'Streakers DotM Sentinel Prime Review!

[Sunstreaker]

I've already posted this over at FMH - seemed fair since they gave it too me! - but thought it would be wrong not to share with the Moon...

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Sentinel Prime - Newly arrived!


A close up on the box front.[/center]

Box layout is all 'spacey' and feels like you're in space looking down at the Earth... and you can see the Moon in the background... although it's not the Dark side... Feels more like Star Wars packaging than a Transformers product.

[Sunstreaker]

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TOYS!


It says 'TRY ME!'. I did. Nothing like Spock.[/center]

Thought I'd throw in a couple of shots of me with Sentinel so you can appreciate his scale compared to my massive head...

[Sunstreaker]

I tend to spend a lot of time worrying about packaging, and looking for details and spoilers in the poorly thought out write-up's that usually get plastered on the sides of boxes...

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Tech-Spec and Mech-Tech spiel.[/center]

As a big fan of the G1 Techspecs, I found this a little odd...low Courage and Skill for a Prime-class character, and the Speed strikes me as being very high for an Autobot... even a Fire-truck.

The Mech-Tech spiel doesn't actually tell you anything about what Mech-Tech actually is. No hype about it inside or on the destructions either. Seems a bit like a 'gimmickless-gimmick'.

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A close up on the box front.[/center]

A bit of info on Sentinel Prime from the movie. Seems promising - Obviously assuming that Sentinel has been lost on the Dark Side of the Moon for millenia... on a large rock adjacent to the landing site of the Cube... and in the same star system as The Fallen... Gosh Earth is popular isn't it? The Courage of 8 doesn't really tie into his having a 'Legendary Will' though...

[Sunstreaker]

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Since the success of RotF, Bumblebee has mostly been celebrating with pie and lard.[/center]

On t'other side of packaging is this awesome picture of 'Rapid Weight-Gain Bumblebee'©. Of course he's available... You can't be picky when you have a figure like Homer Simpson on steroids.

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Size comparison to Generations Darkmount.[/center]

Here he is 'uncased' and stood next to Generations Straxus... I mean 'Darkmount'... Like I said earlier, I've not really bought any Transformers since just after the first Movie came out, so I figured I'd need me something to compare and contrast against. I dispatched Wifey to the shops with the explicit instructions; 'Buy me a Transformer. Nothing too expensive. Nothing that looks gay.'

She came back several hours later saying 'You like Blue Tanks right?'

And you know what? I bloomin' well do...

[Sunstreaker]

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'...So... Mr. Sheen... what are your opinions on the new Sentinel Prime? He is going to be voiced by Leonard Nimoy...'


'WINNING!''
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I was pleased to find that Sentinel is nice and chunky. He's got those annoying 'Wings' that everything seemed to have from RID onwards, but they mostly tuck out of the way. The face is the usual 'creepy' movie styling, BUT, it DOES look a little bit like Leonard Nimoy...

[Sunstreaker]

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Sentinel Prime ready for Defence.[/center]


Double bladed sword detaches from little storage place on the underside of the firehose, and flips out into the long beast that you can see him holding in the picture. Has a Japanese feel, with the wings, the sleek lining of the armature and the 'butterfly-esque-ness' of the shield.

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Sentinel Prime ready for Offence![/center]


Here he has the'Mech-Tech' feature on the shield activated. Stumbled across that rather than it being promioted in any way in the destructions or literature.

[Sunstreaker]

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Close up on extended shield with 'Cybertronian Squiggles'[/center]

Here's a close up of the Mech-Tech Butterfly shield. Looks like an angry pair of scissors... There is some nicely detailed cybertronian runes underneath the weird squiggle motif, which is nice. NOt actually that sure how useful it would be in a fight though...


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Robo-Butterfly Attack![/center]

Here's a close up on the Robo-Butterfly. Makes a nice little drone, and has a vaguely 'Vulture Droid' feel to it.

[Sunstreaker]

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'...duhheh?'[/center]

The transformation itself isn't *THAT* complicated, however the A3 folded destructions with tiny pictures is about as useful as repeatedly bludgeoning yourself about the testicles with a spanner...


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fiddley-foldy[/center]

... you kind of have to keep looking at them though to find the 'fiddly-bits' that have to be done in order.


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?Gahheh? Stoopid Instructions make 'Streaker do 'Beaker-Face'.[/center]

There's a real sense with the panels (and there are a few...) that if you get them in the wrong order, or if the arms and legs aren't lined up perfectly, that the whole vehicle mode just isn't going to sit right. I had to go over the feet transformation a couple of times to get the paneling to sit just so.

[Sunstreaker]

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'DONE IT!'[/center]

The Fire-engine when finished is well worth the long transform - Sits and rolls nicely, and feels very solid. Nice Autobot logo's on the back, and there's a button on the top that makes the siren noise.


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Loving the Wing-mirrors![/center]

Shame you can see the back of Sentinels head through the windscreen, but the little foldy out wing-mirrors and the horns at the front are a really nice touch. Lights flash when button is pressed naturally!


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'It's a Fire-Engine!'[/center]

The 'Mech-Tech' bits stow nicely onto the underside of the vehicle, or can fit onto the top... this changes the sound, powering up when you attach, and then making 'big-laser shooty-noise' when you press the funny squiggles. I would have taken a photo... but The scissor butterfly attached makes it look a little silly... When you remove the Mech-Tech it makes the old familiar 'transformation-noise' which is nice.

[Sunstreaker]

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'DONE IT!'[/center]

To conclude! Overall I'm really impressed with Sentinel Prime, and not just because I won it either! Obvious 'fire-engine' similarities aside, it does feel VERY reminiscent of RID Optimus and Ultra Magnus - the overall feel of it, the way it stands, even the sound effects. I'm not sure at all about it being suitable for kids aged 5+... the panels and transformation seems just too fiddly for that, and the Mech-Tech seems thoroughly underwhelming, and was done a lot better with the Mini-Cons in Armada ( I never bought any Energon so can't really compare, but my understanding is that it was more of the same?).

Scoring:

Packaging: 7/10
Character (Techspec/Bio): 7/10
Playability (Transformation): 8/10
Displayability: 9/10
Gimmicks (Lights/Sound/Features): 6/10

OVER ALL 'STREAKER-SCORE:: 74%