Metalverse SV Hot Rod Review

I received this beauty last Saturday much to my surprise. Having worked in a Post Office, I never knew Australia Post made deliveries on a Saturday. Seated at my desk, I rushed to the front door wondering who it was disturbing me from studying the subject I'm doomed to fail. To my surprise, I found an Australia Post van in my driveway as I poked my head out from upstairs. Rushing down with a sense of excitement, I wondered what it was. I saw the HLJ box and I knew it was this.

Was it worth the $110 odd dollars that it retailed at? Let's find out.


Premlinaries:
The standard criteria doesn't apply to this so I'm going about making my own.

Packaging:
An essential part of any collector display piece is the quality of the box. As per Heroic's pics above, there is no mistaking the G1 vibe of this. With this box in hands, one feels as if he/she holds a piece of history. The colours appropriately fit Hot Rod and there's an elegance to it. Certainly, that's the last thing that one would describe the Hot Rod character as being but statue-esque pieces require a sense of majesty. The packaging does this well.

Base:
It may be disappointing to discover that the only diecast contained in this figure is this section. It really is a piece of work. The detailed lines, the slight elevations, dents and dips combine to present an elegant and detailed base. The only quibble I have is with the Autobot symbol/Hot Rod name tag which is to be plugged into the whole at the front. It isn't quite firm and can easily fall out. Not that that should be an issue b/c if you'd gone and brought this, you would not have been a child blowing his pocket money. You'd be dedicated collector and a G1 addict at that. So losing the piece isn't the problem. It's just one would prefer it tighter so the piece as a whole is more rigid.

Figure:
I will start with the single biggest flaw this has: the material it is composed of. I can't quite name it but think of those little rubber duckies you've seen. That's the type of material used here. It really shocked me to discover that you could press against the figure and it would compress inwards before popping outwards as air returns inside the figure. I hate it. It needs density. That's the beauty of things such as these.

Given that exceptional blunder, I can't do anything but heap praise on the rest of this figure. I hope the pictures below do it justice. I'm not much of a photographer but tried to capture all the angles that amaze me about it. I may bring it to this weekend's meet. First the pictures.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8214/dscf2825oo4.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4772/dscf2827qk9.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3010/dscf2828ng4.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9707/dscf2829pn4.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5549/dscf2831vx1.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3240/dscf2834rr8.jpg

From these pics one cannot help but admire this as a majestically powerful sculpt of Hot Rod. There are certain statues that only work from certain angles. If anyone has ever seen the relatively recent Sinestro/Green Lantern statue, you'll know what I mean. This statue of Rodimus has a number of angles he works from as I hope the pictures depict. No matter one angle one looks at this from, there is power, poise and elegance in the pose.

The paint work here is supreme. Unlike cheap toys that come from this type of material, the paint here has a coat of shine that is radiant and blazing without slipping into kiddie territory. It helps reinforce the nobility in Hot Rod.

Sculpt work:
Incredible. There is beauty in simplicity. In much the same manner as Hard Hero was simple in its designs, capturing the G1 beauty, Metalverse have done so here as well. In fact, I'd go as far to say that they far exceeded the Hardhero line.

As serious as Hot Rod appears, the lines on his face are simple. They are not strong, they are soft. They preserve that sense of youthful belief that nothing can stand in one's way. The forearm guns unlike most toys extend all the way up and have that jag that gives it that classy look. The wings also have a slight curve forwards, this helps to give it a less flat look and more of a right at you feel.

The rest of the design is quite simplistic. There is only a slight change in texture on the front of the body with very very slightly raised parts. This subtlety is not left unnoticed to the trained eye. It helps to preserve the simplistic of the character whilst giving it life. It thus avoids the flatness many statute type figures have.

The two "holes"/open ports at the top of Hot Rod's shoulders are angled perfectly. It alters the lighting from side to side depending on the time of day and the level of lighting on it.

Overall: 8/10
This is an extraordinary piece of art work. I understand there are many dedicated TF collectors who shun statues and I understand that. But those who appreciate the artistic appeal of Transformers cannot not miss this (heh, I used a double negative). That's where the money is this once one gets past the crappy material. The type of collector you'd have to be to buy this is, in my humble opinion, a G1 nut who is captivated by the artistic magic of Transformers.

It isn't for everyone but to the certain type of collector mentioned above this is an absolute gem. It captures G1 Hot Rod and not Rodimus Prime. With such an imposing pose, the danger was great that the designers would slip too much into Rodimus Prime territory. But the delciate use of the colours, the ability to presever the simplicity of the figure renders this the ultimate rendition of G1 cartoon Hot Rod.

I have Mega-SCF Rodimus which I prefer overall descriptions and images that I've seen of Metalverse SV Rodimus... Mega SCFs are made of solid PVC and are also articulated with interchangeable parts for various different poses.