New Haslab Revealed and it's Transformers RID Omega Prime Revealed for $250

My only regret about it being Fire Convoy is that I can't afford to buy 3 like I did the original. Definitely getting this, it looks amazing! Super excited! Now just give us a Brave Maximus already, you're including his sword (almost definitely) as it is so you just have to do a straight Fort Max repaint.

Emerje

As someone who was not around to get the original, I think is is a purchase for me. I think the similarities to the original are a positive in this case, as the design is fantastic to begin with. And if I were going to get a version of these characters, I might as well go for the one with the improvements and streamlining, as subtle as they may seem. Plus, I reckon the Haslab isn't too much more expensive than trying to acquire the original MINT anyway. This is a great opportunity to acquire an excellent realisation of an awesome design with the rare guarantee that it's fully complete and functional. We're three for three for Transformers Haslabs, I hope we continue the streak!

That's another HASLAB thay I'll skip.

I got R.I.D of my original after all.

The whole set looks really impressive, especially the fact that Blue Bolts was turned into a full-blown Weaponizer like Cog, Sixgun, Slammer, and Fasttrack were. That's awesome. And the Matrix Blade being an all-new mold when they could have easily retooled TR Fortress Maximus's Master Sword with a new handle, but didn't, is even better.

Emerje wrote:Super excited! Now just give us a Brave Maximus already, you're including his sword (almost definitely) as it is so you just have to do a straight Fort Max repaint.

I'm still content with the original. The TR Fort Max figure is, from the neck down, really baaaaaaad.

I have the Legends Grand Max version and got the DNA Design upgrade kits for it, and even with those kits giving him much better hands, a good gun, better hip ratchets, and superfluous helipad boots, the base figure itself is still one of the most worst Titan class toys I've ever had.

He can't even hold his sword, even with the upgraded hands, because the sword's handle is too thin to fit securely into the gripping slots of his hands (both the official and upgraded ones). It takes wrapping the fully articulated fingers of the upgraded hands around the sword to keep it from just falling out of his grip, and even then the sword is just barely holding on.

The only good thing about the TR Fort Max is the new head figure, which is a pretty good large Deluxe/small Voyager toy. But it isn't enough to salvage the rest of the set.

Oh boy this was a letdown for me, I'll pass.

Even though I have the original, I love seeing RID01 getting love like JG1 and Unicorn.

Not really enough of an improvement over the original to get my money, but I would certainly consider it if I didn't have one.

I have the original set and will still get this. I love this choice for Haslab and never would've backed a Primus.

I just want the ability to get more Bluebolts. Like have an option as an add-on item. I want at least three due to it being a Weaponizer and I get them all in threes.

I'm actually concerned this may be the first HasLab TF to NOT get funded. The general response is very lukewarm at best.

Looks cool for those that want it
Never liked that Magnus
But Optimus looks cool
Gonna pass though

Where are the other reveals? That's it?

Razorbeast88 wrote:Where are the other reveals? That's it?

What other reveals? They showed the tier bonuses.

Well it ticks some boxes...

3x more expensive then the originals...
removal of features...
removal of quality (though the rubber wheels of the original might be debatable with them mostly not surviving time)

Not sure i'm keen on the front of Optimuses truck mode but looks pretty good otherwise, the addition of another figure is neat though it kinda feels like Optimus needs a 'roller' now if magnus gets ikkle guy.

Could these have been done at retail? With the £90 Commnder classes, yeagh thye probably could have.Plus then we might have got the yellow Optimus repaint.

Not really convinced on this over the originals but it's nice enough for those that want it and it's not superfluous like starsaber was so bonus points for that. Though if the reissues were with out any issues then maybe.

Another haslab skip for me which is always a good thing.

Sabrblade wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:Where are the other reveals? That's it?

What other reveals? They showed the tier bonuses.

I was hoping the 40th anniversary stream would include revealing the next wave of legacy and studio series, and that 5 pack

I didnt see until now that it's just haslab

First-Aid wrote:I'm actually concerned this may be the first HasLab TF to NOT get funded. The general response is very lukewarm at best.

It's already about a third of the way funded on only the first day, I'm not worried.

Razorbeast88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:Where are the other reveals? That's it?

