I don’t know that I have a single favorite Transformers character, but I can definitely say that the original Hot Rod’s up there. I think it actually came from watching VHS copies of the animated movie a lot as a kid, and loving the Bright Red Sportscar Protagonist. Certainly, I’m a mark for a good character design above all else, and Hot Rod’s iconic look has certainly stood the test of time.
No lie, I consider this introduction to be an important character beat.
In later years, I’ve come to appreciate how the character was written and portrayed, both in the film and show, and in later IDW comic appearances. There’s more going on with this ‘bot than just being a Hot-Blooded Youth. There’s something deeper at work there, in presenting us with a character full of vices like impatience, a disregard for planning and authority, a deep desire for glory and recognition, and a big dose of overconfidence, and yet simultaneously presenting them as a heroic character with their heart in the right place, who makes good choices when the heat’s on, even with those vices.
Also, that altmode was cool.
Naturally, a good Transformers character demands a good figure, and a perennial part of my collecting has been trying to find a perfect version of the red speedster, both in terms of screen-accuracy, and general fun. I often find figures that are close, but have one or two big flaws.
There’s the second Masterpiece figure, MP-28, which was anything but, with its warped robot more proportions and car mode that wouldn’t roll.
There’s Fanstoys Hoodlum, the unofficial Masterpiece redux with near-perfect robot and vehicle modes, achieved by having an impossibly complex transformation that takes half an hour, at best (my opinion on that one’s gone down since I got it).
There was the Legends Deluxe (and the Titans Return Deluxe it was repainted from), the strongest entry so far. It was (and is) a fun toy with a lot of playability, but a fair amount of aesthetic issues, including a strange-looking robot mode in many ways.
And there was the Cyberverse Deluxe, an excellent design brought low by the fact that they forgot to paint the thing. So, I’ve been eagerly awaiting this new one, to see if it could break the streak.
Studio Series has, until now, had the mission of creating best-possible figures of characters from the live-action Transformers movies, until the creation of the Studio Series 86 subline, which focused on doing the same for characters from the original 1986 film. Naturally, it made sense for the film’s main character to headline the affair. Since it looked to be the best attempt at the character yet, I just had to have one.
Robot Mode
One point of controversy about this release is the size and price point, in that Hot Rod is very visibly Deluxe-sized, yet sold as a Voyager, in a big box with extra accessories. Sure enough, seeing this Hot Rod in person for the first time, I was struck by how they were smaller than I’d thought, even with plenty of scale pictures out there. This is a pure Deluxe, no question about it. In fact, they’re almost the exact same height as the G1 and Legends figures, maybe a hair shorter at the head, and a bit taller at the spoiler.
Hot Rod 3 Bodies Evolution
But, anyway, onto the most essential bit for me: They utterly nailed G1 Hot Rod’s animation appearance, something no mainline figure has yet managed to do. Until now, Hoodlum was the thing that was closest, and, if we’re splitting hairs, Hoodlum was a bit too slim, had shoulders that were a bit too high up, and had a spoiler that didn’t hang quite right.
I’ll tell you right now, I ain’t transforming this for a vehicle comparison.
This one, on the other hand, the spoiler on the back, the flames on the chest, the pipes on the arms, it’s all here, and it’s all just…correct. The torso is tapered correctly (unlike the Masterpiece), the head’s the right size, the arms are the right size, they just finally nailed it.
The proportions are where so many Hot Rods stumble, so it’s wonderful to see one almost effortlessly get it all right. Going side by side with the animation model, you really appreciate all the details they kept. It’s as close as they could get it within the bounds of needing to transform. Hot Rod even manages to have a tight, compact backpack, something I’d have accepted as a necessary compromise.
I’m really happy with the head sculpt, too. Hot Rod’s classic appearance gives them kind of a babyfaced look, and they nailed it perfectly.
“Sup! Didn’t see you there.”
One advantage of the higher price point was the obviously-higher paint budget. 86 Hot Rod almost reminds me of the Takara Legends one with the amount of color on it, and that was explicitly a premium repaint with an inflated budget. I do wish this version’s base color was more pinkish, though. Hot Rod’s exact colors tend to depend on what master of TFTM I’m watching, and are definitely skew redder on the show, but my Blu-Ray has them looking a lot pinker than this. Still, it’s brighter and more pinkish than both the G1 and Legends versions.
