I initially dismissed this figure due to the stylized aesthetic; its not G1/animation inspired, but the more I looked at it and more reviews I watched the more it grew on me. The bad...For its retail price I need a healthy helping of diecast for me to feel like I got my money's worth; he has some, mostly in his feet, but I need more. Theres some bits that need to be flexed during transformation and I'm terrified of snapping something. The targetmaster is a neat touch, but he's slightly too long for him to hold it properly; a good molded blaster would have probably sufficed. Its cool they included a matrix in his chest, but its a molded plate and can't be removed...in this day and age if you're doing a Prime figure it needs a removable matrix, end of story. The good...its got a pretty good shelf presence standing next to some other season 3 figures. The engineering is amazing, theres no detachable trailer, the whole thing turns into the robot, and the transformation is relatively simple. The joints are very tight, he holds a pose well, and the paint apps work well. Its not straight off the screen of G1...either you can look past that or you can't. It works really well if you have an MP Hotrod or a FT Hoodlum to stand in front to depict the evolution. Its a great figure, theres only a few minor issues standing in the way of it being an outstanding figure. I was concerned getting him was a gamble, but I'm pleased I did.

This is the Rodimus Prime I've been waiting for.

By Coden Guthan on February 11, 2016 Byon February 11, 2016

This was my first time purchasing a third party Transformers figure and I have to say, I’m very impressed. The quality of the plastic is very nice. It’s hard to describe, but I think it’s more solid, more durable.

The vehicle mode is great. It looks just like the original Rodimus Prime vehicle but better. I should mention now that this figure does not have a “trailer” like the G1 figure does. Carry is all one piece that changes from vehicle to robot. So you don’t have the trailer with the battle station. Some people might not have a problem with this, but I don’t. The one note about that is that you don’t have the yellow crescent piece on top of the vehicle going into the trailer. That is the one small detail keeping him from being practically identical to G1 Rodimus Prime’s vehicle mode, and I really don’t mind it. One more note about the vehicle mode, there is a small hole on top for you to place Carry’s gun. It doesn’t really look natural, but I appreciate when a Transformer can carry or hide its gun in vehicle mode, so it’s nice that they tried.

Transforming Carry is pretty fun. He’s Masterpiece scaled so there’s a good amount of work involved, but it’s not very hard and there’s no concern of pieces breaking off during the process. Like I said, he’s made with a very solid plastic and all the hinges/joints are solid as well. You might pop off the pipes on his arms, but these go right back on very easily. There is one issue with the transformation, but it’s easily remedied. The first time you transform his feet you will probably have a difficult time pulling his heel out of the inside of his toe. Here’s how you fix it. When you go to change him back to vehicle mode, don’t fold the heel in half and put it back inside the toe. Just fold the heel at the middle so it lays over the toe. You will still be able to change him into vehicle mode with no problems.

Now, onto the robot mode. Carry’s robot mode is fantastic. This truly is Rodimus Prime. All the little details look like Generation 1 Rodimus Prime, but with a slightly updated feel. Almost like a Gundam. I think I read somewhere that he looks like a character from the War Within comics and I agree with that. This is not a Masterpiece figure, so he doesn’t look all smooth like a cartoon character. He looks like a warrior whose ready to go to battle. Here’s my favorite part of Carry’s robot mode: the wings. I believe that Rodimus Prime should have very large wings and this one definitely does. To me, the wings are a big part of what make this the best Rodimus Prime figure out there. And it’s thanks to not having a separate trailer. The arms and legs have no kibble, or extra vehicle parts, on them. He does suffer from a minor backpack, but it doesn’t make him top heavy and it sports his large wings so I won’t take any points off there. He has great articulation all around, with his head being on a ball joint.

I’m pretty disappointed that he did not come with his own Matrix of Leadership. Rodimus Prime’s defining moment is when he uses the Matrix to defeat Unicron. They even showcase him using it on the box art (which is freaking awesome, by the way. I’m totally keeping the box.) Carry’s chest does open to reveal a small Matrix molded in there, which is nice, but it still would have been nice to have included one for him to hold. I have MP-1 Optimus Prime so I just use the Matrix that came with that.

Now about his gun. I think it’s pretty cool that DX9 made his gun a Targetmaster. It would have been easy to just mold a gun for Carry to hold, but they went the extra mile and made it a Transformer too. His robot mode even has little orange wings, like Carry. I thought that was a nice touch. That being said, he completely fails at being a gun for Carry.

First off, it is way too long for Carry’s arm. It’s almost as tall as Carry! The only way he can hold it is with his arm completely straight and that doesn’t really look good. The front barrel attachment is really unnecessary. You can take that off and it still looks fine. While you’re at it, you can take the wings off and fold the rear “leg” of the gun to the left side where there’s a peg that the “foot” fits onto. This creates a smaller version of the gun with a cool barrel or scope on the side. The only downside about it is you lose the wings. This transformation of the gun is not included in the instructions, but I’m not sure what else that peg is used for. This is a much better size for Carry. He can bend his elbow and it looks much better proportionally. However, none of this matters because the peg that goes in Carry’s hand is too short! The peg only goes in as far as his index finger, and not his whole fist. He basically can’t hold his gun without it falling out. It’s not as bad when you have the gun in the smaller mode, but forget trying to have him hold the full thing. Either way, it doesn’t take much movement to jostle the gun loose from his hand.

Overall, I think Carry is a fantastic figure. DX9 did a great job of taking a character and updating him. I love how he feels like a re-imagined version of Rodimus Prime while still being the character that we know and love. If you’re looking for a Rodimus Prime figure, I highly recommend Carry (AKA Rodimus Prime.)

