Review #24: Masterpiece Rodimus Prime
And so we bring a belated end to April with our final review of Hot Rod Month, and this website's first review of a Masterpiece Transformer. The Masterpiece line is supposed to be the pinnacle of Transformers toys, featuring toys in a larger scale that do their best to replicate what it was we saw on our televisions when we were children.
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So does 2011's Masterpiece Rodimus live up to expectations? Let us take a look.
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First things first. You're probably saying to yourself, "Hold on a moment, this review is clearly titled, 'Masterpiece Rodimus Prime,' but these pictures are clearly Hot Rod. What the heck is up with that?" Well, that is an astute observation on your part, this is Hot Rod. But, much like what happened when you combined Classics Hot Rod with Fansproject's Protector upgrade, when Takara designed this toy they designed it to be able to be both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. So we are first looking at Hot Rod's vehicle mode.
In this mode, it is clear to see why the line this toy is from is called, "Masterpiece." This looks like Hot Rod drove right off of the TV screen. Sleek design. Chrome detailing. A nice magenta colour right off of the show, in contrast to every past Hot Rod toy which has liked to pretend Hot Rod was a more standard red. The canopy is able to be opened, and features partial details of seats and a control panel inside.
It looks like a masterpiece... but in this mode there is a hint at some of the quality control issues that might unfortunately plague this figure. On my Hot Rod, the chrome pipes on one side of the figure don't always stay securely plugged into place. This may not be the same on every example of this figure, but it is important to note that this figure has had many publicised issues. Some of them I have had to deal with, others I have been fortunate enough to not have happen to me.
But back to Hot Rod's vehicle mode. The one minor issue aside, this mode looks fantastic. Best looking Hot Rod vehicle ever.
In this mode, it is clear to see why the line this toy is from is called, "Masterpiece." This looks like Hot Rod drove right off of the TV screen. Sleek design. Chrome detailing. A nice magenta colour right off of the show, in contrast to every past Hot Rod toy which has liked to pretend Hot Rod was a more standard red. The canopy is able to be opened, and features partial details of seats and a control panel inside.
It looks like a masterpiece... but in this mode there is a hint at some of the quality control issues that might unfortunately plague this figure. On my Hot Rod, the chrome pipes on one side of the figure don't always stay securely plugged into place. This may not be the same on every example of this figure, but it is important to note that this figure has had many publicised issues. Some of them I have had to deal with, others I have been fortunate enough to not have happen to me.
But back to Hot Rod's vehicle mode. The one minor issue aside, this mode looks fantastic. Best looking Hot Rod vehicle ever.
A little panel can be opened up on the engine block that reveals a port into which you can plug either one of Hot Rod's included weapons. If you have the domestic, Hasbro release of this toy, you'd also have a version of Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt that you could plug into this port. (This is the Takara version that I have, and while having Firebolt would have been nice, the Hasbro version omitted a rather important accessory that I'll be getting to shortly.)
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To make Hod Rod into Rodimus Prime for vehicle mode, after reconfiguring the base vehicle a bit it slides backwards into the trailer and then a faux front end which has been folded out from underneith the trailer slips over what was Hot Rod's rear to form Rodimus's front. Many saw this as a cheat and said this was the worst thing ever, but I cannot see how else one would make one toy that forms both a show-accurate Hot Rod and Rodimus without majorly compromising the asthetics of one or the other.
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Much like Hot Rod's vehicle mode, this Rodimus Prime looks fantastic. He is a superb representation of what Rodimus Prime looked like in the television show. However, just like with Hot Rod, there are a few issues. The most superficially noticable one is the canopy, which does not close quite as well as one might hope. Less noticable in photos but possibly more of an issue is the tightness of the cavity that the spoiler slots into. It is very tight. Even after taking sandpaper to the slot (and trust me, taking sandpaper to a toy that you have spent over $200 on is not the most enjoyable prospect) the slot is still tighter then it should be, and this could cause the paint to be scraped off of the spoiler.
So yeah... as seems to be a running theme with this toy, it has problems... but it looks damn good! Shall we see if the trend continues to robot mode?
Yup, it does. To get the negative out of the way first, the backpack (including the spoiler) does not like to stay clipped into place. Also, while I have been fortunate as far as this goes, I have read that people have had problems with the leg panels or the feet breaking. Mine seem fine, and will hopefully stay that way.
