Were the MVPs of ROTB worth the wait? At least one was...! Studio Series Optimus Primal and Mirage

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Jcc2224
P.O. Box 42041
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1- Where do you get your figures?
Everywhere. Literally everywhere. Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, Antique Malls, Thrift Stores, Flea Markets, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Online Forums, Friends, etc. This video details the answer. • FAQ- Where Do I Find/B...
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[@chillypenguinstudios72]

honestly mirage is pretty good for me at least. I feel like the licensing of porsche definetely limited the potential of this mirage and also probably concept art

[@Drawzilla2810]

I’m pretty sure the designers said that exactly

[@PokeFormers209]

I agree I prefer him kinda more than primal

[@etonymous1632]

He’s okay. Porsche really limited what they could do, so yeah…. Th transformation is still really clashy

[@DarthDeuces]

I recently got Primal and he's really cool. Definitely one of my favorites of the SS ROTB figures.

[@etonymous1632]

He’s a member, so he got early access

[@kboy1158]

Mirage is similar to knight optimus prime from aoe and the last knight where there are no car pants shown on their robot mode when it's clean and sleek when you think about it. So that's why there toy figures of them have kibble on them.

[@fabiomura08]

To be fair the chest is at least comprised of the front headlights, but yeah apart from that most of his body is just internal mechanisms. Not only that, what makes his design difficult to replicate is that his body is very lean, too human-like. It's not like the first 3 Bayverse movies, where even the Autobots had weird body shapes and vehicle parts all over them.

[@j-sant-animations8105]

Knight Hotrod did the transformation wayyy better. He has just about the same parts configuration as mirage. Even cooler is I animated Hotrod to do the “stratosphere intro” conversion scene and his moving parts even copy the scene to near exact!

[@Jcc2224]

SS TLK Hot Rod is perhaps one of the absolute best SS Deluxes, if not THE best.

[@ivanindrie9297]

Being a 20 year old Transformers collector from Singapore, I'm happy that I own both figures. SS 105 Mirage is actually... way better in hand. Yes, there's way too much clear plastic, but I have gotten used to transforming him, albeit carefully. I do have to say though, car mode's infinitely better than the bot mode. SS 106 Leader Class Primal: It's one of the best figures I've gotten a hold of this year. No, it doesn't warrant the Leader Class price point, but the solidness and detail more than make up for it. Gorilla mode's articulation is limited, but it is what it is.

[@PrinceGodzilla-v6c]

These two figures I really want to get for my Christmas list and I'm adding Nightbird, Hot Rod, and Sideways.

[@rodmudbone1864]

Personally, mirage has a perfect transformation, and I really don’t care if a figure is faithful to its source; it’s just the transformation for me!

[@Drawzilla2810]

I know you find fun in not using the instructions but the instructions make it so much funner

[@midgetofthemysticarts4936]

Bro the mainline one with the SS head sculpt is peak ROTB Mirage

[@etonymous1632]

The reason that the studio series primal doesn’t have his mask is because the designers weren’t given art which had the mask at that time (which is strange)

[@sukmykrok3388]

Mirage, unfortunately, was subjected to too many hands in the cookie jar. Porche was very hands on in not breaking the car's lines, which impacted the engineering.

[@twitch_cptgaming3283]

Ready for BmB to make a mirage supersized and more movie accurate 😊

[@Adder6112]

Mirage reminds me of my first bumblebee, he was so difficult to transform and it was so fiddly

[@Nemesis_Prime666]

Hey Jcc did you see the Mastermind Creations Chromedome joker? It looks awesome

[@TTHBLOX_]

Primal is amazing. Got him last week. But i want to get mirage too

[@jaydonmagan4694]

About a month late, though only because I didn’t find a copy of Mirage until last week (and it was hidden at the very back of a Transformers rack), but you can kind of fix SS Mirage’s legs a bit. So what you do is you essentially keep the doors around the same position they’re in for vehicle mode. That way they don’t jut out as side skirts and kind of sit flush with the legs. And when having the doors in that position for robot mode, angle back the parts below the doors a bit so that you can get his full knee bend (though it might take a tad bit experimentation to make sure they’re at the optimal angle). Another optional bonus is that you can turn his head around for vehicle mode and it doesn’t scratch any paint on his head. But, yeah, SS Mirage is plagued with some unfortunate circumstances. The designers never knew Mirage would be the stand out main robot in the film so they didn’t know they needed to do too much with him. And it’s pretty much confirmed that Porsche didn’t want the Porsche name to be split up on the doors, so the designers had to keep those as whole parts. And then there’s the clear fact that his robot mode isn’t too from-screen-to-toy friendly. You can see where the car parts go on the model, but those parts clearly change in shape. Another aspect to Mirage’s design is that the head lights go onto his shoulders, which would be very tricky for the toy designers to translate. Not that I don’t think it’d be impossible, just that the process would probably be very finicky. Mirage’s design is definitely going to be more accomplishable for Masterpiece scale as opposed to Deluxe. But I still decently enjoy the figure despite its flaws.

