Toy Review - JP MP-28 Masterpiece Hot Rodimus (Hot Rod)

I never preordered this figure coz I wanst planning on buying him, not really a fave figure for me is why. But then I ve been looking at a lot of pics and thought well, he's still available and cheaper at Chimungmung so I ordered one. I am very pleased I did. The figure is great , robot mode, so poseable, solid and slim. Solid that even thouh the torso is basically a flatpack of panels pressed together to make it , its pretty packed and locked up well its a solid piece. This is what they shouldve done to Rodimus primes torso. Rodimus' torso works the same way a bunch of panels flatpacked together to make up the torso which is great but, if not securely locked together is a disaster that keeps falling apart when played with. It has only 1 tab to lock it all in place unlike Hot Rods thats got more from many sides.... I guess they learned from theyre previous design flaw. 😊😊😊...
Apart from the unable to roll if its not a completely flat surface its on, I have no other complaints about the figure.

Is there any place to store the guns when in robot form other than him holding it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by liegeprime

I never preordered this figure coz I wanst planning on buying him, not really a fave figure for me is why. But then I ve been looking at a lot of pics and thought well, he's still available and cheaper at Chimungmung so I ordered one. I am very pleased I did. The figure is great , robot mode, so poseable, solid and slim. Solid that even thouh the torso is basically a flatpack of panels pressed together to make it , its pretty packed and locked up well its a solid piece. This is what they shouldve done to Rodimus primes torso. Rodimus' torso works the same way a bunch of panels flatpacked together to make up the torso which is great but, if not securely locked together is a disaster that keeps falling apart when played with. It has only 1 tab to lock it all in place unlike Hot Rods thats got more from many sides.... I guess they learned from theyre previous design flaw. 😊😊😊...
Apart from the unable to roll if its not a completely flat surface its on, I have no other complaints about the figure.

Is there any place to store the guns when in robot form other than him holding it?

---

someone suggested they can be placed on his back or shoulders.

I had the chance to play with it and he was able to hold offshoot from mp-9 hasbro but won't fit in car mode.

Overall if metal was on its feet would be great.

The alignment to the pack is a bit tricky.

Car does not roll well but expected.

Overall I like hot rod but if you pay over $100 is a bit not justified imo.
I paid like just under $70 for it.

I am a bit worried about the chrome.

7/10 for me.

One of those figures that I thought I made a mistake but it is actually enjoyable.

I'd be tempted to attach MP28's saw to TM Megatron's hand to simulate his playing of the Golden Disc. Sure, it'd be a silver disc, but hey. :p

initial thoughts: i just transformed him and was pleased it was reasonably quick and simple. I am having a bit of trouble getting him to stand up straight, the feet move easily and he starts to fall backwards.

*i couldn't get him to hold the matrix very well also but i think he's got it now :)

Only my 3rd MP as I did not want to start collecting them, however after seeing one in the flesh I just had to get one :D I know what people mean by saying that the ankle joints could be a bit more tight. I personally just make him stand on a wider stance. I find that it does help compensate. Also the clearance is annoying. Really love everything folds into the back pack (even though he looks like a weightlifter who constantly forgets to do leg day :D). The arm joints is a bit tricky going from robot mode to car but that's my own personal failings hehehe. All in all, I'm really happy with it.

Why would you not want to collect MPs? They're awesome! :p :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Why would you not want to collect MPs? They're awesome! :p :cool:

---

From the thread right below this one! (At the time of posting)

;) :p :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maz

It’s very common now for Transformers discussion taking place on online forums or social media to be centred around Masterpiece or 3rd Party Masterpiece figures, with a ton of other excellent lines, initiatives, aesthetics or size classes receiving less attention or taking a back seat in people’s buying or interest. I myself wrote recently about how important it is to be even more focused than ever, and the article was primarily about the above two categories. This week, I let a few collectors remind us of the benefits and appeal of looking beyond Masterpiece and 3rd Party Masterpiece figures. Having covered Generation 1, Animated and Movie toys myself in the not-too-distant past, our contributors look at City bot-scale TFs, Unicron Trilogy era toys, Legends-class 3rd Party figures and current mainline series figures.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Why would you not want to collect MPs? They're awesome! :p :cool:

---

My plastic crack addiction is bad enough already! :D

Hehehe, I am starting to look but I will have to set boundaries :) Kazza has been pushing me for a while to jump on the MP bandwagon, we'll see :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CHILENO20

