Review: YOLOPARK Optimus Prime and Megatron

I used to think that a Transformers toy that didn’t transform was sort of pointless, like a toy car with wheels that don’t turn. However after years of dabbling with “proper” transformers from the likes of Hasbro and Magic Square, I realised something. I always display them in robot mode and I never transform them. So when I saw these model kits I had to check them out.

What’s In The Box

Both Megatron and Optimus Prime come packed very similarly, in a really nice collector friendly package but also… in bits.

This model kit is like a slightly more advanced “Build-A-Figure”, it all just clicks and snaps together in a fairly obvious way though the instructions are helpful. Optimus Prime has more parts and took slightly longer to build, about 20 minutes versus 10 for Megatron.

Once built both are comparable both in size and articulation despite that difference in parts. Both have a good range of accessories, energy weapons, blasters etc. Prime even comes with a Megatron pistol. No extra hands because their only pair of hands is poseable.

More than meets the eye

Optimus and Megatron are both styled fairly faithfully to their original G1 cartoon designs but enhanced slightly to add a small amount of “realism”. By that I mean they are not just flat blocks, there are sculpted and painted detail to bring those designs to life.

The various scratches, scuffs and rust marks really make a difference compared to plain plastic seen on some transformers figures, like Hasbro ones for instance. (Hasbro have really annoyed me the last few years with their lack of paint apps).

Even accessories like blasters which are fairly plain matte plastic are improved with just minimal paint applications to show wear and tear.

Robots (Not) In Disguise 

These toys are transformers in name only, they do not have any transformation feature. A few years ago I would have scoffed at that but after owning A bunch of transforming versions of these two characters I have found that I very rarely used that feature and almost always displayed and photographed in robot mode.

No transformation means a cleaner overall look, no backpacks made of folded plastic and articulation not being restricted by the needs of engineering for the transforming mechanism.

These figures are super poseable, the amount of range is fantastic. Flaps at the waist allow legs to swing very far forwards and sideways, arms are able to come right across the body, especially with Prime. they both even have a decent range of head movement, they utilise something that happens in transforming figures where the heads connection point moves to give more range.

Rather than having a bunch of extra interchangeable hands, their single pair of mits are poseable, thumb, forefinger and the other fingers each have multiple joints allowing plenty of options including pointing, holding weapons, fists etc. Weapons also tab into the hand so you are not relying on finger grip alone. It’s very effective.

Light Our Darkest Hour

Both figures feature some nicely done light-up functions. Prime and Megs both have eyes that light up, triggered by magnets in their accessories. The eyes are nice and bright, blue for the autobot and red for the Deception, and have 3 modes; solid, flashing and fading.

One slight negative here is that when the lights are not on,the faces lack a bit of life with just black eyes, it’s worth the trade off I think though since they look so good when on.

Megatron also has a red light in his arm cannon which is also nice and bright. It has a button on the side to activate.

They both have a good selection of accessories too, energy weapons and blasters mainly. But Prime also has a blaster that is actually in the form of Megatron’s original transformation. Unfortunately he can’t really hold this in a satisfying way.

Megatron has 3 different heads including an incredible one with a wide mouth expression.

Prime also has his matrix of leadership which slots nicely into his torso behind articulated metal chest plates.

Summary

I have been really impressed with these figures. I was concerned that because they are model kits that they would maybe not feel as solid or durable as a normal action figure but that is absolutely not the case. Once built these are high quality figures especially at this price point.

I recently picked up a Hasbro transformer with a similar retail price and it’s never been near any paint, has less accessories and feels cheaper. if you pick up one of these Yolopark figures you definitely get good bang for your buck, additionally I enjoyed the building process so for me that’s additional value.

There are a few small niggles, despite having a lot of articulation and being fairly weighty, I did sometimes struggle to get Prime to stand up without him having a bit of a wobble. Although he never feels like he will fall. The eyes when not lit don’t look as good as painted eyes might have, but I’m happy to have the light up feature.

Also the die cast elements are minimal, compared to say a Heat Boys mech figure which has a die cast skeleton this just has metallic accents. but the price difference make that understandable with heatboys mechanism costing 3 times as much as this.

Overall these are fantastic, fun figures for a reasonable price. Now I really want G1 versions of Starscream, Soundwave and Bumblebee!