Well, sort of but not quite. The way the shoulder joints on both figures are intended to work are similar on paper; but in a few ways, Rodimus's shoulders work a bit better.

Unlike the "butterfly" joint on SS86 Hot Rod barely works due to the chest getting in the way, Kingdom Rodimus here has some additional joints at the chest plate that allows them to hinge out of the way to allow the "butterfly" joints to have a greater range of motion.

 

It's dependent on what you are wanting to do:

Kingdom Rodimus Prime has a lower range of side lateral raises at the shoulder than SS86 Hot Rod does because, the tips of Kingdom Rodimus Prime's shoulders will strike the head (they don't on SS86 Hot Rod). That means yo can not have a full side lateral raise while having the arm pointing straight out to the side on Kingdom Rodimus Prime like you can on SS86 Hot Rod. If you have a full side lateral raise done and have the arm pointing forward, Kingdom Rodimus Prime's arm isn't level to the ground like SS 86 Hot Rod's is and Kingdom Rodimus Prime's arm can't be raised higher in that position like SS86 Hot Rod's can because it doesn't have the additional transformation joint. Kingdom Rodimus Prime's arm can't be aimed more to the middle of the toy in that positon because it strikes the collar (Rodimus has to dab with the forearm and SS86 can dab/shield with part of the shoulder and elbow as well as the forearm). Kingdom Rodimus Prime's side lateral shoulder raises don't have that "bump/tension" from a soft ratchet feel that SS 86 Hot Rod's do when you first start the movement.

Kingdom Rodimus Prime's butterfly joints move in both directions (backwards depends on the arm angle since the wheel hits the backpack) while SS86 Hot Rod's butterfly joints only move forward. SS86 Hot Rod's are limited by the upper torso and Kingdom Rodimus Prime's are as well but the range of motion is wider. Kingdom Rodimus Prime's butterfly joints swivel on a mushroom peg like SS86 Hot Rod's do but, they also rotate back out if you rotate with the arm even though the shoulder has a swivel as well so they don't get "stuck" in the rotated position like the small silver ones on SS 86 Hot Rod can/do (all of that is entirely dependent on how tight the swivels are).

Kingdom Rodimus Prime's front lateral shoulder raises are are restricted by the spoiler just like SS86 Hot Rod's are (they both reach a similar angle). However, Kingdom Rodimus has a folding hinge panel on the inside of the forearms and that will strike the upper torso if you try and swing the arm straight up. SS86 has that issue if you try to swing the arm straight back because of the hinged panel on the back of the forearm.

Kingdom Rodimus Prime's rear lateral shoulder raises aren't going to happen unless you do a side lateral shoulder raise at the same time due to the backpack. Even if you do that, they won't swing anywhere back nearly as far as SS86 Hot Rod's arms do.

Kingdom Rodimus Prime's arms (especially the forearms) are vastly more parallel to the upper torso when in a neutral position because the windshield isn't in the way. That means you don't have to swing the arm forward to achieve that look like you do with SS86 Hot Rod.


I think that covers all the hard stops of the shoulder articulation but, let me know if it didn't address what you need to know.

 

Got him today from BBTS. Man, I really like the figure! The issues really irk me though:

Part of the club where my trailer will not close due to actual warping of the plastic. The back of the trailer won't close properly as well. I've tried a lot of tactics to try and ease things into place, but I just put some of that floor polish on the tabs and waiting for it to dry.
I've got several paint scratches/chipping and those always just tick me off even though I understand that's part of the game!
I am sure this one is on me though, but I'm having trouble with easing the car into the trailer. I've already chipped paint on the back spoiler and had to touch it up with yellow paint. So I don't have the courage to keep trying now. My product just has so much warping and tolerance issues. I hate being in a position where I'm scared to handle a figure so I don't muck things up. Some people can gussy up a figure no problem, but I'm not one of those people who likes to fix or otherwise perform surgery on a figure. (But that's my problem, not yours.)

Other than that, I am happy with the figure. It looks good and I don't mind the price (even though it does seem a tad high) or all of the included accessories. I just hate when I lose the QC lottery.

I have 86 Hot Rod and love it. I think the Kingdom version will look best displayed in vehicle mode with ER Prime and his trailer. I like keeping all of my pieces together and I think that would be best. Despite all of my whining, had that not sort of rained on my parade, this would have been another highly rated figure in my collection and I think once it's on the shelf, I'll forget all about it!

Hope everyone else is enjoying theirs. I haven't purchased many Kingdom figures, but I would say that I'm thankful for this great line.

 

I don't have any issues with my trailer and I absolutely hate "snapping/popping" Rodimus Prime into it. Everyone is eventually going to have paint issues with the spoiler. Having it painted is even more infuriating when you see something like SS86 Wreck-Gar that has rims molded in a colour that isn't used anywhere else on the toy. If those can be on a dedicated or commingled sprue on a $32.99 voyager, an $80 commander should have had something dedicated to just the spoiler and the thighs should have been in the same mold/sprue that the orange trailer pieces are (hell I would have taken an orange spoiler if it meant no yellow paint).

 

Paint scratching/chipping is usually something I don't consider until it's too late. Lol

I think if I'm careful when I slide the spoiler in and make sure the trailer is closed, it will be okay. The colors on RP look so sleek until I get to that spoiler. The yellow has some blotting, scratches that I had to dab with paint and the orange that seperates down the middle has bleeding onto the yellow and just really breaks up that flawless design. The top of my trailer has a nice scratch out of the box. But I will say, that at least the hood of RP looks okay. Had that had paint issues, I think I may have felt really justified to be angry. XD

 

Between all of that and the trailer being warped, I would have personally done an exchange.

