As I'm sure you were all just DYING to know what I think about Hot Rod ( ), I got cut short last night do to sick kids needing help sleeping, and the sick spread so I had to call it a night myself. Which kept me from expressing my true opinions on this...
I was so ready to hate this Rod. I mean I kinda wanted to. You guys know by now I hate G1 cartoon accuracy in the toys, and Takara's recent crusade to achieve it drives me nuts. But... as I transformed this guy, and squeamishly stood him on my desk, I couldn't fight the joy I found in the design of this figure and all his 1980's design style glory. All the way down to his Art Deco underpants. (Art Deco revival was way big in the 80's) I guess nostalgia I didn't know I had, hit me hard.
Let's start with...
The Back Pack Problem Not a problem for me. I will never understand where this complaint comes from. 30 plus years of Transformers and almost every one has some kind of back pack. I can see why maybe a hollow one like Traxxx/RR would bother some, but Rod's isn't hollow. It's jam packed so tight with all that kibble that it's as solid as a brick **** hizzlehouse! It's a little large, but WTF? Now, I was right about it all being a work around to accommodate those long sexy gams of his. Which I still have some problems with. Personally I like Hot Rod with some pipes on his legs. Also, in my mind along with pipes, his shins are just as much of a Hot Rod benchmark as his flames and wings.
So the MP's legs, for me fall into the 80's Metropolis inspired aesthetic. It's growing on me. Back to the idea of the work around. The back pack is purely a result of that. But it is the most elegant example of this I've ever seen. It's the same idea as Generations Arcee, who everyone loves! Funny how her big stupid back pack is excusable because we finally get an Arcee that looks like the one we want to see, thunder thighs and all.
The Flat Chest At first it appears a little off putting, but again the most elegantly executed one I've seen. He does kind of look like a man wearing a cardboard robot suit, but he adheres to the source. Once again I look to my shelves for comparison. G1 Hot Rod, flat chest. G1 Rodimus Prime, flat chest. Classics Rodimus, flat chest just so slightly angled in towards the waist. Guess what? That's what Hot Rod's chest looks like, because that's what the car hood looks like. Even Cybertron Excilon (totally Hot Rod ) aside from the sculpted detail has a flat plane for a chest.
Holy Smokes He's Poseable! This is possibly the most articulated MP yet. He might as well be a Master Force Microman figure. It's really amazing that even with those tall shoulder stacks nothing impedes their full range of motion. We new he was fast. We knew he was a sharp shooter, but did we know he was a ballet dancer?
The Transformation is slick! I kept thinking I should look at the instructions, but I kinda just kept finding my way. It's pretty impressive how all that mass from the back end of the car accordions up as tight as it does, and it tabs into his back neat and clean. No guessing.
One more thing that bugs me though, is the toon accurate grey face. I don't like it on Ironhide either. Transformers have silver faces, and just because the animation studio used grey for a lack of silver paint, it's one design tradition I don't think should be deviated from.
Old Dog, New Tricks So ya, I wanted to hate this toy with all my might, but he won me over in the end. He amazingly achieves exactly what the designers set out to do. From an artistic perspective, I have to tip my hat to Takara. Maybe it's easier to excuse for me, knowing that the majority of cartoon character design from the movie came first. Not the toys. So there is room to wiggle on my steadfast perception. I think both modes look great. The Transformation is fun. Did I mention he has Combiner Wars style leg transformation? Kinda neat to think that method was innovative enough to pass up to the MPs. As a robot action figure he is articulated to the nines, which makes him endlessly fun to pose and play with.
Oh, and his guns are super cool and detailed, and the flip down goggles are DOPE!
I think Revoltech Hot Rodimus and MP28 Hot Rodimus are going to have a pose-off this weekend at the Cram household..although once Revoltech "points his finger" he wins..so maybe not
Speaking of the gray faces..I do like the "silver" instead. Not silver plastic like MP TRU Rodimus Prime, but painted like Ultra Magnus, MP21G, Bluestreak, Prowl, even the seekers. It looks better.
If the other combiners had those feet, I may have been more interested.
Yeah, those feet are dope. The more I see if computron the more I'm intetested. Outside of sky lynx I think I'm done with cw. I spotted the wave 6 limbs yesterday at target and didn't get a one.
If the other combiners had those feet, I may have been more interested.
Yeah, those feet are dope. The more I see if computron the more I'm intetested. Outside of sky lynx I think I'm done with cw. I spotted the wave 6 limbs yesterday at target and didn't get a one.
Motto:"Fate rarely calls upon us at our moment of choosing."
Weapon: Electro-Sword
Imagine, though, if they sold the individual hands and feet with the limbs. Unless it came with both (which, when completing a whole combiner, would leave an extra set just lying around with nothing to do), then a kid who just bought random limbs might end up with three feet, but only one hand. They have to include the HFG pieces for the playability value.
If the other combiners had those feet, I may have been more interested.
Yeah, those feet are dope. The more I see if computron the more I'm intetested. Outside of sky lynx I think I'm done with cw. I spotted the wave 6 limbs yesterday at target and didn't get a one.
