I've reviewed the excellent G1 Prime and now it's the turn of the RID Prime to be nitpicked. RID Prime is a slightly different direction in a truck mode, so let's get reviewing.
Fire Engine mode: Yep, that's right, he's a fire engine. He's mostly a bright red with blue windows, his ladder-which extends and can fire missiles and be used as a gun tower-is grey. If you press a small button at the front of his ladder, two water jets, that don't fire water, flip out. Also you can raise and turn the ladder around.
You can see his Ultra Prime head in this mode a little too clearly, so maybe not noticing it can help. His wheels are rubber and say 'Transforers' on them and on the sides of his cab is some Japanese writing and the words 'Cybertron' just to the right and underneath.
This mode is pretty good, it's huge! Oh, and he has sounds and lights as well. I think they're a little annoying though and it's way too easy to accidently press the button that triggers them off when you're playing with him, it also adds to his weight, not a toy to try and carry home in a bag in the hot sun(I did that!).
Other than the Beast Wars Prime's, sorry, Primal's, this is quite the difference for a Prime toy since he's usually been an articulated truck or another form of track, he was once even a car! But a fire engine is very different really, and it suits him to be honest. But he has a flaw, you see the arms that join to his ultra mode? Well they act as side panels and because of the cab tabs that click him into place in this mode are always popping out, then making him stay in one piece is a task in itself, so be careful when playing or you'll find you've left over 3/4 of Prime behind somewhere else. A good mode, just a little awkward because of the cab tabs.
Robot mode 1: This is a nice mode, some flipping and cursing while making his torso go down later, and Prime is standing and ready for battle, or more like to fall over because of the weight of his fancy features, oops.
He is highly poseable, if you can get him to stand in a pose because he just keeps falling over with me, and he really does look like a Prime for the new century. It's a pity he's not die-cast metal really, it would look so much better than shiny plastic.
His gun, I call it a pea shooter, is tiny and is a little too loose when sloted into his hands. You can attach the Ultra Prime feet to his shoulders and they become missile launchers while you can slot one of his Ultra Prime hands to make him look like he got his hand stuck in a door. Oh, and get this, you cna attach mini cons to him! See the parts that stick out for where his big arms and body armour clicks on? You can attach three mini cons on them in total on those little parts, so you can give him some added firepower, got to be better than his pea shooter, that's for sure.
Robot mode 2: Now this is where it's a mix of like and hate. It's very simple to attach his new features onto him, but the body armour either falls off, even after the tabs are clicked into place, or his head pushes the armour up and it just falls off, really annoying. Also his ladder, while useable as a weapon, makes him fall over if it's used. Posing him is hard since the body armour falls off over and over again, so maybe he's better in his first Robot mode than this one if you're lookign to make Prime look like he's disco dancing(Disco, disco dancing! Prime, with Saturday Night dancing feature, John Travolta, eat your heart out!). Sorry, couldn't resist. Not a great mode this one, it's that ladder and the loose tabs that must make it a little hard to play with.
Base mode: The back part of Prime can become a small base with limited firepower and the ladder that makes it tip over. A good idea, let down by that stupid ladder.
There. He's not all that bad really, it's just the weight problem of his ladder, his features and also those stupid tabs that make him a little hard to really enjoy. At least he's still a lot of fun though, a good Prime for the new century indeed. Just not as excellent as G1 Prime, but close, really close. Have fun!
Reviewer | Tony Neil Watt |
Date | May 11th 2003 |
Score | (7 out of 10) |
Reads | 7432 |
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