Taking a look at Alpha Pack from Spark Toys. The first in this series of toys, it homages the War Within version of Optimus Prime.
Producer: Spark Toys
Price: $126.98
Release Date: Jun. 2016
Item Height: Approx. 8.25″
Item Weight: Approx. 0.3 lbs
WHERE TO BUY: Lunar Toy Store
Spark Toys makes a splash with their first forray into the Third-Party Transformers world with Alpha Pack. This homage to War Within Optimus Prime really hits the mark aesthetically. The sculpt, size, paint and apps all hit the mark so well that it’s hard to believe this isn’t an official product. I mean it when I say that I don’t think that there’s ever going to be a better looking War Within Optimus than Alpha Pack; I just don’t see how it’s possible. However, where Alpha Pack falters is its poseability. As you can see in the video portion, between limited articulation and just being a hard piece to move around itself aesthetically, this piece really don’t “do much” in terms of achieving nice poses. This is really unfortunate because the imposing, “bad-assed” aesthetic of this piece really makes you want to put it in nice poses.
Alpha Pack comes with an axe and possibly the nicest rendition of the “Prime Blaster” that I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately these weapons are marred by extremely short handles which don’t go past the bottom of Alpha Pack’s hands while holding them. They do have a part that pegs into the palms but unfortunately they don’t hold in well and without more handle for the hands to actually “grip” they become loose and wobbly with the slightest bit of friction to the figure. A positive is that they don’t only have storage but look great when pegged onto his backpack when not in use.
The alt mode is my favorite part of this piece. Things like the paint job and large rubber wheels really shine here. Unfortunately it also has its slights in no weapon storage for the axe and the front wheels not rolling smoothly.
Note 06/28/16: the user AuraWind on TFW2005 message board pointed out that the front of the vehicle mode actually pulls forward to give proper space for the wheels. This isn’t something featured in the instructions, so I’m glad that he was able to catch it and share. It definitely gives the alt. mode more playability and officially makes it my preferred mode.
Overall Score: 5.0/10 – Overall, Alpha Pack is a fantastic piece aesthetically and the alt. mode just kicks all sorts of butt, however the playability in bot mode really dampered my experience with it. It’s an awesome display piece but not anything I will find myself really toying with again. The handles for the weapons also render them nearly pointless. I feel that it’s a few minor aspects of the toy that make a large impact and this would easily be an 8.0+ if thos issues weren’t present.
Check out a few pictures of these in the gallery below and remember to order your Pandinus at Lunar Toy Store if you like what you see!