What other reveals? They showed the tier bonuses.

I was hoping the 40th anniversary stream would include revealing the next wave of legacy and studio series, and that 5 pack

I didnt see until now that it's just haslab

That's what the original announcement of this stream said it would be.

Sabrblade wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:Where are the other reveals? That's it?

What other reveals? They showed the tier bonuses.

I was hoping the 40th anniversary stream would include revealing the next wave of legacy and studio series, and that 5 pack

I didnt see until now that it's just haslab

That's what the original announcement of this stream said it would be.

^

Omegatron. wrote:

First-Aid wrote:I'm actually concerned this may be the first HasLab TF to NOT get funded. The general response is very lukewarm at best.

It's already about a third of the way funded on only the first day, I'm not worried.

I know right? The vocal minority is going hard trying to convince others that nobody wants this but the numbers that matter are saying otherwise currently.

It's human nature to be more vocal about something negative than they are to be vocal about something positive.

Obviously it's fine if you don't like or want it. But to say that it's the worst thing ever just because it's not what you wanted or were expecting it to be and that EVERYONE agrees like most are trying to have other believe is going on are just inane. It's mainly just the Facebook post I'm seeing this on so far though. I'm at work and haven't exactly checked around many forums yet.

Not really getting some of the carping about this figure.
It's cheaper than the overpriced encore from 6 years ago that had to be recalled.

The originals, while amazing, still have a lot of issues that seem to be fixed in this version. I get why Evan was very emphatic about not having rubber tires because I've owned a couple of these.

Let's face it, these were never coming out at retail, even at the commander price point with some slimmed down packaging and the loss of blue bolt. Optimus, yes, absolutely could have been done at commander, probably the loss of moveable missiles and some other things in favor of blast effects. Ultra Magnus, no way in hell was any retailer signing off on a commander who mostly is designed to be armor for another commander that wouldn't be on store shelves at the same time. This would have been released over at least two years and retailers wouldn't have bitten.

There's honestly not many TF haslabs that would have gotten a large chunk of the fandom with disposable income to cheer at the moment. Somethings Hasbro would rather be able to reuse the molds, some are too expensive, some are too niche.

Grahf_ wrote:

Omegatron. wrote:

First-Aid wrote:I'm actually concerned this may be the first HasLab TF to NOT get funded. The general response is very lukewarm at best.

It's already about a third of the way funded on only the first day, I'm not worried.

I know right? The vocal minority is going hard trying to convince others that nobody wants this but the numbers that matter are saying otherwise currently.

It's human nature to be more vocal about something negative than they are to be vocal about something positive.

Obviously it's fine if you don't like or want it. But to say that it's the worst thing ever just because it's not what you wanted or were expecting it to be and that EVERYONE agrees like most are trying to have other believe is going on are just inane. It's mainly just the Facebook post I'm seeing this on so far though. I'm at work and haven't exactly checked around many forums yet.

PLease see my post above that I did back this. I am considering rescinding it though because I already have the original and it honestly doesn't look that much better.

I'm happy to see this and will most likely pick it up. I will have to wait until close to the deadline, if Hasbro is charging full price right off the bat.

I didn't watch the video so I'm wondering, is Ultra Magnus more posable this time around? And will the price increase if the other tiers are unlocked? I don't care about the sword but a space bridge display would be neat.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I'm happy to see this and will most likely pick it up. I will have to wait until close to the deadline, if Hasbro is charging full price right off the bat.

Don't worry, they don't charge till the end of the campaign.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And will the price increase if the other tiers are unlocked? I don't care about the sword but a space bridge display would be neat.

I don't think it has for any previous Haslab, certainly not for Victory Sabre.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I didn't watch the video so I'm wondering, is Ultra Magnus more posable this time around?

Articulation wasn't shown off for any aspect of the set, since all they had to show off were gray resin cast samples that Evan was nervous about breaking, and CG digital renders that showed off the color schemes.

Rodimus Prime wrote:And will the price increase if the other tiers are unlocked? I don't care about the sword but a space bridge display would be neat.

Tiers don't affect the price, no.

