mode... Optimus Primal looks more like a cybernetic gorilla
than a robot! The head is brown and covered with fur except for the tan
muzzle, red eyes and silver robot parts on throughout. The teeth are jagged
and white. The front of the torso is pracically entirely organic looking.
Its moulding features He-Man like muscles and even fur! It's brown and
tan. The "backpack" is the same as the one on the beast mode, except upside
down. The "kidney guards" now form shoulder pads. The arms are the same
except that they have swtiched places (ie: the gorilla right arm is the
robot left arm) leaving different mechanical features more exposed than
others previously more exposed. The hands are robotic but hairy. Let's
not go there.
The waist is the same as in beast mode and the upper
legs are just the beast legs. The lower legs are the "surfboard" parts
from vehicle mode. They're metallic brown with metallic beige pipes on
the sides and feet.
The gun (which incidentally looks more like a loudspeaker)
clips onto the side of the right thigh like a holster. It also fits onto
any fist. Optimus Primal can also hold one or both of his battle clubs.
Nice. As I've mentioned in previous reviews, having both close-quarter
and long-range weapons makes tactical sense and is a good idea. Oh, the
clubs can also be placed in the gun and become missiles.
ASSAULT MODE
This is not, strictly speaking, an official mode for
this toy. However, in the TV show, Optimus Primal has an assault mode which
the toy is also capable of transforming into. Lift up the shoulder pads,
then swing the entire backpack around to the front so that the two vents
on the underside rest up against the pectoral muscles. Position hands behind
shoulder pads. Place clubs in holes on backpack to form gun batteries.
There you have it, a portable dual-cannon mode!! This is actually a much
better looking intermediate mode than the vehicle mode!
RUB STICKER LOCATION
On the backpack. Unfortunately, it's upside-down in robot
mode.
OVERALL
Fairly good looking beast mode, silly looking vehicle mode
and a robot mode that's far too organic for my tastes. Assault mode
is cool, if you wanna count that. :-)
VARIATIONS
1. Blue variant; same toy as described above, except the
chrome blue parts don't have a purple tinge. Note that in America, the
blue version is more common the purple version is the variant.
2. Japanese version; Known as Convoy in Japan, click here to read more.
3. Gold Convoy; a repaint of the Japanese version done
by TV Magazine and Comic Bon Bon (they're both the same company). The chrome
blue-purple has been replaced with gold. Only ten were made and given away
as prizes by the aforementioned magazines.
4. Silver Convoy; a repaint of the Japanese version made
as a limited prize for a competition run in Comic Bon Bon magazine.
BEAST TRIVIA
The gorilla is the largest of the anthropoids (humanlike apes). Belonging
to the family Pongidae, gorillas are forest dwellers native to equatorial
Africa. There are
three different races within the species Gorilla gorilla:
1. The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), found in the
lowland forests from Cameroon to the Congo River.
2. The eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graveri), found in
the lowland tropical rainforests of the eastern Congo.
3. Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei), found in the Lake Kivu
region.
The gorilla is a stocky, powerful ape with black skin and hair, large
nostrils and a bare face and chest. It is larger than its relative, the
chimpanzee and has flaring
nostrils, smaller ears and a less boisterous disposition. The adult
male gorilla has a prominent bony crest on top of the skull and a "saddle"
of gray silver hairs on the
lower lumber back region (which is why the males are known as silverback
gorillas). It is about twice the weight of the female and may attain a
height of up to 1.7
metres an a weight of 135-275 kilogrammes (captive gorillas in both
sexes tend to be much heavier).
Despite the gorillas reputation for ferocity, studies indicate that
it is an unaggressive, shy animal unless unduly provoked. Gorillas live
in small groups that are led by a
silverbacked male. The groups are composed of young females, infants,
juveniles and young adult males (blackbacks).
The gorilla is diurnal and primarily terrestrial, usually walking about
on all four limbs, with part of its weight supported on the knuckles. Females
and young climb
more than males. The diet is vegetarian and includes such foods as
leaves, stalks and bamboo shoots. Much of the day is spent foraging and
resting. At dusk,
branches and foliage is used by each gorilla to build a nest. A new
nest is built each night and is constructed either on the ground or in
the tree.
Although the gorilla is a relatively quiet animal, it has a variety
of calls including grunts, hoots and the roar given by an aggressive male.
The well-known chest beating
is performed by both males and females. When performed by males, it
is a ritual which may include running about, tearing at vegetation and
slapping the ground. This
may be done in order to intimidate outsiders (gorilla or human) or
to maintain dominance within the social hierarchy.
There is no fixed breeding season for the gorilla and the gestation
lasts for about 250-290 days. Births are usually single. The life expectancy
of a wild gorilla is about
30 years.
Humans are the greatest single threat to the gorilla. Due to habitat
destruction and illegal hunting, the gorilla is becoming increasingly rare,
with the mountain gorilla
already classified as being endangered. Damn... we suck.
Bibliography: Encylcopaedia Britannica
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