Last week it was reported on a Transformers news site that a member had found the 25th Anniversary Optimus Prime at the American Fork Wal-Mart. Many other similar reports followed from Wal-Marts on the west coast. So far I haven’t managed to see one in person at the Orem Wal-Mart, but I will keep looking. They should show up in all stores eventually anyway. There are some noticable differences in this prime over the original and other reissues. The trailer appears to be a much lighter shade of grey almost looking white. Prime himself also is a more orange red color and the blue is much lighter. He also has the short smokestacks to comply with current toy safety laws. However, replacement longer stacks can be picked up online fairly cheaply.
He also comes with many bonuses which include a voicebox featuring some of the famous lines said in the show, a DVD with the first 3 episodes of the original cartoon, and a reprint of the 1st comic.
The retail price of this guy is $69.99 which I think is a little high. You can get a Japanese import for about the same price and it is much closer to an original with the correct colors and long smokestacks. I think I will probably pass unless the price eventually goes down. I already have 3 Optimus Prime figure as well. I think it is great though for someone that hasn’t managed to get a reissue yet.
Here are some pics from seibertron.com showing some comparisons between the 25th figure and the latest Japanese reissue that was released a year ago.
