The Energon Pub

Jeen0808 wrote:A new more articulated Hot Rod?


Can't wait.

Yeah I'm looking at my Lost Light shelf with my RtS Hot Rod and thinking about him being out of a job.

Kurona wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Does make me wonder if I should continue working on my Voyager-class Hot Rod custom (like Cloud Rodimus it's Springer mold but I went with a different look and also some modifications in the actual shape and extra parts... was leaving the flame decal til last)

Since that photo was taken I've sliced off the 'kneepads' cos I have no use for their landing gear (not using the chopper mode for Hot Rod). And done some other slight mods.

Well... it still works as a Rodimus as opposed to a Hot Rod, imo. It helps that since you're a fan of the Marvel comics, you'd want to be displaying Springer with the Wreckers or Survivors anyway which doesn't involve Rodimus.
It also kinda helps that the only time one would display Rodimus and Springer together is in a Season 3 display...
That mold's a really weird one. It's amazing and it somehow works for every single character made from it (at this point you could probably make Laserbeak from it and people'd be happy)... as long as you don't display them side-by-side.

I always thought the Roadbuster mold was quite similar in that regard although it needed different heads. The IDW Bumblebee was like that as well.

Actually, you know what I'd like to see from the Springer mold?

Mirage

Prowl

I can see Mirage working with a fairly traditional deco. The bot mode would be amazing at least.

For Prowl, maybe a slightly non-traditional deco that allows him to function as a police car or police chopper.

I wish the Sandstorm tooling had gotten a few more decos.

In the vein of the beefy Jazz-as-Wheelie we got a few years ago, I think the Sandstorm mold would make an interesting Beachcomber.

It could make a decent non-traditional Wreck-Gar, particularly in Takara Wreck-Gar's color scheme.

For some strange reason, I can also see it as Armada Sideways or G2 Road Rocket or unreleased G2 Motorcycle Jazz. The Bot mode resembles various motorcycle bots.

Or with just a bit more tooling, a triple changer Windblade. Or a G1 continuity version of Animated Lockdown (which I guess has never happened aside from the IDW repurposing of the movie Lockdown figure).

william-james88 wrote:That Cloud Rodimus still works well as the IDW Rodimus people would want (which is where a few complaints come from).

Now if you want a Rodimus to go with your movie bots for his look and scale in season 3, there is an answer for that too, the MP

Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.

But what we really have is a *repaint* that looks *decent* only if you put him with anyone but the most recent Springer mould (and, really, that's where he'd go in my collection, so it's a non starter). And the MP Hot Rod mould only works if you're willing to ignore it's ability to transform. Which is .... what's the point? These are Transformers.

But if you want me to be more optimistic overall, I feel like it's inevitable that they'll make an actual, decent, voyager Rodimus at this point. We finally have a decent Galvatron on the way, after all.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:That Cloud Rodimus still works well as the IDW Rodimus people would want (which is where a few complaints come from).

Now if you want a Rodimus to go with your movie bots for his look and scale in season 3, there is an answer for that too, the MP

Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.

But what we really have is a *repaint* that looks *decent* only if you put him with anyone but the most recent Springer mould (and, really, that's where he'd go in my collection, so it's a non starter). And the MP Hot Rod mould only works if you're willing to ignore it's ability to transform. Which is .... what's the point? These are Transformers.

But if you want me to be more optimistic overall, I feel like it's inevitable that they'll make an actual, decent, voyager Rodimus at this point. We finally have a decent Galvatron on the way, after all.

... wait, why does MP Hot Rod only work if you ignore it's transformation? It's a fine car mode.

Kurona wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:That Cloud Rodimus still works well as the IDW Rodimus people would want (which is where a few complaints come from).

Now if you want a Rodimus to go with your movie bots for his look and scale in season 3, there is an answer for that too, the MP

Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.

But what we really have is a *repaint* that looks *decent* only if you put him with anyone but the most recent Springer mould (and, really, that's where he'd go in my collection, so it's a non starter). And the MP Hot Rod mould only works if you're willing to ignore it's ability to transform. Which is .... what's the point? These are Transformers.

But if you want me to be more optimistic overall, I feel like it's inevitable that they'll make an actual, decent, voyager Rodimus at this point. We finally have a decent Galvatron on the way, after all.

... wait, why does MP Hot Rod only work if you ignore it's transformation? It's a fine car mode.

Because we're talking about Rodimus Prime not Hot Rod.

Logan79 wrote:Not a bad idea...^^

yay...Fastlane & Cloudraker

Kurona wrote:Well... it still works as a Rodimus as opposed to a Hot Rod, imo. It helps that since you're a fan of the Marvel comics, you'd want to be displaying Springer with the Wreckers or Survivors anyway which doesn't involve Rodimus.

Well you'd think that but there aren't enough figures I like in the Wreckers/Survivors line up anyways. I have Voyager Sandstorm and he's fine (though may be selling him due to funds) but Whirl and Roadbuster did nothing for me (Roadbuster is one of my quickest resells ever. Hated that figure). I have my custom painted Cybertron Snarl as Carnivac to reference the Survivors thing but I just form my own personal teams that don't force me to buy figures I dislike (like Combiner teams do)

Also I mainly chose paint colour cos I still wanted it to be more Hot Rod than Rodimus Prime. But a grown up Hot Rod who never became a Prime but got upgraded to similar bodytype as Springer did and still changed name to Rodimus as sign of maturity.
Suppose I could finish the custom and have that be Rodimus of another universe crossed over into one where the deluxe Titans figure of Hot Rod exists too.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.
But what we really have is a *repaint* that looks *decent* only if you put him with anyone but the most recent Springer mould (and, really, that's where he'd go in my collection, so it's a non starter). And the MP Hot Rod mould only works if you're willing to ignore it's ability to transform. Which is .... what's the point? These are Transformers.
But if you want me to be more optimistic overall, I feel like it's inevitable that they'll make an actual, decent, voyager Rodimus at this point. We finally have a decent Galvatron on the way, after all.

There are a few things we arent considering. The voyager people are claiming for is not necessarily of a winebago. IDW Rodimus doesnt turn into that right? Not that I remember. He's just a sleek car and what matters is that the robot can scale well with the rest. And in any case, the complaints about the size are made in complete acknowledgement that this is the alt mode we are getting (or at least thats what I thought when I read the comments). People just want a voyager rodimus to scale with their stuff and for that I really feel MP Hot Rod is the best classics Rodimus I could hope for at the moment. I mean doesnt this look great?







With my MP Hot Rod, I am not in the least yearning for a classics Rodimus. I would still get him i he's a cool toy of course, but I dont feel I have any holes that need filling unlike your mom... just messing

Wow, Titans Return Rodimus/Hot Rod looks amazing.

That is one beaut of a display... and it gives me a good idea of how Powermaster Prime will scale with them, lol.

Kurona wrote:That is one beaut of a display... and it gives me a good idea of how Powermaster Prime will scale with them, lol.

Haha, yeah thats true! Thanks man!

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.

To get back to this, I am far from an Optimist, more of the opposite. I am a fatalist since I have accepted that G1 is gone and will never come back. Hasbro is pretty clear about it:

we often have an eye to the future that the things we introduce here we expect to see that kind of evolution of that character and that look in other spaces. So, a lot of what you see here is an homage to the past, but as John and Eddie have talked about, a lot of what we’re doing too is an eye towards the future of bringing new fans in and kind of giving us a chance to tell a new story versus kinda being chained to only the old stories.

Its even more ebundantly clear when you look at the display I did above and you realize that the only figures which are truly their G1 selves are both designed by Takara and not Hasbro. So with Hasbro stating that we shouldnt expect perfect G1 renditions of toys, I am not holding my breath for a perfect new rendition of Rodimus Prime. Instead I just do with what I have and I think what i have aint bad at all

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:That is one beaut of a display... and it gives me a good idea of how Powermaster Prime will scale with them, lol.

Haha, yeah thats true! Thanks man!

Gauntlet101010 wrote:Now, I know this is sort of an "be an Optimist Prime not a Negatron" thing and I get what you're doing. You're showing decent enough stand-ins for an official Rodimus Prime that aren't horrible like the Energon and Titanium moulds.

To get back to this, I am far from an Optimist, more of the opposite. I am a fatalist since I have accepted that G1 is gone and will never come back. Hasbro is pretty clear about it:

we often have an eye to the future that the things we introduce here we expect to see that kind of evolution of that character and that look in other spaces. So, a lot of what you see here is an homage to the past, but as John and Eddie have talked about, a lot of what we’re doing too is an eye towards the future of bringing new fans in and kind of giving us a chance to tell a new story versus kinda being chained to only the old stories.

Its even more ebundantly clear when you look at the display I did above and you realize that the only figures which are truly their G1 selves are both designed by Takara and not Hasbro. So with Hasbro stating that we shouldnt expect perfect G1 renditions of toys, I am not holding my breath for a perfect new rendition of Rodimus Prime. Instead I just do with what I have and I think what i have aint bad at all

That... does seem like a more optimistic viewpoint, though. In the way that you look at each figure as it's own thing and try and appreciate it for what it is and where it came from rather than criticizing it for something it's not and for some reason in your mind should have been.

william-james88 wrote: The voyager people are claiming for is not necessarily of a winebago. ... People just want a voyager rodimus to scale with their stuff and for that I really feel MP Hot Rod is the best classics Rodimus I could hope for at the moment. I mean doesnt this look great?

... well ... obviously you're feeling it, and if it works for you then that's great, but ...

To get back to this, I am far from an Optimist, more of the opposite. I am a fatalist since I have accepted that G1 is gone and will never come back. Hasbro is pretty clear about it: ... Its even more ebundantly clear when you look at the display I did above and you realize that the only figures which are truly their G1 selves are both designed by Takara and not Hasbro. So with Hasbro stating that we shouldnt expect perfect G1 renditions of toys, I am not holding my breath for a perfect new rendition of Rodimus Prime. Instead I just do with what I have and I think what i have aint bad at all

Well, this still really is just telling me to be optimistic with what we have as opposed to negative. But I do have some counter points.

- No, I don't think Rodimus needs to be a winnebego. That said, he can't just be Hot Rod either. This is where MP Hot Rod falls apart and what I was alluding to earlier. I have to ignore his alt. mode for him to be acceptable as Rodimus Prime. MP Hot Rod just isn't a representation of the leader Rodimus Prime.

- G1 is dead? Well ... I mean, not really.

I don't need a slavishly accurate G1 toy for Rodimus, but I do think it's fair to ask for whole new mould. Especially since the only new character from the G1 movie yet to get a toy would be the Sharkticons. Unless we're going to start counting animation only guys like Kranix.

Getting back to Cloud Rodimus: If they had given that a the same treatment as the Combiner Wars remoulds then I'd be more with you there. But they didn't. So I'm not.

I like Combiner Wars well enough, but I was going to avoid Titans Return altogether. Looks like I may have to make one exception for that Hot Rod. It's not great, but it's pretty good. And they went back to "Hot Rod" instead of "Rodimus." I wonder if that means there's hope for a Bayverse Hot Rod yet?

Comparison:

Logan79 wrote:

Thanks for providing proof of Getaway being a straight redeco of Chromedome. Head is new though, and not a retool of Stylor (however, Hyperfire and Stylor's Robot Modes match, so they're pretools).

*sigh* Gonna start cataloging those Titan Master molds, before I get a headache. Using the Robot Mode as the standard should provide some help on who's retooled from who.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:- G1 is dead? Well ... I mean, not really.

I never said dead. Clearly its still influencing designs we see today. But its over (that would have been a better term than "gone"). Its been over since the early 90s. And Hasbro has stated that they are moving forward and doing new stuff, not trying to replicate everything the way it was. Hence why we have all these classic characters in Titans Return exhibiting new traits they didnt have in G1. Thats what I meant. I am just stating what Hasbro stated.

It is a pretty impressive redeco, though...

Before I forget, as a "-master" partner, Nightstick isn't the only one who has kept his gun mode so far: don't forget Scoop's Holepunch and Tracer.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Before I forget, as a "-master" partner, Nightstick isn't the only one who has kept his gun mode so far: don't forget Scoop's Holepunch and Tracer.

You mean Holepunch and Caliburst? I am surprised Slugslinger let Scoop handle one of his guns.

william-james88 wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:- G1 is dead? Well ... I mean, not really.

I never said dead. Clearly its still influencing designs we see today. But its over (that would have been a better term than "gone"). Its been over since the early 90s. And Hasbro has stated that they are moving forward and doing new stuff, not trying to replicate everything the way it was. Hence why we have all these classic characters in Titans Return exhibiting new traits they didnt have in G1. Thats what I meant. I am just stating what Hasbro stated.

