Bot Reviews: Transformers: Generation One Rodimus Prime

As I said when I opened my review of the Kingdom Commander version of this character, Rodimus Prime doesn’t get enough respect. After Optimus Prime’s death, the new 1986 Autobot leader had a tough act to follow both in-universe, and in real life, and people weren’t kind on both sides of the fourth wall. It didn’t help that the storytelling around the character decided to be ambitious, and present them as sullen, self-doubting, grumpy and overwhelmed, inheriting too much responsibility, and trying not to buckle under it. Sure enough, after Optimus Prime came back to life, Rodimus went back to being Hot Rod, and we spent the next 35-plus years remembering their time as a rambunctious youth in the ’86 movie, instead of the more challenging stuff that followed. These days, honestly, I relate to the character a lot. What modern adult doesn’t feel put upon, grumpy and overwhelmed in the face of modern life? Rodimus Prime was just ahead of their time, and was truly the Autobot leader of the 21st century.

This level of quiet non-acknowledgment extended to toys and merchandise for a long time, with there being tons of Hot Rods, but few Rodimus Primes that were totally standalone, and didn’t “evolve” from Hot Rod instead. But this ended in 2021 with the release of that Kingdom Commander figure, reviewed here. And let me tell you, that’s one of my favorite Transformers of all time, and really felt like redemption for the character. And, now that I’ve looked at the Omega, it’s time to go back to the Alpha, and see where it all began, in 1986, with the original Rodimus Prime figure, released at the same time as the younger Hot Rod version, reviewed here. To be clear, this is the 2004 Commemorative Series reissue of Rodimus Prime, but research tells me there’s apparently no difference between it and a vintage copy, outside of being much more minty-fresh. Generation One figures are always so interesting for me to look back at, and I’m eager to see how this one stacks up against modern offerings. And I’m also interested in how it stacks up against the G1 Optimus Prime that it was supposed to replace, too.

Vehicle Mode

Ahh, the Space Winnebago. So, Rodimus Prime’s futuristic vehicle mode was supposed to be based on a specific GM concept truck, but in practice, wound up looking exactly like a camper van. And, thanks to the unique design tastes of Floro Dery, the character designer for the movie cast, this wound up looking like a camper van from the future as envisioned in the 1950s.

Between the gigantic chromed exhaust pipes, and the way so many lines on the thing are diagonal, or curved, there’s a definite retro-future feel to it, almost Jetsons-esque in places. This aesthetic can be very hit or miss for some people, but I like what it’s doing. 1986-ers like this don’t really look like anything else in Transformers. 

It’s a surprisingly small vehicle mode, too, roughly the size of a modern Voyager-class figure’s altmode. In fact, compared to Optimus Prime’s full cab-and-trailer setup, Rodimus is positively puny.

There’s an abbreviated version of Hot Rod’s sports car mode squished into the front of it, and while it looks like you should be able to remove it to reveal a full car mode, it’s not really meant to come out, and doing so will expose the legs and torso of the robot mode, flopped into the ground. Really, it’s supposed to stay as one solid piece. 

For colors, we’ve got a really fetching combination of deep red and bright orange as the main two colors, with smokestacks in silver chrome, and accents of yellow and red (for the Autobrands on the hood and trailer). The red is identical to the smaller Hot Rod, while the orange is a bit more vibrant, and the yellow a bit darker on the spoiler (and identical everywhere else). A large chunk of the coloring is provided by foil stickers, most of which actually came pre-applied in this mode. In fact, I don’t think there’s a lick of paint on this outside of the chrome. There’s a yellow flame pattern on the chest, and a gorgeous multi-color pattern down each side, both stickered on. Up top, the orange and yellow stripes near the back of the trailer were the only stickers I had to apply myself in this mode.

Finally, there’s dark clear blue for the driver’s compartment, under which you can just barely make out squashed driver’s seats, behind a very large dashboard. I’m a strong believer that Hot Rod should be pink (which is why the Retro version, reviewed here, is a near-perfect toy, in my opinion), but I think this darker set of colors should always be how Rodimus Prime looks. It’s very striking, and very well-rendered here. 

In terms of construction, this is a 1986 figure, so fiddliness was out, and chunky solidity was in. This isn’t the super-dense brick of the Kingdom Commander, but this is a solid, hefty volume of chunk in its own right, one that holds together really well. That being said, I worry about the chrome on the smokestacks getting worn out, and foil stickers love to peel as time goes on. Still, as far as G1 goes, we’re out of the “every copy on the aftermarket is broken” phase of things, and into the “this could mostly survive a toddler throwing it around” phase of things. Also, there’s some nice-feeling rubber on the tires. 

