First off- man I love that robot mode. They do some odd engineering to get the arms to articulate well but he's always had odd arms and I think they did good all things considered. I also love the face- it's crazy serious. As others have mentioned, the trailer on mine didn't close all the way at first but squeezing it for 20 seconds fixed that. Anyways, as a longtime Rodimus fan, this is one of the best Hasbro retail figures. I know it costs a lot, but you get so much more with him than you did Earthrise Leader Prime, so 30 more isn't a shock.

 

I nearly got POTP Rod multiple times, but the cheap looking foil stickers coupled with the really strange looking shoulder connections to the body kept me away.

 

I don't need tons and tons of ports inside the trailer. I just need a couple positioned in a way that lets me fit his gun inside when closed...

 

24 hours later, still doing it. I have to hold it closed for about 10 seconds for it to stay that way.

I don’t particularly have a problem with the increased hasbro generations pricing. Of course I don’t have too much issue with skyrocketing masterpiece pricing either, official or otherwise. And I don’t really have much issue with them downsizing these days. I can pack more figures on a shelf, so all good. And personally, I always thought the old leader class toys were ridiculously out of scale with voyager and deluxe anyway.

what I have a BIG problem with is the significant decrease in quality. The hollowness. The crappy plastic. The increasingly shoddy designs. And especially all the QC problems. For a top tier corporation like Hasbro, this is absolutely, irrefutably inexcusable. They should be leading the charge.

Instead, knockoff and godhelpme, counterfeit manufacturers are making Hasbro products look like trash. Yep. I said it. Trash.

 

Some Mr. Super Clear top coat should seal in paint apps and make them super durable. Some people like Tamiya, but I find it too harsh for crappy hasbro plastic.

 

That does no one any good, but okay.

 

I’ve wanted POTP Rodimus way more over Kingdom

 

Nothing to say that hasn't already been said, but that won't stop me lol

Robot mode is the big attraction here, and it's even better than I expected. The core figure itself is a lot heavier than I anticipated. There's no die cast or anything, but he's hefty for a "voyager" sized figure. Transformation is cool, and poseability is top notch.

My trailer wouldn't close all the way, but now 2 days later it seems fine... Maybe humidity is a factor?

Alt mode is... eh, "acceptable" at best. I am a huge Hot Rod/Rodimus fan and the cab section on this is a big let down. I still think they could've done a better job with a few adjustments. The cab needs to sit further back and the spoiler needs to come forward. Not that hard... Even the MP version pulls it off with some heavy-handed cheating.

All in all, I love this figure, but I'm the target audience, so YMMV. For those on the fence... I dunno. $80 does actually seem pretty steep, so if you're not a Rodimus super fan this is probably too much $$. I appreciate all the additional accessories, but I'm not sure if they rationalize the asking price.

One concern I have is paint chipping after sliding Rodimus into his trailer back and forth... anyone else feel nervous during this step?

 

I've had mine for a few days now and I'm loving him. I know the full alt mode isn't accurate but I think I actually like the cab section sitting forward a bit further better. For the first time I get a "space semi" vibe instead of the Winnebago.

 

To each their own. But if you have neither, as someone who has both- potp is kinda junk, even before kingdom came out. Its a block. No portion of it is without issues. Hot Rod is flimsy and has bad proportions, rodimus is just ugly and gangly, the alt mode is kind of lazy.

 

the pic convinces me we need a commander class ultra magnus with a real vehicle mode that carries multiple cars, a white base bot, and Full armored mode

 

I am working on a "cab" to display alt mode (if the top stays together anyway) along with bot mode. Which I admit, is pretty well done. Among their many, many strikeouts, Hasbro has hit a home run here and there.

 

POTP Rodimus, to me, is so very bad, he's kind of charming. In a bad 80s b-movie kind of way.

 

Again, that’s fine that you don’t like him, I fully respect your opinions. First chance I get, POTP Rodimus will be mine.

Oh yes, it will be mine…

 

l'm absolutely certain that the Rodimus we got was not the original design. The more I look at it in hand the more I'm convinced. Those wheels should line up underneath, that spoiler should slide forward, that car should sit further back. I think the car was so well done that it priced itself over the leader class threshold but not enough to justify commander class... so they tweaked the design and added 'more' to the alt mode.
I think the whole door backend bit was the trailer extention, the top tampo seems to far forward (about right though if that back ramp hatch was cut off) they reworked the car connection (c'mon the rear car tyre should be in line with the trailer fronts) after they'd already altered the trailer to include under-bed storage drawers etc.... It must've ve all been done deliberately, they must've seen it and the only thing I can think of is they stretched the whole thing to fill a bigger box.

 

I don't know man. QC issues do suck but I'd argue in the past couple years we've gotten some of the best designs to come for Transformers or any toy line. We're getting more detail and articulation than we've ever had in the Siege, Erathrise, Kingdom, and Studio series. Has there been a better Rodimus? A better Jetfire? A better Ultra Magnus? Cyclonus? Astrotrain? Seekers? Of course, I'm talking at retail, not $100+ collectible figures. That being said, my KO Ultra Magnus, with metal added, filler parts added, longer legs and fixed feet for $40 is pretty great. But, we wouldn't be getting something like that at a low cost without Hasbro doing the design footwork.

ANYWHO... my one problem with Rodimus stems from the instructions. That torso transformation is a bit nuts, and the instruction leave out a pretty important part where the gray piece the head is connected to needs to click in with the hinge that connects it to the rest of the body before you compress it. I had to watch Emgo's review to see the proper way.

 

Just a few more pics.

 

Got my copy. Pretty happy with it but would be happier had it been $60. If you had been waiting since 1986 for a Rodimus Prime toy like this, maybe you’ll think the $80 MSRP is justified. I’ve had numerous Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime toys by Hasbro and Takara. This one is their best by far for Generations(and arguably in general).

The trailer can close up on mine if the cannons aren’t inside. If they are, there’s a slight gap. I think this has to do with the type of plastic they used for it. It’s very sturdy but somewhat flexible and that works against it. I think if the tabs had more of a “lip” on them they’d reduce the gaps. The trailer doesn’t feel like it has any shortcuts. There’s added features that the original never had, rather than being a simplified version. Benefits of the Commander pricepoint I guess.

Transformation seems easier than SS86 Hot Rod. There are a few parts which were tricky initially, specifically that grey clip beneath the neck that clips onto the black armature. If it isn’t clipped in, all the other connections for the torso won’t align properly. The lower leg panels needed more clearance as you have to slightly stretch them for the wheels to get inside. The tricks to have the wheels go inwards on the legs and shoulders is clever. The left panel on mine that folds in/out near the headlights tends to fall off easily on its own. I do wish the spoiler was molded in yellow instead of translucent blue(painted yellow) and that the car recessed further into the trailer.

The articulation all around is good, just lacks the additional shoulder hinges SS86 Hot Rod had(but that’s not a big deal for this figure).

Having almost all the voyagers from the WFC trilogy, I think if Rodimus were sold sans trailer as a voyager, it would probably be the best one. I get the feeling it was designed to have its own car mode so that it can be sold solo in the future. I think this was the right decision as it’s fun on its own and there’s demand for it. If Rodimus was sold without the trailer it wouldn’t feel shortchanged. You can tell there’s a lot that went into this and it feels more substantial than most of the WFC voyagers. Whoever designed this was probably waiting a very long time to get the opportunity to do so.

I’m not a fan of using the “MP light” label as it’s misleading. However having owned MP and Generations figures through the years, this is the closest thing to “MP light” that I’ve handled. While I do wish the deco was more similar to SS86 Hot Rod(grey paint instead of silver, matching tones elsewhere), the deco is fine to me as is.

 

Rubber banded it shut, wrapped it in a black blanket, moved my car to the street, and let it warm in the sun on the dashboard today. Brought it in and put it in the freezer to cool it down after. Closes up much better now. We'll see if it holds.

 

Oh cool you have the DNA upgrade kit on your Ultra Magnus too!