Anyone else have this crack?

 

Nope. That’s surprising, that type of plastic is pretty damn durable.

 

I've got a big stress mark on the left headlight and neither of them are 100% flush with the body, any suggestions/fixes?

 

I openned mine yesterday and I feel he's good but not $30 good. Extra accesories are good for a pic or to, but I would have rather had a deluxe with a single gun and no integrated gimmicks (and I LOVE blast effects).

Anyway, wanted to ask quickly (haven't read the whole thread), what are stress points I should look out for? Mine has nasty stress marks at the ankles, but thankfully no cracks. Anyone else has those?

Picture doesn't really capture how bad they look in person.




It seems this guy's complexity is to its detriment in the sense that it needed plastic that was a little thicker. Its a mini MP in the worst way: its fragility makes it hard to enjoy like most CHUGs. I'm a bit dissapointed because the hype made me look forwared to being one of those figures you would always picked up and play, even with newer toys.

Edit: Added better pics

 

Might be a little late for a reply, but want to thank you for the suggestion on fixing the popping tab on the lower right leg. I use this hot water/ice technique on PVC figures a lot, but never knew it would work on TF's hard plastic. While not sure if this fix is long lasting, it sure got the lower right leg of mine tabbed in without popping out now. Thank you for the tip! Lighting my darkest hour...so to speak. 

 

Like Universe Cyclonus, Classics Rodimus was the toy that defined Hot Rod for the longest time to the point that Fansproject made transforming trailer armor for him. However, that toy was first released all the way back in 2006, which made it pretty outdated by modern standards. There were a few attempts at a more advanced update, such as Titans Return Hot Rod and Power of the Primes Rodimus Prime, but both of those toys fell slightly short of the task. Now, however, Studio Series has given us what might be the best toy of the character to ever exist.



Unlike Cyclonus, whose Kingdom release saw him enlarged into Voyager size, Hot Rod remains Deluxe-sized. Now, I shall mention that I am in full support the modern practice of HasTak grouping smaller figures with multiple accessories and marking them up a size class. It's a creative perspective on the subject of size classes that worked wonders for figures like Siege Astrotrain and Earthrise Optimus Prime, and it works here too. (I believe it's highly unlikely Astrotrain would've afforded the superb Triple Changer engineering he boasts had he just been a Voyager, let alone Optimus his Combat Deck.) And indeed, the toy feels worth the price. He's got a heft to him that's more in line with a Voyager than a Deluxe, and advanced engineering hidden in an insanely cartoon-accurate robot (that's most presumably been influenced by MP-28 Hot Rodimus, though I don't have the Masterpiece one in hand to check). He also features integrated gadgets such as a flip-down visor and a hand that can be swapped into a welder, which is a nice callback to the movie. In particular, the visor is a first among all non-MP Hot Rods! The shoulder joints in particular bear special mention. They are a little bit unconventional in that the lateral joint is inside the chest part instead of the upper arm part, but once you get used to moving them you can get almost any pose out of him thanks in part to the 'butterfly joints' that Hasbro was able to work into him. It certainly does make it easier for him to grip that Matrix in both hands. The accessories, including said Matrix, really make the figure shine. Both guns are accordingly included, of course, and he has the circular saw from the movie as well. (This time it's in its proper size, unlike Classics Rodimus' flip-out version.)

(NOTE: When I first saw the Matrix glow effect in stock photos, I assumed that I was supposed to turn the Matrix around and plug the effect into the hole via 5mm post. That is not the case, and the effect is actually held on by a pair of parentheses-shaped tabs that grab onto either side of the Matrix's central orb. Hence, the effect is compatible only to the Matrix and nothing else.)



The vehicle mode is almost a perfect representation of Hot Rod's futuristic sports car mode... but only almost. Sadly this is where Hot Rod falls a little short, though admittedly it isn't by a lot. First, there's no real reason the roof piece couldn't have been red. The yellow breaks up the uniform colors, and is generally bad to look at. And second, the rear leaves something to be desired as it's just formed out of Hot Rod's knees and cuffs. Some attempt to replicate his rear thrusters, which famously graced the screen as he drove to catch Daniel shortly before the duo got to Lookout Mountain, would have been reasonable given the line's adherence to screen-accuracy. However, despite those small flaws the vehicle mode is still quite stellar. The transformation is involved in all the right ways, and the result is a sleek and accurate sports car that gets the job done well. Technically there is weapon storage, but I advise everyone not to use it unless you want scratches on your accessories' painted parts. All in all it's a nice alt mode, just with a few issues preventing it from being perfect.

(NOTE: My pics of Hot Rod in vehicle mode are slightly mistransformed, as I forgot to push the arms flush with the car body.)



Studio Series Hot Rod is definitely the best version of the character that we have ever got, beating out the Classics, TR, and POTP versions by a sizable mile. And despite his small nitpicks in vehicle mode, will continue to be so for a very long time. If you love the 'turbo-revving young punk' who ended up being the Autobots' Chosen One, he's a must-have.

