Well, you normally don't see the undercarriage of a car. You do see the back end, especially with a car as fast as Hot Rod.

I honestly think TR is the best car mode we've gotten. There isn't an angle from which it doesn't look good. The only other HR that can claim that is the MP.

They knew exactly where the head would go - in the cabin.   (shots deflected) Plus everything pegs smoothly, lines up well, and there's almost no extraneous robot kibble visible in car mode. You'd think with all the shifting around SS86 does, the cuffs would end up on the underside where they belong. (shots returned   )

Fair point. They get their jobs done, though. Half the time mine is wielding Firebolt, anyway.

Which manage to be more functional than the ones on this guy. Or even the POTP Hot Rod, though it's less of a difference.

Now this I can agree with. Although a larger spoiler would have ruined the lines of the car mode. I'd have made the spoiler unfold into a larger version for robot mode, but I'm okay with what we got.

Well, I'm not really collecting SS86. I just got this one because it's Hot Rod.

 

Titans Return Hot Rod is garbage. The arms are too damn big, the arms blocking the spoiler in robot mode sucks, his engine shouldn’t be on his chest, his body shape is wrong, his legs are the wrong color and have the wrong detail, Hot Rod should not have an ab section, the wheels should be on the back of his arms, his hands are the wrong color, and as much as people may like the car mode, it is very much the wrong shape for Hot Rod. It’s supposed to be much flatter.

it’s just crap. Even the 06 classics figure is a better representation of the character, despite a completely different alt mode.

Studio Series Hot Rod is superior in every way, and the back of the car doesn’t matter. It’s just as accurate as Titans Return Hot Rod’s rear, which is not at all.

As for the cuffs, they are supposed to be on the front AND back of his arms per the character model. His arms are also supposed to make up the entirety of his alt mode’s sides, including both tires.

compromises had to be made. It’s not a big deal.

 

I can see that, but at least the shoulders work right.

It's an annoyance, but not a big deal.

I actually like that design element - I wish more Hot Rods had it. Like the hammer for Ultra Magnus, it's a nice addition to the character. It wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for SS86, but for TR it looks awesome.

I think he looks more sleek and robotic than the SS86. SS86 and POTP just look odd, like he's wearing an oversized t-shirt or something. The particular chest shape from the animation model just doesn't translate well to 3D IMO.

Why not? It works for the mold and the character. You do have the option of leaving the front bumper folded out, but that looks less interesting IMO. The abs section breaks up the traditional flame torso and adds some visual interest. It also makes him look leaner/more "athletic" (whatever that would mean for a robot) - POTP and SS look tubbier in comparison.

To you it might not matter. To me it's a big deal, because the knees sticking out make the car mode look broken. TR Hot Rod has a complete-looking back end, with a Batmobile-style center thruster flanked by two others and space on the outside where Reprolabels can add brake lights. I don't care about accuracy, I care what looks good, and the back end of TR Hot Rod looks awesome with loads of detail. SS86 Hot Rod needs to visit MAACO.

No Hot Rod has ever had that detail visible in car mode, at least not in the middle of the car. Not in plastic, not in animation. it breaks the smooth lines of the car, and if you want to play that game, is not "accurate" to anything that came before. Whether it should be on one side of the arm or both is irrelevant - it shouldn't be visible on the car - at least by the doors - at all because it looks bad.


You might nor like TR because it isn't "show accurate" and that's your prerogative. But setting aside show accuracy, there's a lot that the figure does well, and some things it does better than this figure. It may not be a good rendition of the animation model (which it wasn't trying to be) but it's a damn good Hot Rod, and a good toy.

The bulk of my argument in this thread is that for 3x the price, SS86 should have done everything better than the deluxe. It should have been a home run even to someone who doesn't care about show accuracy like me. But it isn't. I'm glad to have it, but I'm not blown away like many seem to be. I'd even have been satisfied if they'd included a sparring shield (from the shuttle scene) that folded up to fill in that back end a bit.

Sure compromises always have to be made, but the particular compromises this figure has are all on my bad list. I care as much about the car mode as the robot, and would have preferred the love be balanced a bit more between the two. Since I don't care about show accuracy, how closely a figure matches the animation model does not score it points with me. In fact, adhering to the model too closely (omitting cool details from earlier toys or real world vehicles where applicable) is a negative IMO. SS8 Hot Rod is detailed enough that looking like the show in itself isn't a detriment. But for me prioritizing robot mode accuracy over making the car look good from all angles is, and a serious one.

 

When I say the cuffs are supposed to be on the front and back of his arms, I mean for robot mode. The cuffs are actually visible at the very back of his car mode in animation, and both masterpiece figures have flip out fake parts to replicate it.

I like how you insist accuracy doesn’t matter except in other special cases where it does. Good job.

If accuracy doesn’t matter, then you could just as easily say that Titans Return Misfire is also a great Hot Rod.

The character is supposed to look a certain way, and Titans Return fails at that. It’s why that thing was tossed from my shelf the second the superior Power Of The Primes version came out.

 

What special cases? All I did was point out the ways the supposedly "show accurate" figure isn't. I care about the figure looking good, working well and being true to the character, not to any particular interpretation.

It doesn't matter to me where the "cuffs" are or whether they're "accurate". What matters is that they're a minor eyesore on an already compromised car mode. I don't care that they're not accurate - I care that they look like crap on SS86, which is why every other G1 Hot Rod toy has hidden that element.