I think this looks good for a regular retail set. I'd be excited about it for that. However, it doesn't have many (or any?) improvements upon the original so I'm not sure who this is going to appeal to for the crazy price. The Haslab RID Optimus Prime looks so close to the original 2001 version in robot mode that I can't tell the difference at first glance (it even has the goofy hands from the original set and the ladder acts as a 3rd leg yet again). You can get a nice original RID 2001 Omega Prime (Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus complete set) for under $200 still and that figure I think is larger than this new Haslab version. I'd be excited for this figure at retail prices, but at Haslab exclusivity, I think this is a miss.

One of the stretch goals should have been RID 2001 on Region 1 DVD.

I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus, but upon having reality set in after a few hours, I'm actually glad for those that want this. I know this is quite a contradiction as Car Robots is one of my Favorite TF shows of all time, but Omega Prime is just not something I need in my collection. Still, it does look awesome. I am more than happy for those who are backing this, and I have no doubt it will fund.

I know Hasbro's toy rights have never been an issue, even with this series. However I wonder when this is successfully funded, if it will give some thought to the powers that be at Hasbro into looking at getting the rights to the TV series back from Disney (who acquired it in a package deal from Saban several years back). Disney doesn't even know they have it most likely, they didn't even put it on their streaming service.

I mean unofficially; I have Car Robots with great fansubs, as well as a Malaysian DVD of RiD, so I'm set to watch this whenever I please. But I still think an Official North American release is long overdue.

o.supreme wrote:I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus,

A thought just crossed my mind. Maybe they're saving Primus for the 50th anniversary.

I mean, had they done Primus now, what would be more special for them to do for the 50th?

Now this was unexpected. But still pretty awesome. Here's hoping it gets the backers it needs.

Who knows? If this gets produced, then maybe they'll make a HasLab RID Megatron someday.

Seibertron wrote:I think this looks good for a regular retail set. I'd be excited about it for that. However, it doesn't have many (or any?) improvements upon the original so I'm not sure who this is going to appeal to for the crazy price. The Haslab RID Optimus Prime looks so close to the original 2001 version in robot mode that I can't tell the difference at first glance (it even has the goofy hands from the original set and the ladder acts as a 3rd leg yet again). You can get a nice original RID 2001 Omega Prime (Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus complete set) for under $200 still and that figure I think is larger than this new Haslab version. I'd be excited for this figure at retail prices, but at Haslab exclusivity, I think this is a miss.

One of the stretch goals should have been RID 2001 on Region 1 DVD.

The haslab figure is noticeably larger. Both Optimus and Omega were shown against the originals. Guess Evan didn't have two copies of Ultra Magnus at home to bring, just two Optimus.

Optimus looks great! Combined mode is awesome. Only 2 issues I can ssee. Does prime come with his smaller mode pistol? And the shoulder/head region of UM. It looks so bad. The more I stared at it, the more I saw a tiny head floating above drooped shoulders

Sabrblade wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus,

A thought just crossed my mind. Maybe they're saving Primus for the 50th anniversary.

You think they would wait another 10 years? I mean, I guess now they would. But if anniversaries meant so much to them they could have waited until 2026 with Unicron.

I mean, had they done Primus now, what would be more special for them to do for the 50th?

I bet it will be a set of some kind, or maybe a new, more articulate and detailed G1 Fort Max. Scaled to MP size.

Besides, the Pulse listing said this won't ship until fall 2025 so it's not even the 40th anniversary.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus,

A thought just crossed my mind. Maybe they're saving Primus for the 50th anniversary.

You think they would wait another 10 years? I mean, I guess now they would. But if anniversaries meant so much to them they could have waited until 2026 with Unicron.

Well, Unicron's release was the 35th anniversary of TFTM.

Rodimus Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus,

A thought just crossed my mind. Maybe they're saving Primus for the 50th anniversary.

You think they would wait another 10 years? I mean, I guess now they would. But if anniversaries meant so much to them they could have waited until 2026 with Unicron.

I mean, had they done Primus now, what would be more special for them to do for the 50th?

I bet it will be a set of some kind, or maybe a new, more articulate and detailed G1 Fort Max. Scaled to MP size.

Besides, the Pulse listing said this won't ship until fall 2025 so it's not even the 40th anniversary.

It'll be another Optimus figure.

And an MP Fort Max? That's gonna be WAY bigger than Primus for Unicron and way more expensive. That'd be like man-sized.