Restraint!! Great job
It wasn't restraint. I had cash in hand, they just didn't speak to me. I'm ready for TR and getting back to filling in the gaps of my collection.
@A N : of course. Only those two sets come with special hands and footsies.
Motto:"Fate rarely calls upon us at our moment of choosing."
Weapon: Electro-Sword
carytheone wrote:@A N : of course. Only those two sets come with special hands and footsies.
One way to counteract that would be to include the dedicated hands and feet with the torso guy. That way, you could still have them, and any four limbs could still form the right amount of arms and legs.
carytheone wrote:I've got a couple PE sets in my TFS stack.
Yep, them PE sets are pretty awesome. I've got everything from 1 to 5 (and absolutely recommend all of them), and hope to get 8, 9, and maybe 10, 3G, and 8W.
Autobot N wrote:One way to counteract that would be to include the dedicated hands and feet with the torso guy. That way, you could still have them, and any four limbs could still form the right amount of arms and legs.
I think they did the best they could with what they were going for. It would have been nice to get better feet and coming with the torso would work but then we'd have bits and pieces laying around. I'm ok with that but they were going for integration with each mode from one piece.
You know what they say: jack of all trades, master of none.
Motto:"Fate rarely calls upon us at our moment of choosing."
Weapon: Electro-Sword
carytheone wrote:
Autobot N wrote:One way to counteract that would be to include the dedicated hands and feet with the torso guy. That way, you could still have them, and any four limbs could still form the right amount of arms and legs.
I think they did the best they could with what they were going for. It would have been nice to get better feet and coming with the torso would work but then we'd have bits and pieces laying around. I'm ok with that but they were going for integration with each mode from one piece.
You know what they say: jack of all trades, master of none.
I do appreciate that they went for playability with individual limbs. If anything, that just means I can buy more PE sets.
Oh Yeah! That Computron looks really good. I'm on the fence at the moment though. I'm kinda done with CW and ready to move on too. After Grand Galv shows up, I'll know better where I stand. But the deco on Scats looks way better, and can't wait to see what is going on with Afterburner's fairing. Still really wish they had used Wheeljack for car dude (Lightspeed?).
Hey Will and Iron!
I just went back and read the last 3-4 pages of the MP-28 thread. I had avoided that thread for a while, because I wanted to make my own judgement on Rod. I should have done the same for Ironhide. I was remembering the complaints that surfaced from the beginning, so I don't want you bros to think my post was a direct attack on your opinions. Although I guess it kinda is.
Love-O-Tron wrote:The Back Pack Problem It's jam packed so tight with all that kibble that it's as solid as a brick SHIZZLESNIT hizzlehouse! It's a little large, but WTF?
That's EXACTLY what I experienced with Sunsurge.
I'm surprised to hear that you were set on auto-hate but committed to buy? Sup wit dat bro?
Either way, I'm glad you're so pleased with him and it's just making me all the more excited
Motto:"Tell those damned kids to stay off my lawn!!!"
Weapon: Big Cannon
shajaki wrote:
Cobotron wrote:I have to much faith in Takara?
In this specific case, that I'd buy. I'd HAVE to believe that TT learned to iron out the flaws of an MP Rod after the QC fiasco that was MP09.
That is one thing that Hot Rod nails on the head. His QC is off the chart and second to none. It's part if why the backpack makes me nuts. This figure is so good, and then there is that.
Oh, and Cobotron my man? How dare you attack my blessed opinion? I challenge you to a sword fight! As a gentleman, I shall let you choose which urinal shall host the battlefield.
What? You didn't think I wanted to fight with actual swords, did you?
Ironhidensh wrote:Oh, and Cobotron my man? How dare you attack my blessed opinion? I challenge you to a sword fight! As a gentleman, I shall let you choose which urinal shall host the battlefield.
What? You didn't think I wanted to fight with actual swords, did you?
Well if you're going have a sword fight at a urinal I know the perfect place.
There's even an extra spot for a referee.
I bet you're probably wondering where is this magical place?
Ironhidensh wrote:What? You didn't think I wanted to fight with actual swords, did you?
Well Ya! I Did. It wouldn't surprise me if you actually want to spar with blades. But since your a gentalman, meet me at the Sinclair station way out west on HWY62 at Deer Creek Rd.
You know the one.
Iron, have you tried rolling his shoulders back 180 in robot mode? It kinda re-centers his shoulders farther back on the pack. His arms have a more toy look to them with the wheels on the side and the techno bits.
Motto:"Tell those damned kids to stay off my lawn!!!"
Weapon: Big Cannon
Heh, aftually, his arm transformation is one of the things I like the best. I've just got to get over the backpack. Roddy is a gift, so I'm keeping him, and I do think he is pretty amazing from the front.
I really can't wait to have some more fun with Hot Rodimus this weekend. I have to update the group photo, and maybe this time I'll include the non-transformables!!
), I got cut short last night do to sick kids needing help sleeping, and the sick spread so I had to call it a night myself. Which kept me from expressing my true opinions on this...
) aside from the sculpted detail has a flat plane for a chest. 
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