Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Smash Changers Optimus Primal

Optimus Primal

Beast Mode: Optimus Primal looks pretty great in gorilla mode. I don’t love the blue, I would rather he have more gray or black there, but it’s not bad. I’m kind of just accepting the blue on most of the Optimus Primal toys. I would love to understand the thinking behind that since it seems to have nothing to do with his look in the movie. (Not that this is unusual for movie toys.)

Robot Mode: Hasbro has done a lot of gimmick toys, and often those gimmicks don’t work very well. (Like all the One Step Changers that take more than one step to transform.) This is a rare case where the gimmick is actually pretty great. He transforms from robot to gorilla in three steps. Push down his head, push back his arms, and twist his torso 180 degrees. The gimmick is in transforming him to robot mode. Those three steps are spring loaded. You grab onto his hips, and hit (smash), him down hard on his feet three times, and he is fully in robot mode. Each smash activates one of the reverse steps. I was not expecting to like it, but it works really well. Again, he has lots of blue in robot mode, but other than that, he looks pretty good. He’s not amazing or anything, but good enough for a gimmick toy.

Overall: This is a really fun toy to transform. Hasbro gets an A+ for design on this. Is it a must have, probably not, but the kids will love this one.

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