That's funny, I would have thought most Transformers were already full metal.
The Thirteen Alchemist Prime is
a passionate defender of justice, focused on those who need help the most.
Oh good, another character for right-wingers to hate. Defending what's right? Helping people who need it? Screw that noise, we want to be selfish losers who hurt anyone we feel like, and then turn into pissy crybabies when nobody wants to be our friend or date us! That's why nobody likes you, stupid. But everybody likes Alchemist Prime - or at least, they like/respect/tolerate his secret civilian identity, Maccadam, the Transformer bartender. Maccadam had a toy before, but that was a non-transforming Build-A-Figure, so this is still a first.
Since the 13 Original Primes are multiversal singularities, and thus exist in every continuity, it's the job of the Age of the Primes line to combine a lot of different looks into one cohesive new whole. But in Alchemist's case,
there was a lot of combining to be done in the story, as well. Maccadam's Old Oil House first appeared as a bar in the UK Transformers comics in October 1986; an unnamed bartender was shown three years later, and a 2004 book suggested both that he was the hitherto-unseen Maccadam himself, and also that Maccadam was a member of The Thirteen. That bartender had precisely one distinctive feature, a handlebar mustache, and so this figure gets that as well. And a Van Dyke beard to go with it. The blue goggles he wears are a later addition, though.
As Aaron Archer began to codify the lineup of the Thirteen, it was decided that only two of them had remained on Cybertron
when the others left: Alchemist Prime and Alpha Trion. Fun Publications took these two threads and knotted them together, again heavily implying that Maccadam was Alchemist incognito. Then the Cyberverse cartoon made Maccadam a recurring cast member, and eventually made the connection official. So while this toy's mustache may be from the comic, the shape of the body is a reference to the cartoon: the broad chest, the shapes on the knees, the circles on his forearms, and yes, even his goggles... all of that is straight out of the animation.
The colors, though, not so much. Cyberverse Maccadam was
olive green and yellow, kind of like a toned-down Roadbuster. This toy, in contrast, is a dark forest green with lots of silver. That's not a reference to the comic, either, because the guy there was blue or teal. Honestly, we'd rather have seen the cartoon colors used here... but maybe Hasbro wants to reuse these molds for a "cartoon colors" variant in some future multi-pack that will cost way too much to justify buying?
Alchemist Prime's artifact is "the Lenses," which are basically a mystic version of those steampunky glasses or goggles that have extra flip-down lenses? You know the kind we mean. Basically, they've been removed from the toy's face and blown up to gigantic size, since "a pair of glasses" don't make for a fun playtime weapon. They're cast from translucent blue plastic, and can be pulled apart to either plug into his arms or be held like some kind of swords. "A" for effort, but "C" for execution.
To convert Maccalchemist, open the chest so you can tuck the head away, then close it again. Rotate waist 180°, open the shins,
fold the feet away, press the legs together, raise the arms, do not attempt to fold the hands down the way the instructions show you to, the sockets for the weapon attachment holes in his arms prevent them from actually moving that way and you could break something if you try, pull the shoulders away from the body and hinge them up, bend the knees so you can swing the arms together, bring the knees back up and close the roof, and finally lift the windshield into place.
There was a running gag in Cyberverse where Maccadam's altmode was never seen - just its shadow, or characters reacting to seeing it. Obviously that wouldn't work in a toy, so what we get here is some sort of armored SUV, because he's old enough that he existed before
Cybertronians evolved past the need for wheels. He honestly reminds me of when the movie lines would make a TF who was supposd to be based on a Sector 7 vehicle? There's a lot of sculpted kibble on the robot that doesn't translate to anything on the final altmode, which seems like an oversight. Like, why does he have a grill and headlights on his chest if the truck doesn't have a grill or headlights that look like that? The Lenses can be plugged into his roof for storage.
Alchemist Prime is a decent blending of all his previous incarnations, though he'd be better if the robot mode and altmode seemed more related, and with some brighter colors.
-- 08/05/25
How large can a pair of glasses be before you'd consider them a weapon? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
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