Cliffbee.com Softimus Prime Toy Review

Individual Review




Name: Softimus Prime
Series: Plushies
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Truck Cab



TRUCK MODE
Height: 13cm Length: 20cm Width: 11cm

   Exact dimensions will vary, since he's soft and the shape shifts slightly. At any rate, Softimus Prime is a soft toy version of G1 Optimus Prime, with a red shortnose cab and blue hitch area. The details are painted onto the cloth, and include six black tyres, blueish windows, silver smokestacks and red Autobot logos on either side (where the shoulders would be). It's a well worn colour scheme of course, so there's not really anything new here - but he's faithful to the original colour set, which is really all that's required here.

   The paint job is quite good. The grille, bumper, headlights, license plate ("PRIME 1"), roof lights, wipers and rear suspension are all visible, and there are little holes on the exhausts. The exhaust pipes and tyres are actually protruding bits of cloth with padding inside them, so he's more than just a box with paint. My only gripe is that the robot feet stick up at the end of the hitch section. Granted, it wouldn't have been easy to fix this since the hitch section forms his legs and an actual hinge is out of the question - so I'm not really upset about it - but it does detract.

   A pretty good effort, really. The boxiness of the front is admirable considering this guy is made up of soft material, and I really appreciate the distinct smokestacks. I do prefer Slumblebee's car mode, mainly because the feet here stick up here, but in the context of what they set out to achieve, the designer has done a great job with this truck.

TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE

   Open up a velcro seam at the back of the cab, turn the cab inside out, revealing his head and arms, attached to the torso. Split the legs.

ROBOT MODE
Height: 26cm Width: 18cm

   Again exact dimensions will vary. His torso and arms are red, the head, fists and boots are blue and his groin and thighs silver - lining up to the original again. It's worth noting that the cab is now tucked away inside his torso - yet the painted details line up quite well. He has windows and a grille on his torso (the silver groin is effectively the bumper), roof lights, and an Autobot symbol on the right shoulder - the left does not (unlike the truck). The face is silver with the trademark mouthplate, and light blue eyes. The colour scheme does it's job well again.

   There's a crest and antennae on his head, and while they don't sit perfectly, I've very happy that he has them. Again we have distinct smokestacks - and they're a new set since the others are inside the torso now - which is impressive. The level of painted detail is again good, too - with detailed hands, the holes in his smokestacks and some nice head details, if no wipers this time. There are two patches of grey velcro visible on his groin - but they're the soft half, not the sticky half.

   There's something humorous about a plush version of Optimus Prime (moreso than the more child-accessable Bumblebee, which makes this a memorable toy. The robot mode has been done quite well, and like Slumblebee. this toy can stand up. Softimus is also poseable since everything flexes at will.

VARIATIONS

   None that I'm aware of.

OVERALL

   The whole concept of a plush Transformers toy is unusual enough that Softimus is worth the price of admission purely for curiousity. Despite the whole soft toy thing, the designer has taken this toy seriously. Both modes are instantly recognisable as Prime, the printed details are good and I really like the fact that he has distinct smokestacks. The engineering is also impressive - sure he folds inside out, but that still needed to be achieved in a way that wont tear the toy. He's even able to stand, which is fantastic. I don't think the concept would stand up to being done too many times, but as a duo, Softimus Prime & Slumblebee work well, bringing an interesting new dimension to a Transformers collection. Since Softimus's feet are visibly out of shape in truck mode, I have a preference for Slumblebee, but this is still a great effort - 8/10

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