G1 Powermaster Optimus Prime

Well, about a year after its initial release, the Series II Powermaster Optimus Prime with Apex Armour reissue finally showed up at my TRU. First off, the box is huge! It really looked great on the store shelf. Lots of windows to display the vehicle mode and various weapons and accessories. Along with the character art flap (unique to Series II), this North American reissue actually feels like a lot of care went into its boxed presentation, unlike later reissues. I found the art on the back interesting, as by now I'm pretty used to seeing '84 and '85 TF artwork, and this time we get to see what I assume is an '88 piece, with PMOP and some Pretenders flying around some cosmic grid. As good as the boxed toy is, it looks even better opened up! There is a ton of stuff included with this version of Powermaster Prime, even more than the original 1988 release! Not to mention the actual construction of the toy is superior. From what I understand, the original PMOP was a cheaper version of the Japanese MasterForce Ginrai. The Japanese toy had diecast, better paint apps and transparent plastic, and an amazingly cool suit of armour that not only acted as a second battle trailer in vehicle mode, but also transformed into another robot altogether! It's definitely cool to see that this Hasbro reissue is a full-throttle release of such a great TF toy and not just a rehash of the budget original. Being a bigger toy, there's quite a bit more to do with the transformations. There's the red cab vehicle, which transforms into Prime. The transformation is somewhat similar to the original, although the front of the cab becomes the back of the robot now. The "grill and windows" torso front is still there, but they are not the same windows and grill of the vehicle mode. The robot is taller than the '84 Prime and does look more toy-like compared to that version. But in some ways, this is a good thing - Powermaster Prime in regular robot mode looks much more like the animated Prime than the '84 toy does. And the height makes him fit in much better scale-wise with the movie TFs like Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus. The next mode is the one the '88 PMOP is best known for, where the first trailer becomes a deluxe robot, with the cab sitting in the torso basically as a big block. The translucent windows, diecast metal and better-chromed bumper/lights make this mode look superior to the original PMOP release. I find this robot disproportionate, but the character art does make it look good. And the comic appearances (especially the ones drawn by Wildman) make the deluxe robot look especially powerful. Of course, nothing could be as powerful as the next robot mode! Taking the second trailer and adding it to the second robot mode as armour, we get "Powermaster Optimus Prime with Apex Armour" - a version never before available in North America! This is what the original Ginrai was all about - in MasterForce, this extra suit of armour was developed with human assistance to help the Powermasters in their fight against the Destrons (I think I got that right - the Singapore dub I saw a few years ago is fairly rough and hard to follow). This robot is imposing and deadly in appearance. It really looks like a Japanese "Giant Robot" from the 70s. There's less red in this mode, with more emphasis on blue and silver. The Apex Armour, a trailer in vehicle mode, can also transform into a non-sentient battle robot named Apex Bomber (from "Godbomber" in Masterforce, a cool nod to the original toy) that responds to PMOP's commands. Being comprised of modular armour, Apex Bomber's robot mode is a little unsturdy, but as a display piece he looks great, again very much "1970s giant robot" in appearance. The last mode is the first trailer's battle station transformation. This mode is excellent for minibots to hang out in, with ramps and landing platforms and gun batteries to be posed at. Ginrai, the reissue PMOP's Powermaster partner who becomes his engine, can man the gun batteries too. As the Powermaster figure was originally called "Hi-Q", this new name is another great nod to the toy's origins. I'm really impressed with this reissue; I didn't expect to like it this much! There's so many accessories and transformations that make this a great display piece. The box is excellent, much better than the majority of the Commemorative boxes, and the overall presentation is top-notch. One of the best reissues yet!