Something about this figure just makes them fit well with chilled-out poses.
Aside from that, there’s some grey, a bright orange chest, yellow painted flames with an Autobrand, a yellow spoiler, and painted silver on the shoulders, and forearm-pipes. The face looks slick painted grey with blue eyes, they painted the crest on their head, and even did that really neat easily-skippable trick of giving the “horns” and “mohawk” on the helmet separate, darker shades of red.
If I was going to be extremely pedantic I’d point out that the yellow on the knees and grey elbows aren’t accurate, same with the missing tiny bit of yellow inside the orange wrist paint apps. But…like…c’mon. I think it’s almost a compliment, because this release got it so close that it makes me notice tiny things like that. Certainly, there’s also stuff like the red on the back of the boots, which are just logistical realities when it comes to needing to transform.
A hungry young fighter and the grizzled veteran that has their back….Did I mention I just got done marathoning the Rocky movies?
Aside from the colors, the other area that they went over the top with with was the poseability. So, all of the expected joints are here, and the optional War for Cybertron extras like ankle tilts and wrist swivels are present, as well. But on top of that, the actual range of these joints is far more extensive than you’d typically see out of a Deluxe. In particular, I appreciate the double knee joints, which make Rod able to assume crouching poses really well. Moving up, the hands aren’t solid fists, but can open and close along a single finger joint, something you don’t usually see on most mainline figures. Finally, I appreciate that the head is on the kind of joint that can look upwards and downwards, something the Titans Return version and Hoodlum both couldn’t do.
A pose like this is hard to do on most figures, but super-easy on this bot.
The only jointage that bugs me is the shoulders, which are great in some ways, but limited in others. They have forward and backward motion, and can spread out into a T-pose pretty well, but that sideways spread only works when Hot Rod’s arms are at rest, so they can’t spread out when they’re pointing forward, like in the Lookout Mountain Shooty Pose, or if Hot Rod want to tell you how big a fish was.
Can Hot Rod not spread their arms, or is Arcee just way better at fishing?
So, let’s move onto features and accessories, because there’s a metric ton of them present, mostly all based around replicating specific beats from the movie. As a whole, they really make the package feel like a Masterpiece release, or a high-end collectable figure.
“Check out my stash!”
Firstly, the ones on the figure itself: By flipping open the head, you can rotate down a pair of clear blue shades over their eyes, replicating that same “scanning the shuttle on Lookout Mountain” moment.
It’s the exact same mechanism that MP-28 and Hoodlum both use, and it still looks great. Care should be taken when putting the visor back into their head, though, as, if you flip it too far back, it’ll knock up against the helmet when closing it, preventing it from shutting fully.
Secondly, Hot Rod’s right hand can be rotated away (after opening their arm) to reveal a small welding torch, so they can fix Kup by the lake on Quintessa.
How I remembered the scene going.
Funny thing I noticed the other day: They actually made this accessory up for this figure (and the original Masterpiece). During the actual shot, we don’t see what Hot Rod’s welding with, and it isn’t their right hand. Still, I appreciate the extra feature.
How the scene actually went.
Next, onto the external stuff, which there’s a lot of, again. Firstly, Rod’s got two Photon Lasers, like the original toy (they weren’t in the movie, but sporadically appeared on the show, and its sequel anime, Headmasters). They’re painted a slick-looking silver, with red unpainted tabs at the bottom.
Kind of pointless when you can just shoot lasers from your wrists, eh?
The extra detail here that I like is that they replicate the original G1 toy’s quirk of them being separate sculpts with slightly different details, instead of identical ones.
What decades of engineering advancement looks like.
Next up is a pair of clear blue effect parts, cast in material that’s soft and flexible. They’re sort of a halfway mark between flames and laser blasts, and can be plugged into Hot Rod’s forearm pipes to imitate the way they’d shoot from them in the movie.
TFW there’s a hole in the shuttle.
Of course, you can stick them on the end of their pistols, too.
The best of both shooty worlds.
After that, we have an arm-mounted buzzsaw, as seen during the “Nothin’s Gonna Stand In Our Way” undersea battle. It has a grey handle, with a silver circular blade, sculpted like it’s got motion blur.
Anything standing in their way is about to have a bad time.
It can spin, and plugs into a peg on their left arm accessed via the same wrist-rotation. It’s a real tight fit, but at least it stays on easily, for better squid-slashing.
