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Zob's Thoughts on Commander-Class Kingdom Rodimus Prime
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Zobovor
Aug 17, 2021, 10:41:28 PM8/17/21
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I had ordered this guy over on Big Bad Toy Store, expecting a September delivery date, but when I saw him on the shelf at Walmart today I couldn't resist. It's not every day that I manage to find something at retail before the online shops start shipping!
Rodimus Prime tends to be a character who isn't addressed frequently by Hasbro, with the Hot Rod persona getting many more updates. (We all remember when Hasbro tried to sell Masterpiece Rodimus Prime as a Toys "R" Us exclusive without his own trailer, right?) They probably could have gotten away with cramming him into a Leader-sized box, like they did with Optimus Prime, but it would have been an unsatisfying budget version of the character. At the Commander-class, they were able to go all out, adding a bunch of bells and whistles and doing what might become the definitive Rodimus Prime toy for neo-G1.
It's notable that Rodimus Prime was the last toy John Warden worked on during his tenure with the Transformers brand at Hasbro.
The toy comes in a 3.5" x 11" x 13" box, the same size as the box for Earthrise Sky Lynx. The trailer comes unfolded in the box and separate from Rodimus, with all the weapons and parts in a little baggie. There are instructions on how to put the trailer back together and how to plug in Rodimus to complete the vehicle form.
The Hot Rod style vehicle mode without the trailer is... not perfect. It's the biggest Hot Rod configuration we've gotten, and it lacks the smooth, sweeping lines of the Studio Series toy. The large, blocky rear section does not look very aerodynamic at all. It's a complete vehicle in a way that G1 Rodimus Prime without trailer is not, though, so there's that. By itself, it's about six inches from bumper to bumper, with the spoiler making him about seven inches long. You can't get the cockpit to open without unhooking a bunch of things and starting the transformation process.
To hook him into the trailer, you just slide him back until the spring-loaded tab hooks the notch in his spoiler. The side pipes on the trailer are also spring-loaded, and open out to the sides a bit to make room for the two parts to dock together. When combined, the full vehicle is about twelve and a half inches in length. He's authentic to the cartoon look to a degree, but his colors are closer to the G1 toy than anything in animation. (In the cartoon, the sleeper section of the trailer is orange with yellow details. For the G1 toy, this spot was just entirely maroon, and that look is replicated faithfully for the Kingdom toy.)
Aside from the infamously unpainted hubcaps, which is one of the things the collective fandom complained about endlessly after he was initially unveiled, another oddity is the design of the windshield. Rodimus lacks the exposed engine that Hot Rod's got, but in the cartoon they both share a distinctive U-shaped front windshield. Rodimus is missing the chunk that interrupts the top of his windshield, where the rear-view mirror would probably be. Getting the windshield shape wrong, especially on such a distinctively styled vehicle, is surprising.
The rear of the vehicle has a slide-out storage tray, with spots to store some of the accessories. Unlike the G1 Rodimus toy, the back of the trailer opens on this toy. There's a neat little flap with working metal pistons that swings up, and another panel that swings down to form a ramp. Some small vehicles can fit inside the trailer, whose opening is about 2.5" x 2.5" and whose inside storage is about six inches deep. The ramp also has an A.I.R. Lock connector so he can plug into compatible connectors like Optimus Prime's trailer, Omega Supreme, etc. There are eleven peg-holes on the trailer's sides and top to attach weapons if you want.
In the cartoon, Rodimus was depicted inconsistently as either the entire vehicle transforming into his robot mode (in The Transformers: the Movie and "Call of the Primitives" and most other appearances) or occasionally showing the trailer as a detachable piece (in episodes like "Grimlock's New Brain" or "The Face of the Nijika"). This toy takes its cues heavily from the G1 toy, whose trailer transformed into an Optimus Prime style battle station, despite this mode never appearing in animation.
