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We chatted with Richard Roth in the first of our CE4K Minicasts to discuss the history of everyone's favourite iconic transforming leader, Optimus Prime!
Here are some facts (mild spoilers) to wet your appetite! 1) Peter Cullen better known as the definitive 'voice of Optimus Prime' also voiced Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh! 2) Optimus Prime was first known as Orion Pax a dock worker who was converted by Alpha Trion into an Autobot in order to fight Megatron and the Decepticons (in the cartoon). 3) He was a Dodge Viper car in the Alternator's (and Kiss players) toy series. 4) Famous for his striking red and blue colour scheme, Optimus was traditionally mainly blue and black when he first came out as Japanese Diaclone toy. 5) His trailer and Roller have a telepathic link with Prime, they feel each other's pain. 6) In GI Joe he was know as HISS-114. 7) In Beast Wars, Optimus Prime was referred to as Big Mack. 9) In France his G1 toy was released with red feet! 10) In Mexico his G1 toy version had evil looking red eyes! 11) In the British comic, he was also Iacon's chief athlete, and trained as a medic before the war. 12) Prime had a cute and slightly inappropriate manga girlfriend in the very odd and short lived Kiss Players manga comic where robots got powers from kisses. Prime's partner Marissa Faireborne, was the only Kiss Player brought over from previous continuity, fan favourite from season 3 of the G1 cartoon, and daughter of two GI Joes. Had to be awkward for those two to interact in the IDW books. 13) Prime loves cola! He was available as a Pepsi mail away as well as numerous versions of him with a Pepsi sponsored Trailer, and several toys even pulling a Pepsi bottle (Pepsi Blue and Pepsi Twist). 14) Early releases had different hands, fuel pump, and colours for Roller (known as Bloated Prime as everything was bigger). 15) He has died over ten times and had a whole host of evil clones. Young fans were devastated when he died in the Transformers the Movie in 1986, along with a number of other key characters from the first released toy line. This was done to ensure the new wave of toys sold better, but it massively backfired with devastated fans and he had to be brought swiftly back from the dead! 16) He has had cross overs with Japanese fashion brand BAPE (Bathing Ape) who created blue and green camo versions of him for the Masterpiece line (and G1 repaints). 17) He was recently released in the Siege line of toys in grey and black colours in what is dubbed as his 'sleep mode' or 'dead prime' as he is better known. 18) Prime doesn't like music much, always moaning at the Autobot's for their noisy song choices! Listen to the podcast for more Optimus Prime facts and banter!
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Episode #14 of the Close Encounters of the 4th Kind podcast sees Tee-J, Imran and Dan - and special guest Richard Roth - discuss the toys that had the biggest impact on us growing up and we relive the heartache when also highlighting the ones that got away.
By Dan Collacott
If you were a child of the 80s and 90s then you would have seen not quite the birth but definitely the household take over of big franchise toys. Each toy line spearheaded by its own cartoon series or film. Your box shaped television promised you play sets, vehicles and figures in loud, colourful and repetitive advert form. Your Argos catalogue (or similar) told you the value of the toys and where to buy them so you could pester your parents into submission. We did a survey of our manly friends and listeners who were children of the 80s or 90s to pick out the most sought after toys that we either never owned or treasured when we did. The criteria for our choices were that these toys could not include lego, puzzles, board games, bikes or video/lcd games. Further disclaimer some of these toys made their debuts in America and other countries years before they came to the UK and the retail prices vary. Listen to our top toys podcast here
10. Thundercats: Thundertank: Released 1985 (Reissued in 2012)
Value then: £14 - Value now: £100+ loose complete, £200-300+ boxed complete Features: It’s claws would rise up and the mouth ramp would open when in pop out mode. Two figures could sit in it one behind the other. The Thundertank was a mighty hunk of tank shaped plastic that kids in the 80s loved. 9. Real Ghostbusters: Ecto 1 - Released: 1984 Value then: £16 - Value now: £50+ loose complete, £80-£150+ boxed Features: Grappling arm and claw to catch ghosts. Weird pull out chair with guns on it that could clip onto the roof. It looked good but was a bit clunky and naff to play with, not that it mattered! On a random note Ecto 1 from the far less successful Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon and toy line (featuring cool flashing lights and a siren) was definitely an upgrade on the first toy. Extreme Ghostbusters was released in 1996 meant as a sequel to Real Ghostbusters and was the next generation of ghostbusters semi-led and taught by the original team. Although in reality this only seemed to be Egon, Janine and Slimer (although the rest did cameo at the end). 8. Star Wars: Ewok Village - Play set - Released 1983 Value then: £32, Value now: £120+ loose complete £200-300 boxed complete Features: Net Trap and cage on pully, hollow plastic tree stumps you could put Ewoks in. It’s a big chunk of plastic that didn’t really do much, but the fact you could recreate scenes from Return of the Jedi made it something that made most kids most wanted lists. The play set like most Star Wars play sets had a lot of moving and individual parts, it wasn’t that rare to get hold of in the 80s and it isn’t rare now. But to get hold of a complete set with all the Ewoks and accompanying figures is clearly a lot harder nowadays as some of the last Ewoks made cost over £100 each loose. 