I finally got Hot Rod in hand and I’m in love. I know his size class is debatable but after handling him, I will gladly pay to have upgraded deluxes for important characters. Most of the other mainline figures out right now still feel like they are mainly geared as toys with the after thought of the collectors audience (as they should be, since they’re toys lol) but Hot Rod feels like a collector’s product. I will probably get a second one to keep pristine in box, as I doubt we’ll get a better hot rod for a long time.

 

I haven't opened Hot rod yet - does the saw fit on the right hand also? It would be more of an Evil Dead vibe!

 

Yes, it will fit in either hand.

 

Unfortunately not, he has is little welding torch on the right.

 

Apologies, I stand corrected.

 

This is actually why I couldn't find the welding torch for a while. I just assumed both hands had the peg. I hadn't even bothered to open or flip out his right hand.

 

The Toyhax reprolabels set for Scourge really brings this guy to life!

 

A great photo, I hope it doesn't offend if I admit the teeth and gums in the zombie-bot made me chuckle.  

 

So here’s a funny thing. I hate the G1 Blurr figure. The ’86 Autobot cars always had a special place in my heart due to their key, dramatic role in Target:2006 and I loved the character in the movie , as I was always drawn to ‘fast’ characters when I was a kid, but the toy. Oh my days, what a gimpy looking figure. The facial sculpt makes him look like he’s feeling a bit sorry for himself, as if he’s been put on monitor duty while everyone else goes down the pub. “No, that’s ok. You guys have a good time. I’ll be fine…I guess” he says as he stares forlornly at the monitor, trying to put on a brave face while Wreck-Gar starts quoting lines about the Blue Peter garden being vandalised.

and it’s not just the face. His whole figure seems, flat, droopy, oddly proportioned and uninspiring. I resented the shield. As far as I can remember he was the first Transformer I came across where the accessory was essential to the vehicle mode (The seekers were a whole other pain in the ass. Those were integral bits to both modes rather than just being an accessory) so when he put his shield down somewhere else and tried to transform him you were left with this…thing. Cool gun though.

Ew! This is the least attractive Generations Deluxe I can remember seeing in quite some time.

Ok, let’s back up a little. Toys of Blurr have always been a bit of a tricky thing for me. I’ve always thought the toy was pretty dorky, and while I liked the animation model design I’ve always preferred the toy deco. Yes, the deco on the toy I don’t like. Maybe I am contrary, but I just hate all the white on his legs. I’ve never been comfortable with robots involved a 4,000 year war having box fresh sneakers.

So, the bar has always been high as far creating a Blurr toy that would satisfy me. And, rather than rising to the challenge, it feels like the design team has looked at that bar, thought “fuck it” and made the crappiest looking figure I’ve seen in some time.

At a superficial glance, before looking at engineering or suchlike, this looks like a figure from anywhere between 15 to 20 years earlier. It’s blocky and simplistic looking, the proportions look compromised, and the kibble hanging from his wrist gets in the way in a manner we don’t normally see today. What the hell has gone on here? That every turn of his wrist makes the vehicle kibble turn with it is just inexcusable.

But that’s not the worst thing. The worst thing is that bloody face. It looks more like an alien’s attempt to realise a very bad description of what a human face is shaped like. With it’s absurdly high cheek bones, elongated jaw, feline eyes, heavy brow, and comically small space between nose and lips it looks hideous. Still, light piping!

Ok, so I’m completely and utterly repulsed by the ‘bot mode but the alt mode and the transformation do go a long way to redeeming this as a toy. With the latter, I was pleasantly surprised to go through the steps and find how neat and intuitive they all were. Everything seems both well thought through and executed, with an attention to detail that makes the sloppy bot mode all the more confounding. From the care that’s gone into the cockpit, to the way the feet create the illusion of hovering, to the way everything tabs in such a tight and tidy fashion forces me to question my assumption that this figure was somehow dashed off.

And in all the ways that the ‘bot looks wide of the animation model, the alt mode really nails the look. There really little to complain about (ok, maybe some little wheels to roll it around on would be nice). If I were to judge this only on the alt mode I’d put it forward as a perfect encapsulation of what I’d expect a ‘studio series’ figure to achieve.

But I actually very rarely display my Transformers in alt mode, so a good alt mode and a satisfying transformation feel like a very nice garnish on an undercooked dish (sorry, I’ve been watching a lot of cookery programmes recently). I loved Titans Return Blurr, and this guy doesn’t come close for me. As I try to only own one version of a figure, it’s going to be TR Blurr that stays on the shelf and SS86 Blurr is going on the ‘to sell’ pile.

 

Not at all, any photo can be enhanced with cheeky teeth n gums  

 

Before and after 1986.

 

If you're gonna do something, do it in style.

 

I'm scared of transforming him into vehicle mode, so he stays as an Action Master. Still I love to finally have a figure of one of my favorite autobots in my collection.

 

Has anyone posted a comparison pic of the SS86 Grimlock with the OS KO of the PotP Grimlock? Since I have the latter just curious how the look next to each other.

 

"It was laughably simple to snare the minds of the Autobots - Hot Rod, Kup, and Blurr and transport them to me."
From TF:UK#88 'Target:2006'

 

I love TR Blurr tons myself. Not that Kingdom Blurr is *bad* it's just lacking somehow despite being so on-model.

I wonder if Kingdom Blurr had TR's far richer color scheme would that fix it? Because the Takara version of TR Blurr sports his animation model scheme and doesn't look as good either so there's something inherently off about the animation model color scheme when applied to 3d space on a toy.