Lego Optimus Prime Transforms From Robot to Truck, No Rebuild Required

Lego Optimus Prime is a feat of toy engineering and ingenuity. The leader of the heroic Autobots from The Transformers toys, TV shows and movies has now been rendered as a Lego set with 1,508 pieces. The most impressive feature is that Optimus can morph from standing robot dude to semi truck without a rebuild. 

Transformers have always been complex toys, even when they're not made out of individual Lego bricks. The Lego version has 19 points of articulation to help it change form. "This is one of the first times a Lego set has been able to convert between two models, without the need to rebuild," Lego Group said in a statement on Thursday.

Lego's hype video features an appropriately weighty voiceover calling for the robot to "engage brick mode" for "Lego Optimus Prime time." It shows an animated version of the transformation. 

There have been variations on Optimus Prime over the years as the series grew from kids' TV show to movie franchise. Lego Optimus is a callback to the 1980s when the first toys and Transformers show came out. It's a collaboration between Lego and Hasbro, which owns the Transformers toy line.

For more details on how the set works, check out Lego reviewer Tiago Catarino's hands-on rundown.

Lego will release Optimus Prime in Lego stores and online on June 1 for $170 in the US, £150 in the UK and AU$260 in Australia. The complex set is recommended for adults 18 and up, but especially for any Transformers fan who spent their childhood pining for an Optimus Prime. Now is your time to shine.