I want a Masterpiece Peter Cullen Transformer.

Sabrblade wrote:

o.supreme wrote:I know I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Primus,

A thought just crossed my mind. Maybe they're saving Primus for the 50th anniversary.

While it sounds neat, if I'm not dead by then I'll bee too old to care or unable to continue to afford said things like this. lol

Having said that, a version of Primus is certainly a more friendly retail option if it's just a Rodimus repaint. So I'd be fine with that within the next couple years.

Omega Prime just doesn't interest me in the slightest regardless of retail as a Commander and even less as a HasLab because it feels very plausible as a Retail release. When it comes to HasLab offerings I'm in the minority of expecting something bigger that just doesn't suit a store shelf such as Unicron, which is why I'd have been really keen on a Cybertron version of Primus.

And it's really that simple, make something I want and I'll buy it, make something I don't and I won't. Than again I'm also in the minority of only having watched a few TF shows, G1, Beast Wars and Beast Machines. On occasion I'll watch RID but it doesn't hold the same feels as G1 or BW for me.

Nothing wrong with Hasbro going this route as I'm sure plenty of people may want it who aren't as specific as I am, it merely saves me Money. And on that note, I hope the rest of the year is a little mire fruitful in what it is I'm after so I can put that $250 savings to good use later on. Otherwise it'll be a long slow and boring year for me if all I have to look forward to is Gears who isn't even on my top ten. lol

M'eh. I'll pass on Omega Prime. I didn't have any investment in that series, so I feel no particular gravitation towards the figure. Wake me up when they make an announcement that they're doing more 86 Leader Snarl figures, or announcing 86 Leader Swoop...

These look so good. Backed them right away! Kind of disappointed they look to have the same engineering as the originals, but at least these look like they will hold together in combined modes.

I got the originals MISB last November for $260 and was so sad they would not stand up in omega prime mode. I can not wait to display this one on the shelf combined with the originals next to him.

I wonder if they would somehow be able to do the yellow version of prime? I had the legends scale one as a kid and would love to get it in this modern update. Maybe releasing him without magnus can get around some of the legal hoop holes?

Cheetron wrote:Optimus looks great! Combined mode is awesome. Only 2 issues I can see. Does prime come with his smaller mode pistol? And the shoulder/head region of UM. It looks so bad. The more I stared at it, the more I saw a tiny head floating above drooped shoulders

I'm pretty sure they mentioned that Bluebolts was designed to fill in some of the hollow spots on Ultra Magnus. So it's possible that he'll fill in that shoulder/chest void in some way. Maybe his legs can go in there or something.

As for the pistol I could've sworn I seen it in his hand at one point but I can't find the picture but it might have been in the video. One of the pictures of the Super Mode with the combined feet on his shoulders as the rocket launchers has what looks to be his pistol on what used to be the speaker/battery box on his back though.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Besides, the Pulse listing said this won't ship until fall 2025 so it's not even the 40th anniversary.

I noticed that as well. I mean with Unicron, it was understandable why it would take 18+ months to get him in hand. VS and DS were only a one-year wait.

Now were back to at least 18 months probably before fans get Omega Prime in hand. I wonder if that's because there are several more successful Haslabs in development at the moment? As opposed to DS which came after multiple failures, so they had more "time to work" as it were.... I guess we should be glad those others failed, we'd still be waiting probably another 6 months for Deathsaurus.

If I did have any one nitpick to make about this set, it's that I was hoping it would be smaller. The original was pretty heavy, even without the batteries. And it towered over so many other figures in the line. In the show, the Autobot Brothers each came up to Optimus's torso, while their toys instead came up to Prime's waist because he was so much taller than them. Same with Magnus being gargantuan in height when compared to everyone else.

I get that they probably made them that big because of Optimus's standard robot mode needing to be equal in height to the G2 Laser Optimus mold that was used to make Scourge, and because Magnus needed to be able to carry the Deluxe-sized Autobots in vehicle mode (X-Brawn and the Build Team were especially chunky in their altmodes), but modern-day Scourges made from modern-day Laser Optimuses are smaller than the original mold, and modern-day Deluxe vehicles are typically less massive than the original X-Brawn and Build Team members were.

