Omega Supreme - Energon - Figure

Omega Supreme

In 1985, the Autobots introduced us to their ultimate, last line of defense; Omega Supreme. Nineteen years later, the big 'bot returns in the Energon line better than ever. Loaded with the fun gimmicks that don't get in the way of any of his many modes, Omega Supreme also heralds the return of the Headmaster feature. Oh, what fun!

Review

Set Includes

Packaged in robot mode, Omega Supreme stands at a whopping 14 1/4" tall with a girth of 10 1/2". His right side is mostly yellow and black with a clear yellow canopy on his right shoulder, red claw, red chest panels, with some dark blue, light gray, metallic blue, and gold highlights throughout. And Autobot insignia is stamped on the forearm. His left side is comprised mostly of dark blue and black with a clear yellow blaster on the end of the arm, yellow gun barrels, missiles, and highlights. Other color highlights include light gray, red, silver, and metallic blue. A larger Autobot insignia is stamped on this shoulder.

Omega is no slouch in the articulation department either. His head rotates at the neck. His shoulders, elbows, and knees all rotate and bend on ratcheting joints. His hips swing out and bend, also on ratcheting joints. By pressing in the small, blue button on his right forearm and sliding it back, his right arm extends forward, nearly doubling his reach. His right claw can open as well.

As for play features, the turrets on Omega's left shoulder rotate in unison and the back one can launch two independent missiles. Load the left forearm, which also has a rotating, non-firing turret, with two AA batteries and press the small black button near the front to activate an awesome laser blast sound effect. The front, clear yellow section of the arm flashes red as the sound effect plays.

"And I'll form the head!" Remove Omega's head and raise the connector up to reveal a smaller, second head underneath. The main head transforms into a smaller robot:

1. Flip the gray panel down and extend the antennae outward slightly.
2. Flip the back panels of the head up and turn the robot over.

At 2 1/4" tall, the smaller robot is articulated quite well. He has ball-sockets for his shoulders and hips and his knees bend. His torso and head are red with metallic blue face. His arms and upper legs are blue and his lower legs are black. His robot head looks like a smaller version of the larger robot head, but without the details behind the shield.

Powerlinx Omega Supreme

One of the main selling features of Omega Supreme is his ability to combine with Optimus Prime. Each of the smaller vehicles that form Prime's limbs in his Powerlinx mode can attach to various flip-out panels on Omega's right shoulder, forearm, lower leg, and left lower leg. The ones on the legs rotate in addition to pivoting as the other two do. To combine Optimus Prime with Omega Supreme:

1. Remove Omega's head and separate the robot down the center of the torso.
2. Flip the large, yellow panel the head attaches to up, the smaller yellow panel on the other section down, and open the back panels outward.
3. With Optimus in vehicle mode, take the cab and flip up the robot head, placing the large helmet on top of his head.
4. Place the Prime cab into one side of Omega Supreme and connect the other half.

Combined with Prime, Powerlinx Omega Supreme looks all right. Prime's head is far too small on Omega's massive body and it's the only part of Optimus that shows through in this mode unless you attach the Prime Force vehicles. Now those look nice as accessories to Omega as you can place Digger-3 on his right forearm for use as a weapon.

Start-Change-Finish

To transform Omega Supreme into vehicle mode:

1. Remove Omega's head and separate the robot mode down the center of the torso.
2. Fold the large yellow panel into the chest cavity and rotate the lower right leg outward 90 degrees.
3. Swing the foot down to form the cab of the construction vehicle.
4. Raise the left arm and shoulder so they point upward and rotate the left leg inward 90 degrees.
5. Bring the leg up on the inner joint and then back down using the outer joint.
6. Raise the bridge section up and swing around 180 degrees, locking it into the tab on the red panel.
7. Rotate the bridge around 180 degrees and raise the top and side radar panels.

Construction Vehicle

The construction vehicle is the less convincing of the two vehicles. While the front looks like a futuristic truck, the back end is clearly part of a torso with an arm hanging off of it. The construction vehicle measures an incredible 16" long, 5 1/2" tall and 4" wide. All fourteen wheels spin independently, enabling the vehicle to roll quite well on smooth surfaces. The extendable arm works quite well in this mode and there is even a cockpit at the back where the small robot can sit.

Cruiser

Rolling along on four, small independent wheels, the cruiser more than makes up for the construction vehicle's lack of, well, vehicle-ness. Coming in at 17 3/4" long, 5 1/2" high, and 4 1/4" wide, the cruiser reminds me a lot of the Argo from Star Blazers. The three turrets in the front rotate in unison either manually or by using the gear on the front, starboard side of the vessel. when rotated to the extreme right or left, a different blaster sound effect activates.

The top bridge radar panels rotate up and down with a six-round missile launcher in the smokestack behind the bridge. The engine detail is decent. There are three turbine-like engines molded into the back of the vessel. The small robot can also merge with the bridge by raising the top section of the bridge and laying the robot head-first into the cavity, resting the legs down, and lowering the bridge down again.

Cybertronian Armored Supertrain

By plugging the front end of the construction vehicle into the engine compartment of the cruiser, you get the Cybertronian Armored Supertrain. While there are no new features in this combined mode, it does give us the longest vehicle in Transformers history at a ginormous 32". Fortress Maximus measures in at 30" in his fortress mode, for your information. Thanks to Zobovor for providing the measurement on Fort Max.

Start-Change-Finish

To transform the construction vehicle into crane mode:

1. Raise the front cab up and stand the vehicle.
2. Rotate the shoulder joint around 180 degrees.
3. Bend the knee joint back 45 degrees and the hip joint about 90 degrees.
4. Flip out the blue handle bars.

To transform the cruiser into gun platform mode:

1. Return the bridge section to it's robot mode configuration.
2. Bend the upper hip joint a little past 90 degrees.
3. Bend the knee joint back 45 degrees.
4. Rotate the lower leg 180 degrees.
5. Flip out the yellow handle bars.

Crane

The crane looks like a up-turned truck with an upside-down crane arm attached to the top of it. The crane arm isn't especially functional as it raises upward when extended. The shoulder and elbow joints can make it more functional, but at the loss of the station's balance.

Gun Platform

As with the vehicle modes, the gun platform looks better than the crane. Still, it looks more like a cruiser perched atop a robot leg. On the other hand, it's much more functional and there is no risk of balance loss.

Overall

Omega Supreme is a great toy. There are a number of fun gimmicks that don't detract from the design and the light and sound effects are some of the best to be embedded into a Transformers toy. The robot mode is a wonderful homage to Omega's G1 namesake and the cruiser rocks. The construction vehicle and station modes are a little weak and seem to be almost last-minute, at least in regards to the stations. The Headmaster feature is nicely done though. Omega Supreme is definitely worth looking into getting.

Reviewer	Richard C. Mistron
Date	July 18th 2004
Score	(8 out of 10)
Reads	32715