Taikongshenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime KO

Taikongshenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime KO

Presenting a Taikonshenrs Knock-Off (KO) of the Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime from - get this - Hasbro.

We'll discuss why it's from Hasbro later.

We reviewed the Takara AD01 Age of Extinction Optimus Prime all the way back in May of 2014 - which was before the movie came out. We hated the fact that the 1st Edition AOE Optimus Prime came with a bed for a back-pack. We were not impressed with all the gray plastic of the Hasbro version of the Leader class AOE Optimus Prime, but we were quite taken by the shiny chrome of the Takara ADO1.

So we were quite surprised to see a Taikongshenrs version of the AD01 in the black-market here in the Philippines.

And it's a pretty decent replica! Can you tell it's a KO from the pic?

MORE AFTER THE JUMP


And here's the nice part about the Taikong-shenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime KO: it carries the Hasbro logo on the box!

Obviously we don't understand anything else, but you gotta admire the brazenness of counterfeiter. Somewhere out there, someone from China was sitting wondering "Okay if I copy this design from the Japanese, who should I put as the manufacturer? I know! Let's let Takara blame Hasbro!"

And it is a wonderful knock-off! Of course, there are some draw backs that we will discuss in greater detail in a bit, but for now, let's get the biggest difference out of the way: The Taikongshenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime KO is waaay smaller than the original:

Kinda ironic considering that we criticized the AD01 for being small for a Leader Class figure.

Here are the two in truck mode:

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE TAIKONGSHENRS TAKARA AD01 OPTIMUS PRIME KO?

We already know he looks good so let's go with what's wrong with him: FIRST: The Taikongshenrs transformation is not perfect. And we're pretty sure it's not because we can't transform it since the AD01 next to it is transformed perfectly. We didn't see any excess flash so it's a part size problem.

SECOND: The facial sculpt is not as sharp as the original's. Quite disappointing actually. This is the biggest let down of the product:

THIRD: Note how the chrome job is not as smooth and clean as it should be. FOURTH: The ratchet joints are gone, as is the jointed thumb, and you probably caught the different sword mount on his backpack, but the Taikongshenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime's articulation is still excellent - though we can already feel the joints start to losen:

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WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE TAIKONG-SHENRS TAKARA AD01 OPTIMUS PRIME KO?

FIRST: If you could not tell that the Taikongshenrs was a KO in the first picture or in any picture not next to the actual AD01, then you know that this is a pretty good replica.

SECOND: The price! We picked this particular knock-off for PhP 350 (Roughly US$ 7.40). And if we actually negotiated or if we went into the even seedier parts of the black market, we're pretty sure we could have walked away with it for even less.

So if you're looking for something to spice up your collection, here's a cheap knock-off for you.

Taikongshenrs Takara AD01 AOE Optimus Prime KO