Transformers Works Capbots: Captimus Prime

Back in 2013 Takara Tomy unveiled a partnership with New Era, the popular sports hat maker. Capbots were transforming "hats", one for each faction. I grabbed Captimus Prime here for my Optimus collection. Was it worth the $30 odd dollar asking price?

Only in Japan would we see such a thing as a transforming hat. The premises may be a little off the wall, but the execution is surprisingly well executed. Captimus Prime features a large red Autobot emblem on the front of the hat. The cap's bill is blue, complete with faux stitching in the plastic. The flat bill contains a large New Era Fifty Nine "sticker" right in the middle.

On the back there is a smaller Autobot symbol as well as two hinges. It's a shame these hinges stick out as they do, but it's on the back so it doesn't detract from the front athesthic of the cap.

Captimus Prime looks pretty good if I do say so myself sitting here on the top of my G1 Fort Max!

Transformation from cap to robot is aided by a few tension springs. Once unfolded you can just pose the arms and legs more to your liking. The robot features more articulation that one might imagine. The shoulders, elbows and hips all have ball joints giving the figure a good range of motion. Thanks to the bill of the cap forming the comically large feet, Captimus Prime is very sturdy standing amongst your other Transformer toys.

I love how they sculpted a ball cap onto the head of Captimus Prime.

The pieces that form the top halves of the cap have some nice jets (or is it weapons) sculpted underneath. I'm going to go with jets as these pieces are normally folded down behind the robot.

Captimus Prime is rather small, standing at only 4 inches or so. He's barely taller than your average G1 Action Master if that helps put it into perspective for you. It's a fun, quirky toy that I often forget I have as Captimus stands amongst of sea of red and blue. Only recommended if you are a fan of odd Japanese Transformers or a diehard Optimus fan as myself.

Transformers Cap Bots: Captimus Prime

First Takara teamed with Nike to create a new sub-line of Transformers called Sports Label. We got 3 different transforming Nike athletic shoes...something this fan never saw coming. The Sports Label line came and went and nothing of the like had been done since. Enter Takara Tomy's newest partnership with premier hat maker, New Era.

When I first saw images of these Cap Bots solicited online I thought nothing of them. Then I read somewhere they had push button transformations and I was intrigued. I loved the flip changers from Machine Wars, Beast Wars and RID lines so I knew there would be a chance these 2 guys could equally be cool. What sealed the deal was finding Captimus Prime here for around $15.

As you can see New Era's logo is prominently displayed on the front of the packaging. There is even a gold New Era sticker on the cap's bill! The packaging is really being a resealable clamshell. The instructions are folded up nicely and tucked up in a small compartment underneath the hat.

While the cap is rather small (fits in the palm of an adult's hand) it really is a rather striking piece. First off all the colors are spot on for Optimus Prime. It also holds together remarkably well, although after several transformations I noticed the Autobot symbol doesn't want to line up perfectly with each side.

The back of the cap isn't perfectly rounded however. There are two small columns that are part of the transformation. It would've been nice if the designers found a way to integrate these into the curves of the cap, but honestly they aren't that bad and can't be seen from the front view.

Now to transform him from cap to robot simply press the blue button in the top center of the cap and he pops open!

Like most spring loaded transforming Transformers there is a bit of manual parts moving required. The "ankles" need to be repositioned a bit to stand the figure up right. I will point out that you can make the legs a little shorter by rotating the white piece in his lower leg flat with the feet. Fold down the arms and position the side of the cap kibble however you like and you're done.

I was surprised to see that the figure sports quite a bit of articulation. I mean I wasn't expecting a transforming hat to be that poseable! He does feature a little bit of kibble, but that was expected. At least there is some molding to the inside of the hat kibble (more on that in a second), but what I wanted to point out are the two blue pieces of the cap's bill underneath the forearms. These pieces aren't articulated, but do look like knives or a bayonet of sorts.

The cap's bill doubles as the feet and once separated I can't help but think Captimus has duck feet. The plus side of the large feet is you should have no trouble posing this guy in dynamic poses or just having him stand up right on his own.

If this guy didn't already look cool enough they had to go and sculpt a cap on the robot's head! Genius!

A large portion of the cap that hangs on Captimus' back has some awesome looking sculpting on the underside. I'm not sure if these are supposed to be jet thrusters or some type of offensive weapon. These two pieces connect via a ball joint so they can be posed in whatever manner you desire. Fold them up and over the head for extra firepower, or rotate them down to act has a jet pack. You decide!

So the question remains if you need a transforming hat in your Transformers collection. If you like to obscure then you'll probably really like this guy (or his evil counterpart, Capticon). As you can see Captimus is just a tad smaller than a G1 Action Master. I personally can't say he is worth the $25+ a lot of online retailers were originally asking, but if you can find him for closer to what I paid then I say give 'em a try.

Oh yeah...these Cap Bots are scaled pretty perfectly for your new Encore or vintage Fort Max!