7. Thundercats: Cats Lair - Play set - Released 1986 Value then: £30-40+ Value now: £80+ loose complete £150-200 boxed complete Features: Giant laser shooting head, trap door and dungeon, plus electronic FX. It looks awesome but in reality like most play sets it was pretty limited in what it did, but hey it had a giant cat head that swivels... so who cares! 6. Real Ghostbusters: Firehouse Set - Released 1986 (probably closer to 1988 in the UK) Value then: £40 or less - Value now: £70+ loose complete £200-300 boxed complete Features: A swivelling fire pole, doors that you can wheel Ecto 1 through, goop grates and a ghost containment unit and a single ghost trap. This big ass chunk of plastic was a must have for Real Ghostbusters fans (and fans of the films), it had some nice features without setting the world on fire (no pun intended). 5. Mask: Rhino - Released: 1985 Original cost around: £30. Value now: £60+ loose complete £120+ boxed complete. Features: Mini buggy that forms the back axel, hidden bomb and launcher, front bumper ram. After Optimus Prime any big rig lorries were cool and Rhino didn’t disappoint in terms of size feel and hidden features. Rhino wasn’t that rare at the time of release but as Mask arguably wasn’t quite as popular as the other cartoon franchises at the time it wasn’t as common for you or the kid next door to own one. 4. Scaletrix - Knightrider Pursuit Mode - Released 1986 Cost then: £30-40 - Estimated value now: £30 loose £70 boxed Featured a silver Datsun 260Z (which in my set was actually faster than K.I.T.T which ruined any chases). Even though many consider Scaletrix as the king of trigger press slot car racing brands, it was rivals Tyco that bought the more interesting franchises licenses and featured anything from Transformers to A-Team and Thundercats themed sets. Tyco were bigger in the US so us Brits didn’t have as much choice. 
3. Transformers: Optimus Prime Released 1984: Cost then: £14 Estimated value now for an original standard release: £50-70 loose and complete £150-250+ boxed complete. Reissues and KOs can be cheaper. Like most transformers, 80s Prime has so many parts that he is difficult to get hold of with his fuel hose and pipe, missiles, separate fists that pop off easily plus roller and big gun! But the fact his trailer opened up into a mini base with operating table/crane made him a popular toy. Prime has possibly more toy variations than any other toy in existence (not just Transformers) from a French red feet version, to the original Diaclone big convoy version that predated the Hasbro release. Then there are countless reissues and KO versions, not to mention thousands of versions of him that came in the toy lines that followed the 80s version (and then the terrible toys from movies). Even today he is being retooled in new toy lines as well as Masterpiece versions that retail at nearly £400. 2. Star Wars: Millennium Falcon - Released 1979 Cost then: £32 - Estimated cost now: Loose £100-200+ if complete and in good condition £500+ if boxed and mint Features: Chair you could sit a figure in that was attached to the main gun that turned round. The Falcon was tricky to keep complete as a kid (or later to find complete) as it had so many random removable parts, like the radar dish, main gun, trapdoor legs, chess board table and worst of all a small ball and training arm. There have been over hundreds of different versions of the Falcon since the original including new versions for the final trilogies, and many all new moulds and sizes including Lego (although the 95 version may use the same mould as the original or close). The king of the Falcons is considered to be the giant 30 inch (2 feet long) 2010 Legacy Millennium Falcon which has a raft of parts and sound fx, only downside is because it’s so huge it’s hard to find space for it.
AND THE WINNER!
1. Masters of the Universe - Castle Grayskull - Play set - Released in 1983 Cost then: around £35 - Estimated value now: £150-300 loose depending on condition and if it’s complete. £500+ if boxed and mint. Features: Gun tower, weird pulley lift, chair that when turned triggers a cool trapdoor. Castle Grayskull was made as a play set for both the 1980s and 2002 Masters of the Universe toy lines (before being released again in 2013 when the toys were rebooted again). It is considered by many as king of the 80s play sets, because who doesn’t want a giant green plastic skull on their bedroom floor! Other nominated 80s toy favourites: Mask: Boulder Hill, Star Wars: AT AT Ominibot 5402, Speak and Spell, Transformers: Metroplex WWF: Ring Playset Blue, Big Trak, Thunderbirds: Tracey Island play set GI Joe: HQ play set, GI Joe: Cobra play set, TMNT: Turtle Blimp My Pet Monster, Marvel Secret Wars: Tower of Doom play set Real Ghostbusters: Ghost Zapper, TMNT: Sewer play set TMNT: Technodome Playset, Photon/Lazer Tag set Masters of the Universe: Snake Mountain - Play set Thundercats: Tomb Fortress, Star Trek The Next Generation: Enterprise D Bridge Transformers: Fortress Maximus, Micro Machines: Lunch Box play set Micro Machines: Gas Can Play set, Eliminator TS-7, Mr. Potato Head Teddy Ruxpin, Star Wars: Jabba's Palace, Scalextric: Le Mans 24hr Power Wheels, Masters of the Universe: Eternia, Zoids: Zoidzilla G.I. Joe: U.S.S. Flagg, G.I. Joe: Space Shuttle, Stretch Armstrong Thundercats: Hovercat, Thundercats: Sword of Omens |
The 4Ever team...Welcome to 4ever in Electric Dreams which is the virtual HQ and home to our burgeoning podcast network spearheaded by our flagship series, Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind (C.E.N.K.). Our podcasts are available on the following platforms:
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