So making the whole set a bit smaller would not only size better with some of the original toys, but also with today's Legacy molds. Optimus in particular is going to be a giant in his standard robot mode when placed next to the likes of Siege OP, Earthrise/Kingdom OP, Legacy Laser OP, and Legacy Armada OP (in his own standard robot mode). And if he's that much taller than any of those versions of G1 Optimus, then it'll be tricky to recreate The Oath of Iron:

Designer notes from Evan:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2vNqMmuIwP/?img_index=1

Hello Transformer fans!

I hope you all enjoyed today's Haslab reveal of OMEGA PRIME!

I did once say that "We'd never do an Optimus as a Haslab!" Boy am I glad to have been so wrong.

Making this a Haslab really allowed us to plus up the offering and make the figures the best they can be.

It was such an honor to work on this set of figures with Yuki san over at Takara Tomy. He 100% took the reigns on this one with his passion on how to improve over the original figures that he himself worked on back in the day. Whenever he would send video updates of how the model was functioning, he would play the japanese theme song in the background and hum along (it was adorable). If you've never heard the original Japanese Car Robots opening theme song, I really recommend you look it up as it's an absolute bop. The singer did the songs of another franchise I dearly love and put his heart and soul in every song he did.

Back to these amazing figures, they are an absolute joy to play with and a complete distraction that I need to store away from my office or I just don't get any work done.

Deco wise, we based it off the Animation/ Encore figures which is why Optimus has the C-001 license plate and the white coloring will be a more pure metallic white instead of the vanilla off color white of the original toy release.

Tires are all molded ABS plastic so they will not degrade like the original figures (my originals have all started to crack so I know the pain many have gone through.).

There are no electronics or spring loaded gimmicks in these figures which really allowed us to better utilize the space they took up and make these the best they can be. Each figure has ankle joints so posing them is a dream.

Combined modes feel solid and I hope you all will be pleased with playing and posing them out.

Please be on the lookout for Backer updates as we continue forward!

This also confirms something else: Evan's a Digimon fan!

Sabrblade wrote:If I did have any one nitpick to make about this set, it's that I was hoping it would be smaller...

Indeed. I was somewhat shocked when reading their heights. The scale with this set is definitely thrown off by quite a bit. Especially against Scourge and Shadow Striker.

The problem is though that if they made them to scale better, more people would be vocally against the set. As it is some don't seem to think this is even any bigger or has any more articulation. Some seem to think it's just a slight retool of the original. Others are complaining about the lack of sounds as if that even matters. More still either don't remember or are willfully forgetting how overpriced the reissues were and how many problems they had. Now just imagine if the set was actually smaller than the original or had any less actual features than this has.

As for the stability, they mentioned that Prime's backpack/former battery pack does something to better stabilize the combined modes. Hopefully that and actual heel spurs on several of the modes will help stabilize this taller set. Better joints too as well.

But yeah, as someone who thinks Legacy Armada Optimus' super mode is too big, I don't like that these are even bigger still. They made a scale and should stick to it. Otherwise why are Victory Leo and Star Saber so damn small compared to Deathsaurus if not to stick to that scale. Isn't Victory Saber supposed to be taller than Deathsaurus and not the same height? So Armada Prime, Deathsaurus and now Omega Prime are all too tall.

Grahf_ wrote:Otherwise why are Victory Leo and Star Saber so damn small compared to Deathsaurus if not to stick to that scale. Isn't Victory Saber supposed to be taller than Deathsaurus and not the same height?

Yes. Apparently, the guys at Hasbro are under the belief that Star Saber needs to combine with Victory Leo in order to match Deathsaurus in height, instead of already being at that height on his own while being even taller as Victory Saber.

Deathsaurus, meanwhile, is the perfect height since he's suppose to be as tall as your typical Combiner. So he's just the right size to match with the CW/UW/POTP-style Combiners.

It's Victory Saber who should have been bigger, since Star Saber and Victory Leo are also supposed to be Combiner-sized (though, Victory Leo is a bit shorter), and Star Saber's base component Saber should have been Voyager height to match with the various Optimus Primes I mentioned, as well as with Kingdom Rodimus. As is, he's pint-sized, even smaller than your average Deluxe.