That out of the way, I cannot stress how good he looks! This is the best looking Hot Rod toy I have ever seen. A quick note about the transformation... Making him into a robot is pretty straight forward. (Although I would suggest being a bit more gentle with him then your average Transformer.) When it comes to making him a vehicle again, though, things need to fit together just right, there's little tolerance for error, and if one little thing is out of place the whole mode may fail to come together. So yeah... good luck with it, and have patience. Articulation is quite good. The head is on a ball joint. The shoulders have a racheting 360 degree rotational joint as well as another joint to allow some outward motion. There is a swivel right above the elbow and another one in the elbow, and then the elbow... well, the elbow is a bit disapointing in that it doesn't even quite bend 90 degrees. The wrist swivels 90 degrees, and then the hands are quite posable with the thumbs on ball joints and three hinged joints, one at the wrist, one at the base of the remaining four fingers, and one in the middle of those fingers. The waist can rotate 360 degrees. The hips can move outward to be almost horizontal, and move forward or backwards almost 90 degrees each way. Moving them forward to any signifigant degree will look a bit odd, however, as the crotch plate is only one piece. It doesn't look detramental, however, unless you have the leg moved forward in an extreme pose. The plate over the rear of the legs is two seperate pieces, and so can move independantly with each leg. There is a swivel directly below each hip, double jointed ratcheting knees, and feet that ratched forward and backwards or swivel from side to side. |
The hands unfortunately do not hold the guns very well. For this review's photo was the first time I had him holding both of them at the same time, and that took quite a bit of frustrated fiddling to acomplish. This was aparently fixed somewhat on later releases of this mold.
There are a number of gimmicks to the figure, all based off of things featured in the 1986 film. He has a visor in his head that can be lowered over his eyes. You can on either arm rotate the hand around to store inside the arm revealing a small clip in it's place. (Although it is a bit frustrating getting the hand posed just right to allow the arm to close around it.) Into either clip can be attached one of two accessories, either a circular saw or a little blow torch.
The change from Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime is a subtle one as far as robot mode goes, as we can see in this magical split screen photo. The most obvious difference is the interchangable face, which gives you Rodimus's more mature visage. The spoiler raises a bit higher, the shoulders can be raised a bit higher, and the legs can be made a tiny bit longer. And that is about it. As he is basically the same figure, Rodimus features the exact same articulation as Hot Rod.
Hot Rod's two guns combine together to form Rodimus's rifle. Unfortunately, seeing as he had enough trouble holding the individual guns, there is no way his hands can hold the rifle tight enough to have it in one hand, thus you cannot pose him aiming it at anything. And, of course, being a Prime, his chest has a compartment that can be opened up to reveal a matrix inside. It is a tiny little matrix that he would not be able to hold in his hands, but it is sculpted well and looks good. |
Of course, the trailer features the iconic double barreled cannon that Rodimus can man. Unlike the original G1 Rodimus's stationary cannon, this one can rotate at two points, at the base of the stand and just below the cannon itself. Of course, if Rodimus is to be manning the cannon, it will have to be pointing forward anyway, so this is somewhat useless articulation but it is still apreciated.
If the trailer needs extra firepower, the hand held guns can be mounted on it at various points. They can be pegged into the trailer as individual guns on either the trailer's front end (for additional forward facing guns) or back end (for rear aimed weaponry). Additionally, they can be plugged into the cannon itself as two seperate guns (one on top, and one on the bottom) or as Rodimus's combined rifle (mounted under the double barreled cannon).
Now to bring everything all together. Shall we see how Rodimus himself looks when manning his trailer's large cannon? |
I dare say he looks pretty darn good! And, I must say, that seems to be what this figure excells at: looking good. This is not really a "playing with" toy. This is a "find a nice pose and stick it on your shelf to apreciate" collectable figure. That is a bit sad. Yes, this is a toy that costs over $200 and was never intended to be a child's play thing, so in a lot of ways it does do what it sets out to do. But I still expect my Transformers to be a bit more, well, durable. Even an expensive, adult intended figure should be able to hold up to... well, for lack of a better term, adult play. I'm not going to thrash around with my figures while going, "Pew, pew! Take that, Decepticons!" But I like to take them off the shelf, transform them once in a while, and pose them a bit without worrying that they might fall apart in my hands. And speaking of hands, it is quite, quite sad that this figure has such difficulty holding his own guns.