And by squid-slashing, I mean slashing other things to protect the squids.
Their last pair of accessories begin with a Matrix of Leadership. Specifically, it’s the same Matrix of Leadership accessory included with Earthrise Optimus, and all his various repaints, which is great, because it’s a nice-looking rendition.
Left to right: Earthrise Optimus, Netflix Optimus, and Studio Hot Rod’s Matrixes. Rung Unrelated.
It’s painted silver and gold, with a blue translucent crystal on one side, and a hole so that it can be mounted on War for Cybertron pegs on the other. Critically, Hot Rod’s poseable grabby hands, along with their swivelling elbows, work together to let them actually hold onto the Matrix in various poses, including “about to open it,” which is actually something a lot of Transformers that come with them can’t do, including Optimus himself!
Another basic-looking thing most Transformers can’t do.
Meant to go with that Matrix is another massive effect part: A starburst of blue light, again cast in rubbery translucent material. It can clip onto the Matrix to simulate a burst of energy as it’s opened. It’s a tight fit, and works better on the side with the peghole instead of the crystal.
Oh, yeah. This background came with them, like all Studio Series figures.
I do kind of wish it had regular War for Cybertron mounting points on it, though, so it could be placed on other figures.
Hey, look, it’s one of those Matrix Attacks people think this thing can do for some reason.
Speaking of that, while compatibility with the War for Cybertron system clearly wasn’t a priority, Hot Rod can interact with it a bit. The peghole that their buzzsaw fits on can serve as a mounting point, and there’s connection points on the backs of their legs, and bottom of their feet.
If they make it past the big gun, they’ll have to contend with the Shin Clamps!
Lastly, there’s theoretically a system to stash both the guns and buzzsaw on the figure, in the form of a pair of slots on their backpack, which let the guns plug in sideways, and the buzzsaw rest on top of them. In practice, though, likely due to the paint on the guns, it’s an incredibly tight fit that doesn’t like to stay together, and I noticed stress marks on the buzzsaw’s connection points from doing it. At least it’s a feature I don’t think I’ll really be using.
I’m not putting the Buzzsaw on there again, so this is all you get.
Transformation
I was wary about this part, going in, strictly because, if nothing else, the Legends Deluxe Hot Rod had already nailed a fun transformation. On top of that,this figure also set out to imitate a step seen during portions of the 1986 film, where Hot Rod’s transformation was shown to involve their torso spinning around.
Sure enough, this is a surprisingly complicated transformation, but not nearly to the point of problems, or frustration. It’s just extremely involved. That torso sure does spin around, and the figure decided to borrow a trick from Hoodlum in there, in that their hood-chest is fake, with the real car hood hiding inside the torso, letting both of them be shaped a bit differently for accuracy. Luckily, that’s about the only thing it borrows from Hoodlum, and the other tricks it lifts come from Legends Hot Rod, specifically, a similarly satisfying unfurling of wheels and pipes from the lower legs, and the same spoiler-and-back-panel rotation trick.
It’s the spin that makes the engineering fans swoon!
The difficult part is that there’s a lot of little things in the torso and legs that need to line up just-so for the car mode to really work, and my first couple times around, I spent extra time with the completed car mode squeezing and massaging bits into place, and even undoing parts so I could try again. That being said, I had the knack for it after transformation number three or so, and I didn’t need the instructions after the first attempt, which puts it ahead of MP-28, and waaay ahead of Hoodlum. The Legends one might be more fun and intuitive, but this transformation works the way it does in the service of accuracy, and manages to not be a pain, thankfully.
A couple of tips I picked up: Save getting the arms in place for last, and flip out the tiny headlight nubs first, then rotate the arms up into them, instead of pegging the smaller parts into the arms after the fact. I’ve found that the front comes out aligned much better.
In my best-possible sequence, it looks like this when there’s only a step or two left.
Also, watch out, because I’ve seen multiple instances of a breakage point, in the middle of the three pipes on each of Hot Rod’s arms, specifically, the clip that attaches them to the back half of the pipes can snap off if it’s not clipped in properly.
The middle nub on top is the one to watch out for.
It hasn’t happened to me, but I’ve been extra careful, and luckily, it seems that it doesn’t stop anything from working properly.
