Cliffbee.com Nexus Prime Toy Review

Individual Review




Name: Nexus Prime
Series: Collectors Club Exclusives
Alternate Mode: N/A - Gestalt comprising Breakaway, Heatwave, Landquake, Skyfall & Topspin.



COMBINED ROBOT MODE
Height: 25cm Width: 16cm

   The exact width will depend on which components form which limbs. Mouldwise, he's a fusion of Energon Bruticus & Energon Superion. He's a mixture of purples and reds, with a mix of transparent and solid plastics ion both colours. The torso is transparent purple plastic, his head and thighs solid red. Two of the limbs (Breakaway & Landquake) are primarily transparent red while Skyfall is mainly transparent purple and Topspin largely solid red. Three of his hands and feet are transparent red, with the extremity attached to Breakaway being smoky transparent. His face is black with yellow eyes, and there's a small Decepticon logo on his chest, in the form of a spark crystal. There are supporting blacks and silvers here and there. While the main colours are very bright, as a fusion Nexus Prime looks good since the garish colours of the limbs come together well.

   As with the original Scramble City Gestalts, all four small toys can form either arms or legs. The "official" configuration is Landquake as the right arm, Topspin as the left arm, Breakaway as the right leg, and Skyfall as the left leg. Having said that, Topspin's attachment works best as a hand and Breakaway's works very poorly as a foot, so I'd recommend using them as arms (even if Breakaway's attachment doesn't make for a great hand, either. Landquake's works well as either and Skyfall's is better as a foot. But you get the choice, which is a nice aspect of this combination design.

   The shoulders and knees are all ratcheting joints of the same type - thanks to the limb swapping gimmick. So the shoulders rotate and the knees can swivel, while the neck also rotates. The hips and shoulders swing in and out, as well as back and forth while the large footpads allow for quite a range or leg posing. The arm poseability isn't as useful as it could be since Nexus comes without any true ranged weapons, although his digits are tubular and can easily double as barrels. If you have Landquake as an arm he gains an arm-mounted turret. The connecting joints are quite sturdy, so limbs aren't likely to fall off as you might expect.

   Heatwave's spark crystal forms the centrepiece of Bruticus' chest, which protrudes somewhat, and there are various logos on the limbs, some of which are quite visible if not facing the right way. He's not marketed as either Decepticon or Autobot. The head is resculpted compared to that of Bruticus, and while this causes Heatwave problems, it sets this fusion apart.

   The advance in technology means that unlike most G1 Gestalts his head and chestplate are integrated. His hands and feet are the accessories of the limbs, so nothing is simply left aside waiting for you to form Nexus.

VARIATIONS

   None as such. His components were sold separated from 2005 to 2009 as Collector Club exclusives..

OVERALL

   A good fusion of five garish colour schemes, Nexus Prime looks pretty good. By mixing limbs from both Superion & Bruticus he manages to have five disparate components - something Energon didn't manage. The retooled head is a great idea, although it does cause issues for Heatwave. While all five components are garish on their own, they all use good moulds and look good as a set. The use of four different limbs also allows you to pick and choose your configuration nicely. My only real complaints are the issues from the retooled head and lack of a handheld weapon. Considering the strength of his components, Nexus Prime is a fun Gestalt and a worthwhile repaint. Whether or not he's worth putting together if you're not a club member is up to you - there's some tracking down to be done - 7.5/10

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