With the recent onslaught of G1, words can't even describe how refreshing it is for me to see the concept of Kingdom. The Maximals and Predacons' return, new versions of Beast Era characters, many not seen at general retail since the mid-2000s (if they're lucky). To celebrate this, I'm going to (for as long as I can) make a pattern of reviews. Autobot, Decepticon, Maximal, Predacon. The Arcee crew got the first Autobot review. Soundwave and his minions got the first Decepticon review. First Maximal review? Who else could it be than the big bot himself, Optimus Primal.
Starting in Alternate mode, though the gorilla mode isn't amazing, there's always going to be some sacrifices for the sake of the different modes, this is still an excellent gorilla mode. Primal gets it a bit easy, as it's a humanoid animal turning into a humanoid robot, the only kibble issues will be the legs. I'll admit getting the robot thighs to behave in gorilla mode is a struggle, but it's a minor issue compared to the rest of the toy. I love the sculpted fur on Primal, it looks great and helps him and the other Beast Wars characters stand out against their G1 wave mates. The muscle sculpting on the figure also helps give it a decent presence, even when standing still in basic poses, it feels alive. Due to the need to hide the robot thighs, the articulation is hindered in gorilla mode slightly, but I don't find it that much of an issue. Maybe it's because I don't need it to do a lot of drastic gorilla poses, but as I said, the all fours look has enough of a presence that it doesn't bother me.
Robot mode is an interesting beast, though. He's significantly shorter than many other recent Voyager Class figures, but unlike figures like Studio Series Scourge, there isn't a reasonable explanation for the size decrease. There are no large chunks of kibble that explain the size and the transformation is pretty simple, like WFC Tank Megatron. It even has a transformation like Tank Megs, where it's mostly moving large chunks of gorilla around. It's a situation similar to Earthrise Cliffjumper and Arcee, where you're unsure where the budget is going. Cliffjumper is probably the best comparison to make, though, as the size doesn't bother me. Scale wise; it fits in mostly well, Beast wars figures aren't going to scale well with G1 figures unless you want Micromasters. The smaller size combined with the more rugged plastic makes it feel larger then it is. I know this has been thrown around a lot when it comes to the War for Cybertron trilogy, along with the Studio Series 86 figures, but this does feel like a budget, mini-Masterpiece, as it does everything I want it to do. Articulation is excellent, with no sacrifices made to make it as poseable as possible (though I would have liked a swivel above the elbow for the sake of the gorilla mode. I love the fact that he comes with all of the hidden guns the original toy used to have, and they're all blast effects compatible. However, that does lead to a small flaw I have with the toy. I don't know if it's because I'm used to it or not, but I find it weird that aside from effects parts ports on the guns, Primal doesn't do the WFC gimmicks. He hasn't got weapon ports to plug any of the partformers like Cog, Black Rorichi, or even the new ones like Paleotrex. There aren't any blast effects spots in places to look like he's getting shot. At the time of writing this, I also have Cheetor, Blackarachnia and Paleotrex, and all of them are in a similar situation when it comes to the WFC gimmicks, but I'll go into details on those another time. Does this make Primal worse? Not really, it's just something odd that I'm noticing when it comes to these new Kingdom toys (for all I know, these gimmicks could be for the G1 figures).
It's great to have a representation of this character, of this version of Primal, done to such a high degree. Does it do everything the original toy did? No, but are you going to miss the mask and mace that never appeared in the cartoon? This wave of Kingdom has, to me at least, felt like the opening wave of Siege (minus the distribution issues Siege Wave 1 had here). A celebrity lineup of memorable-iconic G1 characters, and modern revivals of long-forgotten (at general retail) Beast Wars characters... along with a few outliers but that's beside the point. I was excited for Siege, and I'm excited for Kingdom because we're in for a great year of toys by the looks of it. If you can find him, definitely pick him up. He's a great representation of the character and a clear sign of what we're in for with Kingdom. Hopefully, the next review will be his counter, but if not, I have a few other Predacons to fill that hole.
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