The new trailer opens like a tryptich, and has a double-barreled blaster similar in design to the G1 version. It even has the little wings on either side, though this time they're flaps that swing out instead of being detachable parts. The cannon base is articulated in about the same way as G1, but it's also a detachable piece on treads, so it can function as a free-standing unit (and the instructions also show how you can plug it into the top of the trailer for vehicle mode). There are new handle grips for Rodimus to grasp the weapon when he's manning the gunner station. There are also, and I'm not kidding here, 36 separate and distinct peg-holes on the inside of the trailer, so plenty of room to attach weapons.
To transform the cab section to Rodimus Prime's vehicle mode, it's similar to Studio Series Hot Rod but not identical (and there are no reused parts, just engineering ideas). There are a few vanity panels intended to cover parts of the robot legs and arms that would otherwise be visible. The rear section swings around and clips to the cockpit to form the backpack. The robot chest and the robot arms are all attached to articulated struts that need to be adjusted in specific ways (and the arms do the same sort of 180-degree rotation as Studio Series Hot Rod). The robot upper legs are tucked into the boots, and the rear wheels do a little bit of Takara magic to tuck away inside the boots successfully. There are some really strong locking tabs (the arms and especially the backpack) to make sure everything holds together for robot mode.
As a robot, he stands about 6 3/4" tall. He's scaled to make sense with other recent neo-G1 toys, and he seems more or less correctly-sized when checked against Hot Rod (5.5") or Optimus Prime (same height) or Galvatron (7.5"). His face sculpt is better in person than the promotional photos, which honestly haven't done him justice. One of the defining physical characteristics besides his height that differentiates Rodimus from Hot Rod is his chiseled face. The G1 toy went way over the top with heavily creased lower eyelids and squinty eyes, but this version is grim and serious-looking without being awful.
His chest panel swings down on a hinge to reveal the removable Matrix of Leadership accessory (same shape as the piece we've gotten with Earthrise Optimus and friends, but not the same mold; it's got a smaller hole in the back). He's got the same shoulder articulation as Studio Series Hot Rod, so he can position his arms properly to clutch the Matrix with two hands. They gave him Masterpiece-level finger articulation; each index finger can move on two joints, and the rest of the fingers on each hand collectively also have two joints.
Rodimus comes with a stack of the blast effects used for Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx, only in light blue this time. There are enough to build a five-tier mega-blast that's too heavy for his rifle to support, as well as two more cone-shaped blasts for his trailer guns. He has a Matrix energy burst that's a different shape than the one for Studio Series Hot Rod, and it's made of rigid, inflexible plastic (gang-molded with his windshield, I guess). He also has two billowing smoke effects that are meant to plug into the back of his exhaust pipes for vehicle mode. They're shown as clear plastic on the box, but the final product is painted in a shiny black paint for some odd reason.
Rodimus has a big, long black photon rifle similar to his G1 weapon. It can fold in half and plug to the side of his vehicle mode for storage. He's also got a sword that can stow under him in vehicle mode, plug into his back in robot mode, or be equipped in his hand. It has a flip-out peg, but it's hard for me to dig out (I usually have pretty strong thumbnails but even I have trouble with this piece).
The only serious problem I have with this toy is some of the deco decisions. I would have preferred a stronger focus on matching his G1 animation colors. Realistically, Studio Series Hot Rod should have been magenta, and Kingdom Rodimus Prime should have been a dark maroon. Instead, both toys are a cherry red like their respective G1 toys. Rodimus Prime carried a gun in animation that was either dark maroon, to match him, or a two-tone light blue color. Either of these would have been fine, but instead they went with black to match the G1 toy.
There are also deco differences between Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime that kind of annoy me, since these two toys are supposed to represent the same character at different points in evolution. Rodimus has a black outline around the flames on his chest; Hot Rod has no outline. Hot Rod's boots are purple; Rodimus Prime's boots are black. Hot Rod's face is painted neutral grey; Rodimus' face is painted metallic silver. Also, all of Rodimus Prime's yellow and orange parts are painted (Rodimus' spoiler is made of blue windshield plastic), so it has a different look than the orange and yellow plastics used for Hot Rod. I just wish there had been more synergy between the two different deco styles.
