Unfortunately no. Might try again with another batch of boiled water tonight.

 

I don't think Hasbro has ever done that before, have they?

I know Bandai does that, but they seem to do it very sparingly, so it must be very complex and/or difficult to do.

Trumpeter actually did it on their BB Blitzwing model kit.

 

Not that I'm aware of.

Commingling is expensive/complex/difficult as you need to make the mold to where you can inject in different colours and have those colours only go to the proper area of the sprue.

Whatever magic is used to inject different colours onto the same piece would have to be even more complex because, it has to go into the same are, but at different intervals, and in the right amounts. I would imagine that it works kind of sort of like pancake/flapjack art does though obviously not the same as the batter browns when it cooks and the batter is a single colour. The difficulty is probably through the roof though even in a fully automated process because you would need to have very clean lines at the colour transition while preventing any bleed/blend/overlap.etc. and, I can't wrap my mind around how it's actually done beyond precise amounts with different cure times.

 

The process Bandai uses involves gated and precisely segmented moulds in which the various plastics are injected one after the other at precise temperatures with strategically applied mould release.

The problem with using it for Transformers is that TFs use more robust ABS plastics instead of PS which model kits are made up of. ABS is a lot harder to control the temperature of to that level of precision, and doing that kind of multi-gated casting is unfeasible with plastics that take longer to cool and are more reactive to temperature. Not saying it can't ever happen, but that's the main reason you don't see it outside of model kits.

There's also the fact that in the case of the Matrix, these parts aren't exactly the sturdiest connection. It's basically pre-assembled plastic pieces, rather than one solid piece in multiple colours. Making the Matrix multi-injected would probably make it too brittle at that size given it's meant to be removed and replaced with some regularity.

 

I didn't realize that model kits used PS.

I didn't study it at all, I just assumed it was a solid chunk of translucent blue plastic with gold and silver paint apps.

 

Yeah, which is great for customization and fine details, but not very sturdy.

Though Transformers is closer to that technology than you might think, as the Trumpeter model kit of Bumblebee (the larger upcoming one) has that multi-injected technology in its door wings.

No, sorry, I meant if it was multi-injected plastic it'd be equivalent to a pre-assembled piece. The actual Matrix we got is indeed a solid blue piece that's been painted.

 

This guy looks half dead in the face.

 

Got my copy of Kingdom Rodimus from Amazon. With a bit of massaging the trailer could completely close and stay closed. The right leg panel also stays decently after some massaging to stay there. I got the stress marks on the back panel after a few transformations, but I'm not super worried here as it's not a major joint and is not crucial for stability. So far I'm enjoying my very first Rodimus Prime toy ever. Never bought any of the previous iterations. Fun toy overall. I'm really liking what the retail toy team is doing here over masterpiece.

 

As someone who was an avid model builder in my youth, I can confirm that models are nowhere near as durable as toys, (nor are they meant to be) even the snap-together kits aimed more directly at children.

After some time with Rodimus, I think the one thing he needs most is a few more millimeters of neck. For all the articulation he has in that area, no matter what he does, it looks like he's trying to turtle-tuck his head into his collar.

 

This is a long shot, but can anyone post pics of Kingdom Rodimus next to DX9 Carry (in bot mode)? I know Carry has the trailer backpack, but I've still always been intrigued by that design and would love to see it compared to Kingdom.

 

I thought I posted these, maybe it was a different thread.
I still dislike what they did with Kindom Rod's truck mode. :-(

 

Thanks! I don't think I realized how much taller Carry was.

 

So I got mine and he is cool, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get his calves transformed. I did it once but it required way to much flexing, like I was going to break it.

How do you transform his claves?

 

There are tons of video on YouTube, man

 

It does take some careful flexing. It's the only real complaint I have about the figure.

 

Oh okay. Well that's odd. Thank you very much for your help.

 

Yeah, Kingdom Rodimus does a lot right but some design choices such as how the calves transformation requires flexing plastic parts to allow clearance is baffling to me. At the price tag, an extra hinge or two in the engineering shouldn't be out of the question.

Right now I have DX9 Terror as my high end toy representation of SG Rodimus but I'm pretty sure if/when the SG redeco of Kingdom Rodimus is announced, I'll be adding it to my collection.

 

There are so many prime trailers that close securely I wish this one did as well. Flexing the wheels in and prying them out feels sketchy. The arm wheels collapsing and locking is a sweet idea but doesn't snap in satisfyingly on my copy either.

The attaching/detaching car to trailer is pretty satisfying. He looks great and the transformation is really fun aside from flexing the wheels. I like him overall

 

I feel like an idiot having not notice the calves flex. I thought there was some kind of heavy click joint/tab, since I have crinkly gorilla fists and can't always see/feel what I got my mitts on. (with some exceptions ,':} ) It's really weird that you have to flex the plastic like that. Granted I've transformed it dozens of times now so I guess it's sturdy, but for how long? I liked it better when I didn't know what I was doing.  

Gotta say, I've had this guy "out" since I got him, and I really can't get over how good he feels. Granted that's more to do with the fact that I have nowhere to display him yet due to renovations, but he's just a fun toy with no corners cut. He does everything he should and a bit more, and compared to Leader Optimus he accomplishes so much more with his size class. I dread what compromises this guy would've had as a Leader.