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Masterpiece Rodimus Prime Review Part 1

March 14th, 2011 4 comments

As mentioned in my my last, I bought Masterpiece Rodimus Prime. Here is part 1 of the review. I’m going to go over the alt modes first, even though he comes packaged in robot mode. I transformed him to alt mode so I figure I do this now before I transform him back.

Here is a pic of the figure as Hot Rod.

As far as appearance goes, this is probably the most show accurate Hot Rod alt mode in the history of TFs. The G1 toy was very good for its time, and the Henkei/Classic version was an excellent update of the star of the G1 Movie. But in terms of show accuracy, the MP figure has them both beat. Take a look at the outline of Hot Rod’s vehicle mode. This is exactly how he was shaped in the Movie. Masterpiece figures are known for show accuracy and this figure certainly did not disappoint. I think this is even more obvious when you look at the rear of Hot Rod’s alt mode, which is pictured below.

Check out the scene where Hot Rod races up the hill with Daniel to catch the shuttle, early in the Movie. During this scene there is a good shot of Hot Rod from the rear view. This figure has captured that look perfectly. No other Rodimus figures even come close to the MP as far as reproducing this look.

The colors on this figure is classic Hot Rod. I think everyone knows what his colors are supposed to be so I won’t go into it. The red, orange, and yellow on the figure is reproduced faithfully. Windows are painted blue and that is accurate also. All the chrome bits that you would expect are there, including his side thrusters, engine, and rims. Clear yellow bits are used for the headlights. Overall, no gripes from me about the paint apps or the detail on this figure.

Tires are made of rubber like other vehicles in the MP and Binaltech line. Hot Rod comes with two guns like the original G1 toy (the non-Targetmaster version). On the engine you can attach a gun like pictured below. You can do this with either gun, but not both at the same time. Personally I think it’s kinda lame, but it was a G1 feature so it’s good to see the MP fig still account for that.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few issues with the MP Rodimus. I will go into each of them.

Hasbro/Takara stopped using die-cast in TFs long time ago, even in the MP line. Rodimus is no exception. Only die-cast I can detect are the feet pieces. Considering I paid over $200 for this fig, I expected a little more die-cast.

Transformation from robot to car was quite difficult. He is complex in terms of design, and in my book that’s a good thing. But what makes it an issue is that the pieces on this figure do not come together as well as they should. Add to it the already difficult transformation and you have a figure that is simply frustrating to do. Hasbro/Takara has made complex figures before, such as MP Megatron and leader class Optimus from the 2nd Movie. But those figures are well engineered and all part and pieces fit where they’re supposed to go when you do it right. MP Rodimus is not one of these figures.

My main gripe is on the sides of the vehicle. Check out the pic below.

Notice there is a very large “hole” on the side, around the thrusters where his hands go. This is pretty much the best that I can get it. I’ve checked the pics on Seibertron and they have it at about the same configuration. The figure is designed so the parts would come together more, but this is simply not the case. I really don’t like the design of the hand placement. It gets in the way of the connection. The pic below shows a bottom view and illustrates how the hands are placed in this mode.

I’ve checked the instructions carefully and I looked at Seibertron pics and I’m confident this is the proper placement. There is simply too much there for the sides to come together nicely. The irony is that the hand is designed so it can fold into the forearm. The reason for this is so Hot Rod can whip out his saw-blades (I’ll go more into this in part 2), but I would rather they ditch the saw-blade feature if it means there’s room to fold in the hands so in alt mode the sides would come flush.

The other construction issue I have has to do with the large bottom black panels towards the rear in the leg area, also pictured above. Mine doesn’t seem to want to snap in nicely, at least on one side. Not sure if I can get this to be better. It is sometimes dangling off, and this leads me to my next issue. There is practically no clearance on the bottom in alt mode. Those black pieces I mentioned, the large red piece right next them, and the head, they are almost touching the ground when Hot Rod is placed on a flat surface in alt mode. And they will touch the ground if you don’t get everything just right. This figure is not meant to be rolled around or you might damage these pieces.

Below is a shot for size comparison. MP Rodimus with Animated and Henkei Rodimus.

Now let’s look at this figure in Rodimus Prime alt mode. To do it, you attach the trailer that comes with the figure. He looks quite solid in this mode. It’s show accurate the the details and colors do not disappoint. He kinda looks like an RV in this mode, but that’s just how he looks. Maybe that’s why he never lived up to Optimus.

My main gripe with this mode is has to do with how the trailer is attached. The trailer comes with a hidden front piece that resembles Hot Rod’s hood and seat area. To attach the trailer, the Hot Rod fig goes into the trailer head first, then that front piece come around and covers Hot Rod’s ass. See the pic below for yourself.

I’m very disappointed with this mechanism. I didn’t think that front piece would be necessary and the trailer can attach toward Hot Rod’s rear, like MP Optimus.

Last pic for part 1 shows off MP with Titanium Rodimus.

I’ll reserve my final thoughts for when I do part 2, which is the robot mode. Until then… Transform and Roll Out!

EDIT 09/22/2011:
Click here for Part 2 of the review.

Categories: Pics, Toy Reviews