So without a doubt, this is a great looking figure. Exceptional looking. And it has a nice, intricate transformation. But on the other hand, that transformation is somewhat frustrating at times, and the figure is plagued with quality control issues that you might have hoped, in what is supposed to be a "Masterpiece" of a figure, would have been ironed out before the figure was released to retail, rather then waiting until the figure's release and then fixing some of the issues for subsequent releases, essentially making the figure's innitial purchasers little better then unwilling beta testers.
Anyway, let us look at some comparison photos, shall we? Here's all of the Hot Rods we've looked at in Hot Rod month:
So without a doubt, this is a great looking figure. Exceptional looking. And it has a nice, intricate transformation. But on the other hand, that transformation is somewhat frustrating at times, and the figure is plagued with quality control issues that you might have hoped, in what is supposed to be a "Masterpiece" of a figure, would have been ironed out before the figure was released to retail, rather then waiting until the figure's release and then fixing some of the issues for subsequent releases, essentially making the figure's innitial purchasers little better then unwilling beta testers.
Anyway, let us look at some comparison photos, shall we? Here's all of the Hot Rods we've looked at in Hot Rod month:
And of the above, here are the two that can also be Rodimus Prime:
So Masterpiece Rodimus Prime looks the part, but alas has many issues that keep it from being the true masterpiece it should be. Still, of the five figures I have reviewed this past... er... month, this is the best looking of the bunch. But I'd have to give the "most fun" award to the Classics Deluxe Hot Rod, especially when you figure Fansproject's Protector Armor into it. And really, Transformers are supposed to be about fun, so I'll look on that as the most important criteria.
A note about the domestic release of this figure: It did feature some mold improvements, although I cannot comment on them directly as I don't have the figure. It didn't interest me as much as the imported version as it was missing a very important accessory: the entire trailer. Thus, while you could theoretically still make Rodimus Prime as a robot, for vehicle mode you were only going to get Hot Rod. It did as mentioned above have an additional accessory in the form of Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt, but while he would have been nice to have if I had to choose the trailer was going to win. The domestic release had a more toy inspired deco as opposed to the import version's animation inspired deco.
So, I suppose if I were to rank the five of the figures I've reviewed this month from least to best, I would do so as follows:
5. "G1 Hot Rod" Hotswipe (Just a Hot-Rod-Reprolabeled Sideswipe, after all.)
4. Classics Legends Class Hot Rod
3. Micromaster Hot Rod
2. Masterpiece Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime
1. Classics Deluxe Hot Rod with Fansproject Protector Armor, Sidearm, and Blesser
But don't take that to mean I dislike any of these figures. I am happy to have all of them! But if you were going to only have one, of these the Classics Deluxe is the way to go.
Hope you enjoyed Hot Rod month! Sorry it took a bit longer then an actual month... and once I am done here, I will return you to your regularly scheduled calandars. See you soon with May's first official posting!
Review added 39 April 2012 by Yotsuya. May now may begin. Please comment!
A note about the domestic release of this figure: It did feature some mold improvements, although I cannot comment on them directly as I don't have the figure. It didn't interest me as much as the imported version as it was missing a very important accessory: the entire trailer. Thus, while you could theoretically still make Rodimus Prime as a robot, for vehicle mode you were only going to get Hot Rod. It did as mentioned above have an additional accessory in the form of Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt, but while he would have been nice to have if I had to choose the trailer was going to win. The domestic release had a more toy inspired deco as opposed to the import version's animation inspired deco.
So, I suppose if I were to rank the five of the figures I've reviewed this month from least to best, I would do so as follows:
5. "G1 Hot Rod" Hotswipe (Just a Hot-Rod-Reprolabeled Sideswipe, after all.)
4. Classics Legends Class Hot Rod
3. Micromaster Hot Rod
2. Masterpiece Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime
1. Classics Deluxe Hot Rod with Fansproject Protector Armor, Sidearm, and Blesser
But don't take that to mean I dislike any of these figures. I am happy to have all of them! But if you were going to only have one, of these the Classics Deluxe is the way to go.
Hope you enjoyed Hot Rod month! Sorry it took a bit longer then an actual month... and once I am done here, I will return you to your regularly scheduled calandars. See you soon with May's first official posting!
Review added 39 April 2012 by Yotsuya. May now may begin. Please comment!