Gatling guns make everything better.

The Weaponizer Class was introduced in the Prime toyline. They were old-Leader sized Transformers that were simpler and more hollow than Leader Class Transformers. But they were also much cheaper than Leader figures. In Malaysia Weaponizers retailed at RM180 while Leaders were RM250.

Back when this guy was first released all the way back in 2012, I didn’t want him because I thought he looked “cheap” and “lazy”. His alt mode had robot parts not hidden properly!

Ha.

Aha.

Ahahahahahahahaha.

Anyway, I got Optimus here cheap because he was missing his gun. Let’s take a look at him!

Robot mode

Starting out, Optimus actually looks great in robot mode. The chest in particular is probably the most show accurate of all the official Prime series Optimus Primes released.

The main sticking point in robot mode that everyone complained about back then was the backpack. Yes, it’s big. But it’s tidy and everything pegs together.

Also, the backpack is actually holding something. That something being two massive gatling guns. Holy crap, they are awesome. And the gimmick works very well, they spin perfectly every time they’re activated.

A red LED in Optimus’s chest flashes when the gatling guns are used. Now that part is pretty underwhelming.

Posability on Optimus is surprisingly great. He’s only missing a waist swivel and sideways ankle tilts.

Vehicle mode

Optimus is a massive truck. He’s old Leader Class sized after all. From the front and sides he looks great! But look at him from behind and from above…

See this was the problem. His arms, hands and chest were not hidden. At all. They were just left there in the open. It just feels unfinished. If the hands were made to retract into the arms or his legs had extra panels to conceal his arms in vehicle mode, it would be perfect. So close.

That said, the exposed kibble isn’t so bad in hindsight. Lord knows we’ve gotten worse since this guys release.

For playability, Optimus can roll well and run over stuff since he’s a big truck. He also can bring out his guns from his front grill to make sure the job is done.

A fun but flawed truck.

Closing

I really regret not getting this guy sooner. Optimus is a ton of fun. His transformation is intuitive, his robot mode looks great and his shoulder guns are massive. Pick him up if you get the chance!

With Cyberverse being the main Transformers line for kids right now, I’m feeling very bad for thinking this guy was a cheap and lazy design.

We didn’t know how good we had it, did we?