Ok, so I happily got the movie leader class Optimus Prime retail in Ontario, Canada, this weekend:
So there's a size comp. to the oldest looking g1 prime I could find (for 'new/old' contrast), for whoever asked for a size comp.
REVIEW:
Well I'm not going to go into too much detail, just a few note worthy categories and a few +'s and -'s.
Bot mode: great looking, pieces from alt mode are made pretty good use of, he's got the sort of 2nd set of stacks look with the red flaps on the back. Feet are awesome. Head doesn't have vertical articulation (do any movie ones?). Individual fingers. Legs have poor articulation, back wheels/leg covers must be dehinged to bend legs at all and he can't kneel. Arm gun feature is nice. Shoulder pieces like to pull away from the chest, which shouldn't be.
Truck mode: Really great. Very solid and heavy feeling. All pieces click in very tightly. Really thick rubber wheels. Shiny. There's a hole for a trailer hinge (?...). Great overall look.
Transformation: Really fun. This is probably my favourite part of leader Prime. Various things have to be flipped back and forth to transform him. From bot to alt it's fun to piece together the hood/grill, and from alt to bot, the semi-auto foot transformation is great. The chest/head automorph gimmick is decent, pressing the button at his navel splits the windows and rises his head out of the roof, with lights and sound. This makes the figure feel like it will break sometime down the line, but not a huge deal, however I personally would rather have a vertical articulating head than lights and sound.
Overall: I'd give him an 8.75. He's really quite great overall: great looking, lots of fun to transform, pretty fun to pose, but somewhat limited articulation, particularly in the legs, head, and the loose shoulder pieces.
