Before the final episode of
Not Your Father's Autobot drops on Sunday, we've one more
Generation 2 homage figure to feature. During the
Titans Return segment of the "Prime Wars" Trilogy, a set given the name "Chaos on Velocitron" was released as a Toys "R" Us/online exclusive. At the time, this set was the only way to complete the pair of Autobot Clones (new versions of the classic figures featured
here), in addition to a number of other characters (all reuses of previously released molds to a greater or lesser degree). Most of these deserve their own features, but we're mostly going to focus on the
Generation 2 homage here, called "Laser Prime" for this release.
This version of Optimus Prime demonstrates Hasbro's desire these days to create molds that can viably function as multiple characters at once. On one hand, it was designed to be a new version of classic triple-changer
Octane (given yet
another new name for trademark purposes), but it was also clearly designed to resemble the original G2 Laser Optimus Prime toy (which I don't own, but it's the same mold as
Robots in Disguise Scourge) from the get-go. Oddly enough, this mold was released
as Optimus Prime several months earlier at retail, but the full G2 color scheme was held for this exclusive release.
The mold's double-duty as triple-changer Octone (Octane's name in
Titans Return) means that "Laser Prime" picks up an additional alternate mode that the original G2 toy lacks, specifically a jet mode.
But "Laser Prime's" tanker mode is where the G2 homage really pops. Although Hasbro's sticker applications during this era leave a
lot to be desired, they nonetheless duplicate the original G2 Laser Optimus Prime's distinctive (if bizarre... he's burning down a forest, after all!) tanker deco, with his name proudly displayed toward the back.
You probably noticed the little figure standing toward the tanker mode's back. This is "Refractor," not to be confused with camera-trio
"Reflector"... who's now called
"Refraktor"... who am I kidding,
everyone's going to confuse these guys! In fact, the only reason we know this little guy is called "Refractor" (with a "c"!) is from a process of elimination. He's not named anywhere on the "Chaos on Velocitron" packaging (neither were the other two Titan Masters attached to larger robots in this set). Instead, the name comes from a group of names on a poster given away at San Diego Comic Con in 2017, listing
every "Titan Master" that came out with the
Titans Return line (for those who don't recall, "Titan Masters" were this line's version of the Nebulans from the old Headmasters toys, the little figures who turned into the larger robots' heads). Three of the names on that poster weren't previously known, nicely corresponding to the three Titan Master heads that went unnamed on the "Chaos on Velocitron" packaging. Of those three names, the other two had clues (either on the poster or elsewhere) tying them to the other two relevant figures in this set, leaving "Refractor" as the name that
must go with "Laser Prime's" robot-who-becomes-Prime's head, despite the confusion with camera-guy.
As a nifty little bonus, the "Chaos on Velocitron" set came with
another Titan Master head, not assigned to any larger robot within the set. This was done on a few exclusive sets during the
Titans Return line. This is Rodimus Prime... or, at least, his head, which can be swapped out for any other Titan Master in the line. So here's "Laser Prime" with Rodimus Prime's head. Unlike most other Titan Master figures, Rodimus' faceplate is actually die-cast metal, perhaps an indicator that Hasbro considered this bonus extra special. If you want to see what Rodimus looks like in his tiny robot mode,
just click this link.
As I mentioned already, the final episode of
Not Your Father's Autobot: A Transformers: Generation 2
Comic Book Podcast drops on Sunday, as my brother Nick and I talk about issue #12. As always, I hope you'll joins us there.
Before the final episode of Not Your Father's Autobot drops on Sunday, we've one more Generation 2 homage figure to feature. During the Titans Return segment of the "Prime Wars" Trilogy, a set given the name "Chaos on Velocitron" was released as a Toys "R" Us/online exclusive. At the time, this set was the only way to complete the pair of Autobot Clones (new versions of the classic figures featured here), in addition to a number of other characters (all reuses of previously released molds to a greater or lesser degree). Most of these deserve their own features, but we're mostly going to focus on the Generation 2 homage here, called "Laser Prime" for this release.
This version of Optimus Prime demonstrates Hasbro's desire these days to create molds that can viably function as multiple characters at once. On one hand, it was designed to be a new version of classic triple-changer Octane (given yet another new name for trademark purposes), but it was also clearly designed to resemble the original G2 Laser Optimus Prime toy (which I don't own, but it's the same mold as Robots in Disguise Scourge) from the get-go. Oddly enough, this mold was released as Optimus Prime several months earlier at retail, but the full G2 color scheme was held for this exclusive release. 
The mold's double-duty as triple-changer Octone (Octane's name in Titans Return) means that "Laser Prime" picks up an additional alternate mode that the original G2 toy lacks, specifically a jet mode.
But "Laser Prime's" tanker mode is where the G2 homage really pops. Although Hasbro's sticker applications during this era leave a lot to be desired, they nonetheless duplicate the original G2 Laser Optimus Prime's distinctive (if bizarre... he's burning down a forest, after all!) tanker deco, with his name proudly displayed toward the back.
You probably noticed the little figure standing toward the tanker mode's back. This is "Refractor," not to be confused with camera-trio "Reflector"... who's now called "Refraktor"... who am I kidding, everyone's going to confuse these guys! In fact, the only reason we know this little guy is called "Refractor" (with a "c"!) is from a process of elimination. He's not named anywhere on the "Chaos on Velocitron" packaging (neither were the other two Titan Masters attached to larger robots in this set). Instead, the name comes from a group of names on a poster given away at San Diego Comic Con in 2017, listing every "Titan Master" that came out with the Titans Return line (for those who don't recall, "Titan Masters" were this line's version of the Nebulans from the old Headmasters toys, the little figures who turned into the larger robots' heads). Three of the names on that poster weren't previously known, nicely corresponding to the three Titan Master heads that went unnamed on the "Chaos on Velocitron" packaging. Of those three names, the other two had clues (either on the poster or elsewhere) tying them to the other two relevant figures in this set, leaving "Refractor" as the name that must go with "Laser Prime's" robot-who-becomes-Prime's head, despite the confusion with camera-guy.
As a nifty little bonus, the "Chaos on Velocitron" set came with another Titan Master head, not assigned to any larger robot within the set. This was done on a few exclusive sets during the Titans Return line. This is Rodimus Prime... or, at least, his head, which can be swapped out for any other Titan Master in the line. So here's "Laser Prime" with Rodimus Prime's head. Unlike most other Titan Master figures, Rodimus' faceplate is actually die-cast metal, perhaps an indicator that Hasbro considered this bonus extra special. If you want to see what Rodimus looks like in his tiny robot mode, just click this link.
As I mentioned already, the final episode of Not Your Father's Autobot: A Transformers: Generation 2 Comic Book Podcast drops on Sunday, as my brother Nick and I talk about issue #12. As always, I hope you'll joins us there.
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