First Edition Voyager Class Optimus Prime
Price: $30 CDN (unavailable in the U.S.)
Available: Now (TRU exclusive. Almost impossible to find. I saw one once and got mine off Ebay finally).

An impressive looking toy that also beats its RID counterpart hands down. The sculpting and detail is superb. The transformation between modes was difficult for me but I eventually managed it (none of these modern TFs seem intuitively designed in the transformational sense for some reason). The sword is made of that soft rubber-like plastic (which is one of the toy's downfalls. The RID toy's sword is hard plastic and more durable). Also, his pipes (on his back) are really soft and flimsy. Generally, this is the better toy and why it got an almost non-existent release is beyond me.

Verdict:  Excellent. In some ways, more of a display piece but an excellent toy all the same.




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RID Voyager Class Optimus Prime
Price: $20 USD/$30 CDN
Available: Now

A decent toy overall, comes complete with little fold out rifle that lights up with an LED. RID Prime is durable and decent on its own but pales to the FE version. I do like its sword better then the FE one though. His transformation gave me almost as much trouble as the FE one did.

Verdict:  Excellent. On its own merits, a very good version of Optimus Prime.

FE Prime on the left, RID on the right.	FE Prime on the top, RID Prime on bottom.
RID Prime on the left, FE Prime on the right.

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RID Voyager Class Megatron
Price: $20 USD/$30 CDN
Available: Now

As impressive as the Legends Commander toy is, this one is about ten times cooler. Just having him stand there in robot mode is awesome looking. His weapons (the fusion cannon and wrist claw) add to his stature as enemy commander. Transforming him was  a major pain for me. I'd already done the smaller version but getting the big guy's legs the right way proved difficult and frustrating. Eventually I got it to work though and his jet mode is reasonably nice and complete looking (the Commander version by comparison looks like he slipped on a banana peel and got sprawled out in a funny position).

Verdict: Excellent. Like all modern TFs, a pain to transform but well sculpted, durable and aesthetically appealing overall.



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Encore 22: Twincast reissue
Price: $70 USD at online toy stores such as BBTS.com)
Available: Now


We take a look at Twincast (aka the blue colored Blaster from Japan). I already have a Blaster reissue but something about getting the character in blue seemed cool (I also have a Soundblaster reissue so it seemed like a logical extension to get his counterpart too). Twincast harkens back to the old days of classic G1. His transformation is ridiculously simple compared to the other toys above (which is a good thing, in my opinion). I had him transformed in about thirty seconds. This version comes with two new cassettes named Stripes (an orange recolor of Ravage) and Nightstalker (a black recolor of Steeljaw). Both of them can fit into his chest compartment too (which is convenient and cool).

Verdict:  Excellent. A must buy for G1 fans (a tad pricey but if you love the character/toy and can afford it, go for it).