My plastic crack addiction is bad enough already! :D

Hehehe, I am starting to look but I will have to set boundaries :) Kazza has been pushing me for a while to jump on the MP bandwagon, we'll see :cool:

---

Kaz is like that little collecting devil sitting on you shoulder. "You've got to get Eva Prime. Dude, that purple!" I have no willpower... :rolleyes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BruiseLee

Kaz is like that little collecting devil sitting on you shoulder. "You've got to get Eva Prime. Dude, that purple!" I have no willpower... :rolleyes:

---

lol, yep! He is right about Eva Prime. But will I be spending that much on that MP? Hell No! My boundaries are simple, collect just the obscure ones ie: Clampdown, Exhaust, Bluestreak 18B. Already have Exhaust on the way. :cool:

While all of you are enjoying your MP Shockwaves I finally got MP Ironhide and Hot Rodimus :rolleyes: :p


Not much I can say at this point that hasn't been said already. The vehicle mode is very low and sleek, really pushes that Cybertronian look and how flat he was racing around in the movie.

The robot mode is the big winner for me, I just LOVE posing him with his fishing rod in different places :D And his guns and saw make for some great action shots!

Only thing I didn't like was how much of a bastard of a time I had turning him back into a vehicle. Besides that a great figure indeed. :)

I also got this robot today alongside iron hide. Robot mode looks perfect. Although they could have made the chest a little more curved rather than flat..but that's just a personal preference. And did I mention that the robot mode is perfect?

Transformation is a bit cheap feeling. Doesn't feel like a premium figure.

But overall loving it.

I love this figure but car mode is useless as it does not sit flush on the ground.

Car mode 5/10

Robot mode 8/10 only because he is the most agile of the MPs

Paint wise, is TT high profits margin.

Transformation is good, I can do it easily.
Only challenge was clipping the backpack.

Plus for able to hold weapons well unlike mp9

Should have included new offshoot

This was my first official Transformers figure for about 18 months. I bought it on a whim at the one remaining comic book store in the city for maybe just over the equivalent price of getting it shipped from RK.


The vehicle mode looks really good from more or less every angle. It manages to avoid looking overly bulbous, which I felt was a flaw of MP-9's Hot Rod mode. I've not yet quite gotten the right alignment of all the figure's parts for the (possibly fictional) 'few millimeters of clearance' that would allow it to roll. Would Takara release a figure that can't actually roll? Head says no, heart says 'this is 2016 TakTom we're talking about so almost certainly yes'.

Transformation is actually quite fun. Aside from the chest, spoiler, and upper two thirds of the arms everything else from the vehicle becomes one discrete block on Hot Rod's back. I generally dislike transformations that basically involve folding the car shell up into a backpack and then unfurling the limbs (which is more or less what the process here amounts to), but the folding and tabbing is a really satisfying process. To be fair to the figure this is probably the only proper way to stay true to the source material, as Hot Rod didn't really have any recognisable vehicle kibble in robot mode aside from the chest, pipes and spoiler - in many ways Hot Rod and many other of the 86 bots were a precursor to some of the later Bayverse designs in this regard. The only stressful part of the process was getting the tab on the back of the collar into the slot on the backpack. The first time I transformed the figure it felt like the backpack wasn't hinging down far enough for the tab to meet the slot. After working it in a few times it seems much easier, and much less frightening.

Robot mode is where this figure shines. The only place where it deviates from what we saw on screen is the backpack, which to be fair once in hand isn't as egregious as it looks in pictures. Otherwise colours are on point, it interacts perfectly fine with all accessories (unlike MP-9) and it hits the sweet spot between poseable and stable without compromises. In particular the addition of the waist crunch joint along with solid ankle support means that you'll get a lot of joy out of posing this figure.

Some of the joints on mine are perhaps slightly looser than I'd like, but there's nothing that can't support the figure's weight, and certainly nothing outright floppy.

Otherwise the only criticism I think I can conjure is that this figure does fell perhaps a bit on the light side? I have a preference for red orange Hot Rods over magenta? I kind of wish it came with a target master? Nothing particularly substantial or objective.

Fun figure. The only reason you shouldn't grab this if you're on the fence is if the vehicle mode potentially not rolling is an issue. Otherwise, worth a buy.

