Review - Fans Hobby MB-18 Energy Commander
Fans Hobby takes a crack at one of the most polarizing Optimus Prime designs, with MB-18 Energy Commander. This homage to Optimus Prime’s design in Transformers: Energon includes a modular trailer and 4 drone vehicles that can become arms or legs for combined mode. Fans Hobby went all out to make sure this set was as fun to mess with as it looks. Let’s take a look!
Vehicle Mode(s)
The truck mode has a bit of an unfinished “space” alt mode look to it that pays great homage to the design of the original Energon figure. Lots of sculpted details, crisp paint, nice shiny rims, and rubber tires complete the look. You can connect the trailer using 2 “U” shaped pegs. The base of the trailer connection is on a swivel joint allowing the truck mode to turn. You can store all 4 drones in the trailer as one would expect, and clip the blaster to the side of the trailer.
The 4 drones look great in vehicle mode. The Fire Truck has an extending ladder, the Helicopter has functional blades, and the Drill tank has a geared feature that rotates the drill as you push it forward. The Submarine looks cook, but doesn’t do much. (The props inside the engines can spin, but they are so far embedded that it doesn’t make for a particularly exciting feature.) *Recently Fans Hobby revealed a claw add-on for the Submarine. It is currently unknown how this part will be made available*
Core Robot Mode
Aaah, the classic chunky Prime. Fans Hobby did their best to modernize this design, and even gave options to remove some of the centre mass to trim down the silhouette to a more heroic look. Transformation is simple, and fun, I was able to swap him between modes the first time without any instructions (a common feature of Fans Hobby’s designs, even some of the more complex ones). You can hit some surprisingly dynamic poses with this guy, including a nice high kick, running, martial arts poses, you name it.
The trailer can be disassembled and re-combined in various layouts to your liking. It’s not quite a “base” mode but it is fun to see the various layouts you can achieve, and have the drones interact with the core figure.
Combined Robot Mode
Now this is the money shot right here. Taking cues from Voltron, GaoGaiGar, and many other combining mecha, Energon Optimus Prime had a gimmick to combined with his drones for a powered up mode. Fans Hobby MB-18 Energy Commander sees this gimmick brought into the modern day with incredible integrated articulation and play features.
Each Drone can become an arm or a leg, with an integrated foot and hand contained within each. The combiner ports are hidden well, and there are spots to tuck away or hide the port flaps on each. (I actually missed this feature on the helicopter and fire truck in some of the photos, so you will see the grey port covers sitting on top of his shoulders. Whoops!) The drill tank can be used as a drill weapon if equipped as an arm. Always love some good Gurren Lagann vibes where I can find em!
The head has a really fun gimmick, with a rotating face plate, and connected armor plates that fold over the core mode head to make the larger combined mode head. Articulation is slightly limited due to the connectors for the armor plates, but all in all it’s not too restricting.
The chest plate has a magnetically activated LED embedded inside it, that can be activated by tapping the back of the blaster to the chest. (There is a magnet embedded inside the rear of the blaster). I will add photos to the gallery once I am able to grab the proper battery. (It takes one CR927)
Articulation is excellent in combined mode, and you can utilize the same gimmick for the abdomen, to have it more filled in, or a more trim heroic look. It also extends vertically to add a bit of height to the torso. The blaster weapon also extends to become more proportional for the combined mode.
Final Thoughts
Energy Commander is a ton of fun. Fans Hobby continues to ride the perfect line between playability and presentation. The drone vehicles and modular trailer give you a lot of different ways you can set up Energy Commander, and the combined mode is gorgeous, and incredibly satisfying.
If you want to check out something a little different than the same old G1 design, or you have your own nostalgia for the Unicron Trilogy era of Transformers, this comes highly recommended by yours truly. You can order yours from your third party vendor of choice, or directly from Fans Hobby here.
Thanks for reading. Check out the full gallery below, and I’ll catch you next time!
