Just got in the first series of Deluxe and Voyager Japanese Transformers Prime toys with Arms Microns.  I am working on reviews for each, but it might take a while to get them all posted.  As some of the info is the same, don’t be surprised if some of this sounds familiar if you’ve read any of the other reviews.  (Yes, I’m too lazy not to copy and paste when I can.) 🙂

Box:  The boxes for the deluxe toys have no windows.  I assume this is due to the lack of paint apps (see below).  They look kind of awful without the stickers, so leaving out the window will hide that.  Good marketing, but it’s only necessary because the toys are so plain without the stickers.  Also, the internal packaging is cardboard, and these were very hard to even pull out of the box without damaging the outer boxes.

Arms Micron R.A.

Kit:  The kits are fairly easy to assemble, and so far the stickers seem to be staying on well.  The plastic is higher quality than the Kabaya kits.  They have no paint apps and are perfect for customizers to paint up for a more elaborate look.  Each Arms Micron includes something like a spark crystal, but I’m not sure if that is the intent of it.  A sticker goes on before the outer translucent plastic to form it.  Look nice, but I had some problems getting the crystal to stay in on some of them.  Might need a little glue.

Weapon Mode:  R.A. (yes, that’s really his name) is a departure for previous Targetmasters as he turns into a sword rather than a gun.  He looked really nice, though it would be nice if you could pivot the side blade 90 degrees to form a better hilt, but that’s a minor thing.  He’s mostly plan gray plastic, but the silver and green shiny stickers make it look nice.  He also has a port on the side of the blade to mount other Arms Microns.

Robot Mode:  Like O.P., he suffers from a third leg, but it’s not as bad.  Nice looking robot, but it’s the sword mode that makes this a great toy.

Combined Weapon Mode:  B.2, O.P., and R.A. combine to form a sword for Optimus Prime.

Ratchet (Based on USA Transformers Prime Deluxe Ratchet)

(No Stickers.)

(With Stickers)

(With Weapon)

Vehicle Mode:  Ratchet has the most paint apps of any of the first wave of toys.  Still, he has nearly the most stickers of any toy.  In Ratchet’s case, the stickers add some nice detail over the US version, including black side windows, and the heart monitor blips on the sides that Movie Ratchet had.  He has Arms Micron ports, two on each side and two on the roof.

(No Stickers)

(With Stickers and Weapon)

Robot Mode:  Ratchet’s robot mode is awful without the stickers applied.  He is nearly all white, and honestly looks like an unpainted prototype.  Since most of the surfaces getting stickers are not flat, some of the stickers are hard to apply without wrinkling.  He does have Arms Micron ports on his legs and arms, and shoulders, which is very nice.  The weapons from the US toy are not included.  It would have been nice to have them, but the soft plastic of the US ones are terrible.

Comparison Pictures with USA (left) and Japanese (right).

Overall:  The US one is far superior, hands down.  All the paint apps that make him look great just don’t look as good as stickers.  True the stickers from the sides of the vehicle are nice, but not good enough to make the Japanese one better.  As far as the Arms Micron is concerned, obviously if you want it (and who doesn’t want Targetmasters) you have to get the Japanese version.  However there are some Arms Micron kits (that at this time are new and not packed with figures) being sold separately (and they’re pretty cheap), so it is possible that we might see these kits separately later, but it’s by no means a guarantee.

Thanks for reading!