“One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the matrix to light our darkest hour.”
Ahh, Rodimus Prime, Hotrod – some people hate him and some people love him. One thing is for sure though – he’s got The Touch. And so does Hasbro, releasing their 5th domestic Masterpiece release. How does Rodimus compare to past Masterpiece releases?
First off, there’s the checklist. Diecast – check. Chrome – check. Rubber Wheel s- check. Loads of Accessories – check. Yup, it’s a Masterpiece. As usual, Hasbro doesn’t disappoint when it comes to importing an expensive Takara toy, but not cutting out everything that makes it a Masterpiece in the first place.
However, it is worth pointing out that this release of MP Rodimus is missing a large piece that the Takara version did have. The original release of this figure included the large “Space Winnebago” trailer for Rodimus Prime’s alternate mode. To cut costs, this was removed from the Hasbro release, but most fans were happy with this change.
Rodimus comes with many accessories, including two small guns that can transform and combine into one large one. These guns can be attached to car mode. he also comes with Offshoot, a small Targetmaster figure which transformers info a gun that can also be used on car mode. The small Matrix within Rodimus’ chest can be seen in car mode as well.
Once transformed, you’ve got an AMAZING representation of the character form the 86 movie. This is about as accurate a Hotrod as we’re ever going to get. True the Takara paintjob was more cartoon accurate, with the Hasbro release giving more of a nod to the original G1 toy. The proportions are spot on, all the details are there, and compared to the Takara version, several issues with the original were fixed and overall the figure is very solid.
Hotrod can also transform into Rodimus Prime! Basically he just gets a tiny bit taller and gets a new face.
Onto the accessories, aside from Offshoot, Rodmus also comes with two Matrices of Leadership. One is very small and fits within his chest. The other is more like the one that came with MP Optimus Prime, though a new sculpt and slightly larger, as well as no chrome. This Matrix is intended for Rodimus to hold aloft, open, lighting our darkest hour!
Rodimus also includes two hand attachments. Fold away his normal hands and you can attach accessories seen in the 86 film, a rotating blade, and oil can. He also has a flip-down visor that covers his eyes.
Overall, this is another amazing Masterpiece Transformer from Hasbro. Even with the missing trailer piece, this is a great toy with alot of display options. Even if you’re an occasional Transformers collector, make sure to add this one to your list. The transformation is not as insane as some of the past MP releases, and the end result is just as solid as the original MP Prime.
“You got the poweeeeeeeeeer, YEAH!“