I am glad that Hasbro has made another Ark toy. The only other one I know of is a somewhat cartoon accurate version in the 3 inch titanium line. One of my most wanted transformers toys is the Omega Supreme version of the Ark from Transformers Animated. While that will never be, I can still hope for such a toy from another line. This Ark is from the Dark of the Moon movie and as a Target exclusive, it was packaged with Cyberverse leader Sentinel Prime. All current releases of the Ark also come with Roller. While neither movie nor cartoon accurate, the inclusion of Roller is a nice touch.
Ship mode: The space ship seems fairly accurate to the Movie, with the exception of the large ball turret that could slide around the hull. If it was twice its size, it would be a perfect fit for the Cyberverse toy line, but at its current size, it is ok and more importantly, affordable. One small Cyberverse figure can fit in the cockpit. Unfortunately, Cyberverse leader figures are too big, so Sentinel Prime can not fit. I tried to find a way to stash Sentinel inside the ship somehow, but the way it folded up in its conversion from base mode left no space big enough. It would have been nice to have a hidden locker or cargo hold or something that Sentinel could hide in. It has lights and sounds, but I am not a fan of lights and sounds in general, so these did not impress me. I am happy enough with the ship silent and dark. On mine, the side that unfolds to become the medical bay does not line up well. You have to force it into alignment, but once there it stays.
Base mode: The base mode might represent the inside of the Ark. It has a cannon in the middle, a ramp out the front and a tower with a jail cell at its base and cockpit on top. The sides open up to reveal a medical bay on the left and a chamber holding the rods on the right. The floors have a nice alien feel to them. They are made of a hexagonal tile pattern, with irregular edges. The jail cell has spring hinge doors and can accommodate a small Cyberverse figure. Again, Sentinel does not fit. And any figure in the cell has to be taken out before the base can be transformed into the ship, unless you break the cannon off. As far as a play set goes, it looks good and has lots of nice features. For a collector, it has the look and feel of a movie based Cybertronian environment, but is not accurate to anything specifically from the movies.
Roller: Rollers’ alt mode looks like a NASA probe robot. The main arm on the probe becomes an oversized right arm in robot mode. Both modes look good for a Cyberverse toy. While there is nothing exceptional about the actual toy, I am very happy that Hasbro made a Roller that, size wise, fits nicely with the other classes of movie toys.
Sentinel Prime: While I like the idea of a large and small size of the Cyberverse line (formerly legend class), it is annoying that my old Optimus Prime and Jetfire from the second movie don’t fit, size wise, anymore. This Sentinel Prime is a nice addition to the Ark set. But, as I previously mentioned, it is frustrating that he is too big to fit properly in the Ark. It would have been nice if he fit in a hidden compartment like in the movie. He has a shield that is part of the fire truck in vehicle mode and a large double-bladed sword/staff thing that fits under the truck. The robot mode looks good on display, but mine has very loose hip joints, so is difficult to pose or play with. The vehicle mode is also good, though the transformation does not fit perfectly together. Overall, I like this toy, and it looks good with the Ark in base mode.
Ark spaceship mode: 8/10
Ark base mode: 7/10
Vehicle mode: Sentinel Prime 7/10, Roller 7/10
Robot mode: Sentinel Prime 7/10, Roller 6/10
Posability: Ark n/a, Sentinel Prime: 4/10, Roller 6/10
Playability: Ark 9/10, Sentinel Prime: 5/10, Roller 8/10
Durability: Ark 5/10, Sentinel Prime: 4/10, Roller 6/10
True to Movie: Ark (spaceship) 8/10, Sentinel Prime 9/10, Roller n/a
Overall: Ark 8/10, Sentinel Prime 6/10, Roller 7/10
For a total of 8/10 for the set as a whole.
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