Power of the Primes

Prime Masters Part Three

Posted on June 26, 2018
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The final wave of the Power of the Primes Prime Masters has arrived at Junkion HQ!

Megatronus

Megatronus comes with Bomb-Burst as his Decoy armor.

The Bomb-Burst Decoy armor transforms into a claw arm.

If this looks familiar it’s because it’s the same claw that came with Leige Maxomo.

Quintus Prime

Quintus Prime comes with Bludgeon as his Decoy armor.

The Bludgeon Decoy armor transforms into a blaster.

Solus Prime

Solus Prime comes with Octopunch as his Decoy armor.

The Octopunch Decoy armor transforms into a trident weapon.

The Conclusion

It’s a little sad that we’re only getting eight of the twelve Primes as individual releases with Decoy armor. Onyx Prime is only available with Predaking and Prima will only be available in the (not yet officially announced) Punch/Counterpunch exclusive. Nexus Prime and Amalgamous Prime have only been seen on a poster that comes with Predaking which shows off their “faces.” I know it’s a long shot but I’m still hoping for a four-pack with Onyx, Prima, Nexus and Amalgamous with Decoy armor.

Power of the Primes Cindersaur

Posted on June 25, 2018
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PotP Cindersaur is a remold of Titans Return Slash.

The Card

My version of Cindersaur came with a card for the Amalgamous Cindersaur combination.

Takes the form of a fire truck... and starts fires.

Uh, is that a Fire Truck or a truck made of fire?

The Robot

The robot mode doesn’t really look like Cindersaur from G1 except for the color scheme but it is a good excuse to re-release a great new mold.

The Velociraptor

Cindersaur’s original beast mode was really more of a dragon than a dinosaur but this is passable for a repaint.

Prime Master Integration

Like Slash, there is a Prime Master cockpit on the dinosaur’s back.

Comparisons

The only difference between Cindersaur and Slash is a new robot head.

Power of the Primes Outback

Posted on June 20, 2018
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PotP Outback is a remold of Titans Return Brawn.

The Card

My version of Outback came with a card for the Quintus Prime combination.

Quintus Outback - Seeds Civilizations without laws or rules.

The Robot

The robot mode replaces the Autobot logo on the chest with a multi-color box like the one the original G1 figure had. The down side to this is that there really isn’t an Autobot logo visible in robot mode. It also features a new head to better reflect the character.

The Truck

The truck mode seems a bit incomplete since there is no cannon included with this figure which was, literally, a big part of the G1 release.

This is the only mode where the single, tiny, Autobot logo is visible.

Prime Master Integration

Like Brawn, the cockpit opens so that you can put a Prime Master inside.

Comparisons

Aside from the head and the paint job, there aren’t any changes from the original Brawn release.

This is my second Outback in rapid succession having recently picked up BadCube’s Backland.

Power of the Primes Snarl

Posted on June 7, 2018
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The final two Dinobots have finally arrived at Junkion HQ!

The Card

My version of Snarl came with a card for Alchemist Prime.

Alchemist Snarl: Changes Earth soil into Cybertronian metal

The Robot

I think the tail sections look even better in this version than the original.

With the sword the armor mode actually looks passable, like a knight.

The Dinosaur

Snarl in Stegasaurus mode is very close to the original, although the extra gold behind the head looks a bit odd.

Prime Master Integration

Alchemist Snarl actually doesn’t look as good as the stock filler plate.

Dinobots

The entire team together at last.

Here they are together in dino mode.

Volcanus

Finally, the beast is assembled

Power of the Primes Sludge

Posted on June 5, 2018
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The final two Dinobots have finally arrived at Junkion HQ!

The Card

My version of Sludge came with a card for Nexus Prime.

Nexus Sludge: Makes Volanicus create earthquakes with each step

The Robot

A good looking robot mode, my only complaint is that I wish the “wings” were positioned higher.

Armor mode, which totally justifies the large hole in his chest.

The Dinosaur

Sludge in Brontosaurus mode is pretty hard to complain about.

Combiner

Unlike every other deluxe Dinobot, the mounting post on Sludge’s combiner hand is gold instead of black.

Dinobots

The entire team together at last.

Here they are together in dino mode.

Volcanus

Finally, the beast is assembled.

Power of the Primes Rippersnapper

Posted on June 3, 2018
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Terrorcon #2 has arrived at Junkion HQ!

The Card

My version of Rippersnapper came with a card for Leige Maximo.

The Robot

This is a fantastic update of the original G1 version.

Armor mode – ready for anything.

Beast Mode

The beast mode is also a good update but the tail feels a little odd as if it has just been tacked on.

Since the beast and the robot both share the same chest the combiner hand can be mounted as chest armor on both.

Blue belly beast

One fun thing about this figure is how his head is located in beast mode which gives him a special “cosplay” mode.

Prime Master Integration

Here’s Leige Maximo Rippersnapper “shredding his enemies with a tidal wave of insults” per the included card.

Terrorcons

Slowly putting Abominus together…

Power of the Primes Blackwing

Posted on May 10, 2018
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The second half of Dreadwing has arrived at Junkion HQ! Now Dreadwind won’t be lonely anymore.