So is this an eighty-dollar toy? I mean, sure, kind of. There's probably some alternate quantum reality out there where Hasbro sold it as a $50 toy and I spent $30 on upgrade parts. So, I guess it's better for them to just do the toy the justice it deserves and sell it at the price point they need to sell it at. The trailer component is arguably very toyetic, and is also probably what drove up the final cost of the toy more than anything.
It's kind of funny, because we live in a world where a lot of collector toy lines are either trying to hit media-driven nostalgia (NECA Ninja Turtles, Super7 Thundercats) or try incredibly hard to capture a toy-based nostalgia (Mattel MOTU Origins, Super7 TMNT Ultimates). Hasbro still tends to straddle the line with both. The pendulum has swung towards the media side of things with Studio Series, but Kingdom Rodimus Prime is as much a tribute to the G1 toy as it is anything else. It's a weird sort of hybrid. Overall, though, I like him.
Zob (A place for a moment/ An end to a dream/ Forever I loved you/ Forever it seemed)
Rodimus Prime tends to be a character who isn't addressed frequently by Hasbro, with the Hot Rod persona getting many more updates. (We all remember when Hasbro tried to sell Masterpiece Rodimus Prime as a Toys "R" Us exclusive without his own trailer, right?) They probably could have gotten away with cramming him into a Leader-sized box, like they did with Optimus Prime, but it would have been an unsatisfying budget version of the character. At the Commander-class, they were able to go all out, adding a bunch of bells and whistles and doing what might become the definitive Rodimus Prime toy for neo-G1.
It's notable that Rodimus Prime was the last toy John Warden worked on during his tenure with the Transformers brand at Hasbro.
The toy comes in a 3.5" x 11" x 13" box, the same size as the box for Earthrise Sky Lynx. The trailer comes unfolded in the box and separate from Rodimus, with all the weapons and parts in a little baggie. There are instructions on how to put the trailer back together and how to plug in Rodimus to complete the vehicle form.
The Hot Rod style vehicle mode without the trailer is... not perfect. It's the biggest Hot Rod configuration we've gotten, and it lacks the smooth, sweeping lines of the Studio Series toy. The large, blocky rear section does not look very aerodynamic at all. It's a complete vehicle in a way that G1 Rodimus Prime without trailer is not, though, so there's that. By itself, it's about six inches from bumper to bumper, with the spoiler making him about seven inches long. You can't get the cockpit to open without unhooking a bunch of things and starting the transformation process.
To hook him into the trailer, you just slide him back until the spring-loaded tab hooks the notch in his spoiler. The side pipes on the trailer are also spring-loaded, and open out to the sides a bit to make room for the two parts to dock together. When combined, the full vehicle is about twelve and a half inches in length. He's authentic to the cartoon look to a degree, but his colors are closer to the G1 toy than anything in animation. (In the cartoon, the sleeper section of the trailer is orange with yellow details. For the G1 toy, this spot was just entirely maroon, and that look is replicated faithfully for the Kingdom toy.)
Aside from the infamously unpainted hubcaps, which is one of the things the collective fandom complained about endlessly after he was initially unveiled, another oddity is the design of the windshield. Rodimus lacks the exposed engine that Hot Rod's got, but in the cartoon they both share a distinctive U-shaped front windshield. Rodimus is missing the chunk that interrupts the top of his windshield, where the rear-view mirror would probably be. Getting the windshield shape wrong, especially on such a distinctively styled vehicle, is surprising.
The rear of the vehicle has a slide-out storage tray, with spots to store some of the accessories. Unlike the G1 Rodimus toy, the back of the trailer opens on this toy. There's a neat little flap with working metal pistons that swings up, and another panel that swings down to form a ramp. Some small vehicles can fit inside the trailer, whose opening is about 2.5" x 2.5" and whose inside storage is about six inches deep. The ramp also has an A.I.R. Lock connector so he can plug into compatible connectors like Optimus Prime's trailer, Omega Supreme, etc. There are eleven peg-holes on the trailer's sides and top to attach weapons if you want.
