Hey hey, Gents! Time for another snapshot from my Optimus Prime collection of decades past. Now for something completely different. The Transformers Combiner Wars Battle Core Optimus Prime illustrates a very subtle but complicated aspect of collecting the Optimus Prime character. The many reuses of the toy molds and related characters can make it hard to decide what to collect and not. Nemesis is an easy choice as the inversion of Prime. However, as we look at Ultra Magnus and the more exotic extrapolations such as the G1 European Thunderclash, things start to get confusing.
This is what makes the Battle Core Optimus Prime such a strange figure. It is a white Optimus Prime that is not a Magnus, ultimately formulated as part of the Optimus Maximus combiner-figure. It has turned out to be an ideal template for other Prime offshoots such as the aforementioned G1 Thunderclash. What was actually, a pre-paint of a later issued Machine Wars Optimus Prime. Here it comes full circle by way of a professional makeover using the Toyhax Thunderclash sticker set. In fact, Battle Core Optimus Prime has been used as a template for other characters as well - something I will revisit in future posts. Stay tuned!
