I just picked up the DOTM HA Roadbuster today from my local Walmart and decided to try my hand at reviewing. I'm no professional at this, so I'm hoping it at least helps you guys in deciding if this figure is worth getting. On to the good stuff ...

My first reaction was how beastly Roadbuster looked sitting on the shelves. He has an impressive alt mode sitting in his plastic cell:



Roadbuster's bio:




I love this figure's alt mode. It's mean looking, loaded with guns and missile launchers, and has great colors (which I think are better than the DLX):



Without headlight guns deployed:



With:



Rear end has a Batmobile feel to it:



Comparison pictures w/ DLX Bumblebee:




His alt mode overall is very nice. The panels have a little trouble lining up on the doors and rear fenders, but I believe I'm not transforming the figure properly just yet. I'll continue fiddling around with it.

Alt mode: 8/10


The robot mode, based on my first reaction, was alright. I wasn't blown away by it, but it still kept my interest.



He's got his fan favorite mech tech weapon: the chainsaw! Not as impressive as his DLX version as it doesn't have any spinning action or anything, but still looks nice:



Comparison pics w/ Classics Red Alert:



And with HA Jazz:



His battle mask is similiar to Jazz's. I think he looks better with it on. The head mold is ok; I think his hat looking this hangs out a little too much:



W/out:



Front:



Back:



Side:



You can sit Sergeant Recon on Roadbuster's shoulders, but it's kind of weird as his arm has to fold back and point backwards ... I think I did something wrong, but none the less:



And the traditional HA missile post on the back:



More pics:




Overall, I wasn't too thrilled with his bot mode. His possibility is fairly good, has nice weapons, and good proportions. However, if the legs are positioned right (which are somewhat loose on mine), he takes on the ROTF Skids and Mudflap stance when he's looking down. These all can be overlooked though and he still comes out as an impressive figure. Overall his bot mode gets a 7/10

If you're a Human Alliance enthusiast, pick up this version of Roadbuster. If you haven't been thrilled about the HA line in general you can probably skip this one and stick to the DOTM DLX version of Roadbuster.

Here's a final pic of the two versions of Roadbuster:



Overall rating: 7.5/10

I'm sure there's questions that I missed answering in the review, so please post them here and I'll do my best to answer them. I hope this helps. Enjoy it TFW!

EDIT: Added some more pics:

Other figures' mech tech does fit:



DLX Roadbuster's chainsaw weapon looks great besides the color mismatch:



Comparison of other HA human figures (Roughly the same size - Sergeant Recon is slightly shorter):

 

Ugh, that's pretty cool. And I am an HA enthusiast, but because they are pricey I try and get real standouts.

I also prefer the weaponed-up mode just cause I could take or leave NASCAR, so that's a plus.

I never like that shoulder-thing, Barricade also tries and fails at it. And considering how many real human allies the Autobots have in the movie, I could give a fig for the racing drivers.

 

Nice pics and review. car mode looks very nice.

 

Looks amazing, way better than the deluxe, and much less kibble too!

Overall a worthy example the HA line. Thanks for the cool review!

 

I have a serious weakness for the deluxe. This will be bought at full price.

Things that are Orange, Purple, or Green will be nabbed. This looks like a great green.

 

Can't FREAKING wait. I love the HA line.

 

I think I just found my all time favorite HA figure Thanks for posting  

 

Looks great. Great review, man!

 

Can we get a comparison shot with his driver next to one of the original driver molds from ROTF HA figures and one of the new HA Basic drivers? I'd like to see which way they went for this size class of HA toys, since they shrunk the drivers for the HA basics.

 

Looks a lot better in car mode than in robot mode. That's okay though, when I start getting HA stuff I'll be displaying them in vehicle form anyway.
Thanks for the review!

 

I love the Roadbuster design, but this figure just isnt really doing it for me.
Its the arms and legs I think.
The arms look too long and the big gap below the shoulder makes it look like there should be something filling it.
The legs in general just look unfinished, kind of like they half designed them then just decided it was good enough and left it at that.

Maybe if theres a way to shorten the arms a bit, get rid of that gap, and find a way to make the legs a little thicker.

I'd say I'll wait for a sale on this guy, but since whoever decides the case ratios is clearly insane all we'll see for the next few years is likely to be more shelfwarming Bumblebees.
Hopefully they pull their head out of their ass and stop flooding shelves with Bumblebees and Primes or guys like Roadbuster could become very difficult to find.

 

Now I REALLY hope there is a HA Topspin and Leadfoot.

 

the size screams Roadbuster (wish Whirl would get a full scale HA figure, and a Twin Twist)

Wreck and Rule!

 

Why couldn't they have made it a normal looking nascar with pop out weapons?

 

...Because it is?

 

Really can't say that I care for the way the alt-mode looks. Just a little too disjointed in some places. Especially around the doors.

I know he's suppose to be in a crazy half transformed weapons-mode, but it just doesn't do it for me. I prefer solid alt-modes.

I think he meant why couldn't they make it so he was a normal looking car in alt-mode, that had weapons built in that could fold out. Kind of like how the missile launchers do on the Deluxe version, but more so.

Which would have been pretty cool, but I could also see that being kind of an engineering nightmare for the designers, if they tried to go for screen accuracy.

 

Excellent review, can't ask for more!

 

Loving both modes. Gotta have, gotta have, gotta have!

 

While I love HA Roadbuster and do plan on getting him I am more anxious to see HA Leadfoot  . Though HA Soundwave will be nice to see too! Also to let everyone know Entertainment Earth has HA Roadbuster to order though he is not in stock yet but there is a chance they might get him in soon.

 

I'd like to know this as well.

Is the human to the same scale as the ROTF Human Alliance figures, or is it smaller like the new 10$ Human Alliance figures?