I opened Grimlock and Rodimus last night.
I agree with Scotty's point that Rodimus could be a better figure at a higher price point. They all could be. And he does feel like ambition was truncated by corporate parameters, but he is what he is. And for what he is, he's a pretty dang fun figure!
It's really great to finally have an update to the fully Primed out Rodimus. Love how bulky and imposing the sculpt is unlike the funny old skinny G1 Rodimus. I think all 3 modes are nice to look at.
I'm ok with letting the deluxe thighs do the work of the Leader's shoulders. Somebody once called me out for having MP-10's shoulders pulled out to increase his range of motion, and thought, well, I want him in a certain pose, and if he has the articulation to get there, why not use it. I've been using my imagination to to add or erase aspects to these toys since the 80's, so it's kind of become second nature. Other than the shoulders though, I think his range of motion is pretty dern good. The legs and feet are great! Head sculpt is cool, and the expression on his face silently screams, "I mean business!".
The Deluxe Hot Rod is great. He ticks all the right boxes to be Hot Rod. The only thing I think he's lacking is character. I think the Classics and TR versions do a better job at that. Something about the blank expression on his too mature face leaves me feeling the same way. Where's the cocky chutzpah we know and love?
The only other neg I have is the placement of the handles on the guns. It works for BIGGIN mode, but in Deluxe he's just holding them all wrong. I think they could have scooted those handles back a little and still gotten away with the combining gimmick.
All said and done I'm happy with the figure. Fun to run through the different modes. Looks the part. A welcome and long awaited addition to the collection.
Grimlock is also great. Way better than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised by his heft out of the box. From pictures, i thought the Rex mode looked weaksauce, but it's way better than I anticipated. Dodged a bullet there. The legs are still pretty goofy, but can be finagled into "good enough". The stickers on mine were applied better than a lot of TR figure's were. That may be a case by case sitch though.
Again in photos I had my reservations about torso mode, and combined for that matter, BUT, torso is awesome. The shoulders stay locked in well when posing combined arms. They legs take some work to get them to where they need to be but once there, they're nice and stable. Plus the shape just looks way better than it did in photos. Also waist swivel in a combiner?!?!? YES! One little detail I love is the placement of the enigma or Power Master in the dino mouth. It's the little things.
For whatever my opinion is worth, I think they're both really nice main line toys, and fun to play with.
And that's all I'm ever really looking for. Fun and play!