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Zob's Thoughts on the BTS-03 "Matrix of Leadership" Set
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Zobovor
Jun 21, 2016, 10:34:59 PM6/21/16
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On impulse, I bought this upgrade set I saw on eBay. It was a lot cheaper than I've seen it go for (I paid $11.99; other people have it listed for $28.99). I've never really bought a G1 upgrade set before, but I figured at twelve bucks it couldn't hurt.
It's made by BTS Toys, who have apparently made some other stuff like a spiffy trailer for Classics Optimus Prime, a modern-era microcassette recorder update for Soundwave called Sonicron, etc. I don't really know that much about them, and the web site listed on the packaging (www.btstoys.com) does not work.
So, the set comes with a tiny Matrix of Leadership, a Matrix holder (for the two or three people in existence who have never owned a G1 Optimus Prime, his chest is pretty hollow when he's in robot mode), two extra fists, a cartoon-accurate rifle, an energy axe, a Sideswipe backpack, and a small silver connector piece. My toy also came with a "surprise" mylar baggie, and inside it was a translucent blue version of his gun. Maybe it's meant to represent the gun as it is disappearing/reappearing from subspace?
So, the Matrix of Leadership is probably the biggest draw of this set for most people. There have been official accessories that work well enough (the die-cast metal Matrix that came with the Reveal the Shield Rodimus/Cyclonus 2-pack works well enough) but there's a difference in using something that kinda-sorta works and something that was specifically designed for this toy. There's a translucent blue ball in the center, flanked by the orange hemispheres and silver handles with square-shaped finger holes. The Matrix is designed to open, with either side sliding out on the blue plastic pegs.
The Matrix holder is a piece of silver-painted plastic that fits very, very snugly into the chest compartment of a G1 Optimus Prime or subsequent reissue (for the record, I am using the Hasbro reissue from 2002; your truck mileage may vary). The Matrix holder has two small plastic clips on either side, and the Matrix is meant to snap in place in-between them. The Matrix is still plainly visible when Prime's chest is closed, so some kind of auxiliary cover would have been nice to help hide it, but I recognize that there's only so much room inside there to be stuffing new parts. The Matrix holder has a small hole in the center to allow light to shine through, so if you hold him up, the Matrix appears to be glowing. The toy will still transform with the Matrix and holder in place.
The color of the replacement fists seems to be intended to match the 25th anniversary reissue of Optimus Prime from 2008, which featured a lighter, brighter blue plastic. (Maybe the Jhong Zin unlicensed reissue in faux-1984 packaging is the same color. I'm not sure. Even I can own only so many Optimus Prime toys.) The new fists are on a limited ball-and-socket joint, with the existing headlights being the socket. I would think that wobbling around the fists excessively would loosen the headlights and make the original fists fit much more loosely. The new rifle is shaped more like cartoon Prime's gun is drawn (fatter, with a functional peg at the handle of the gun instead of at the stock) and, of course, fits into either the new fists or the original ones.
The new fists also have a hinge at the fingers so that the hands can open and grasp either end of the Matrix. At least, in theory. They're so tight on mine that neither of them can open at all. I'm going to have to play around with them after this review and try to loosen them up. (The thumbs appear to be separate pieces of plastic that were glued in place, so I almost wonder if the fists were accidentally glued shut.)
The Sideswipe rocket pack (as seen in "More Than Meets the Eye" part 3) was red in the cartoon, but here it's black with silver accents. It's designed to plug into the slot in Prime's rear end, and the tab behind Prime's head provides an additional mounting point to lock it in place. This means that only an Optimus Prime toy from Transformers: Generation 2 (when the slot was introduced) or later will work; an original Optimus Prime toy from 1984 does not have this slot, and the backpack will not fit. The rocket pack also has a five-millimeter peg in the center that Prime obviously does not use (his back is hollow), so some other toy could theoretically wear this if he had the right peg-hole in his back (Action Masters come to mind). The pictures on the back of the box show how the energy axe can fit inside the rocket pack, which has a swing-open flap on the back. There are also two peg-holes to attach his two rifles, or perhaps whichever robot fists you're not using.
The energon axe is meant to represent the one Prime used in "More Than Meets the Eye" part 2. It's become such an iconic weapon for him and it's been included with numerous toys in recent years (including the New Year Convoy reissue, sold in Japan in 2000). It's yellow instead of orange, and it seems a bit tiny. It might be a miniaturized version of the one that came with Masterpiece MP-01 Optimus Prime. I haven't checked to be sure.
The purpose of the silver connector is not readily evident, but it's meant to plug into the bottom of the rocket pack so that it can slide over the launch tab on Optimus Prime's trailer. It's vaguely similar to the way the light and sound pack connected to the trailer on the Transformers: Generation 2 toy. It's a cool way of storing the accessory when Prime is in truck mode.
This set originally pre-ordered in 2010 for $20, so I feel like I got a good deal on it. I'm not sure I would have paid much more than I did, though. Still, it's a fun way of helping my Optimus reissue to accessorize.
Zob (Classics Optimus Prime has a hole on his back, doesn't he?)
It's made by BTS Toys, who have apparently made some other stuff like a spiffy trailer for Classics Optimus Prime, a modern-era microcassette recorder update for Soundwave called Sonicron, etc. I don't really know that much about them, and the web site listed on the packaging (www.btstoys.com) does not work.
So, the set comes with a tiny Matrix of Leadership, a Matrix holder (for the two or three people in existence who have never owned a G1 Optimus Prime, his chest is pretty hollow when he's in robot mode), two extra fists, a cartoon-accurate rifle, an energy axe, a Sideswipe backpack, and a small silver connector piece. My toy also came with a "surprise" mylar baggie, and inside it was a translucent blue version of his gun. Maybe it's meant to represent the gun as it is disappearing/reappearing from subspace?
So, the Matrix of Leadership is probably the biggest draw of this set for most people. There have been official accessories that work well enough (the die-cast metal Matrix that came with the Reveal the Shield Rodimus/Cyclonus 2-pack works well enough) but there's a difference in using something that kinda-sorta works and something that was specifically designed for this toy. There's a translucent blue ball in the center, flanked by the orange hemispheres and silver handles with square-shaped finger holes. The Matrix is designed to open, with either side sliding out on the blue plastic pegs.
The Matrix holder is a piece of silver-painted plastic that fits very, very snugly into the chest compartment of a G1 Optimus Prime or subsequent reissue (for the record, I am using the Hasbro reissue from 2002; your truck mileage may vary). The Matrix holder has two small plastic clips on either side, and the Matrix is meant to snap in place in-between them. The Matrix is still plainly visible when Prime's chest is closed, so some kind of auxiliary cover would have been nice to help hide it, but I recognize that there's only so much room inside there to be stuffing new parts. The Matrix holder has a small hole in the center to allow light to shine through, so if you hold him up, the Matrix appears to be glowing. The toy will still transform with the Matrix and holder in place.
The color of the replacement fists seems to be intended to match the 25th anniversary reissue of Optimus Prime from 2008, which featured a lighter, brighter blue plastic. (Maybe the Jhong Zin unlicensed reissue in faux-1984 packaging is the same color. I'm not sure. Even I can own only so many Optimus Prime toys.) The new fists are on a limited ball-and-socket joint, with the existing headlights being the socket. I would think that wobbling around the fists excessively would loosen the headlights and make the original fists fit much more loosely. The new rifle is shaped more like cartoon Prime's gun is drawn (fatter, with a functional peg at the handle of the gun instead of at the stock) and, of course, fits into either the new fists or the original ones.
The new fists also have a hinge at the fingers so that the hands can open and grasp either end of the Matrix. At least, in theory. They're so tight on mine that neither of them can open at all. I'm going to have to play around with them after this review and try to loosen them up. (The thumbs appear to be separate pieces of plastic that were glued in place, so I almost wonder if the fists were accidentally glued shut.)
The Sideswipe rocket pack (as seen in "More Than Meets the Eye" part 3) was red in the cartoon, but here it's black with silver accents. It's designed to plug into the slot in Prime's rear end, and the tab behind Prime's head provides an additional mounting point to lock it in place. This means that only an Optimus Prime toy from Transformers: Generation 2 (when the slot was introduced) or later will work; an original Optimus Prime toy from 1984 does not have this slot, and the backpack will not fit. The rocket pack also has a five-millimeter peg in the center that Prime obviously does not use (his back is hollow), so some other toy could theoretically wear this if he had the right peg-hole in his back (Action Masters come to mind). The pictures on the back of the box show how the energy axe can fit inside the rocket pack, which has a swing-open flap on the back. There are also two peg-holes to attach his two rifles, or perhaps whichever robot fists you're not using.
The energon axe is meant to represent the one Prime used in "More Than Meets the Eye" part 2. It's become such an iconic weapon for him and it's been included with numerous toys in recent years (including the New Year Convoy reissue, sold in Japan in 2000). It's yellow instead of orange, and it seems a bit tiny. It might be a miniaturized version of the one that came with Masterpiece MP-01 Optimus Prime. I haven't checked to be sure.
The purpose of the silver connector is not readily evident, but it's meant to plug into the bottom of the rocket pack so that it can slide over the launch tab on Optimus Prime's trailer. It's vaguely similar to the way the light and sound pack connected to the trailer on the Transformers: Generation 2 toy. It's a cool way of storing the accessory when Prime is in truck mode.
This set originally pre-ordered in 2010 for $20, so I feel like I got a good deal on it. I'm not sure I would have paid much more than I did, though. Still, it's a fun way of helping my Optimus reissue to accessorize.
Zob (Classics Optimus Prime has a hole on his back, doesn't he?)
Zobovor
Jun 24, 2016, 8:19:25 PM6/24/16
to
On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 8:34:59 PM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:
> I've never really bought a G1 upgrade set before
Oh, I forgot all about the Ironhide and Ratchet heads I got. I got them nearly at the same time I got the reissues, though, and I had never owned the G1 toys up to that point, so in some ways, to me, the toys have "always" had those heads.
> I've never really bought a G1 upgrade set before
> The thumbs appear to be separate pieces of plastic that were glued in place,
> so I almost wonder if the fists were accidentally glued shut.
It occurs to me what would have been kind of neat was to include extra orange fists for the G1 Rodimus Prime toy, but Rodimus doesn't have the arm articulation needed to actually hold the Matrix. Actually, Prime kind of lucked out, since he's one of the only G1 toys with articulated shoulders and elbows. (There's also the fact that with most other toys, you'd have to disassemble them with a screwdriver to replace their fists.)
Zob (would probably buy cartoon-style replacement heads for... well, pretty much all the 1984-87 toys)
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