Striker Optimus Prime APS01 (Asian Premium Series, 2012)

Mechtech technology allows Optimus Prime to achieve the ultimate in both speed and power while in vehicle battle mode. This amazing prowess on the battlefield earns this edition the special title of "Striker". His primary armament, the Megastriker is the combination of the eliminator gun and assault blaster and fires electromagnetically accelerated bullets. Even his battle shield converts its shape, for use in both defense during close combat.

The Asian Premium Series was a short lived series of repainted Movie figures released in premium styled boxes with an opening flap (with a magnet to secure it - apart from APS01U which came in a cardboard sleeve) to see the contents inside. The series consisted of 4 releases which were released between 2012 and 2015, the first two releases featured the Dark of the Moon logo while the final two just had a generic logo which was featured on the Transformer Generations products.

• APS01 Striker Optimus Prime, released 6th November 2012
• APS02 Decepticon Brawl, released 31st May 2013
• APS03 Barricade & Soundwave, released 23rd January 2015
• APS01U Optimus Prime Ultimate Edition, released 24th April 2015

APS01 is a repaint of Takara Tomy's DA-28 Striker Optimus Prime from 2011 and it also comes with additional Battle Blade accessories which were given away free in Toys R Us Japan between 18th November and 11th December with purchases over 3,000 Yen.

Battle Blades Advertisement for DA-28 Striker Optimus Prime

Overall APS01 is DA-28 Striker Optimus Prime with RA-24 Buster Optimus Primes (released 2009) paint scheme, but the pin striping on the flame decals is not as prominent and the fists are plain grey unlike the silver on Buster Optimus Prime. One thing to be cautious over is the feet which form the grill of the truck; being chromed you have to be careful not to scratch the surface when in robot mode.

Striker Optimus Prime comes packaged in robot mode holding the new Mechtech Megastriker weapon alongside the shield and two battle blades. When you remove the figure from the box the wheel arches are dangling behind the figure and need rotating upward and connecting to the robots back. The figure looks far more impressive than the standard DA-28 which has a darker blue and dark matt grey parts.

The Megastriker weapon is bright silver in colour and fits well in the robot fists. The gun can also split in half to become two weapons, the Eliminator Gun and Assault Blaster. The shield has a fold out handle and looks impressive when held in robot mode. The guns and shield themselves did not feature in the Dark of the Moon film. The swords fit into both fists and are a vast improvement from the original integrated swords which kept flipping out when you didn't want them to.

The vehicle mode is also a marked improvement with the chromed grill now on display and the pin striped flames. As well as the standard vehicle mode, Striker Optimus Prime features a battle mode. The shield converts into a cover for the front of the truck for a "Mad Max" styled vehicle and the weapons and swords plug into the top of the cab mode.

When not in battle mode the shield and weapons can store away on the trailer hitch.

Like the other figures sharing this mould it features lights and sounds. This figure does not come packaged with batteries but when x2 AA batteries are installed, Optimus Prime speaks "We must stop the Decepticons" when the button on his waist is pressed down. When the waist is separated during transformation the classic transforming sound plays. In truck mode there is a button on the back which plays the engine sounds.

Sound Effects:

Even after the release of APS01U and MPM-04, I prefer this figure but it is a shame the Buster Gun was not included with this figure.

View the full photograph gallery here on Flickr.