I honestly did not believe this would be the thing they went with. kudos to all those that guessed right. I am actually glad it was not primus. I would not be able to afford that, let along have real estate for him to move into.

As for the omega prime set, I have the original. well, my prime is the original Japanese super fire convoy, and my magnus is the U.S. release. Magnus's electronics don't work anymore, and the yellow beast has had a field day with him. Prime on the other hand, all his red paint flaked off his chest, so now he has solid chrome pecs. Yellowing on him is barely anything. But combined they are not stable for anything, and have taken more then one floppy plunges off of shelves.

Also, hunting that ultra magnus is how I met my best bud. So I kinda feel obligated to get this.

Immortal Starscream wrote:Also, hunting that ultra magnus is how I met my best bud. So I kinda feel obligated to get this.

So you're saying you're basically like the kids in this commercial:

Best choice. Primus would have been a tough sell. 4 for 1. Great value! Pre-ordered, but odd we have to wait until next year (fall 2025) for this year's 40th Anniversary bot. Know why, but still ...

I think my only real nitpick for this is the hollow fists on the base Prime. One, the should have been solid, and two, they should have been articulated.

The loss of firing missiles (a real pain in the original one as they had a hair trigger and would fire if you looked at them wrong) and electronics is completely expected and not really a bad thing if we are being honest.

My original Prime and Magnus haven’t had batteries in them in literally almost 2 decades.

The vacuumed metal chest and head pieces were a surprise. Even Takara went matte for their less than stellar Encore reissue.

Don’t care much for Blue Bolt having as robot mode now, but whatever.

Not sure why they felt the need to point out the hand shaking gimmick that works exactly the same as on the original.

I do appreciate the “girdle” for Omega mode to support the extra weight. That’s has always been an issue with the original and the very thin waist.

Not sure I’m willing to pay 250 bucks for it though.

250$US is much more expensive than a titan. And that's juts the base price, without shipping nor taxes.

I have not enough emotional attachment to this Prime Magnus duo to commit.

Still, I'll be eating my shorts if the thing is not fully funded with all the tiers unlocked.

In only half a day's time, this set is already over 45% funded.

EDIT (30 minutes later): And now it's 46% funded!

blackeyedprime wrote:Well it ticks some boxes...

3x more expensive then the originals...

3x more expensive than the originals were at retail twenty-three years ago, sure. But certainly not 3x more expensive than they are complete on eBay years later, or than they'd be as reissues.

blackeyedprime wrote:removal of features...

There, you have more of a point. Although who knows? Maybe firing missiles (the feature it particularly hurts to lose) can be added as a stretch goal. And frankly, losing Ultra Magnus' electronics will be a net gain.

blackeyedprime wrote:removal of quality (though the rubber wheels of the original might be debatable with them mostly not surviving time)

1. What are you even pronouncing "removal of quality" based on? Aside from giving up on the rubber tires, which even you are admitting didn't last well.
2. You want to talk "removal of quality"... You do remember the quality control debacle with Encore God Fire Convoy, right?

blackeyedprime wrote:Not sure i'm keen on the front of Optimuses truck mode but looks pretty good otherwise,

The front of Optimus' truck mode is probably a bit of further making sure he doesn't resemble any real models of truck.

blackeyedprime wrote:Could these have been done at retail? With the £90 Commnder classes, yeagh thye probably could have.Plus then we might have got the yellow Optimus repaint.

1. Doing them at retail would probably have required two Commander slots in the same line in the same year or else shoehorning one of them into Studio Series, and they likely would have more sacrifices made instead of being able to do anything to improve on the originals.
2. According to responses from the team working on this, Yellow Splendid Convoy is still very much a possibility.

blackeyedprime wrote:Not really convinced on this over the originals but it's nice enough for those that want it and it's not superfluous like starsaber was so bonus points for that.

How was Star Saber "superfluous"? Don't forget that MP Star Saber has multiple joint issues by most accounts w/o aftermarket upgrades, and still has no accompanying Victory Leo without resorting to 3P toys. And last time I was looking at it on eBay, that 3P Victory Leo was like $300.

kurthy wrote:Not really getting some of the carping about this figure.
It's cheaper than the overpriced encore from 6 years ago that had to be recalled.

