Title:
Optimus Prime With Sparkplug Super Base Truck Mode
Description:
Optimus Prime (Super Base, 2002/2003)
Japanese ID number: MC-01
Accessories: Trailer/base/armor, light-up rifle, missile, left & right smokestacks
The first Unicron Trilogy Optimus Prime toy transforms into a longnose truck cab of made-up model. His clear-plastic smokestacks can detach and form a double-barrelled pistol that he can hold in robot mode, and a button on top of his head causes his mouthplate to jiggle up and down as if he were talking (the irony being that while this was a familiar trait of G1 cartoon Optimus Prime, in the Armada animated series, this Prime’s mouthplate remained static when he talked). He can also hold a large cannon that is stored within his trailer, and his chest flips down to reveal a (non-removable) Matrix of Leadership. He is packaged with his Mini-Con partner Sparkplug.triggered by an infra-red signal transmitted from the cab robot. Transforming the cab into robot mode will cause the trailer to automatically flip open into a battle station for Mini-Cons, which Prime can stand in the centre of. The base features a central tower with a pop-out artillery emplacement and a mount for Prime’s large cannon; a rotating missile-firing turret; two Mini-Con storage bays, one of which featured a manually-activated tab to launch Mini-Cons out; and two live Powerlinx hardpoints, one of which pops up a non-firing turret, the other activating a laser noise.Prime’s cab and trailer can also combine to form a super robot mode. Transforming the cab into the torso portion sends the transformation command to the trailer, which raises itself up off the ground to become a pair of immobile, statuesque legs (as long as you’re not playing with it on carpet), and when the pair are connected, the super-robot head pops up with a metallic shriek sound effect. Pressing the Autobot symbol on the figure’s chest activates a pulsing laser sound effect, and the small grey button on his right shoulder illuminates his fist with a red LED, which can illuminate either of his guns, as well as the Star Saber sword (the Star Saber was specifically cast in clear plastic for this purpose, but in practice, the light failed to carry even halfway up the blade).Prime’s firing missile and Mini-Con activated gimmicks remain accessible in this mode, but look a bit doofy if you deploy them. The initial Hasbro release of Prime had tabs in its Super Mode shoulders that prevented them from rotating above the horizontal default position, so as not to break the wires that run through the toy’s right arm. Coupled with the limited elbow joints, this left Optimus Prime able only to point his weapons towards the ground, and the tabs were removed on subsequent editions of the figure.
(Takara version pictured)
Instead of his trailer, Prime can alternately combine with Armada Jetfire, who forms a pair of legs, as ”Jet Prime” (Jet Optimus on the cartoon, or ”Jet Convoy” if you own the Japanese version). In addition to this, Armada Overload can form a pair of massive cannons that attach to either Prime’s base mode, or mount over the shoulders of his super robot torso (with either his trailer or Jetfire as legs), forming Optimus Prime Megaweapon (or Magna Convoy).
Jet Convoy (Takara version pictured)
Takara’s release of Optimus Prime the following year made a few changes, noticeably replacing the gold paint and plastic of the Hasbro toy with bright yellow and much brighter gold. The deco has been tweaked to be a bit closer to the original prototype glimpsed in early catalogs, with yellow added back to cab Prime’s feet and the cab grill painted silver, and the Super Mode’s waist getting much more paint. This version of the figure was never burdened with the mobility-inhibiting shoulder tabs. Completing the Super Mode combination triggered a new clip of Prime shouting ”Convoy, Super Mode!” in Japanese instead of generic mechanical sounds. Late in the run, JUSCO stores offered this toy with blind-packed ”Space Galaxy” versions of the individual Destruction Mini-Con Team members, one toy per box.
Japanese ID number: MC-01
Accessories: Trailer/base/armor, light-up rifle, missile, left & right smokestacks
The first Unicron Trilogy Optimus Prime toy transforms into a longnose truck cab of made-up model. His clear-plastic smokestacks can detach and form a double-barrelled pistol that he can hold in robot mode, and a button on top of his head causes his mouthplate to jiggle up and down as if he were talking (the irony being that while this was a familiar trait of G1 cartoon Optimus Prime, in the Armada animated series, this Prime’s mouthplate remained static when he talked). He can also hold a large cannon that is stored within his trailer, and his chest flips down to reveal a (non-removable) Matrix of Leadership. He is packaged with his Mini-Con partner Sparkplug.triggered by an infra-red signal transmitted from the cab robot. Transforming the cab into robot mode will cause the trailer to automatically flip open into a battle station for Mini-Cons, which Prime can stand in the centre of. The base features a central tower with a pop-out artillery emplacement and a mount for Prime’s large cannon; a rotating missile-firing turret; two Mini-Con storage bays, one of which featured a manually-activated tab to launch Mini-Cons out; and two live Powerlinx hardpoints, one of which pops up a non-firing turret, the other activating a laser noise.Prime’s cab and trailer can also combine to form a super robot mode. Transforming the cab into the torso portion sends the transformation command to the trailer, which raises itself up off the ground to become a pair of immobile, statuesque legs (as long as you’re not playing with it on carpet), and when the pair are connected, the super-robot head pops up with a metallic shriek sound effect. Pressing the Autobot symbol on the figure’s chest activates a pulsing laser sound effect, and the small grey button on his right shoulder illuminates his fist with a red LED, which can illuminate either of his guns, as well as the Star Saber sword (the Star Saber was specifically cast in clear plastic for this purpose, but in practice, the light failed to carry even halfway up the blade).Prime’s firing missile and Mini-Con activated gimmicks remain accessible in this mode, but look a bit doofy if you deploy them. The initial Hasbro release of Prime had tabs in its Super Mode shoulders that prevented them from rotating above the horizontal default position, so as not to break the wires that run through the toy’s right arm. Coupled with the limited elbow joints, this left Optimus Prime able only to point his weapons towards the ground, and the tabs were removed on subsequent editions of the figure.
(Takara version pictured)
Instead of his trailer, Prime can alternately combine with Armada Jetfire, who forms a pair of legs, as ”Jet Prime” (Jet Optimus on the cartoon, or ”Jet Convoy” if you own the Japanese version). In addition to this, Armada Overload can form a pair of massive cannons that attach to either Prime’s base mode, or mount over the shoulders of his super robot torso (with either his trailer or Jetfire as legs), forming Optimus Prime Megaweapon (or Magna Convoy).
Jet Convoy (Takara version pictured)
Takara’s release of Optimus Prime the following year made a few changes, noticeably replacing the gold paint and plastic of the Hasbro toy with bright yellow and much brighter gold. The deco has been tweaked to be a bit closer to the original prototype glimpsed in early catalogs, with yellow added back to cab Prime’s feet and the cab grill painted silver, and the Super Mode’s waist getting much more paint. This version of the figure was never burdened with the mobility-inhibiting shoulder tabs. Completing the Super Mode combination triggered a new clip of Prime shouting ”Convoy, Super Mode!” in Japanese instead of generic mechanical sounds. Late in the run, JUSCO stores offered this toy with blind-packed ”Space Galaxy” versions of the individual Destruction Mini-Con Team members, one toy per box.
Theme:
Armada
Manufacturer:
Hasbro
Year:
2002
Country:
United States
Series:
Armada
Date Added:
2021-10-31 14:55:21
Date Added:
2021-10-31 14:55:21
