Stealth Force Optimus Prime review.

Non-Transforming Transformers, what's the world coming to? This version of Optimus is in the Stealth Force line of toys, along with my previous post about Soundwave, again it doesn't have a robot mode, but it is definitely set in the Movie universe. Is this one any good? Again, just like Soundwave, it depends on the price.

*Edit!*  This toy has been re-released under the Dark of the Moon toy line.  It has a new box, but is still the same toy.
I remember being interested in this after seeing them in the shops when I got Soundwave. Problem was it was ridiculously expensive! There is only so much I am willing to pay for a Transformers that doesn't transform. Soundwave was in my opinion expensive. Optimus here moreso, in fact forking out $50 AU$ is not my idea of a bargain. Mind you, it appears to be a common theme here in Australia for expensive Transformers. I digress, but that's the way it is.

Back to Optimus. "So Tets," I hear you say, "you've had a whinge and say it's expensive. Why do you have one now?" Well my avid reader, the magic of pre-christmas sales have managed to provide me with one of a more digestible price. Yes, $34 is more like it for this thing. It may not transform into a robot, but it has some pretty cool electronics in it. With a press of a button, the humble firey form of the long nose truck that is Prime, has opening panels and a nice arsenal of weaponry pops out! The effect of the change is pretty cool!

The Truck.Detail is pretty good on the truck, on the front of the grill is a nicely defined Autobot symbol. The grill is just painted, but it is a pretty good effort for a nice silver look. The flames and colour decorations are well painted on the wheel covers, bonnet and doors, in fact wherever they have been painted on. All over the paint is well applied. The smokestacks are a slightly pliable plastic, that are slightly translucent, as there are lights in them for a sort of light-piping effect. There is a sound button on the roof and another Autobot symbol that acts as the 'Transform' button.The back of the truck is quite thick, making room for some of the mechanics. The part where the possible trailer could be placed, is a little higher than it should be, but it isn't that noticeable. Underneath is some nice under-car details and another painted Autobot symbol, which I find a bit odd, but there you go... The on/off/demo switch is here too. The demo mode is the one that it is set for by default, as it is and open box so before you buy, give the one you are looking over a good check for scratching on the paint and that all the parts fit in where they should properly.

Attack mode.

A quick press of the Autobot button and he changes into attack mode with a cool TFing noise. Pressing it again reverts him to truck mode, with the lower TFing noise. So cool! The bonnet flips up, Smokestacks flip down, side panels all open up and the wheels move out a little bit for no discernible reason. Maybe to widen the base to withstand the recoil? There is lots of movement in the change, even the engine moves up and points out a little. It is actually quite nifty! In the engine there is a couple of missiles which can shoot if the buttons are pressed. There is a blue LED in the front, which has a variety of lighting styles depending on what sound is coming out, really bright or it can fade as well. The smokestacks have a red light that lights them up as well, again it can fade if needed, but isn't quite as noticeable as the blue one.

The side panels that all flip out have various weapon details on them and even though you can't really tell what type of weapon they are exactly, they look pretty cool. In the blue sections that the flaps cover up, there is some nice moulding that looks like it has some hand guns stored there, much like a weapons rack. nice way to fill some blank space. Finally, the fuel tanks move out a little bit and they look like they might be some kind of jet booster.While writing this, I have noticed something very interesting... The picture of the attack mode is very different to the toy. I know they sometimes undergo a bit of a change, but wow. Quite a few things have changed. To start, on the box version, the front grill has the truck lights attacked to it. The toy has them attached to the wheel covers. On the box, the roof has a lined rack of missiles in it popped up, the fuel tanks have a fold down extra flap and the very back of the truck forms a sort of spoiler with some missiles underneath it. Finally the smokestack lights are blue. Shame really, especially considering the original price of the toy. The bits might not need to be electronic, but they look pretty cool. Still the actual toy is still pretty nifty.

To summarise, DO NOT BUY THIS AT FULL PRICE! It just isn't worth it. It is fun, and when I showed it to some people at work who aren't all that into Transformers, but like the movies, they were suitably impressed. If on special, then yes, its cool. It reminds me very much of the old M.A.S.K Rhino big rig toy. That was cool! I think it is more impressive than the other Stealth Force toys out there, and the electronics do make it better than you could think. But then the price gets on the way, so buy it if it's cheap, otherwise I wouldn't bother.Video of the coolness in motion.

Video Attempt

Rest of the pics.