That actually helps! Interesting.

 

its a far better sculpt....but that is some lazy seam line design. straight down the middle of the thighs and shins. they could have worked that seem into an existing edge/line of the figure. thats picking a nit....but for something that was in design phase forever...they should have worked that out. takara's is not guilty of it on this design.

 

It's the same face. It's not the original one we saw when this was first revealed but it's the face we've been seeing for months. It's just that people don't know how to take pictures so the face is getting washed out and distorted on some photos.

It helps but doesn't address all the issues. Hoodlum is still way better proportioned.

 

No, Takara is guilty of ugly screws right in the fore arm. I'll take thigh seams any day over that.

 

you are right..wow can't unsee that now. lol. glad i'm not a hot rod fan else i'd be out another 90 bucks. haha

 

If some 3p company could make a new Spoiler for the official MP hotrod, I'd be thrilled. To me, it's all he needs.

 

I think the main eyesores with Hoodlum is the seam in the collar, the small hands, and the red tabs in the grey areas on his shoulders.

He still looks better than Takara's, but there were sacrifices on both.

 

Sigh, add me to the list of recipients who has a chipped front out of the box, mines pretty small but it still grates.

Even more so since he blows mp28 out of the water in bot mode, and his alt is surprisingly great actually. moving between the 2 less good, but this is FT after all.

 

I hope that FT learns not to use the collar design of Hoodlum on their possible future Rodimus.

 

Mine is chipped out of the box as well sadly.

 

Because of the height differences, someone needs to take a photo of Hot Rod changing into Rodimus using all 3 figures. That would look great!

 

Done by @TigerBlade

 

I'm guessing you missed yesterday's onslaught of pics? Lol

Here's a select few:

 

Wow! You could justify the figure just to create that scene!!

 

Been done a few times throughout this thread.

 

mine too. I think it will continue to chip even if I paint the chip because it makes contact inside robot mode.  

 

So did anyone else get the version of this guy with the "move the arms and the torso explodes" feature, or am i just lucky? He looks good, but any posing at all and he just pops apart. This thing is a poorly engineered, floppy, piece of painted diecast shit.

Also, how the hell have they not learned by now that diecast chest pieces are fucking stupid and add nothing but weight in the wrong places, along with easily scratchable paint? Fanstoys has fallen a long way since their dinobots.

Edit* continue rant- 0 ratchets, and they didn't even bother to paint the darker highlights on his helmet. This seems more like an early kfc offering than fanstoys. At least kfc has continued to improve. Seems like fanstoys is coasting on their name and not not even trying anymore.

 

Pretty much this. It looks like that little bit of the hood rests directly against an internal hinge.

I can also see paint rubbing off on the orange legs as you compress the grey parts inwards to car mode. I've seen little marks that have wiped off thankfully, but there's going to be friction of that plastic rubbing against diecast painted thighs.

 

Small haul came in. No I'm not transforming HR, he's for display only  

 

Well, I think you actually answered this yourself - some think MP-28 has a better face sculpt (I don't think Hoodlums is that bad, though I haven't got him in hand yet).
It's arguable that (as a display piece) there's not much else going for it. MP-28 has better articulation sure, but for a display piece Hoodlum seems to be able to get into most necessary poses.
Where Hoodlum looks better (to me)
In Bot mode:
Hoodlum does the chest significantly better.
The thighs are larger and the feet are more accurate, and of course, the proportions between top and bottom of the entire figure actually match (MP-28 has tiny leg syndrome with a huge flat chest, tiny thighs, and massive boots).
Hoodlum's overall proportions are more slender and sleek (still a little too bulky as HR was kinda skinny, but miles ahead of the blockiness of MP-28)
Neither has hip flaps, but where MP-28 has a single rectangular sheet of plastic, Hoodlum has the overall "T" shape, with a distinct crotch.
Hoodlum has a larger more prominent spoiler
Hoodlum's head is larger and more in proportion
Hoodlum doesn't have large screw holes on his forearms
BUT:
MP-28 does have more in proportion hands and MP-28 does the collar better. And of course, MP-28 doesn't have pegs in the shoulder vents.

In alt mode:
Hoodlums side exhausts are arguably more accurate, not going all the way to the front wheel arch
Hoodlum has larger more in proportion tyres/wheels
Hoodlum has the yellow hood flames all the way to the windscreen
Hoodlum will almost certainly have more durable chrome
Hoodlum carries over the orange and yellow forearm detailing to the rear quarter panels correctly, while MP-28 just has an orange circular doohickey here (a symptom of Hoodlum using the arms as side of the car, while MP-28 fakes it)
It starts to get a little subjective, but personally, I feel that the basic flow of shapes from hood to windscreen to the roof on Hoodlum is more reminiscent of a real car, where those parts are distinct and separate. MP-28 (and in fairness the original character model) has this general structure as a single rounded curve
BUT:
Neither get's the spoiler right as the large bot mode spoiler just gets too big in alt mode
Hoodlum's blue canopy is too small compared to the toon (though again, subjectively, I feel this makes the alt mode seem more realistic)
MP-28 paints in the window trim
The flatter curve of MP-28 is more accurate to the toon, though I subjectively prefer Hoodlums overall vehicle proportions.