The Energon Pub

I don't know if this is the right forum for this, but I need help transforming Masterpiece Rodimus Prime. The problem concerns tucking in his arms in car mode. The instructions show that Rodimus' fists are palm down. You have two flaps that open up, and it appears from the instructions that the fists are supposed to fit in there. Then the flaps close, you pin the pipes back, and your car transformation is pretty much finished.

When I try to do this, I can't get the fists to tuck into the spot. I have tried palm down, palm up, palm to the side. I have tried opening the hand also. None of these positions allow me to close the flaps and secure the arm against the car. I have also rotated the fists inside the arms and tried tucking the other side (the two prongs between which you slide the tool) into the spot under the flaps. When I do this, there is a gap between the rest of the car and the arm. I just can't seem to get this part tucked in and secured against the vehicle like I should be able to. I'm ready to return this toy.

Can anyone offer me advice on how this is supposed to be done? Thanks!

The hands DO NOT go inside the forearms. See this pic from the galleries:



I've never tried putting the hands there though, I've always put them between the arm and the foot. Does that help?

I'll give that a try. Thanks!

I tried the suggested positions and they didn't work. This toy is a piece of sh!t and I'm returning it.

It's not a piece of **** (apart from the shoulder articulation), just incredibly complex. You probably haven't got the hips lined up correctly. There are several things that need to lined up just right and then everything fits together. You can see from the photos in the gallery here that he does fit together well enough.

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... p-09/2285/

Yeah, this MP will definitely try your patience, especially if you have the original.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah, this MP will definitely try your patience, especially if you have the original.

That's odd, I was sure you'd say how awesome this toy is...

Well, here's the big problem. The toy is actually my son's. He has Asperger's Syndrome. If I can't transform it, he certainly won't be able to. And when he freaks out about it, I won't be able to help him with it because I can't transform it. I've looked at the way I have the feet positioned, and I can't see how to reposition them to allow the hands to tuck in.

The toy looks awesome, but if I can't transform it then it is no good to me or to him.

dtarvin wrote:Well, here's the big problem. The toy is actually my son's. He has Asperger's Syndrome. If I can't transform it, he certainly won't be able to. And when he freaks out about it, I won't be able to help him with it because I can't transform it. I've looked at the way I have the feet positioned, and I can't see how to reposition them to allow the hands to tuck in.

The toy looks awesome, but if I can't transform it then it is no good to me or to him.

Asperger's you say? May I ask how severe he has it? I have it myself, so I can emphasize with him somewhat.

The problem is, the Masterpiece Rodimus Prime isn't a toy per se, but designed more towards adult collectors as it's more complex and thus needs more careful and stable handling. something I wouldn't really trust to a child until he's like 12.

What kind of child is your son? Is he patient, calculative, likes to examine how things work, or is he impatient and does he throw tantrums when even the smallest thing goes wrong? (if you must know, I'm all that and more ).

He is 13 years old and gets frustrated very easily. He is a HUGE transformers fan (in fact I think he has all the articles on TFWiki memorized), but he hates toys where the pieces don't line up exactly. He wanted Sentinal Prime really bad, but he hated it when he found out a piece of the back wouldn't lay completely flat in fire truck mode. He got Leader Ironhide, MP Rodimus Prime, Laserbeak, and BM Supreme Cheetor for Christmas. He had a meltdown at his aunt's house because Cheetor's chest plate kept popping loose. I transformed Ironhide last night, and the various body pieces don't line up perfectly in truck mode, so I'm thinking he'll hate that toy too (or just keep him in robot mode). In any event, if I can't figure out the transformation for Rodimus, then like I said, the toy does us no good, and since his grandmother spent $70 on it, I think it is better to get her money back than to have it lie around the house unused. I'm very disappointed to say the least.

On a tangent, what is that disk that comes with him anyway? I don't seem to remember that from the old series.

Whoa, did he request those figures? Except for Laserbeak, they're all big and complicated, not really what I'd recommend. And BM Supreme Cheetor? Be prepared to get a lot of bad rep for that, as he's just that.

Your son's a bit of a perfectionist as well I see, like I was. In fact, I still do as I find non-perfectly aligned pieces a bit jarring. Unfortunately, today's toys allow wiggle room in overall design to prevent breakage. In such a case I'd try and explain that, maybe he'll come to terms with it. Does he have therapy?

O, the disk is actually the buzz saw he used in the 1986 animated movie. It attached to his arm with the hand retracted.

And it's severe enough that he's on disability.

Ah, so I fold the hand into the forearm and attach the saw to the pegs. Okay. Not that it matters if I return it...lol. As far as Cheetor, I don't remember if that one was on his Christmas list or not. However, he requested a lot of BM toys, most of which were quite expensive. This one was $50 with shipping. It seemed like a good idea at the time....

Beast Machines toys aren't too bad to start out with, they can be found quite cheap as it's a lesser loved line. So shop around O, be sure to look for Air Attack Optimus Primal, one of the best out there.

Perhaps this might help you. This is the Takara version which has the trailer and some QC issues. I am assuming you have the Hasbro version which doesn't include the trailer. The transformation is the same for Rodimus.

Mykltron wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Yeah, this MP will definitely try your patience, especially if you have the original.

That's odd, I was sure you'd say how awesome this toy is...

It IS awesome. And unlike most people, I got lucky with my original version, and could transform it without any problems. None of that bad QC crap.

I bought Hasbro Roddy and have the asame issue with the hands. tried to watch reviews even to no avail. I finally gave up on trying to transform him into vehicle mode and put him back to robot and he has been on the shelf ever since. I got mine on sale for just over $50 and to be honest, I still think I paid too much. I just don't care much for it at all.

A better, less-documented method is to swing the hands inside the arm, and insert the tool attachment into the cavity in his leg behind the ankle joint.

That way, the two flaps around his exhaust ports close snugly, and the three-pointed "tip" still folds neatly away.

...and it doesn't look like your car has mutant fingers growing out the bottom of it.

Sounds like Rodimus isn't the right toy for your son. The trouble is that so many TFs these days are so complex that it's almost impossible (or more often, completely impossible) to line everything up perfectly.

Maybe you could check out video reviews and see how complex something is before buying it and save him the stress and save you the unpleasant experience of seeing his distress and having to deal with it. I hope that doesn't sound patronising or rude in any way. It's a delicate subject and I don't want anyone to misunderstand me.

I'd reccomend watching a few U-tube videos of fellow fans transforming the toy. your having problems trying to transform back & forth.

I've used U-tube plenty of times. when I just couldn't figure out how to transform a newer transformers toy.

I also had problems trying to transform masterpiece MP-09 Rodimus Convoy. my transformations problems were trying to figure out how the feet & upper legs transformed in car mode & tucked under the middle & acted as seats. I also had problems flipping up the roof due to my roof hinges being tighter than the normal. I watched a few u-tube rodimus convoy MP videos & it helped me out.

well, I watched the video provided earlier. It did help, but there is still a gap between the arm and the body. At this point, we've decided to return him.

There is good news, though. Yesterday I saw the news about the Japanese Series' being available for order. He was ecatatic! He watches them on YouTube all the time. We've already placed our order.

Thanks to everyone for their help and input.