For features, this is one area where Rodimus Prime comes up kind of short, especially compared to their predecessor. The vehicle can roll just fine on its rubber tires, that’s for sure. And on the front of the trailer, there’s a standard rubsign, that you can use to reveal Rodimus Prime is, shockingly, an Autobot. But that’s all that it does, and that feels like a missed opportunity. For example, around back, there’s no way to open the trailer, it’s just a solid block of plastic.

There’s nowhere to mount weapons, there’s nothing happening. Compare this to Optimus Prime, with his opening trailer, his Roller companion, his launcher, and all the other stuff he did.

Now, granted, I don’t really mind. This is a chunky vehicle that I can roll around on my desk, and that’s all I need. It’s just interesting to compare the two, and see how much less Rodimus has. Wait, am I acting like the public did in 1986? Uhm. Anyway. Moving on. 

Transformation

So, this is extremely simple, even more simple than G1 Hot Rod is. Basically, you yank the robot out from under the trailer, stand it up (flipping out the feet in the process), pull out the arms, and do a multi-step torso inversion to get the hood-chest down, and the head up. You also partsform the spoiler a bit, taking it off its lower vehicle mode location, and moving it to its higher up robot location, but I’ll talk about that more in a minute.

The trailer’s even simpler, splitting open sideways, with a gun that then raises up along a ratcheted “neck” joint, a process I find a bit funny. You then apply two little “shields” to the side of it, accessories that, annoyingly, have nowhere to go in altmode, and tend to get lost on the aftermarket. 

The whole thing’s fast and easy, but effective. I’ll admit that it’s not as fun as the sheer hand-candy that is Hot Rod’s transformation, but few things are, and this gets the job done just as well.

Robot Mode

Okay, before anything else, let me talk about that spoiler. The whole reason it’s a removable part during transformation is you’re supposed to place it in a new, higher position for robot mode. But here’s the thing: I don’t think that higher position looks very good aesthetically, and, as you can see above, it makes it look like Rodimus has some kind of lizard’s frill around their neck. But more importantly, it introduces an engineering problem, where Rod’s arms actually bump into it when posing them.

Meanwhile, if you just leave it on the lower, vehicle mode peg, and rotate it around, it’s still visible from the front, and doesn’t impede the articulation.

Considering that I actually bought the spoiler separately, thanks to this copy missing it, it’s a strange unforced error to create a whole loseable accessory over an aesthetic change that doesn’t actually work. It’s not a dealbreaker at all, since I can just leave it in the lowered position, it’s just a funky engineering quirk, and less egregious than, say, G1 Optimus not being able to hold his gun straight (every modern reissue re-engineers his fists so that isn’t the case). 

Anyway, not counting the spoiler, Rodimus Prime’s about the height of a modern Voyager-class figure in robot mode, but a lot skinnier, which is a big visual thing here. These are some strange proportions, all tall and narrow, looking almost like a plank from the side, with legs that are very long, and arms that seem stumpy by comparison. While Hot Rod resembles a version of the character’s animation model that’s been squashed into blocks, Rodimus Prime’s a version of the character model that’s been vertically stretched.

The same details are present, like the pipes at the wrists, the hood-chest, and the triangular boots, they’re just warped in a different direction. In particular, their lower legs flare out in a way that almost suggests bell bottoms.

One upshot of this larger figure is that their torso isn’t hollow when viewed from the side anymore, though there’s now an odd gap between the truck mode cockpit, and their back.

The headsculpt is where things get equal parts strange, but characterful. Rodimus Prime looks to be two things: Old, and grumpy.

Their face seems to be lined with age, and their narrow eyes and pursed lips just communicate a sheer sense of simmering annoyance. This is a person who has had enough of your shenanigans. They look actively resentful, and full of spite, and it makes the figure for me. Maybe that really tall helmet and crest are too heavy. 

