The Energon Pub

I am disappointed by this thing across the board and in no imaginable way is it a Voyager...nothing more need be said.

Well, I know from the text that this review isn't even worth skipping through.

Get it through your head that pricepoints have always always always always ALWAYS been more about the mass and engineering costs.
SS86 Hot Rod is at the Voyager price because he bends over backward to be accurate, well-articulated, tuck away kibble (perhaps too much, admittedly, that's my major complaint with him because of the chest), and avoid having the mold hollows that people endlessly bitch and moan about. Transformers fans, ladies and gentlemen: Will buy a $20 Deluxe and a $10-12 filler kit, but won't pay the same money for a Deluxe-size figure that's already filled and more elegantly than an aftermarket kit would ever have a prayer of doing, plus has a better overall engineering standard. At least, not if it comes from Hasbro; if it comes from a 3P company they'll gladly pay $100. </rant>

*Ahem*
Let's look at the other Hot Rods you have him next to in the preview image:
Power of the Primes: No wrist articulation even for transformation, ball-joint elbows instead of separate hinge and swivel, definite hollowness in upper arms, visible non-blending pin prongs (not a dealbreaker for everyone, but still) on the wheels, rear leg movement significantly restricted by windshield, no engine in car mode (in deference to the large Rodimus Prime robot mode, but still worth noting).
Titans Return: Hollowness in thighs (not something that bugs me, but it is something people moan about) and forearms, both the Hasbro and Takara versions only do the chest half-right, a Headmaster (not something I mind, and I actually think Hasbro Firedrive is very clever if one keeps in mind the 86 toy, but again it's something people have whinged about), visible hollows in the spoiler, red lower legs on the Hasbro version, wrist articulation is only for transformation, makes a compromise on Hot Rod's "belt" for thigh articulation.
Classics: Comes up short, face sculpt is iffy and looks more Rodimus Prime-y than Hot Rod-y, only 2 exhaust pipes per side, changed the altmode to a Dome Zero because...? (that doesn't make sense even in the context of Classics' "modern image" schtick), nonstandard fist holes, no sideways elbow movement (meaning he has less elbow articulation than the G1 toy). On top of that, the market situation has changed drastically since 2006.

I can't believe anyone would be so blind as to defend a conpany taking advantage of them, what a joke.

The mass is less than half the established value of a voyager. The engineering is absolutely nothing special with very thin legs that even sqweak on all pins on my copy. Super accurate, lol, really? They couldn't even get the joint colors right. Literally every one is incorrect. The qrms are quite hindrred unless you work around the limits. "no hollow" is absolutely bot woryh double the price he should be. While I can't speak for othets, I would never buy a filler kit. Hasbro should make their products right to begin with.

You made me laugh. Thanks.

1. The mass is "less than half the established value of a voyager", huh? To which other Voyagers is that being compared? That is a shame if so, but mass is not the whole story.
2. "They couldn't even get the joint colors right." The thing is that joint colors are forever the whipping boys of mold layout even when extra care is being taken, so them being right should never be the minimum standard of accuracy. That should be things like, oh, I don't know, sculpt, detail, and overall color and layout. And SS86 Hot Rod's sculpting is as back-breakingly accurate as can be while still having a transforming toy, to the point of having a faux-parts chest because of how Dery stylized the hood in robot mode. "Not magenta" is a far more serious accuracy complaint than the joint colors being wrong. But the sculpting and layout is still on point (and you'd probably have to put a gun to HasTak's heads to get them to release a magenta Hot Rod anyway, they're 0 for how many on that score by this point?).
3. "The arms are quite hindered"? Based on every photo I've seen of him posing (esp. one with him holding the matrix in front of his chest), I don't see how they can possibly be more "hindered" than the allegedly-hindered arms of PotP Rodimus Prime, and they seem to be on par with Titans Return (if not better, due to the wrist rotation). You want "quite hindered" arms, there are a number of Unicron Trilogy figures I can show you that actually live up to that description.
4. "The engineering is absolutely nothing special". And now it's my turn to laugh. For one thing, just the "no hollow" thing is itself a more complex level of engineering, because it requires a higher piece count. For another, deluxe-size head that opens up to let a visor flip out. Then there's the thigh covers, and the extra work to tuck kibble away as much as possible, and the wrist rotation, and the articulated hands, and the accessory with a moving part, etc.
The legs don't look that much thinner than TR Hot Rod's, and Hot Rod's legs are supposed to be on the slender side anyway.
Also, "double the price he should be?" Last I checked, Voyagers were $30, not $40.
5. "I would never buy a filler kit" Well, fair enough, I wouldn't either - at least, not for the Generations toys everybody whinges about the minor gaps of. Now, if someone made filler kits for molding gaps actually big enough to need it (Cybertron Optimus' leg cannons, MMPR Titanus' tail cannons), those I'd buy. "Hasbro should make their products right to begin with". Hasbro has to make their products at prices parents will actually buy off the store shelves - that means compromises.

1. Um, against every other voyager from 2013 onward with established masses from 144 to 165 grams, depending on parts count and such. This is 77, including all accessories. A traditional deluxe is 84. This isn't even a deluxe, really, let alone voyager. Cyclonus is more, Primal is more, Inferno and even his wave mate Scourge.
2. When you overcharge, the least you can do is, yes, get colors, including joints, right. If he was accurately priced as deluxe, I might forgive inaccurate joints, not as voyager. The sculpt is meh, the car is also not right. The front is far too short. I haven't even talked of the qc breakage of the silver pipes, notably the centre pipe.
3. The arms are, greatly, well-known to have odd limits. I said you can work around it. I show that in the review. Again, being over priced, as he as, that is unacceptable.
4. The engineering is nothing special. Not hollow, big deal. That is just how the molding is injected. Nothing more. The legs will break on most very fast, I suspect. I can see my finger through the plastic it's so thin. Comparatively, TR is 93 grams, a big deluxe with sturdy lower legs. I have heard 8 reports of the visor breaking off...sooo... Again, as I explain, in Canada they are 40. You are missing A LOT of facts and math here lol and making me repeat aspects of the review anyway lol.
Look, do what you like, but for me, and for the sake of every other fan, I have no intention of sending the message to Hasbro that it is acceptable to scam a voyager price out of me for a deluxe offering. Once fans accept half the mass, it is gone, you'll never get it back, so which loss will you try to justify losing next? Articulction? Less accessories? Less paint? When is enough enough? When do you stop defending a company trying to take uour money and give you less and instead say it is time to hold the company accountable to you, the consumer? I draw the line here. You don't. I look at them and say do better. You are saying this is good enough.

Well, speaking of "sending the message to Hasbro," why don't you literally send a message with your grievances? They do actually take some degree of notice of that. Best to include a photo of the scale as evidence.

1. Well, that is disappointing. But you say "A traditional deluxe"... Is that including WFC and SS/SS86 Deluxes? Those are the most accurate thing to compare him with, as they are contemporary. And they typically have a lot more visible hollows and exposed mushroom pegs than SS86 Hot Rod does. As do some of those Voyagers you mentioned. SS86 Hot Rod also has a higher accessory count than many contemporary regular-retail Deluxes - two guns, a saw with a rotating blade, a Matrix of Leadership, and three blast effects.
2a. Joint colors generally don't get priority on normal figures, no matter how much they cost for their size. Especially since these days, joints (particularly on smaller figures, speaking from my experience as a customizer) are sometimes manufactured from a different plastic than the main body pieces for tolerance reasons. Which I strongly suspect is the case with SS86 Hot Rod: His spoiler (which is single-strut like PotP's, which I know did this) and the yellow joint pieces look to not have the same gloss sheen as most of his parts do, same for the gray used for the hands, the elbows, and the struts for the arm pipes. If that is the case, then the legs you are sooooo convinced will break very fast are probably going to hold up quite well in reality. As for not getting the Magenta body color right, well... HasTak obviously have a severe mental block about that considering that not even the bloody MASTERPIECE line has gotten that right.
2b. Is the front really too short tho? The flame section alone is at least as long as the windshield. And again, stuff does have to fit for transformation.
3. I suppose I'm going to have to see for myself regarding the arms. But I suspect these apparent limits stem from trying to be accurate to Hot Rod's visual design and keep the tops of his shoulders from going above the neckline too much. Doing that while having articulated shoulders cannot possibly play nice with how the arms are used in car mode - there's a reason other CHUG Hot Rods compromise on it (Classics and TR both gave up completely, with the shoulders going above the head) - and he lacks the size and budget to deal with it the way the MPs do.
4a. "Not hollow, big deal. That is just how the molding is injected." No, it's how the molding is cut. Not hollow =/= the same mold with more plastic into it, which is what I'm assuming your meaning. In most cases it's also how the toy is assembled, which is something I don't think we think about a lot.
Example: the thigh hollows that have become ubiquitous these days save money not simply because of using less mass, but because they also save on engineering costs and assembly labor by allowing the body of the thigh to be a single piece (which requires only a single pair of cutouts in the mold and can be pegged and pinned into place as-is). Enclosed thighs require two pieces (because articulation - if they were one piece, you couldn't still have the mushroom-pegged bicep swivel; SS86 Kup gets around this laterally by having 5mm peg bicep swivels, but do we want that on most figures?), which means making two pairs of cutouts in the mold, and the extra labor cost of screwing or pinning those pieces together.
4b. The visor breaking off is disappointing (if not surprising given the size - smol clear plastic bit =/= rugged), but making it an actual integrated part of the head is still more complex engineering than normal. There is no possible way that you can rationally say it isn't.
4c. Hot Rod also goes out of the way to have the car kibble on his legs hidden away, and has the same kind of business going on with his thighs as SIEGE/ER Optimus, which is more than can be said for Deluxes or most Voyagers. And need I remind you, he has articulated hands. Perhaps none of that is "special" per se, but it's still a higher complexity level especially for the size.

As for "you'll never get it back"... Given that the Kingdom and other SS86 Voyagers are all within the norms, I seriously doubt SS86 Hot Rod is the harbinger of doom you're making him out to be. I'm pretty sure that he's just HasTak using a Voyager development budget laterally in order to give us as premium and accurate a Hot Rod as could be managed within retail limits, because Hot Rod was the star of the movie, and future Voyagers will continue to be in the usual vein of the price point.
I'd actually offer to buy yours, since you hate him so much, but you live in Canada which would likely make the shipping stupid AF.

No, they don't lol. This guy ia not now, nor ever will be, a voyager. Like it, hate it, math is math, facts and facts. Why you need to incessantly defend a company baffles me, especially when they qre expressly offeting you less for more. You do you. It's sad. though, it really is
1. Every line before WFC, WFC has generally been a rip off since day one. All qvcessories in, again, 77 grams.I shouodn't need to repeat that.
2a yes, look at the animation. It is much too short. As for the legs, when they DO break, remeber who told you.
3. See for youeself? D-don't you own him? TR's shoulders work in every position, but okay. Even if it is slightly hindered, he is 93 grams and was half the price.
4. Right, sure, that"s why the hollow is so "amazing" lol. As for the visor, mine is fine, but many are not, apparently. The engineering means zip if it fails.

Anyway..IT'S NOT A VOYAGER lol. I even have a shirt that says that. It is imdefensible.

Not to butt in too hard here, but a toy is a toy. Some will enjoy it and some will not, either way power to both of them! If you don't like 86 Hotrod, then pack him up and return it, sell it on the internet or simply toss him in a box for goodwill.

A good review of a toy (or any product really) is about information, rather than an adversarial toned set of grievances

Exactly, extremeky well said, which is what the actual review covers but because it ended up as anything but glowing, based on the cost valuation, the title is more of a warning for those who blindly love everything new. It won't be the review for you. I would have been far, far more forgiving were he priced accurately. There is a big difference not being good or simply not being a voyager. People cannot seem to separate the two.