Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime

Presenting the Nissan Motul Autech GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime from Takara with his Motul Autech "sister" Misaki.

We don't want to say that he's a rebuild of the 2008 Takara Alternity Optimus Prime.We believe that to do so would be a great injustice to the designers of what we have here.

This is a rebuild of the Takara Alternity Optimus Prime.

We won't pretend to understand what the Alternity is - basically it's an alternate dimension that you can read about here.

We feel that what the packaging has to say about the Takara GT-R Convoy or Optimus Prime is more important.

Unfortunately it's mostly in Japanese - which we don't speak/read/write.


There is a bit of English on the blister pack though which reads "Convoy (Optimus Prime) is the main character from 'Tatakae: Cho Robot Seimei Tai Transformer (Fight: Super Lifeforms Transformers), the TV animation series broadcasted on 1985. Convoy can transform to trailer truck. 

In the Toyline "Masterpiece", Convoy was remade into a high quality toy for the fans. 

This GT-R Prime fits perfectly into MP Convoy's trailer. This is well worth a try, as it will looks so like  real racing car and it's carrier."

Sounds like somebody used Google Translate instead of hiring an interpreter - or, since the GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime was made in China, that this is a result of a twice translated piece of marketing.

On the side of the blister pack it says "Super GT: A project for cultural exchange between Man and Transformers. From joint research between Autobots and humans were created race car bodies imbued with the powers of Transformers. Now the Racers of Earth Team up with Transformers to battle it out on the circuit."

Still sounds like Google Translate and it sounds like Earth is turning into the race planet of Velocitron.


What's to like about the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime?

FIRST:  Damn that's detailed! You can read each and every sponsor of the Japanese Nissan Autech Motul GT-R Racing team on the body of the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime.

We're actually wondering if the sponsors paid to have their logos on the "Autobot 1st Commander" (As he is described in the blister pack).

And these are the actual sponsors of the actual team - with the probably exception of Michelin, but we're not sure if Michelin is the old sponsor and Bridgestone tires is the new sponsor or it's the other way around.

Just take a look at this beautiful beast - the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime is detail accurate and solid:

Even the undercarriage of the Takara GT-R Convoy Optimus Prime is solid. Properly transformed, it has no problem rolling with a push.

The interior of the Motul Autech Nissan Convoy - Optimus Prime is... still quite detailed. Check out the Nissan Nismo Trademarked engine block - which by the way forms his head in robot mode (Very appropriate). 

The interior is also detailed but.... well it's a racing car. The cockpit is not meant to look pretty:

SECOND:  We love Optimus Prime's "Helmet" look. It's far more tactical and quite.... sporty. Takara did wonders on it and it actually looks like you can remove the helmet - check out that microphone! Unfortunately no, that visor doesn't come down.

The die-cast metal gives the Takara GT-R Convoy a nice hefty weight (The kind you can seriously injure someone with if you threw it at them). THIRD: If you haven't noticed, the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime looks great in his robot mode. Far better than his Alternity counterpart:

That rear spoiler makes a hell of a difference:

As you can clearly see, the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime is a rebuild of the Alternity Prime, not a redeco.

FOURTH: Takara finally saw fit to give GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime a gun. It may be a pansy gun and unless we're really missing something there really is no way to attach it to Prime's car mode as is directed in the Japanese instructions, but we do appreciate the effort because one of the criticisms regarding Alternity Prime was the lack of a gun - it just seemed so un-Prime like to merely rely on wrist lasers (Though they are pretty cool). FIFTH:  GT-R Convoy's articulation is not the best - he can't kneel or twist at the waist and he is top heavy - but he looks damn fine:

Or you can just give him an ion cannon from the Gears of War 2 Weapons kit. 

FIFTH: Little Sister Misaki - because we're perverts deep inside. We enjoyed her high articulation, scant clothing and alternate hands:

What's NOT to like about the Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime?

FIRST:  No way does "Little Sister" Misaki fit inside the GT-R Convoy - Optimus prime when he's in car mode - which is really sad. We were looking forward to more interactive car-girl poses with her and Optimus Prime.

SECOND: The poor articulation doesn't bother us as much since this is clearly a "display" piece. However it does bother us that we have to be really careful with the Takara GT-R Convoy. We keep waiting for paint chips to start to appear everytime we transform him. This shoot will be his last. He's off to the shelf along with his Alternity version that rarely transforms as well.

THIRD: As with the Alternity Convoy, the Takara GT-R Optimus Prime has really stubby, short arms.

This particular Takara GT-R Convoy - Optimus Prime was purchased from the Facebook Group TF-HK for PhP 5,100 (Roughly US$ 115.53 plus shipping). It is not available on Amazon as of this writing. We think that it is a beautiful work of art addition to the Dungeon: