Alchemist Prime with Submarauder Decoy Armor Mini Pretenders! Transformers Generations Power of the Primes Prime Masters Item No.: Asst. E0566 No. E1115 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Blaster tip, small robot, robot suit Action Feature: Transforms from Claw to Blaster and Robot to Ingot Retail: $5.99 Availability: February 2018 Other: Tiny Pretender and Targetmaster
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It's not looking like we'll necessarily get all 12 of the little guys as suits, but we overheard the Primes should see release as tiny robots eventually. Submarauder is my early favorite of the first couple of waves, mostly because it's a lot like a small Battle Beasts toy. A fishy robot of 2-inches tall - plus a spire - comes complete with a sea-themed claw weapon and a mini robot inside. You know what I'll say here - I got my money's worth.

The original suit looked more like a Super Sentai villain, and the new one is a little more robotic. It's still a biped, but the legs and arms are more robotic than organic like the 1988 original toy. The arms swivel freely, and he has a little Decepticon symbol over his purple off-brand Speedo. The purple coloring doesn't extend to a suite of accessories like during the good old days, but you do get a purple splash over the grey claw weapon hidden behind the figure's neck.

The Submarauder Prime Armor comes with jointed arms. Each arm has a 3mm fist so you can pop off the backpack gun and give him a weapon. He can also be a weapon - if you use your imagination, it's like a gun with a sea Wolverine claw on it. Or a robo-trident. You'll need to use and/or abuse your imagination here, as the weapon is a nice bonus feature but not exactly great.

Transformation is incredibly easy. Ridiculously easy. The inner robot goes from a "Prime Engine" to tiny robot - or also a head if you want. The robot shell can become a gun. The Alchemist Prime symbol is going to work great for your fan-character robot based on Rorschach from The Watchmen. He lacks face paint, but other than that is charming enough.

The inner Alchemist Prime robot fails to carry over the original Submarauder colors. We have the blue, but not the purple limbs. A fan repaint would probably make this a perfect modernization, but as it is you'd have to squint to recognize this as the original character. It's nice, but I'm sure you'd love it to be the "right" colors... unless Hasbro plans a bigger one later. I can't imagine we'll ever seen full-size Pretenders again.

I love the Submarauder shell and dig the general vibe of the figure. I would be lying to you if I said it's worth getting these guys instead of Deluxes, but as a fun little thing unto itself it's very entertaining as a couch fidget toy when you're watching TV. It's a neat idea that won't last forever, and I assume is going to burn out before I get Longtooth or Catilla. Get it before it gets expensive, which it will if you ignore it.

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