The originals, while amazing, still have a lot of issues that seem to be fixed in this version. I get why Evan was very emphatic about not having rubber tires because I've owned a couple of these.

I get it as well.

The originals are awesome figures, but Ultra Magnus definitely has some limits when it comes to how well his articulation can be used (especially when it comes to posing him with his weapon), and Omega Prime is well known for having difficulties balancing.

kurthy wrote:Let's face it, these were never coming out at retail, even at the commander price point with some slimmed down packaging and the loss of blue bolt. Optimus, yes, absolutely could have been done at commander, probably the loss of moveable missiles and some other things in favor of blast effects. Ultra Magnus, no way in hell was any retailer signing off on a commander who mostly is designed to be armor for another commander that wouldn't be on store shelves at the same time. This would have been released over at least two years and retailers wouldn't have bitten.

I mean, they could have shoehorned one of them into Studio Series. But there would have been sacrifices made for sure, instead of being able to take steps to improve on the originals where possible.

I'm personally happy enough with the originals that I don't feel a need to also get these, but I certainly wish them well. And wonder what other RiD 2001 stuff might be on the docket. If this does well, they might feel brave.
Hopefully so brave they even spring for some new smegging lower legs.

Grahf_ wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:If I did have any one nitpick to make about this set, it's that I was hoping it would be smaller...

Indeed. I was somewhat shocked when reading their heights. The scale with this set is definitely thrown off by quite a bit. Especially against Scourge and Shadow Striker.

1. Shadow Striker seems to be only a smidge shorter than OG Side Burn, so I disagree with you there.
2. It is big compared to Scourge, but the issue there is actually on Scourge's end. The Legacy Laser Prime mold is significantly undersize due to the limits of being a Leader-class figure and also due to it being retooled (to its detriment) from the undersize Earthrise Optimus. ER Optimus is almost as badly undersize among his fellows as Classics Optimus was among earlier CHUG Autobots.
3. There's an update you're leaving out of your calculations entirely: Ruination (in the form of UW Baldigus).

Grahf_ wrote:The problem is though that if they made them to scale better, more people would be vocally against the set. As it is some don't seem to think this is even any bigger or has any more articulation.

I don't think they actually are bigger than the originals, though. The OG RiD Optimus is 8" from bottom of foot to top of head... and putting the missile pods on adds almost another half inch. So, I'm pretty sure that 8.5" being boasted of on the Pulse page, is the height with the missile pods on and he's pretty much the same size as the original.

Grahf_ wrote:Some seem to think it's just a slight retool of the original.

Those people are just plain unobservant lmao.

Grahf_ wrote:Others are complaining about the lack of sounds as if that even matters.

Considering that Omega Prime's stability problems are due in part to the added weight of Ultra Magnus' big fat soundbox, that's a dumb thing to complain about. Not to mention how badly Takara screwed the pooch with the soundboxes on the Encore release.

Grahf_ wrote:But yeah, as someone who thinks Legacy Armada Optimus' super mode is too big

I'd say you're wrong on that score. It seems very much the right size compared to Megatron IMO, and based on pictures Hot Shot as well. I'd say it's only too big next to Starscream, because Legacy Armada Starscream is too small (Putzwing's slot would have been better spent on him, IMO).

Grahf_ wrote:Isn't Victory Saber supposed to be taller than Deathsaurus and not the same height? So Armada Prime, Deathsaurus and now Omega Prime are all too tall.

You're wrong about Armada Optimus and Omega Prime, and Deathy is only too tall because Victory Saber is too small. I suspect Victory Saber was scaled relative to Legends God Ginrai.

Oh good. I can skip this one.

The bastion of Haslab in Australia, EB Games and Zing have decided to price gouge.

$749AUD Pre-order

In the past they've been the best way for Australian's to source the Haslab figures as we never had to pay up front and could take our time paying them off before the release date.

But for this set to be nearly the price of Unicron's original release price and twice that of Victory Sabre and Deathsaurus, I'll be sitting this one out. I have the original, I don't have $750.

Burn wrote:The bastion of Haslab in Australia, EB Games and Zing have decided to price gouge.

Ouch. That's rough.

If some place like RobotKingdom were carry him, would that be a workable alternative for you?