Yes! That's another thing I'm considering. But that seems crazy. Right? Right?  

No but seriously, it is a possibility, but the fact that the wheel also splits and is already mobile to tab into the shoulder seems to make that prohibitively complex (at least with the wheel also being able to roll.)

But it's actually possible, if the joint it rotates around is on the interior of the axel of the wheel/shoulder strut. And if it can get out far enough to give it room to rotate around the wheel before we split the wheel and slide it up for example.

Personally, given all the moving parts we see inside his torso, I'm inclined to think it has more to do with that. But it's definitely another possibility.

Those are the three ways I can see right now to accomplish it. Rotating around the wheels, the interior girdle the arms attach to doing a 180 vertically (e.g. the matrix chamber is facing backwards and the whole thing turns around to face forwards... I can't see if this is possible through the windshield,) or the whole torso has an additional flip out and rotation (ala 86 Hot Rod) before coming back together that we simply can't see the mechanism for right now.

It has to be one of those, though. Otherwise there's no way for the wheels to end up facing backwards. It's going to drive me nuts until we see it.  

 

While that would be some nifty engineering I don't think that's the case. If it were, those slots for his hood to tab into would end up on the outside of his shoulders in vehicle mode.

 

^ This is also why I think it's one of the other two options (unless there's an additional rotation on top of that, but then why have it to begin with, unless as part of a butterfly joint for additional articulation or something?)

Right now, I'm leaning toward the matrix chamber girdle (as I call it for lack of something else to name it  ) rotates around, with the arms attached, and the grey armatures inside fold up to get the arms into their upright positions. But that's just a wild guess based on the images.

It could just as easily be that the grey armatures are attached to their own independent section that rotates. But that's a lot of independent rotation on top of waist articulation and everything else.

 

Yeah thats a good point the tabs would be wrong. Its really hard to figure out, most bots you can just look at and be like ah yeah thats easy enough, but he is pulling of some secret voodoo stuff here lol

 

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/kd-12-rodimus-prime-02-jpg.28994228/ Wont let me embed the image, but I think the secret to the arm/wheel orientation lies in this picture. I suspect the top and bottom of his chest opens up, and the arms flip around on an armature inside his belly similar to how they do in SS86 Hot Rod.

 

Yes, those are the grey armatures I keep referring to. The mysterious part though is, just opening his hood (which opens to reveal the matrix anyway) and using those armatures to flip his arms over, doesn't get you to the orientation you need for car mode. The wheels end up upside down. And if you flip them back over to get the wheels right side up, then his shoulders are facing the rear of the car, instead of the front.

So I think in addition to those armatures playing a role, there has to be an additional rotational step somewhere - possibly of the entire section the armatures are connected to - to get them into the right orientation between modes.

 

Just been looking at the two different modes and realised if the arms do spin on an armature the tab hole would still be in the same place but just noticed in robot mode they are next to the chest but in truck mode its on the outside of the shoulder.

Im starting to think it is on a pivot over the wheel even more now as the tab completely disappears.
Damn this thing is a proper headfook

 

It doesn't disappear, the wheel slides up and tabs into that slot.

 

Those are different tabs. The tab hole on the outer edge in vehicle mode is for the wheels to split and slide up into place as discussed in this post:

The tab holes left on the shoulder in bot mode are where the "tips" tab in in car mode, and are exposed because the "tips" are hidden inside him in bot mode.

 

Ah ok fair enough

 

Man...waiting for a review or more pics of Rodimus!

 

I love how the people who got Galvy early were super quick to review him, but Rodimus, being Rodimus, is just kinda like, "Eh, we'll get to him when we get to him."   Meanwhile those of us who actually love Rodimus (both the character and the potential in this figure/set) are like, "Wheeeen???"  

 

On this website, Rodimus Prime might as well be called "Harvey Weinstein."

 

He makes kids shows with uncomfortable foot stuff and steals the actresses shoes?

EDIT: No wait I'm thinking of Dan Schneider.

EDIT2: Wait what no don't call Rodimus that!

 

Dan Schneider Rodimus Dan Schneider Rodimus Dan Schneider Rodimus

 

Oh God the fucking hands are posed perfectly to match the face.

 

It is odd that there's not multiple in-hand reviews pf Roddy like there is for Galvatron. Rodimus is officially announced and up for pre-order so wonder what the hold up is?

 

He hasn't been stolen from the factory yet.

 

Different factory I think. I believe, for instance, that Phamduc said that he only has access to leader and deluxe class. No voyager or commander.

 

Oh that's right. I forgot the photos showing them together in the background weren't from the people who got early samples and reviewed Galvy. That makes more sense, then.