In the cartoon, Rodimus was depicted inconsistently as either the entire vehicle transforming into his robot mode (in The Transformers: the Movie and "Call of the Primitives" and most other appearances) or occasionally showing the trailer as a detachable piece (in episodes like "Grimlock's New Brain" or "The Face of the Nijika"). This toy takes its cues heavily from the G1 toy, whose trailer transformed into an Optimus Prime style battle station, despite this mode never appearing in animation.
The new trailer opens like a tryptich, and has a double-barreled blaster similar in design to the G1 version. It even has the little wings on either side, though this time they're flaps that swing out instead of being detachable parts. The cannon base is articulated in about the same way as G1, but it's also a detachable piece on treads, so it can function as a free-standing unit (and the instructions also show how you can plug it into the top of the trailer for vehicle mode). There are new handle grips for Rodimus to grasp the weapon when he's manning the gunner station. There are also, and I'm not kidding here, 36 separate and distinct peg-holes on the inside of the trailer, so plenty of room to attach weapons.
To transform the cab section to Rodimus Prime's vehicle mode, it's similar to Studio Series Hot Rod but not identical (and there are no reused parts, just engineering ideas). There are a few vanity panels intended to cover parts of the robot legs and arms that would otherwise be visible. The rear section swings around and clips to the cockpit to form the backpack. The robot chest and the robot arms are all attached to articulated struts that need to be adjusted in specific ways (and the arms do the same sort of 180-degree rotation as Studio Series Hot Rod). The robot upper legs are tucked into the boots, and the rear wheels do a little bit of Takara magic to tuck away inside the boots successfully. There are some really strong locking tabs (the arms and especially the backpack) to make sure everything holds together for robot mode.
As a robot, he stands about 6 3/4" tall. He's scaled to make sense with other recent neo-G1 toys, and he seems more or less correctly-sized when checked against Hot Rod (5.5") or Optimus Prime (same height) or Galvatron (7.5"). His face sculpt is better in person than the promotional photos, which honestly haven't done him justice. One of the defining physical characteristics besides his height that differentiates Rodimus from Hot Rod is his chiseled face. The G1 toy went way over the top with heavily creased lower eyelids and squinty eyes, but this version is grim and serious-looking without being awful.
His chest panel swings down on a hinge to reveal the removable Matrix of Leadership accessory (same shape as the piece we've gotten with Earthrise Optimus and friends, but not the same mold; it's got a smaller hole in the back). He's got the same shoulder articulation as Studio Series Hot Rod, so he can position his arms properly to clutch the Matrix with two hands. They gave him Masterpiece-level finger articulation; each index finger can move on two joints, and the rest of the fingers on each hand collectively also have two joints.
Rodimus comes with a stack of the blast effects used for Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx, only in light blue this time. There are enough to build a five-tier mega-blast that's too heavy for his rifle to support, as well as two more cone-shaped blasts for his trailer guns. He has a Matrix energy burst that's a different shape than the one for Studio Series Hot Rod, and it's made of rigid, inflexible plastic (gang-molded with his windshield, I guess). He also has two billowing smoke effects that are meant to plug into the back of his exhaust pipes for vehicle mode. They're shown as clear plastic on the box, but the final product is painted in a shiny black paint for some odd reason.
Rodimus has a big, long black photon rifle similar to his G1 weapon. It can fold in half and plug to the side of his vehicle mode for storage. He's also got a sword that can stow under him in vehicle mode, plug into his back in robot mode, or be equipped in his hand. It has a flip-out peg, but it's hard for me to dig out (I usually have pretty strong thumbnails but even I have trouble with this piece).
The only serious problem I have with this toy is some of the deco decisions. I would have preferred a stronger focus on matching his G1 animation colors. Realistically, Studio Series Hot Rod should have been magenta, and Kingdom Rodimus Prime should have been a dark maroon. Instead, both toys are a cherry red like their respective G1 toys. Rodimus Prime carried a gun in animation that was either dark maroon, to match him, or a two-tone light blue color. Either of these would have been fine, but instead they went with black to match the G1 toy.