The Card

My version of Blackwing came with a card for Megatronus Blackwing.

Megatronus Blackwing: Accelerates the extinction cycle of entire planets.

The Robot

The robot mode is very close to the original and is very clearly “Darkwing” despite the copyright-inspired renaming.

As with Dreadwind, the armor mode is a bit awkward.

The Jet

Blackwing is a remold of Combiner Wars Air Raid, which is a close match to the original.

The Powermaster

Like with Dreadwind, the combiner hand can be used to replicate the G1 Powermaster feature.

Prime Master Integration

While I still don’t like the chest armor, it does look a little better with a Prime Master in place of the included plug.

Dreadwing

Like the originals, the PotP versions can combine into a super jet mode. It’s not terribly stable since the two are held together by a single post. One interesting thing to note is that the instructions label this combination as Duocon Dreadwing.

The Combiner Limb

Like the other Deluxes in this line, Blackwing can also become a combiner limb.

The instructions say he goes with Hun-Gurrr but I’m not buying that. I just wish we had two more jets in the line to complete a Super-Seeker gestalt.

Power Masters United

One nice feature of the cover plates that these two come with is that they match closely with Titans Return Overlord and make passable stand-ins for the missing Giga and Mega.

Power of the Primes Hun-Gurrr

Posted on May 6, 2018
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The Terrorcon Leader has arrived at Junkion HQ!

The Card

My version of Hun-Gurrr came with a card for Prima Hun-Gurrr.

The Robot

I have to say that I don’t like the pseudo-rubsign on his left shoulder which gives the figure a lop-sided look as if they mistakenly put on the wrong sticker. I would have preferred if they just went one way or the other: either a real rubsign or matching symbol.

The combiner feet actually make passable arm blasters.

The Beast

The dragon is probably the weakest mode due to the extremely small front legs and large purple belly. Still, it’s hard not to love a two headed dragon!

The Combiner Torso

Hun-Gurrr is also the core of Abominus, the only original G1 combiner to continue the Combiner Wars Voyager/Deluxe theme in this line. Sadly, I’ll have to wait for the third wave of deluxes to complete this picture.

The Enigma of Combination is nicely position in the combiner’s chest.

Power of the Primes Optimus Prime

Posted on April 28, 2018
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Wave one of the Power of the Primes Leader Class figures has arrived at Junkion HQ.

The Card

My version came with a card for the Onyx Prime combination.

The Truck

The cab is a great disappointment, with weird proportions and awkward kibble.

The trailer is a bit better, although the front and top look more like what one would expect from a Powermaster version than a classic G1 Optimus. The stickers are as awful as expected, misaligned, ripped and peeling right out of the box – they actually seem to be getting worse with every release.

The Evolved Robot

From the front, a nice version of Optimus Prime. The illusion is broken by the large pair of legs sticking out of his back. Also, the double opening windshields for the Matrix Chamber are just plain weird.

The Devolved (?) Robot

As a representation of Orion Pax as seen in the G1 cartoon this succeeds fairly well. However, like the evolved mode, the illusion is broken by the entire front of the truck cab jutting out from his back. On that point, if taking possession of the Matrix is the first step for Orion to evolve into a Prime, he’s going to need a friend since there’s no way he’ll be able to reach.

The Matrix

The Matrix of Leadership continues the “nice from the front” design philosophy which appears to be the central theme with this figure.

The back exposes the hollowness of the central unit which, at the very least, should allow for some light piping effects.

The Conclusion

The evolving Prime concept is an interesting one but not one that has translated well into an actual physical form, at least with this release.

Power of the Primes Tailgate

Posted on April 8, 2018
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Repaint or no, I’ve been looking forward to Tailgate and now he’s here!

The Card

My version of Tailgate came with a card for the Solus Prime combination – Solus Tailgate which, ironically, seems to give him Windcharger‘s special magnetic power.

The Car

The black and white is very striking on this mold and the large Autobot symbol gives it a G1 Sideswipe feel.

Unfortunately, the color-matching (or at least gloss level) between the painted parts and the white plastic is very poor giving the car a bright white stripe across the middle.

The Robot

I really like how the painted chest details makes this figure look dramatically different from Windcharger. I also like how the new head has the little panel on the back to invoke the feel of the G1 toy.

Fortunately, the color-matching issue that is so obvious in vehicle mode is barely noticeable in robot mode.

Prime Master Integration

Of course there’s a Prime Master inside, can’t you see the empty armor?

As I mentioned in my Windcharger review, getting a Prime Master into the cockpit is a very awkward process which requires you to transform the entire back half of the car. The Prime Master fits in well but the windows are so dark that you cannot tell that it’s there.

The Comparisons

The only physical difference between the two is the head but, as mentioned above, the deco on Tailgate does a great job of differentiating the two.

Although the Thrilling 30 version captures the IDW look extremely well, it looks spindly next to this one which is equally good at capturing the G1 feel. PotP Tailgate will definitely replace the T30 version on my display.

It’s more of a draw when it comes to vehicle mode. The T30 version, despite the busy hood deco (which was omitted in the Legends release), is a good looking muscle car and holds up well with the PotP version.