It's digressing a bit, but ... I never mind a small debate.

That Hasbro quote is very disingenuous. I mean they say they're making "new products without being chained to old stories" and then turn around and give us Platinum sets based off the animated movie and VERY G1 true takes on several old characters.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm here because I love the old 80's cartoon. So I am totally down for 10 new takes on 80s Hot Rod. But just making Hot rod a Headmaster isn't making him "not G1." That quote seems to relate more to RID than Combiner or titan Wars.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:- G1 is dead? Well ... I mean, not really.

I never said dead. Clearly its still influencing designs we see today. But its over (that would have been a better term than "gone"). Its been over since the early 90s. And Hasbro has stated that they are moving forward and doing new stuff, not trying to replicate everything the way it was. Hence why we have all these classic characters in Titans Return exhibiting new traits they didnt have in G1. Thats what I meant. I am just stating what Hasbro stated.

It's digressing a bit, but ... I never mind a small debate.

That Hasbro quote is very disingenuous. I mean they say they're making "new products without being chained to old stories" and then turn around and give us Platinum sets based off the animated movie and VERY G1 true takes on several old characters.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm here because I love the old 80's cartoon. So I am totally down for 10 new takes on 80s Hot Rod. But just making Hot rod a Headmaster isn't making him "not G1." That quote seems to relate more to RID than Combiner or titan Wars.

I don't know...making new characters like Alpha Bravo and Rook is fitting with the quote then there is the very IDW Sentinel and Rewind complete with head camera. I think they are trying to test the boundaries of what they can do with G1 influences and new directions and new takes on characters.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:- G1 is dead? Well ... I mean, not really.

I never said dead. Clearly its still influencing designs we see today. But its over (that would have been a better term than "gone"). Its been over since the early 90s. And Hasbro has stated that they are moving forward and doing new stuff, not trying to replicate everything the way it was. Hence why we have all these classic characters in Titans Return exhibiting new traits they didnt have in G1. Thats what I meant. I am just stating what Hasbro stated.

It's digressing a bit, but ... I never mind a small debate.

That Hasbro quote is very disingenuous. I mean they say they're making "new products without being chained to old stories" and then turn around and give us Platinum sets based off the animated movie and VERY G1 true takes on several old characters.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm here because I love the old 80's cartoon. So I am totally down for 10 new takes on 80s Hot Rod. But just making Hot rod a Headmaster isn't making him "not G1." That quote seems to relate more to RID than Combiner or titan Wars.

I don't know...making new characters like Alpha Bravo and Rook is fitting with the quote then there is the very IDW Sentinel and Rewind complete with head camera. I think they are trying to test the boundaries of what they can do with G1 influences and new directions and new takes on characters.

But that assumes IDW is NOT G1. And I'd have to argue that, basically, it is.

Sure it's not true G1. But IDW is Neo G1. The G1 universe evolved and expanded on, but still, at it's very core, G1.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:It's digressing a bit, but ... I never mind a small debate.

That Hasbro quote is very disingenuous. I mean they say they're making "new products without being chained to old stories" and then turn around and give us Platinum sets based off the animated movie and VERY G1 true takes on several old characters.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm here because I love the old 80's cartoon. So I am totally down for 10 new takes on 80s Hot Rod. But just making Hot rod a Headmaster isn't making him "not G1." That quote seems to relate more to RID than Combiner or titan Wars.

I dont mind either, I am having good fun with you guys

That last bit is interesting. I do see what you mean since he is still G1 flavoured using a g1 gimmick so he's not necessarily an evolution in the aesthetic or character but more of a fun switcheroo. Still, he isn't G1 hot rod either right? So he's not G1 hot rod, but at the same time he isnt that different from G1 either, is that what you mean? Like it should be a go big or go home type thing?

Personally I think we all know whats really going on here. Hasbro is just trying to reassure fans with these quotes that dont really hold up or mean anything aside from letting you know that they do care (or else they simply wouldnt be there to answer). They just want to let you know that there is a reason for all this that is more than simply them capitalizing on a line wide gimmick and pairing it with known names and designs that fans and parents might recognize. But there isnt.

Do I still sound positive

Very quick, very sloppy test image of TR Laser Prime as Energon Rodimus Prime.