I picked him up today, but I returned him right away after transforming him a few times. He was falling apart all over the place, but he looked so damn cool. I got ratchet instead but I'll try another hot shot again

 

Does any one have a clear pic of the Jaam licence plate?

 

i got the henkei version yesterday and being honest i love it. i love how bright the yellow is its so vibrant. i love how complex the transformation is for a deluxe and the guns are a deal maker for me. ....but jolt is there much point in him. just glad that jolt was better in the cartoon last thing hot shot needed was a minican that couldnt stand as fell over at every oportunity

 

I got the Henkei today, and like DJcharters said, the guns really help the figure, both as weapons on the arms or as a jetpack using the pegs for vehicle mode. Plus with a bit of woerk I can get a few decent poses out of him.

 

I don't know what you guys that're having problems transforming him are doing wrong, both my Henkei and Universe versions transform with no problems whatsoever.

 

I love this guy. Hot Shot really needed an update, too.

Anyway, I found that the kibble is difficult to position in 'bot mode, but if you position it as the very first step of the car->'bot transformation it is easy. While still in car mode, unsnap the rear kibble and push down on the rear bumper until the bumper rotates around to touch the car door. Then just transform as normal from there.

The kibble ends up totally clear of the arms in 'bot mode kind of "stacked" on top of each other with the large bumper bits hanging near his butt. You can barely even see it from the front.

 

But you can see enough so that he doesn't look odd like he does when you just remove the wings.

 

Man, I am really not feeling all the hate for this guy. His arms really are not all that limited; the multiple joints on the back kibble allows you to move it in whatever way you need it to for a pose. I will admit that Jolt sucks, and that his lack of weapons is disappointing.

As for the transformation, it is really finicky. You have to keep adjusting the position of his upper body to let the lower half fold down for car mode without popping off an arm.

Overall, I love this guy. Once you realize that all it takes is a little bit of fiddling to move his arms where you want, he becomes quite posable. He has 360 degree shoulder rotation, double-jointed elbows, bicep swivels, a ball-jointed head, universal joints for hips, thigh swivels, unrestricted knees, and even a little bit of foot articulation 'cause of his transformation. The only thing he's missing is a waist (which would have been difficult, if not impossible due to how he transforms) and wrists. Seriously, this guy has awesome articulation. You just need to know how to move his back kibble depending on how you want to pose his arms.

 

So what's this about Hot Shot not being able to hold any weapons? Not only does he not come with guns of his own, but his hands aren't even the standard weapon peg size? Is it a close "too small" that can be fixed with a little shaving or is there no way in hell to get him to hold a standard gun?

Personally, I always liked the Axel-zooka. It was one of my favorite parts about Hotshot, along with his visor. I would have much prefered it if he came with that weapon, which would flip over his shoulder, then the weapons he's "supposed" to come with.

It seems Hasbro really cheaped out on him for some reason, which is a total shame. I like Hotshot, I liked a lot of Armada bots and would love to seem more updated versions of them. But if they're handled like Hotshot was, then that would just suck.

 

TRU was having a sale, so I grabbed one of these for $8.

Jolt sucks ass. Period.

Hot Shot, though, is actually pretty cool. Kinda like a weird Alternators-Armada hybrid. I don't think the plastic feels all that cheap, either.

 

Those back panels annoyed the hell out of me until I saw that pic. Yeah it does suck that I have to pop them off but the end result is just so much better than not doing it.

Perhaps the Henkei version wouldn't have the back panel problem since it's lacking the plastic where the exhaust guns go in car mode.

 

No. we're not doing ANYTHING wrong. if he's not falling apart for you, its because you're taking your time and being extremely delicate with him. there are serious design errors here that cannot possibly be blamed on bad QC or people not knowing what they're doing.

 

Actually, I have my Henkei's panels in the official position and with a bit of effort, I can pose his arms providing that I think where the arms need to go and how the kibble needs to move accordingly. No problems with anything poping off either.

 

Mine is transforming fine as well.

 

This figure does have great articulation, however I wish more time was spent on the design. The issues such as the kibble interfering with the shoulder articulation could have been prevented, as well as Jolt being able to stand.

I also wonder why the guns were not included, they didn't consist of that much more plastic. Those things are small! Lack of guns in a way, eliminates the need for his targeting visor. What's he going to do, place crosshairs on a mountain for him to run to?

Either way, as said earlier, there are a lot of disappointments with the mold itself so the guns would help, but not necessarily boost my excitement for the figure exponentially. I don't like how the torso is hollow and primarily secured by 2 tabs that don't do a good job of securing the torso.

 

It wasn't just the guns that were cut from the design. If you looks at the prototype pictures, he has seperate clear pieces for the side windows, and Jolt has heelspurs so he can actually stand up. But if something had to go, I'm glad it was the guns as in hand they aren't that great and I can understand why they were cut.

 

I've been accused of many things but being delicate isn't one of them. 


But no, I wasn't delicate at all, and fought that back kibble as much as anyone I'm sure. I just decided to angle them back so he can move his arms freely so I can get some good poses out of him. The main offender are those spoilers on his shoulders though, why HasTak decided that was a good place for them I'll never know. Then there's Jolt, but that's a whole different complaint right there.

 

Jolt isn't bad as something to fiddle with in hand, since he looks goods, and his helicopter mode is good. Just don't expect him to stand and he is a lot better.

 

Damn I really wish those pieces were still kept in the final production pieces. Though I can see why the side windows were casted in opaque as opposed to clear plastic and painted doors, as the paint on the doors would probably rub off at a high rate due to handling the doors during transformation.

I really wish the guns and Jolt's heel spurs were kept. Though I wonder if Hot Shot is popular enough for yet another do over, I have doubts.