The problem is, there's still a meaningful difference between an actual physical retool/pretool and shared engineering on a new mold: the cost of actually tooling up, and the decisions and consequences that come from that. A retool still doesn't take as much extra cost to produce as a new mold does, even if that new mold shares engineering and thus can skip a lot of the designing costs. A lot of choices about what figures to make and how arise from that.
Agreed, was just clarifying how I was using the term. We really should try to come up with something new to call that kind of “spiritual retool” so these kinds of debates don’t happen.
I look forward to official images and really want to like this toy, but it's gonna be hard to justify buying what looks to be a less cartoon-accurate Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime than the Studio Series version at more than double the price. That said, I love the Evolution Leader figure, and save for the inner robot, he's not exactly a splitting image of the Sunbow model either. Fingers crossed that the next Commander figure after Rodimus -- provided the size class continues -- is a Decepticon.
When I was a kid, I though Hot Rod/Rodimus was a triple changer with a Winnebago and a sports car mode.
Yup. Siege was based off the pilot episode and those few flashbacks, tetrajets and all. Their robot modes were already the same as their Earth mode in G1 and 'Cybertronian Forms' having a distinct robot mode were not introduced as a concept until the War Within comics in the early 2000 unless you count the season 3/The Rebirth-era designs as 'cybertronian' which they could. However, because season 3 was set 'in the future' its impossible to know if, say, Hot Rod has an Earth mode or not. Other early example of a 'cybertronian form' would be in Beast Wars, which was their robot modes without animal kibble and Armada episode 1 where their robot mode look different. Up until that point, the general rule was that they always had their robot mode look one way and they turned into some weird half-asses space vehicle.
Hot Take: The same people complaining about this price point are willing to shell out more for unofficial fragile trash (just my opinion on most 3rd party stuff that isn't Mastermind). Anyways, I want the best articulated and pleasing to look at homage to the original possible. I will pay 30 for deluxes that are like Hot Rod all day. 50 dollar insane good Voyagers is a big yup and bring on 80 dollar leaders. Don't care and I have the money for it. Yes it is expensive. For those on a budget, I sympathize with you but I want what I want.
Spoiler tags for off-topic discussion. Spoiler I actually have 7 3P Rodimii. Math is hard. Not pictured is G1 Hot Rod, G1 Rodimus Prime, MP Hot Rod, DX9 Carry, SS86 Hot Rod, Thrilling 30 Collectible Figurine/Puzzle Piece, MMC Calidus, and DX9 La Hire. On the way is Clear Blue Henkei Rodimus. Back on topic, how the heck do we have nearly 50 pages of argument about this? Also, this is it. This is the thread that broke me. I had to ignore a user on here due to the sheer nonsensical arguments they were making.
I'm already hoping they re-do Ultra Magnus as a commander with no white Prime inside at around the same height as the other one. Load him up with accessories.
In addition to being the same height as ER Prime and SS86 Hot Rod he is also somewhere between ER Prime and Siege/ER Magnus as well as as tall as Siege Jetfire.
I was going to ask what the heck somebody would do to make a family unfriendly shrine to Hot Rodimus, and I decided that instead, I don't want to know. Thanks! He's my favorite, so I try to keep more of him around than anybody else. But Optimus Prime & Bumblebee have been so omnipresent over the years that they get pretty close. See Below Yes!
That's Cybertron Hot Shot. Canonically he's also Armada Hot Shot, who is absolutely Hot Rod in spirit, not to mention literally Hot Rod in name if you go by the Japanese version. But then Cybertron Hot Shot kind of regresses to the singular trait of turbo-revvin' young punk... which is actually par for the course for most modern interpretations of Hot Rod though.