 

I tried to do what you said whilst applying some shock oil to the arms to loosen them, and it hasn't made a difference. I don't suppose you could show exactly what you did? I do really like this figure and I especially like the thought behind a lot of the steps to produce a better robot mode than the MP, but the car mode on mine just keeps ending up a bit of a gappy mess. Honestly wondering if I've missed a step or this figure just has tolerances that are a bit too exact for a mainline Hasbro figure. Probably doesn't help that the little clip on the middle exhaust that attached the arms to the back has snapped offf on the left arm, although I'm not sure if I did that or it was like that out of the box.

 

I've been out of town, then out of state, dealing with a lot of stress, and as a result, I've got a huge backlog of TF's in, most early (or at least earlier then I was expecting), so much so, I don't think I ever got as much when I was a kid! Anyway, now that I'm finally in a good place to open and enjoy them, I've started to open them, but I'm spacing them out so that they get a chance to be enjoyed and pondered. I started with the "redeco" figures, SG Prime and Ratchet and Sandstorm, but I've moved on to Studio Series Hot Rod and Cyclonus today.

I'm not in love with this guy TBH. It feels a little over-engineered. Like they were so focused on the increased part count and budget that actually engineering a good figure wasn't their highest priority. I think as a toy, Legends Targetmaster Hot Rod is better and accomplishes a lot of what this guy is doing on a much smaller budget/part count. On the other hand, the robot mode is just stunning. I'm glad I have him, but I do worry about the number of precise points of contact breaking over time and other parts breaking, as this thread is full of examples of them by I'm sure people that weren't in any way rough with him.

It's curious that the Legends does the shoulder articulation and the back of the vehicle mode so much better, you'd think they'd have built off that design.

I'm sure after a few more transformations he will either continue to grow on me, or tarnish further in my eyes, but he's a very middle of the pack toy for me. Perhaps it's also my own preferences; as I mentioned, I opened Kingdom Cyclonus tonight as well, and feel he does everything he needs to while being a solid chunk figure with a straightforward but intricate where it needs to be transformation, which is my general preference when it comes to transformation design.

 

They also rely on the arms and knees being completely different designs from his G1 animation model.

I also really don't get these "over-complicated" complaints. Am I just crazy, or is this toy not really that intricate? Like yeah it has lots of parts, but is it really all that over-designed? The wrist pipes and their little flaps to cover the hands, the front corners of the car, and the fact that he has little gimmicks like the wrists and visor are the only things that stand out to me as "more intricate." Otherwise it's just really smart use of the shapes and available space.

 

I love his transformation, I find it very intuitive and it only takes, like, a minute.

 

Oh, I've got no problem with his transformation. It's a bit complicated but it's fairly intuitive. It's just that, on my copy at least, it results in a vehicle mode with gaps all over.

 

Same here. It's one of the most fun transformations I've played with in a long time.

 

What paint is that?

 

Tamiya bottled paints mixed. Mostly red, a bit of white, and the tiniest speck of blue.

 

Did anyone else have the tab that holds the arm pipes, into the leg tail pipes break on you? I figured that this would happen to more people, but maybe it's just me. That piece is pretty thin.

Having said that, it still hold together fine, and I feel like for the engineering on this guys he is worth every penny of the money payed for him. This IS mini MP.

 

Yeah, mine snapped on his left arm.

I really can't figure out this transformation. Sometimes I do it and he's fine, and others he's gappy and keeps wanting to explode apart. The transformation itself is actually fun, but I keep thinking I'm missing something or not putting pressure in the right place...

 

Mine hasn't snapped yet, but I can see what you guys are talking about; Those tabs at the middle exhaust pipe are indeed quite thin, and I can see how they could break or snaps off.

As a small precaution, I may just try to shave off just a tiny bit of said tab; Short enough to not snaps off easily, but still has enough left to hold everything together

 

So... I ordered one of these a long time ago... Amazon dropped it off last month... and for whatever reason I never took it out of the box until tonight.

Not a bad figure, but...


It has a missing piece.
And of course my window to return it expired a couple days ago. Prices have already skyrocketed on Amazon. And of course Pulse is sold out.

So yeah, I’m pretty pissed at myself. Grrr...

So, no- I guess I don’t have good luck with Hot Rods. The TR one, Ive grown to hate. The head won’t stay on, and I’ve just loathed it’s proportions more and more over the years. And it’s an effing headmaster. You buy these things over the years because you think that will be THE version of that character. Then you get a better version a few years later (and it has a missing piece). I’m losing the joy in collecting this stuff.

So what would people do in my place? Aside from opening it sooner?
Live with it? Sell it for cheap so someone can have a second one to display in bot mode and put those proceeds toward a new one?

**edit**

Well sonofagun... Pulse had one after all. Ordered.
This one is for sale for parts or to have a second for bot mode.

 

I ultimately returned my copy about a week ago... the numerous QC issues and poor tolerances I encountered gave me a pretty poor initial impression of this figure.

Maybe sometime in the future I’ll pull the trigger and pick up a new one, but Hasbro really needs to step up their game in the QC department.

 

Or... hang onto it for the reasons your selling it incase stuff happens to your second copy.