Bot Reviews: Super 7 ReAction Figures Hot Rod and Galvatron

There’s been a bit of a language drift in the Transformers community for a long time now, where “Third Party” is understood to refer to unlicensed transforming robots, like the one I reviewed last week. However, in its original usage, “Third Party” really means stuff like these, where non HasTak companies make Transformers stuff, with official approval from the company.

So, Super 7’s ReAction Figures have been around for a looooooong time, to the point where you’ve definitely seen them if you’ve ever been to a toy shop, or a convention. They sort of exist in that Funko Pop spectrum of surviving based on securing every license they can. The grand conceit of them is that they look like retro Kenner action figures of the type that were common in the 80s, including first-generation Star Wars stuff, complete with limited articulation and simple sculpts. Back in the day, I owned one of the first ones they did, an Alien (the one from the movie of the same name). It was really good, but I lost it in a move, tragically. I also had a bunch of Firefly ones (look, I know, I know, this was a long time ago), which were kinda…not great, between the mushy sculpts, and general flimsiness of the product. Here’s the thing: Good or not, these things just cost too much for what’s there, retailing for about $25 Canadian. With those prices, they’re trying to invoke boutique, limited collectible energy, but really, these are mass-produced figures, and it’s often just not worth it.

So, these Transformers ones are a recent thing, though they’ve been going long enough to get decently deep on the character selection, and sort of trade on the idea of being a bit like Action Masters, the 1990 line of non-Transforming figures at the very end of the original Generation 1 line. As for why I got them? I got extremely lucky, and a dealer at the last TFCon was selling the latest Transformers: The Movie-themed wave for extremely cheap, $10 a pop, so I picked up these two: One of my favorite characters, and someone for them to face off with.

Hot Rod

Right off the bat, I’ll note that all of these figures, Hot Rod included, are the exact same scale as Star Wars figures, so if you’ve got any of those, be prepared for some out-of-scale hijinks.

As for the figure itself, Hot Rod’s sculpted to be super-cartoon-accurate, or rather, super-accurate to Hot Rod’s character model. There’s a little bit of stylization to fit the scale, but really, not much. It’s also a surprisingly detailed sculpt for the size, including features like car-mode wheels on the shoulders, and even on the forearms, a detail that doesn’t match any toy of them, but is accurate to that character model.

The whole Floro Dery-designed Transformers: The Movie aesthetic actually translates pretty well into this style, and all the retro-future robot vibes are preserved in a way that even some of the larger, transforming toys of Hot Rod can’t really nail. Something about this style really brings that out.

The only thing that breaks that vibe is the headsculpt, which basically works, but comes out looking a bit mushy and indistinct. While we’re talking criticisms, I also wish their arms and legs weren’t sculpted quite so ramrod-straight, it makes them look a bit awkward in most poses.

On the positive side, the construction of this figure actually feels really solid, which is a relief after the fragility of those Firefly ones (and a return to the feelings of the Alien). It helps that it’s an extremely rigid plastic that it’s made from. Critically, they stand up really well, another problem ReAction Figures (and honestly, Star Wars figures) sometimes have. There’s footpegs on the bottom of their feet, if you have a stand to peg them into (I don’t).

So, the big thing that really drew me to this Hot Rod was the deco. On this figure, their base deco is properly pink, like in the movie, something a lot of modern Hot Rods are still too meek to do, even including the Studio Series 86 version. Outside of that pink, they’re extremely well-painted, in fact, in lots of different colors. There’s also, orange, two shades of grey, black, and nice tampo details, like the flames and Autobrand on their chest. It’s hard to tell what’s painted, and what’s plastic, but I appreciate it all. They even painted the car wheels on their arms!

Of course, being a tribute to vintage action figures, Hot Rod only has five points of articulation. Their head rotates, their shoulders swivel, their legs kick at the hips, and that’s it. Oddly, those hip joints are blocked from going too far back, and can only move forwards. Speaking of that, when it comes to posing, the legs also feel a tad bit pointless at times, considering the figure isn’t stable enough to stand on one foot. You can sort of make them walk, and sit down, but that’s about it. I know it’s meant to homage first-generation Star Wars stuff, but I really wish they’d included a tiny bit more, like a waist, or wrist swivels. The 90’s Power of the Force Star Wars figures I show off in some of these pictures come with waist joints, and occasional wrist swivels, and they’re all better off for them.

Hot Rod comes with two accessories, a pair of guns based on the G1 figure’s weapons, which were not in the movie, and barely used on the show, done up in light grey. Nicely, they imitate the original toy’s oddity of them being two different sculpts.

That being said, the curved one looks bent and warped, but that’s not the case, the bottom is level, it’s an optical illusion caused by the way it’s sculpted. They fit well enough in either hand, and are a neat inclusion.

One slight downside, though, is that Rod’s hands are just a bit too open to work with Star Wars accessories, so I couldn’t really get them to swing a Lightsaber around.

Galvatron

Galvatron’s about a half a head taller than Hot Rod, and a bit bulkier and wider. Like Rod, he’s also super G1 animation model-accurate. I’ve got to say, I think this sculpt actually turned out better than Hot Rod’s. The Floro Dery vibes, that retro-robot stuff, it’s really translated very well here. The crowned helmet, the curvy cannon, the flared legs, it all comes together into something very nice-looking.

Funny enough, there’s a specific bit of inaccuracy here, in that the big spike on the back of that animation model is much smaller, and recessed into his back, but it still looks right.

I tried to figure out why this sculpt looked nicer, and it came down to three things: First, the face is crisp and clear, compared to Hot Rod’s.

Secondly, his arms are sculpted slightly bent at the elbows, so he looks a bit more natural when standing at attention. Thirdly, while he still has really straight legs, the flared bell-bottoms of his sculpt make that straightness less obvious. I’d almost say he feels more solidly-constructed, too, probably thanks to not having that thin spoiler in the back.

Again, Galvatron is very well painted. He’s mostly deep purple, with two kinds of grey, some red, and a bright orange cannon, as well as a subtle Decepticon symbol on his chest. They definitely went off on this paint.

Galvatron’s got those same five points of articulation, again. He’s also got no accessories, and closed fists that don’t allow him to hold anyone else’s. However, between those closed fists, and the bent elbows, he has an impressive bit of expressiveness, in that he can shake his fist really well, and flail his arms nicely, in a way that’s extremely fitting for the character.

Though I do find myself wishing he had a waist joint, so he could turn and look back at the kids he’s shaking that fist at.

Overall

I’m surprised by how much I like these two. Something about Transformers: The Movie designs works really well in this style, and having these little Star Wars scale versions is a neat novelty. Plus, they got Hot Rod’s colors right! They’re really good desk toys.

Here’s the thing, though: These are a novelty, and are absolutely not worth that retail price, like I said at the top. $25 Canadian is just too much for what’s here. Core-Class Transformers are cheaper, and while smaller, offer far more bang for the buck, and even with the recent price hike, the slightly-more-costly Deluxe Transformers are again, better value.

However, for the $10 I paid for them from that dealer, these are absolutely worth what you get. So this is an odd recommendation, where I can say that you should only get them if you come across them for very cheap. Heck, if I see any more for that price, I’ll bite.

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