[@1994HondaCivic]

I got ss mirage 2 weeks ago and it feels like the figure is gonna break everytime I try to transform it. Mostly cause of the clear plastic.

[@tonyfiorilli2270]

Mine did crack and came with two right feet, so I couldn't even fold the feet in for transformation. I was so upset I returned him, haven't seen him since. Got him on Amazon for MSRP

[@djnavarro3212]

Hey J4 I saw on Instagram months ago that Mirage is actually a massive retool of Jolt from SS

[@midgetofthemysticarts4936]

Also I couldn’t agree more on the critiques on Mirage lol

[@cyberextreme86]

I Still Getting Studio Series R.O.T.B Deluxe Class Mirage and Also The Rest Of Transformers Studio Series Rise Of The Beasts Toylines Including The Rest Of Transformers Studio Series The Bumblebee Movie Toylines Too.

[@cyberverseprime7393]

The Alt mode was definitely what hindered the figure's design unfortunately. Here's hope we'll get to see Garbage Truck, F1 Ferrari, and Lamborghini Mirage in the future like shatter and dropkick from bumblebee

[@killianadams4779]

(16:24) I thought you said, "it's Optimus Prime's ass"😅 But I would've given primes axe to bee, and the chain to battle trap and simplified the leg transformation, but make it still look good. Voyager monke

[@tonyfiorilli2270]

Review core class DOTM Bumblebee. I think you'll appreciate him.

[@green-legacy]

!!!

[@publicprofilename4273]

So, with the exception of the Bumblebee movie opener bots "which I have all of so far" I'm not a big fan of collecting the live action bots. I have a few, but it's not my focus. I got Scourge as a birthday gift, and I cannot stand that buzzworthy Prime POS. I especially can't stand him, since the one before him is SOOOOOO much better, so I didn't get the one I wouldn't have been able to get anyways lol. I did want Scourge to have a friend though, ya know? The old trap of "well, I can't just have this one lonely dude rockin by himself" so I picked up Studio Series Primal when he dropped. Guess what? He is tied for my favorite acquisition of 2023, with another figure I typically avoid "repaints" in Bludgeon. In my opinion, those 2 are the best figures I got all year. I got all the heavy hitters this year, except for ss86 Ultra Magnus "preorder screwed me, dropped early, didn't have the money. That has REALLY hurt me the past couple years" but I don't see him beating out these 2. I just can't put them down! Especially Primal. It is literally impossible to pick him up, and A, put him in a less than epic pose and B, not transform him. He's just that good!

[@ncrawford5673]

Is it just me or is anyone else getting stuck on one of the steps for mirage? For some reason, I can't finish the transformation to its car mode because of it.

[@tonyfiorilli2270]

Hey! Does the mainline Primal head fit on the SS??

[@Gavin4800]

Mirage is ok

[@Gavin4800]

arararararararararararararararararararararrara

[@Mazinkaiser_Studios]

When your mainline is better than your "advanced" line you know you fucked up. Hasbro has proved that the class isn't about size, why not make him a voyager to give him a good engineering? He's supposed to be kinda the main guy in the movie anyway, why not give him a great toy?

[@Justiceforcliffjumper]

I kinda wish they just gave the mainline figure some more articulation some better paint on it and then switch out the head

[@Pikminer-5087]

I feel like getting the license for a Porsche mode really shot this toy in the foot. Having to get the entire car painted killed the robot mode budget, and they couldn't split the doors at all because Porsche would get mad their name has a seam through it and that requires even more paint. Man, I feel bad for this toy.

[@moshikong3961]

Actually that's a good point, about the vehicle mode needing to be completely painted and affecting the budget. Before, I thought the whole 'Porche licencing made this figure not as good' was a bit overexaggerated.

[@Pikminer-5087]

​@moshikong3961 definitely give the designers' Instagram a follow. The insight that Sam brings is invaluable to see how these toys come together and look the way they do, warts and all.

[@gannontilly2929]

teeth I never seen primal with teeth besides in beast wars not in the movie

[@BlitzStudiosIsinsideyourhome]

he does have teeth in the movie you can see them when optimus kills airazor

[@Optimusprime-ys3kb]

Can I get pinned????

[@jeebus2313]

Unfortunately I think Mirage is just one of those designs that's difficult to properly translate into toy form. Which is a shame because I genuinely like the character and the design, but it's clearly one of those that works on screen but not so much in physical plastic.