Finally, the posting in this review series that can justify the name of "Transformers" ^^ - Transformation sequence of Optimus Prime from robot to vehicle mode.
Normally other reviews do this the other way round - introduction on the transformation from vehicle to robot mode instead (more exciting?) I'm following the out-of-box flow actually. Since it's the robot version that was packaged in the box, I'm following that sequence as well. ^^
Quite a long posting this one will be, as the number of movable parts and how they transform is totally mind-blowing. ^^
Untab the waist, which will generate the same classic Transformers sound effect mentioned in Part 2.
Lift the entire waist portion upward.
Move down to the feet, flip the feet downward until you see the giant ball-type ankle joints.
On the back side of the feet, untab and split the panels right through the middle of each foot.
On the panels from the split feet, lift the middle pieces upwards to form the front portion of the truck.
Fold the "claws" inward.
Detach and expand the wheel component on the side of the leg to the front portion of the truck. Secure the positions of these movable parts by connecting all the tabs to their respective slots.
It's amazing to see how the entire length of the front section of the truck's body is formed from the robot mode's feet alone. ^^
A huge pin in the middle of the folded claws locks the front section of the truck.
All components fit nicely. ^^
Move to the back of the body, detach the armors from the backpack and unfold them into rear wheel covers.
Both wheel covers should be facing downward like this after the transformation.
Flip the entire body upward (via the waist joint) for the next series of transformation.
Very strong waist joint connecting the upper and lower bodies.
Flip the chest pieces downward to form the top panels of the windshield.
Detach the peg of the chest piece from the top of the body.
Detach another pin of the chest piece that is inserted into a slit on the side of the abdomen.
Very narrow slit, very stubborn pin, very tough step. ^^;
"Mech Alive" action - different components of the chest move together to form the windshield and side window of the truck.
Flip both chest panels upwards to reveal the shoulder joints.
Pull the shoulder joint outward and bend it downward.
Rotate the shoulder joint to the front of the body.
Swing the joint upward so that the bottom of the entire arm will now face the top.
Quite a confusing step this is. ^^;
Temporary result of the entire sequence up to this point.
Rotate the shoulder's ratchet joint downward for 90 degrees. The heat blade will now be on the rear view of the forearm.
Rotate the forearm at elbow level upward for 90 degrees. The heat blade will now be facing downward.
Flip out the panels on the forearm.
Swing both arms to the front of the body. Connect the two of them right in the middle via two pegs on the upper arm and forearm.
Progress so far. Mirror image of each others for the arms it seems. ^^
Flip the head downward.
Adjust the double hinge joints of the neck until the entire joint is sitting on the abdomen.
The figure's sound effect gets easily triggered when adjusting the neck joint. The very tough joint makes it really hard to avoid the trigger. ^^;
It's "I am Optimus Prime", "I am Optimus Prime", "I am Optimus Prime" ... all the way through XD
Flip both chest pieces downward until they cover the head of Prime.
Insert the protruding corner of the chest piece into the slit near the elbow joint to secure the windshield.
The windshield is done. ^^
For the head of the truck, pull the forearm panel (the metal rod in the joint to be exact) forward and unfold it.
Flip the panel upward, enclosing the forearms.
The little barrel (from the shoulder armor in robot mode) will always get in the way in this step. ^^;
Seal all the tabs in between the left and right panels to completely hide the arms.
Progress so far. ^^
Time for a major leap in the whole transformation - bringing the transformed upper body forward to snap onto the transformed lower body.
Rotate the entire hip upwards for 90 degree
Put the entire top component down onto the lower body of the truck.
Flip the last wheel downward. As the top component comes down, the cover should be sitting above the wheels perfectly.
Slip the tabs at the edges of the arm panels into their dedicated slots behind the head of the truck (bottom of the feet in robot mode).
Press all panels on both sides of the truck, the ones in front and behind downward to secure all the tabs and pegs.
And then take some time to admire all the amazing details on various internal parts of the truck before the next sequence. ^^
To transform the top portion of the truck, unfold the back panels outward first.
Untab the outer section of the back panel and rotate it backward.
Push the tab connecting the two back panels inward to position them on the same level of each other. Turn the exhaust pipe downwards.
Another bunch of really crazy details behind the back panel. ^^
Flip the whole back panel upward for 270 degrees until it covers the entire top portion of the truck.
Flip the side panel downward.
Rotate and adjust the exhaust pipes so that the section from the body sits inside the slot of the section from the back panel.
Transformation to vehicle mode done. ^^
Talk about crazy transformation! XD I think it took me about 1 hour on my first attempt transforming the whole figure. However, I did watch the video introduction of this figure before trying it out myself, and based on the experience playing with the first Leader Class version, I have more confident in applying extra force when twisting and turning certain stubborn joints and not worrying that that would break them. The snapping sound or the parts detaching from their original position can be a bit intimidating for those who are more used to Gunpla. Building a model kit can be silent running throughout the entire work, but it's all party with Transformers action figure XD
Certain steps are really confusing, especially the one involving the shoulder joint. first outward, then downward, flip to the front and then to the top etc. ^^; They are confusing as you can't really see how those components fit together to form the vehicle mode just yet at that point. On the other hand, certain steps are very exciting to play with, in particular the feet's transformation into the base and head of the truck. It's awesome to see how the feet unfold and the length of the base they can transform into. ^^
The details on all the components are unbelievable. A lot of them can be seen in robot mode, but as certain components come off during the transformation, more details are unveiled, which are visible in neither robot nor vehicle mode. the attention given to bringing these mechanical design to life is a feature I deeply appreciate on this figure. The most significant component to mention here is the rear portion of the back panel. The level of details on that part is just crazy! ^^ Interestingly, when that component unfold and become the roof of the truck, it's just a smooth solid piece. That's one awesome design point in my opinion. ^^
More images of the truck in the next posting.
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