Around this time last week, Walmart.com placed an in-stock listing for their exclusive deluxe class Hot Rod figure from Transformers: The Last Knight. I was one of the lucky people who were able to purchase and ship the figure before it went out of stock over the next few days. I received my figure Monday, and have thoroughly enjoyed the figure, so I figured I would share some thoughts with you guys on why he's a good pick up from the line.
We'll start in robot mode, and truthfully, this may be his weakest point. His robot mode is not that bad, it just doesn't have too much exciting stuff going on. He has some beautiful paint work though, and I feel as though the figure is just right in terms of paint applications. The legs are beautifully done, and the orange and silver pop nicely with that smokey black color. My only real complaint of the overall robot mode look are the legs below the knees, which are the exact same as
Age of Extinction Lockdown's legs, and don't match up with his movie model that well.
Looking at the headsculpt down below here, it is a nice headsculpt, and is quite movie accurate. It feels a little on the small side though, as if his head is sort of lost between his large shoulders. It does have some nice paint work though, as the whole figure does, and I am satisfied with it. It's sort of cute even.
While he isn't the most posable of Autobots, he can still throw down a good move or 2, but the arm kibble can hinder his movements some. I also really wish he had come with his time gun, as it was a cool weapon. Even so, I still imagine him shouting "I will stop the time!" in his french accent while pointing in some dudes general direction.
For the first comparison, here he is with the
Age of Extinction 2-pack Bumblebee, as I do not yet have the new The Last Knight Bumblebee. Overall, the 2 look pretty good together, though I really look forward to seeing him with the new Bumblebee.
Also for fun, here is Hot Rod with the aforementioned Lockdown, and also with the
Dark of the Moon Roadbuster and the
Universal Studios Evac figures, all of which share a similar Transformation scheme to Hot Rod. These 4 figures together are an interesting team, and certainly show how some figures can transform similarly while still being drastically different.
His Transformation is alright, nothing overly special. But the arms are a nice new trick, and one that I haven't seen before, so I like that little bit of ingenuity. But it is when we get to the alt mode that this figure really shines. The alt mode is perfect. Simply perfect. The vehicle mode is dead sexy and is so smooth and really doesn't look like it should be a robot. It is up there on my list for best alternate modes of any transformer I own, it is that good. The painted rims and the little bit of orange highlighting really helps the figure pop in this mode, and the translucent smokey windows are really cool, just enough so you know they are windows but not enough to really show anything inside. Amazing.
And here we have him with Bumblebee. The pair do look good together, and they scale pretty perfectly with each other. Again, I cannot wait to get the TLK Bumblebee to go with his brother in arms.
Here he is alone with Lockdown, as they both share a similar vehicle mode, and I have to say they did a much better job with Hot Rod. The coloring, the windows, the slightly larger size, it all looks much better with Hot Rod. They made it work.
And to continue with the early comparisons, here is the comparison of Hot Rod with Lockdown, Evac, and Roadbuster. And the same scheme but very different toys line applies here too, it is an amazing look.
And finally, a picture of Hot Rod with the main Autobot cast. Minus the Cogman I have yet to get and the Sqweeks I only just realized I forgot to include (whoops!). And he makes a great addition to the team:
Overall, this is a pretty good figure. Alt mode is an absolute stunner, Transformation is pretty good with some original tricks, and the robot mode is pretty good too. My one thing about this toy is it doesn't overly follow his on screen appearance, seeing as how his on screen self was closer to Bumblebee with regards to where the alt mode parts went, such as having car door wings, but the figure is still a pretty good representation of the character. There are no regrets picking him up. He is a fun figure, and if you have the chance, you should check him out too.
The fragile plastic inside the head is really an issue. I had to superglue it back on. It stays now, but the lower jaw cannot move because of the glue. So definitely be extra careful when buying this figure. Check the box and snap those plastic bands around the mouths carefully, transform it carefully, and play it carefully. Or just buy the mega one step. It's much more durable.