There are also deco differences between Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime that kind of annoy me, since these two toys are supposed to represent the same character at different points in evolution. Rodimus has a black outline around the flames on his chest; Hot Rod has no outline. Hot Rod's boots are purple; Rodimus Prime's boots are black. Hot Rod's face is painted neutral grey; Rodimus' face is painted metallic silver. Also, all of Rodimus Prime's yellow and orange parts are painted (Rodimus' spoiler is made of blue windshield plastic), so it has a different look than the orange and yellow plastics used for Hot Rod. I just wish there had been more synergy between the two different deco styles.
So is this an eighty-dollar toy? I mean, sure, kind of. There's probably some alternate quantum reality out there where Hasbro sold it as a $50 toy and I spent $30 on upgrade parts. So, I guess it's better for them to just do the toy the justice it deserves and sell it at the price point they need to sell it at. The trailer component is arguably very toyetic, and is also probably what drove up the final cost of the toy more than anything.
It's kind of funny, because we live in a world where a lot of collector toy lines are either trying to hit media-driven nostalgia (NECA Ninja Turtles, Super7 Thundercats) or try incredibly hard to capture a toy-based nostalgia (Mattel MOTU Origins, Super7 TMNT Ultimates). Hasbro still tends to straddle the line with both. The pendulum has swung towards the media side of things with Studio Series, but Kingdom Rodimus Prime is as much a tribute to the G1 toy as it is anything else. It's a weird sort of hybrid. Overall, though, I like him.
Zob (A place for a moment/ An end to a dream/ Forever I loved you/ Forever it seemed)
Zobovor
Aug 18, 2021, 7:17:43 PM8/18/21
to
On Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 8:41:28 PM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:
<snip>
So, a couple of things I didn't know about yesterday. I read somewhere that the Matrix is supposed to be able to plug into the sword. The one that came with Studio Series Hot Rod can do it (it pegs on quite loosely), but the one that comes with Rodimus cannot because the hole is too small for the peg. So, that's kind of weird.
Also, I absolutely did not notice that his front wheels are collapsible. They're designed to shift further into the wheel well for robot mode, and a piece of the outer wheel actually pops off and plugs into the side of the robot arm to lock the wheel in place. This absolutely was not necessary for the toy, and its only purpose seems to be to make him slightly more authentic to his animation model. It's like the almost-pointless shifting wheels on Masterpiece Grapple, and I kind of love it.
Did some additional play testing today. The trailer will hold Siege Sideswipe (who I happened to have handy) but Studio Series Hot Rod won't fit (the spoiler is too wide). The sleeper section of the trailer works as a storage area for some, but not all, of his blast effects. I'm having some trouble getting his trailer to snap closed completely, and I'm not sure what parts are interfering with making it work.
Zob (carry on, citizens)
<snip>
So, a couple of things I didn't know about yesterday. I read somewhere that the Matrix is supposed to be able to plug into the sword. The one that came with Studio Series Hot Rod can do it (it pegs on quite loosely), but the one that comes with Rodimus cannot because the hole is too small for the peg. So, that's kind of weird.
Also, I absolutely did not notice that his front wheels are collapsible. They're designed to shift further into the wheel well for robot mode, and a piece of the outer wheel actually pops off and plugs into the side of the robot arm to lock the wheel in place. This absolutely was not necessary for the toy, and its only purpose seems to be to make him slightly more authentic to his animation model. It's like the almost-pointless shifting wheels on Masterpiece Grapple, and I kind of love it.
Did some additional play testing today. The trailer will hold Siege Sideswipe (who I happened to have handy) but Studio Series Hot Rod won't fit (the spoiler is too wide). The sleeper section of the trailer works as a storage area for some, but not all, of his blast effects. I'm having some trouble getting his trailer to snap closed completely, and I'm not sure what parts are interfering with making it work.