Vehicle Mode
There’s been a lot of good renderings already of Hot Rod’s futuristic racecar mode already, and it seems like it’s less hard to pin down in plastic than the robot form. This is another great rendition of it, with all of the important details, once again, present. Scale-wise, it’s actually a little bit smaller than the G1 car mode, interestingly.
A car collector’s garage in G1’s 2005.
One detail I appreciate on this rendition is that the spoiler is just connected in the middle of the car, like in the animation, when the G1, Classics and Legends versions all had to add a couple of supporting struts to it for stability. They managed to engineer their way out of it this time.
Perfectly Balanced.
That being said, this is a really seam-y alternate mode, thanks to the transformation. In particular, the front of the car has several panel lines breaking it up. Most egregiously, those two headlight nubs mentioned earlier don’t like to sit on the folded-up arms very well, and frequently come out of transformations looking gappy and uneven compared to the rest of the body, exposing some of the silver paint on the arms beneath them. I’ve gotten better at finagling them so they’re as flat and even as possible, but they’re still not very flush, and also wind up putting a seam of unevenness right through each of the front headlights.
This is after several transformations worth of finagling to reduce the gaps as much as possible.
On a more positive note, the paintwork is still excellent, and I appreciate the uniform colors of the headlight patterns, and the clear blue cockpit, which is just opaque enough to hide the lack of seats inside it. The front wheel rims are painted, too, something easily passed over. The back ones aren’t visible, so that’s not a priority.
That roof’s a big point of contention.
There’s a few color inaccuracies here and there, again, mainly bits of grey or orange in the wrong places, and a one-color spoiler instead of two-color like onscreen, but it’s mostly all very minor stuff, the stuff you, again, only notice because of how dead-on the rest of it is. The big compromise here, though, is the three interconnected squares of yellow on what should be a monochrome magenta roof. This is definitely a result of the breakdown of the tooling requiring those bits to be yellow, and given that they’re transformation joints, painting them likely wasn’t an option. My hot take, though, is that it looks fine, and adds a pop of color the alternate mode.
Those rods certainly are hot.
For gimmicks, there isn’t much going on here. There’s enough ground clearance here for the car to roll just fine, though on mine, the wheels are a bit stuff. There’s no mounting points for War for Cybertron accessories, but you can mount the blast effect parts on the car’s exhaust pipes, for an imaginary boost of speed.
Not quite the same feature, but it’s got the same spirit.
The brackets on Rod’s back to stash weapons are now on the car’s roof, and there are a couple extra slots on the engine block to replicate the same storage configuration. Again, it’s still not something I’ll do too often, or something I’ll just do with the guns, because of the stress on the buzzsaw.
With updates of two of these still coming, this is a picture I’ll probably retake a couple more times.
Sounds like I’ve got a lot of bad things to say here, eh? But really, it’s all minor stuff, and the whole alternate mode still comes together really strong. It doesn’t have, an opening cockpit like Hoodlum or Legends Hot Rod, but I think overall, the alternate mode is still stronger than both of them, and things like screen-accuracy and the ability to actually be transformed in a few minutes cancels out whatever this form lacks, which already isn’t much
Overall
There’s a multi-channel tug of war when it comes to rendering Hot Rod’s G1 animation design in plastic, where you have screen-accuracy on one side, a good transformation on another, and general playability on the third part, and this is the first time in plastic that HasTak, or even the 3P world, has managed to find a compromise that doesn’t leave some part of that out in the cold.
The original Rod Squad.
In terms of overall screen-accuracy in both modes, this is as close as I’ve seen any transforming figure, official or otherwise, get. On top of that, it’s the most poseable, well-sculpted, and well-painted robot mode I’ve ever seen Hot Rod receive, and the boatload of extra accessories adds a premium feel to the whole thing. And while we’re meant to think it’s a Deluxe with extra accessories that bump it up to a Voyager, I’m pretty sure that was a smokescreen, and the extra budget went into the design and engineering of the core figure, to make it all possible.
And what a figure it is!
Any complaints I have about shoulders, or car panel fits, or anything else are all very minor, and the whole package just comes together in a lovely way. As a fan of the character, they did them right. I wouldn’t call this the perfect Hot Rod, but it’s pretty dang close, and I struggle to see what else they could do to make it better, aside from maybe color it a bit pinker, and fine-tune a few fits and tolerances. Either way, I finally feel like my long quest’s at an end.
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