So, I thought this was already a given, but the message boards are acting like it's brand-new news that we're just finding out about. Huh.

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/2024-transformers-studio-series-commander-release-will-be-86-optimus-prime/47982/

Anyway, one can assume that Prime is still to scale with the War for Cybertron and Legacy toys, so his robot mode is likely still the same height as the Siege and Earthrise toys. It's probably an all-new mold, it probably borrows some ideas from Masterpiece, and I would assume he has a larger trailer this time that's more properly to scale, and likely includes Roller this time as well.

It's very likely that it will be the best mainline Optimus Prime toy to date. I'm quite excited about the prospect. It's been demonstrated that there just isn't enough in the budget to do justice to large toys like Prime at the Leader-class price point. I can't wait!

Zob (watching the Reddit mod summit and holy crap my eyes are glazing over)

On Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 9:37:01 AM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:

> It's very likely that it will be the best mainline Optimus Prime toy to date.

I won't be getting my hopes up. It'll be somewhere between best Optimus ever and a slightly retooled redeco of Studio Series Commander Ultra Magnus in Optimus Prime colors (with a 20 dollar price increase to justify adding Roller).

On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 1:45:00 PM UTC-5, Evil King Macrocranios wrote:
> On Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 9:37:01 AM UTC-8, Zobovor wrote:
>
> > It's very likely that it will be the best mainline Optimus Prime toy to date.
> I won't be getting my hopes up. It'll be somewhere between best Optimus ever and a slightly retooled redeco of Studio Series Commander Ultra Magnus in Optimus Prime colors (with a 20 dollar price increase to justify adding Roller).

I'm frankly curious as to what bells and whistles Hasbro is going to trot out to justify the Commander level pricing.

Right now, there's an undersized 3P duplicate (knockoff is probably too pejorative a term considering the high quality of the piece) of MP-10 Optimus and his trailer. It's available for around $80 total, which is in line with Commander pricing, and comes with the jetpack, alternate heads, sword, energon axe, rifle, mini Spike, and Roller. I have one and it's a beaut.
If the Commander fails to convince, there's always that as an alternative for a CHUG scaled collection.

I feel like this is primarily either for hardcore collectors, or fans who've somehow missed the many releases of Prime in the last few years, especially ER Prime, which is one of the pinnacles of modern Transformers releases - durable, poseable, screen accurate, and most of all - intuitive to transform. He's one of the few modern TFs for which I didn't need a video or instructions, nor did I worry that I was going to break or disconnect anything - every piece just folds and slides like you'd expect it to, until you're left with a perfect cab or a near-perfect bot.

SS86 Magnus isn't the heads and shoulders triumph over the MP and Kingdom versions it should have been, especially with the extra wide proportions. I fear Commander-class Prime will not be the definitive Prime that it should be for the pricepoint.

Although, as a little sad bot once said to a newly Action Mastered Grimlock, "time will tell."

Actually, upon further reflection, my conception of the perfect Commander-class Optimus would simply be a release of the Missing Link Prime by Takara (G1+joints), with a newly upgraded trailer to match.

On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 12:33:04 PM UTC-8, Codigo Postal wrote:
> Actually, upon further reflection, my conception of the perfect Commander-class Optimus would simply be a release of the Missing Link Prime by Takara (G1+joints), with a newly upgraded trailer to match.

I think they could get away with the Missing Link trailer paired with a new mold cab. Studio Series wouldn't settle for a G1 looking robot mold to achieve the level of movie accuracy the line is striving for. Since the trailer was barely in the movie and never transformed that part of the toy could come from anywhere. May as well use the Missing Link one and not reinvent the wheel.

Put me on the list of people who think this thing is going to be an Earthrise cab with a Missing Link trailer.

On Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 3:37:55 PM UTC-7, Evil King Macrocranios wrote:

> Put me on the list of people who think this thing is going to be an Earthrise cab with a Missing Link trailer.

I... really don't want to see that? At all? Like, new mold or GTFO.

Who would even buy such a thing? If I buy the Missing Link toy, and I already own the Earthrise toy or one of its iterations, there would be literally no point in buying the Studio Series '86 toy. There would be no reason for it to even exist.

I really *hope* a toy released during this big celebration of the brand's 40th anniversary isn't some awful cost-cutting recycled budget Prime. That would suck.

Zob (the 50th anniversary will be in 2034... just throwing that out there)