Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Monkey Air Attack Optimus Primal
A redeco of Air Attack Optimus Primal from the Robots in Disguise 2001 line, the figure has been recolored to match the usual red and blue motif of Optimus Prime.
The toy features light up gimmicks on his chest and has sound clips as well. Some slight differences from the original 2001 toy are that the voice clips have now been reduced to only saying “Optimus Primal” and “Transform”, other speaking lines have been removed. The constant hum of the chest panel electronics has also been removed.
Pressing on his head will light up his eyes and mouth and he will say his name (Optimus Primal). Pressing on his chest in either mode will activate congo drum music and light up the chest plate.
Ejecting the disc in his belly in robot mode also triggers sound effects.
His arms are clear plastic but they don’t feature any light effects.
Only the left bicep has a joint to rotate the forearm, the right bicep does not have this joint. From what I understand there’s supposed to be a spring-punching gimmick in the right arm, I couldn’t get it to work.
Blast shields
Lastly, there’s a jetpack gimmick in the toy as well, flipping down the backpack will automatically keep the boosters “on”.
There’s also supposed to be a gimmick on the jetpack, the pitch of the audio changes depending on how the figure is held, whether rising or landing. I don’t know if my figure was broken or something was off, but for the life of me, I couldn’t get it to work. Ah, well.
Overall, not bad for 2000 Pesos (less than 40 USD). Compared to the original SRP of 6000 PhP (over 100 USD). But I can’t imagine having to pay full price for the figure, as it really does not feel like a high-end toy.
I was going to go after the 2018 Japanese reissue of Air Attack Optimus Primal but I figured I should try this one out first since it’s basically the same toy with lesser deco. Boy, did I dodge a bullet there! The Japanese reissue is close to almost 200 USD, while it does feature show accurate paint deco and more voice clips, the base toy does not feel like it is worth cash (you can pick up the God Fire Convoy Reissue for almost the same price!).
Gold