Zob (carry on, citizens)
Codigo Postal
Oct 2, 2021, 8:55:32 AM10/2/21
to
Random musings:
- I relied on this video to transform him - very helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMrilIfiWeE
- He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1 toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form. Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
- I paid full price, and I like the mold, but this doesn’t feel like a Commander-class release on par with Sky Lynx or Skyfire. Very much an extravagance at this price point (but par for the course with the TF market these days).
- The trailer not closing seems to be endemic to nearly every copy of this mold. At this price point, it’s beyond disappointing. How has Hasbro not mastered the advanced art of box-closing?
- A lot of folks seem bothered by the length of the cab to the point that an enterprising fan has created an alternative: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115009430332
I wouldn’t get it myself, but it’s an interesting idea.
- Rodimus is having his moment with PotP and Kingdom. What are the odds of a reissue of G1 Rodimus?
Zobovor
Oct 2, 2021, 12:53:20 PM10/2/21
to
On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:55:32 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1 toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form. Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
Could be that they've got more than one concept artist coming up with designs, with one guy strictly adhering to the Sunbow look as closely as possible and another guy wanting to improve and update the look of the characters. Or, maybe Hasbro sends the designs off to Takara for engineering, and Takara goes, "Well, we couldn't quite do that, so we did this instead."
> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1 toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form. Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
Rodimus does diverge slightly from the screen accuracy we've been enjoying. But it's still within the bounds of acceptable. (Certainly more accurate than Energon Rodimus or even Animated Rodimus.)
> - I paid full price, and I like the mold, but this doesn’t feel like a Commander-class release on par with Sky Lynx or Skyfire. Very much an extravagance at this price point (but par for the course with the TF market these days).
I understand the concept of inflation, intellectually, but it's something I viscerally struggle to accept. Just when I get used to a certain size of toy being a certain price, they go and jack up the pricing again. I guess the last time we got a price jump was at the beginning of Siege, so it was about time for another one. But still. (And now they're talking about the Commander class going to an MSRP of $100...)
> - The trailer not closing seems to be endemic to nearly every copy of this mold. At this price point, it’s beyond disappointing. How has Hasbro not mastered the advanced art of box-closing?
> - A lot of folks seem bothered by the length of the cab to the point that an enterprising fan has created an alternative: https://www.ebay.com/itm/115009430332
> - Rodimus is having his moment with PotP and Kingdom. What are the odds of a reissue of G1 Rodimus?
Zob (I'd say we're due for a new Masterpiece Rodimus Prime at some point, too)
Codigo Postal
Oct 2, 2021, 2:45:04 PM10/2/21
to
Which begs the question, which came first, the pricepoint or the extra features?
In another world, Kingdom Rodimus could have been a modified and upscaled SS86 Hot Rod, saving on development and tooling costs. The trailer could have omitted the drawer, the sword, and the various blast effects. Possibly that would have made him fit the Leader class pricepoint. It does bother me that kids who might like a Rodimus Prime may not have parents who deem it worthwhile to spend so much for a single figure.
Gustavo Wombat
Oct 2, 2021, 7:05:29 PM10/2/21
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:55:32 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
>> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1
>> toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to
>> animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to
>> Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in
>> theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of
>> WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form.
>> Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
>
> Could be that they've got more than one concept artist coming up with
> designs, with one guy strictly adhering to the Sunbow look as closely as
> possible and another guy wanting to improve and update the look of the
> characters. Or, maybe Hasbro sends the designs off to Takara for
> engineering, and Takara goes, "Well, we couldn't quite do that, so we did this instead."
>
> Rodimus does diverge slightly from the screen accuracy we've been
> enjoying. But it's still within the bounds of acceptable. (Certainly
> more accurate than Energon Rodimus or even Animated Rodimus.)
Other than the shitty stickers, I think I like the PotP Rodimus more.
> On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:55:32 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
>> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1
>> toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to
>> animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to
>> Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in
>> theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of
>> WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form.
>> Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
>
> Could be that they've got more than one concept artist coming up with
> designs, with one guy strictly adhering to the Sunbow look as closely as
> possible and another guy wanting to improve and update the look of the
> characters. Or, maybe Hasbro sends the designs off to Takara for
> engineering, and Takara goes, "Well, we couldn't quite do that, so we did this instead."
>
> Rodimus does diverge slightly from the screen accuracy we've been
> enjoying. But it's still within the bounds of acceptable. (Certainly
> more accurate than Energon Rodimus or even Animated Rodimus.)
Accurate enough (broad strokes of accuracy) and simpler transformation.
>> - I paid full price, and I like the mold, but this doesn’t feel like a
>> Commander-class release on par with Sky Lynx or Skyfire. Very much an
>> extravagance at this price point (but par for the course with the TF market these days).
>
> I have so many thoughts and feelings about this. Rodimus couldn't have
> even fit in the Leader-class packaging, so Commander-class was the next
> logical size up. He's not as large as Skyfire or Sky Lynx, certainly,
> but they crammed a lot of gimmicks and things into the toy (the metal
> pistons for the trailer, the finger articulation, the locking wheels on
> the arms, etc.) that almost makes him some kind of weird WFC-Masterpiece
> hybrid. I think we're going to be seeing this more and more lately.
> Size classes are determined more by parts count than the size of the toy.
> And pricing is going to continue to hike.
— a Skuxxoid action figure would have definitely done it, of course, but
little else. Maybe a $20 bill and an apology for the box size? Witwicky
figurines??
There are too many bits that just feel like busywork to justify the price
(locking wheels on the arms, metal pistons) that I think the toy would be
more fun without.
> I understand the concept of inflation, intellectually, but it's something
> I viscerally struggle to accept. Just when I get used to a certain size
> of toy being a certain price, they go and jack up the pricing again. I
> guess the last time we got a price jump was at the beginning of Siege, so
> it was about time for another one. But still. (And now they're talking
> about the Commander class going to an MSRP of $100...)
>> - The trailer not closing seems to be endemic to nearly every copy of
>> this mold. At this price point, it’s beyond disappointing. How has
>> Hasbro not mastered the advanced art of box-closing?
>
> Mine won't close either, but I'm scared to try any of the tips-and-tricks
> I see on Twitter (using a hair dryer on an $80 toy? No thanks). There
> must have been a failure at some point along the way... maybe the plastic
> warped slightly after it came out of the mold, or maybe none of us is
> transforming the toy correctly (I've read adjusting the position of the
> gun emplacement can help sometimes).
different.
Codigo Postal
Oct 5, 2021, 12:56:00 PM10/5/21
to
On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 7:05:29 PM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> > On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:55:32 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> >
> >> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1
> >> toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to
> >> animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to
> >> Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in
> >> theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of
> >> WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form.
> >> Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
> >
> > Could be that they've got more than one concept artist coming up with
> > designs, with one guy strictly adhering to the Sunbow look as closely as
> > possible and another guy wanting to improve and update the look of the
> > characters. Or, maybe Hasbro sends the designs off to Takara for
> > engineering, and Takara goes, "Well, we couldn't quite do that, so we did this instead."
> >
> > Rodimus does diverge slightly from the screen accuracy we've been
> > enjoying. But it's still within the bounds of acceptable. (Certainly
> > more accurate than Energon Rodimus or even Animated Rodimus.)
> Other than the shitty stickers, I think I like the PotP Rodimus more.
> Accurate enough (broad strokes of accuracy) and simpler transformation.
Fans often talk about replacing older figures with their newest incarnations; I’m happy that Hasbro has done something sufficiently different that I feel happy keeping both the PoTP and Kingdom versions, rather than needing to choose between them (a real Roddie’s Choice).
> Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> > On Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 6:55:32 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
> >
> >> - He's a unique beast - not quite Studio Ox, not quite the vintage G1
> >> toy, not quite animation accurate. Hasbro’s consistency with regards to
> >> animation accuracy is questionable - some characters are assigned to
> >> Studio Series with an emphasis on recreating the animation model (in
> >> theory - for counterexamples, see SS86 Kup), while others are part of
> >> WfC, with greater latitude given to their realization in plastic form.