 

You misunderstand the very concept of Studio Series if you think accuracy to the animation model doesn’t matter.

it may not matter to you, but it matters to Studio Series.

 

I never even got TR Hot Rod when he came out because he just looked ugly. The proportions reminded me more of Prime Wheeljack in both modes than Hot Rod.

 

You misunderstand my statements. Show accuracy doesn't matter TO ME. I'm fully aware of the intent of SS86. I picked up Hot Rod because I love the character.

ANd while the robot mode is very show accurate, the vehicle is not only not show accurate, but looks bad in its own right. (It's the latter that matters to me. I'd be fine with a complete but "inaccurate" back end.) If any other $30 Hot Rod toy looked like that in vehicle mode, it would be trashed worse than your blasting of TR. But because it has a show accurate robot mode, its flaws seem to get downplayed, just like MP gets a pass on design & QC because of show accuracy. I don't dispute others putting the most importance on "accuracy" of the robot mode, but neither will I accept it as justification for other elements being shortchanged. Not when every other standard scale Hot Rod figure has handled those elements better. Usually at a lower pricepoint.

I'm giving an honest opinion of the toy based on its design, looks and function, from someone who isn't dazzled by show accuracy. How hard is that to understand? I'm giving an opinion based on my preferences - which do differ from that of the people who love this figure. And my standards, which the figure meets in some areas - intuitive yet interesting transformation, works well as designed, etc. - and fails in the ways I've listed.

 

And yet it doesn't even really accomplish that. Not if you value the altmode as much as the robot. The elements that make the car look ugly/unfinished also make it "inaccurate."

Don't get me wrong, the figure is good enough that I don't regret buying it. I just think it could have been better.

 

Can concur. I bought him to fill a Hot Rod-shaped void on my shelves but have waited anxiously for another figure to replace him. TR Hot Rod is just fugly. The alt-mode looks like they gave a Rescue Bots treatment to his actual alt-mode and looks more like a figure aimed at kids, not collectors like the rest of most any line regardless of being a toy. The robot mode has that damn titan master gimmick, ridiculous proportions and odd dimensions.

I would like the figure more, if it wasn't a pass as Hot Rod.

SS86? Fackin' perfect. Is it 100% in vehicle mode? No. But it's the best we got and I count MP figures in that as well. The bot mode is spot-on. The articulation is amazing. The transformation scheme makes sense with all three of the transformation animations we saw in the movie in different respects. I'm not going to knock a few missing curves or legs out the back for all that. It's just not that big a problem for as good a figure as we were given.

 

No.

 

So you're honestly saying the car mode is as perfect a representation of the animation model as the robot?

That the toy looks almost exactly like this?

Pull the other one. Now you're clearly just disagreeing for its own sake.

It's certainly close, apart from the elements that I think ruin the look of the car mode. Hiding the cuffs and fixing the back end would not only have made me a lot happier with the car mode, but brought it a lot closer to the stated goal of show accuracy. Given the love and effort undeniably put into the toy, I can't understand not putting in that last bit of effort. This is the showpiece of the line - it ought to be as close to perfect as practical.

 

More than Titans Return, yes.

 

That wasn't the question. TR wasn't trying to precisely replicate the animation model. SS86 is.

So I ask again, is the car mode as perfect a translation of the animation model as the robot? And if it isn't, what are the elements that deviate?

 

And I say again. More than the Titans return figure. Which is why so many people prefer it despite some small issues.

Why are you so ferociously defending the Titans return figure? It’s bad. Get over it, and stop trying to invent weird scenarios where it “wins” over studio series. Let the people who like the studio series figure like it, because it succeeds at exactly what the line exists to do. It’s not meant to be a masterpiece.

what you’re doing here is like complaining about the wheels on Earthrise Prime’s back. OH THATS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE THE TOY IS SHIT DESPITE EVERYTHING ELSE IT ACCOMPLISHES.

 

I think the ss86 alt mode looks a lot like that picture personally. Maybe the back is wrong due to the knees not being covered but from that angle, Yes, it looks like that.

 

I for one think it does look almost exactly like this and it is as close to perfect as practical.

 

Why are you still on about TR? I’ve only brought it up as an example of Hasbro managing a proper back end at a lower price point. In the context of my issues with this toy.

I’m discussing the merits and weaknesses of SS86 itself. Both figures have strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been pointing out the weaknesses of SS86, based on its own intent. Sorry you find a disagreeing opinion so offensive, but I’m not going to STFU simply because others find those flaws more acceptable than I do. As nice as you think SS86 is, wouldn’t it isn’t been better still if my objections had been addressed?

 

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s accomplishing what it can for the price point.

 

The exposed knees would probably bother me a lot more if they weren't covered by the huge spoiler, but as it stands it's not exactly a blemish you really see all that often in-hand.

Plus the exposed knees result in more proportioned legs, which in turn allow much of the vehicle mode rear to fold into the legs themselves rather than becoming an MP-28 backpack. I think I'd be more sympathetic were it not for the fact that this (largely obscured) design compromise results in literally every other aspect of the toy benefiting. Every bit of available space is utilized to get that car into that robot, with nothing feeling wasted or arbitrary. I certainly can't think of how to hide the knees, not without compromising somewhere else.