Hot rod looks good in robot and vehicle mode. But to be honest, it doesn't look like a premium masterpiece toy. It looks almost like a "transformers generations" or a supreme class figure. I've got a generations/henkei Jazz. Hot rod is quite similar.

is anyone still waiting on their delivery from Premium Collectables? I've messaged them directly but havent heard anything back for a while

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by willocrew

Hot rod looks good in robot and vehicle mode. But to be honest, it doesn't look like a premium masterpiece toy. It looks almost like a "transformers generations" or a supreme class figure. I've got a generations/henkei Jazz. Hot rod is quite similar.

---

Takes a lot of guts to admit a sad side of a premium toy if it is at all.

I recently opened MP Hot Rodimus. Out of the box in car mode, one could easily think they just bought a G1 reissue in an MP box. It is nearly the same size and looks nearly identical to the G1 toy. Even the underside resembles the original toy as you can see the same sort of kibble such as the upper head and chest.

During transformation however, the similarities end as we then start to witness modern toy engineering that is fairly easy, fun and intuitive but somehow feel very familiar....

Well that is because the engineering in this toy happens to be a much more refined version of the MP-09 release! Yes, that horrible beta version toy they tried to pass on as Masterpiece that was a horror mess to transform has basically the same engineering as this toy! But how can this toy be fun to transform and MP-09 so horrible? Well that's because MP-09 always had a good engineering concept just horribly executed. Hot Rodimus fixes all the weak plastic tolerance issues, over reliance on weak panel joints on the legs. Like with MP-09, much of the car mode shell compresses onto the back only this is done much more effectively so all the kibble is nicely compressed and does not look like a disjointed mess that can barely keep together in place without unpegging all the time.

In short, the engineering here is what MP-09 should of had in the first place. I am glad they made this toy because I always suspected that under all the mess, there was a good toy in the core of MP-09. MP Hot Rodimus confirms just that.

Accessories are what you would expect - A pair of guns that can also be mounted in car mode. Robot mode can actually hold them well! Wow, how about that? (MP09 couldn't even do that right). However there is no Firebolt and instead we get a silly as hell fishing rod representative of the one we see at the start of the '86 movie. Nothing special, it is just one single plastic piece.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kup

Accessories are what you would expect - A pair of guns that can also be mounted in car mode. Robot mode can actually hold them well! Wow, how about that? (MP09 couldn't even do that right).

---

TakaraTOMY's can't but Hasbro's can. Hasbro's MP Rodimus Prime has thicker tabs that slot into the hands. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kup

Well that is because the engineering in this toy happens to be a much more refined version of the MP-09 release!

---

Really? I don't think they share much if anything in common at all. The legs, chest, arms they're all handled completely differently to MP-09. I also think there's only a passing resemblance to the G1 toy in aesthetics, which you'd expect. The underside and the way it transforms is similar, but side by side in both modes is a night and day difference. The Fans Toys one (if it ever comes out) looks much closer to the stocky/tall G1 toy in vehicle mode.

I think the main let down is the wheels don't touch the ground.

I actually enjoy him as robot mode.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

TakaraTOMY's can't but Hasbro's can. Hasbro's MP Rodimus Prime has thicker tabs that slot into the hands. :)

---

It is still an open hand hold isn't it? You close the hands and the gun falls down.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kup

It is still an open hand hold isn't it? You close the hands and the gun falls down.

---

:confused: He holds the guns just fine, they don't fall. The fingers close as far as they can with a gun in it, but the same can be said for MP28 too. The only tighter way you can get a grip is to have a solid fist with a gun that pegs in like the G1 toy (but sacrifice any hand/finger articulation).

From the MP Rodimus comparison thread (btw people are welcome to post comparison pics between MP9 and MP28 on that thread if they like :))

Left: TakaraTOMY's, Right: Hasbro's. Notice that the tabs are thicker on Hasbro's. This is what allows these guns to be held properly.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...astaktom_f.jpg

You can see that Hasbro's protrudes out further too, so it goes deeper into the slot.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...astaktom_g.jpg

When I made TT's MP9 and Hasbro's MP Rodimus swap guns, Hasbro Roddy dropped TT's guns and TT MP9 was able to hold the Hasbro guns just fine. So the problem with the gun grip was with the guns, not the figure itself.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...astaktom_j.jpg

MP9 (Hasbro) & MP28 comparison pics