For colors, we’re still operating in the same mostly red and orange territory. There’s a lot more orange on Rodimus than on Hot Rod, largely due to the chest, and the more vibrant shade of orange really gives this figure a certain something. Again, most of the rest of the details are made up of foil stickers, which I had to apply myself. Some of them were stressful, like the ones on the thighs, which don’t have any obvious sculpting to adhere to, and just kind of free-float. The stickers introduce bits of blue, red, black, silver and yellow, seemingly random patterns that aren’t suggesting anything specific, like technology, or armor, they’re just there for vibes. I sound like I’m ribbing on the figure, but I’m not. It’s a weird design, but an intriguingly weird one. If the alternate mode was something from the Jetsons, the robot mode is something from the cover from an old, pulpy sci-fi paperback novel. 

For build quality, we’ve got the same rock-solid construction as the alternate mode, save for that pop-out spoiler. It’s all solid plastic chunks, until you reach the feet, where the toes are chunks of unpainted diecast metal, and it makes the figure even more stable than it already was. 

Like a lot of G1 figures, articulation here is basically nil. Rod’s shoulders can move forwards or backwards on ratcheted swivels, their head can look down a little bit thanks to their transformation, and that’s it.

On one hand, it’s G1, I’m not expecting much. On the other hand, this is slightly worse than the smaller Hot Rod, who had more than two arm joints. That, and I don’t get why the legs are an immobile chunk. They don’t need to do anything for the transformation, and there absolutely could have been some knee and hip joints here, something other G1 figures were starting to do at the time. The figure’s knees even look like they should be articulated, there’s a molded-in joint right there. Ah, well. 

For features, the core robot’s got just one accessory: The photon eliminator rifle, cast in black. It’s not as ludicrously long as the Kingdom version’s weapon, which I appreciate.

It’s got the same kind of flared details on the end as one of Hot Rod’s two pistols, making it seem like it grew along with the robot. It fits in either of Rod’s hands fine, though it’s a non-standard peg size, so you can’t really give it to other figures. 

The other big feature is the battle base that the trailer splits into. Well, battle base is a generous term.

So, the thing’s still on functional wheels, and can roll around, and is really a tiny little platform, dominated by a huge gun turret. To my pleasant surprise, the turret itself is way more robust than I was expecting. It’s cast in black and gray, is surprisingly large, and actually has articulation! The head’s on a pair of swivels that lets it raise, lower and rotate in almost any direction. It’s the most poseable thing here!

And while I begrudge the blast shields for being a loseable accessory with no storage, I suppose it does make sense to give the gunner some torso protection.

Speaking of those panels, there’s different patterns on either side of them, diagonal lines on one side, and boxes with Xs in them on the other side. I followed the illustrations instructions when it came to which side faces forwards (the diagonal lines), but when I broke out the Kingdom Commander’s trailer, I noticed the shields are sculpted with the sides with the Xs facing forwards. I wonder what’s the “true method?”

Speaking of that trailer, the main problem here is just how tiny the G1 version is, compared even to the original Optimus Prime’s.

Basically, Rodimus can stand at the turret, or another figure, but there’s no space on the platform for anyone else to join the gunner.

Between the small size, and the wheels, it almost comes across like an oversized Segway with a gun on it. The flipside is, at least it doesn’t take up a lot of shelf space, a problem with both G1 Optimus and Kingdom Rodimus’s big party wagons. 

Overall

This is a weird figure, on many levels. The Jetsons Space Camper vehicle mode, the strangely elongated robot mode, the tiny little one-bot turret base, it’s all very strange, when you take a long look at it. But, see, it’s the interesting kind of strange, and the whole figure has this kind of alien, retro sci-fi vibe to the package that I just find myself liking. 

I have to admit, though, this is something of a hard downgrade from the original Optimus, the figure this was the “replacement” for, so on a raw toy level, I can see where some of the criticism lies. Rodimus is smaller, less articulated, and has fewer features and gimmicks. I’d even say the whole package isn’t as tightly designed as the original Hot Rod, which is a figure I’ll go to the wall for as still being fun in 2024. Something about the odd issues with the spoiler, and the loseable blast shields bugs me. 

But neither G1 Optimus or Hot Rod have the really specific *vibes* this one’s putting off, between that characterful face, and all the endearingly odd quirks of the design and engineering. Plus, it’s got that mid-to-late G1 solidity to its engineering, giving it a really good handfeel that adds to the presence. I like it, and if you like the odd vibes, you’ll enjoy it, too. It does help that I managed to assemble the whole package (after buying a spoiler) for about $65 Canadian, so if you can find a similar deal on a complete figure, you’ll probably be feeling as good about it as I did. 

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