> >> Still, I like it, though I can’t explain why.
> >
> > Could be that they've got more than one concept artist coming up with
> > designs, with one guy strictly adhering to the Sunbow look as closely as
> > possible and another guy wanting to improve and update the look of the
> > characters. Or, maybe Hasbro sends the designs off to Takara for
> > engineering, and Takara goes, "Well, we couldn't quite do that, so we did this instead."
> >
> > Rodimus does diverge slightly from the screen accuracy we've been
> > enjoying. But it's still within the bounds of acceptable. (Certainly
> > more accurate than Energon Rodimus or even Animated Rodimus.)
> Other than the shitty stickers, I think I like the PotP Rodimus more.
> Accurate enough (broad strokes of accuracy) and simpler transformation.
> >> - I paid full price, and I like the mold, but this doesn’t feel like a
> >> Commander-class release on par with Sky Lynx or Skyfire. Very much an
> >> extravagance at this price point (but par for the course with the TF market these days).
> >
> > I have so many thoughts and feelings about this. Rodimus couldn't have
> > even fit in the Leader-class packaging, so Commander-class was the next
> > logical size up. He's not as large as Skyfire or Sky Lynx, certainly,
> > but they crammed a lot of gimmicks and things into the toy (the metal
> > pistons for the trailer, the finger articulation, the locking wheels on
> > the arms, etc.) that almost makes him some kind of weird WFC-Masterpiece
> > hybrid. I think we're going to be seeing this more and more lately.
> > Size classes are determined more by parts count than the size of the toy.
> > And pricing is going to continue to hike.
> I’m not sure what I would have wanted to make him feel like he’s worth $80
> — a Skuxxoid action figure would have definitely done it, of course, but
> little else. Maybe a $20 bill and an apology for the box size?
>
> There are too many bits that just feel like busywork to justify the price
> (locking wheels on the arms, metal pistons) that I think the toy would be
> more fun without.
> > I understand the concept of inflation, intellectually, but it's something
> > I viscerally struggle to accept. Just when I get used to a certain size
> > of toy being a certain price, they go and jack up the pricing again. I
> > guess the last time we got a price jump was at the beginning of Siege, so
> > it was about time for another one. But still. (And now they're talking
> > about the Commander class going to an MSRP of $100...)
>
> >> - The trailer not closing seems to be endemic to nearly every copy of
> >> this mold. At this price point, it’s beyond disappointing. How has
> >> Hasbro not mastered the advanced art of box-closing?
> >
> > Mine won't close either, but I'm scared to try any of the tips-and-tricks
> > I see on Twitter (using a hair dryer on an $80 toy? No thanks). There
> > must have been a failure at some point along the way... maybe the plastic
> > warped slightly after it came out of the mold, or maybe none of us is
> > transforming the toy correctly (I've read adjusting the position of the
> > gun emplacement can help sometimes).
> Mine closes right about 25% of the time. I have no idea what I am doing
> different.
Codigo Postal
Dec 12, 2021, 4:33:20 PM12/12/21
to
https://www.tfsafari.com/products/incoming-bdt-studio-bdt-20-bdt20-upgrade-kit-handsaw-for-wfc-kingdom-rodimus-prime-upgrade-kit?variant=39590316343409
Zobovor
Dec 12, 2021, 5:42:15 PM12/12/21
to
On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 2:33:20 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:
> A third party attempt at a cooling unit/TFTM-style handheld rotary saw that keeps the halves of the trailer together
Oh, okay! I saw that, but for some reason it didn't dawn on me that it was intended to help keep the trailer shut. I was just like, "Did anybody actually want a Rodimus Prime trailer with refrigeration capability?!"
> A third party attempt at a cooling unit/TFTM-style handheld rotary saw that keeps the halves of the trailer together
Zob (I don't even want to know how many hundreds of dollars I've spent on third-party add-ons)
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