I was careful when I slid Rodimus Prime into the trailer (there's no damage) but, the clearance is practically non existent and you have to apply force because of the dark grey connection piece on the trailer. It's not going to take much for that to eventually go wrong.

Hopefully one of the 3rd party or aftermarket companies will make a replacement spoiler that's injected molded in yellow but, it's held in by more than just the 2 screws that mount the dark grey retainer bracket to it and the rear section of the alt mode. The bottom of the translucent blue cross pieces that slide into the rear vehicle piece are super glossy so, I think they've bee bonded in with adhesive. I can't remove the spoiler with my hands and tools (even nylon spudgers) against that super thin opaque magenta plastic and yellow painted translucent blue plastic is almost certainly going to break something.

 

Ps: Just another person who wanted to add that the Floor Polish application worked and the trailer snaps in perfectly now.

(On my copy anyway) Putting the car into the trailer, I noticed that there is a slightly uneven rise where the red plastic meets the orange plastic, so sliding the car in gives some resistance if you don't angle it just right, which is why I can now see that connecting it was such a pain. I'm still a tad worried at all of the plastic sliding I can feel when I'm connecting it, so I think I might be connecting it and then just leaving it for display because I really don't want to ruin the paint on it.

But since the trailer closes, (I'm still trying to work on that back flap to close all the way), I'm a little less salty about the other things I was whining about last night.

But anyway, yeah, for those annoyed by the trailer, this floor gloss has solved a lot of my problems.  

 

When I got ER Leader Optimus Prime the figure felt a little underwhelming. $50 for the guy and he just felt like a Voyager figure with a $20 box. A very sparse and incomplete thin hollow box. Optimus was a great voyager class figure but felt nothing beyond a regular voyager class figure.

So a $80 Rodimus Prime, does he have the same sins as ER Leader Optimus Prime? No, he 100% feels worthy of his price. It feels like we got a $50 voyager class size figure with a $30 Trailer but the trailer has quality.

SS86 Hot Rod is one of my favorite figures of 2021 but this Rodimus takes things up a notch. His car mode isn’t as pretty or sleek but it’s still cool. Feels like a Rally car version of Hot Rods vehicle mode. Full Vehicle mode is better in person. I still wish the spoiler stuck out a little bit. The trailer eats it up. Robot mode is awesome. Leader class quality in a voyager class figure. No fake parts, poseable, has a nice heft to him, just a slam dunk overall. I wish Optimus had this level of quality.

The trailer doesn’t feel thin, flimsy and incomplete. It feels inspired by MP 44 trailer. Has hidden compartments and all of the features. It still sits around like any other trailer but it feels like it’s worth the price. Now I had to add a little Kiki on the taps to have it stay shut.

Accessories are mostly fine. Gun and Sword cool but the blast effects feel like a throw in. Especially the Omega Supreme blast. It just doesn’t work with anything.

 

Rodimus as a rally version of his Hot Rod vehicle mode is an interpretation I hadn't considered yet. So far, I've thought of it as something akin to a Lamborghini Urus, or Ferarri's SUV, but I might like the rally car interpretation more. Rally cars aren't unnatural, trend chasing abominations, after all.

I also agree about Rodimus feeling like a $50 leader with a good $30 box, at minimum. I say minimum, as I also got Galvatron this week, and the core Rodimus figure definitely feels worth more than that. Maybe he would manage to price out as a leader if sold seperately though, Earthrise Optimus managed to price out as a regular voyager in the Netflix line, and my initial impression was that he was a Voyager+.

While he's the smallest commander yet, I do like the idea of using the price point to make very good mainline figures with far fewer compromises. There's still then scope to go big as needed, but equally I think we've now got a Rodimus that'll be hard to displace.

 

I eventually bought a bottle of clear nail polish as the floor polish would only hold for a few transformations before needing to be reapplied. Much happier with the nail polish

 

This.

 

Edit oops sorry for the double quote. Haha

That's a fair statement! I hadn't noticed with mine yet.

What kind of clear nail polish do you use? I think they have a couple different kinds (IDK if it even matters lol I don't know anything about NP) like base coat, protector coat, etc.

I will try it and see! I had never had an issue with the FP, but I normally don't transform my figures a whole bunch. Thanks for the tip.  

 

I use women's nail polish I got from Target. It says quick dry. I don't think there's different kinds or doesn't matter. This works better sometimes because it drives thicker, so tabs have more to grab onto.

 

Awesome thank you, will check it out!  

 

Uh. Are there any tips and tricks to getting his calves to transform? Considering the high cost of this toy, I’m baffled that one of the transformation steps is to bend some plastic and shove a wheel into a slot.

 

Not really as far as getting the rim/tire into the leg because:

There is a trick to help get the rim/tire out of the leg though:

Everyone is baffled about why the rims/tries don't have a smoother transformation but, having to force/flex parts is, unfortunately, pretty much par for the course at this point.

 

The trailer for mine didn’t want to close. I was prepared to shut it with rubber bands and leave it in a hot garage, but I wanted to try a faster method first. I put a few drops of Kiki’s joint fixing solution on the tab and inside the grooves and let it sit for a few hours. It now closes super tight. Yay!

 

Just sharing photos of mine.  

 

I'm getting my hands on this figure in a day or so. Any chance of a handy list of pitfalls and possible solutions I should be aware of beforehand so I don't have to read through all these pages to pick out the important advice? Ta.