It's a bit of a mess. It's the same thigh replacement as on Bruticus (if you got that), which is straightforward but definitely involves some light breaking. The ball joints on the feet will probably need to be future-d pretty badly. The various panels to make up the chest are not invasive, necessarily, but are kind of a pain to lock in. It certainly looks better, but it's not a kit I'd get if you like transforming back and forth . . .

 

I have PE, KO PE and the DW feet. DW is far and away the worst.

I should note I really like the look when finally combined. I think they made some mistakes in conception (plastic is solid, ratchets are good, etc., just some "how should this connect" type issues), but they did hit an aesthetically pleasing result

 

Idk, I feel the plastic quality feels cheap compared to the Hasbro plastic. I really do like the aesthetic of it though. I had to shave off some of the peg material to make the feet and hands fit. With that said, the price point for the kit is actually pretty good.

 

Just got all the sets minus computron today. Installation can be tedious but after the first one it's a snap. I've had no problems with the feet or hands being floppy but I had a KO defensor and bruticus (and I suspect they're ever so slightly smaller, like fractions smaller). Superion I have is legit but yet to put the set on. The ball joints on the heads are loose for me. The set is a bit fiddly but wow do they look good in combined mode.

 

Ok, this should be the last time I do this. I just got in the TCW Bruticus upgrade (CW colored version) and am only keeping the hands, feet, and cannon extensions. If anyone is interested in buying the rest, please let me know.

 

I'd definitely be interested in that. Could you PM me with price and details? Thanks!!

 

Seconded. Anyone???

Otherwise, I'm mostly very happy with this set  

I sold my CW Hot Spot (and it's black PE Hands and Feet upgrade set), picking up a KO UW Hot Spot for colour-matching - and it looks great!!! Interestingly, the legs didn't require breaking in order to install the thigh upgrades, though the upgrades themselves needed some dremmeling in order to fit the legs. Oh well.

One part that did require breakage on my Hot Spot was the regular Defensor chest pieces; the only way to remove them that I could see was to have one of the tiny posts that held them on be snapped off. Again, oh well. Guess I'm stuck with the - pretty good - TDW upgraded chest-piece instead (mind you, the original pieces will still hold in place pretty well via friction, so are not completely wasted).

Not much of a fan of the new cigar face-plate (I mean, Defensor??? Protectobots??? Really???) but I'm sure I'll end up going back and forth between the original head and the two new face-plates. I do like the new hip-piece and the gun it turns into, so maybe I'll go stick with the new head (so the hip-piece-gun can be attached in fire truck mode) and therefore, one of the new face-plates.

I decided early on that I wasn't very keen on the cannon extensions (I'm actually okay with the rifles, smallish though they are), so have decided to give the extensions to my UW Bruticus instead - and am very happy with the result!!! (He's already got PE hands and feet, and a Fansproject Colossus' rifle, so I don't feel the need to give him the full TDW upgrade treatment... at this stage!)

Haven't fully explored the options with the TDW hands and feet (or shaved the pegs yet) but I'm loving everything I've seen so far - a definite improvement on PC-01, IMHO.

So yeah; mostly very happy, but if someone could please give us a clear idea of what the underside of Hot Spot's truck mode should look like when transformed - because I just can't seem to get the new thighs to collapse into the legs properly (or what I think is the proper way, based on TDW's rather poor instructions; and the online videos haven't really cleared it up for me, either) - it would be much appreciated!

 

So this is coming pretty late, i know. But i can help you out
So, here is what you're 'supposed' to do:

See how the 'thigh' bits are sort of shaped to fit in the inside of the lower legs? The thing is, they don't really fit.
SO, instead, i do this:

I leave them extended so that the wheels will all be on the same level. It give hotspot more length as well.

 

Thanks for the reply, @Arko22!
Yeah, I thought that was what you were 'supposed' to do; what a shame the execution isn't better, because the idea was actually pretty good.
I think I might go with your suggested solution, instead  

 

I wish the head was better on this set

 

Ahh okay thank you for the help!   Yeah I could never get it to fit right, so now I will try your method.  

 

I just bought this set from BBTS for $45.
Clearly they must have done another run in CW colors because my blue matches up perfectly. I had no idea.

 

I don't remember getting this face. I got one with a cigar.. lol. Dang if only I had known.

 

I also noticed mine has red eyes on the face instead of green.
Must be another change for the American CW version?

 

What does Hot Spot look like in robot mode from behind after applying the parts?

 

Good to know the color matches now but those two heads are useless to me...i would rather keep the stock head.

 

I found this online, shows the difference in color between the CW set and the UW set.