Hot Rod(s)

Hot Rod was the youthful...well...Hot Rod who, upon the death of Optimus Prime (which he caused,) was chosen by the Matrix of Power to lead the Autobots...


...and was transformed (redundant, I know) into Rodimus Prime!


He started out as a groovy futuristic Hot Rod:


And when changed into Rodimus Prime, he became a souped-up...Motorhome?!?!

Okay I know he's supposed to go from teenager to an old guy overnight, but at least he could have turned into a forties Ford or something classic like that. Not ALL old guys drive Winnebagos!

At least he was heavily armed, because "Those Decepticons are just damned hooligans, and if they smash my mailbox or put a flaming bag of poo on my doorstep ONE MORE TIME..."


They don't sell 'em like this at The Scooter Store!


I always thought it odd that both figures/toys were released at the exact same time. There was no "Oh wow, Hot Rod, a character I have grown to know and love, has evolved and changed into a seasoned warrior and leader." It was more like "Hey kids, look at this guy, cool huh? Now look, he's another guy. Didja blink? Sorry, you missed it. Buy these toys now."

Before AutoBotTox:

After AutoBotTox:


"Thank the Matrix, I look twenty years younger!"

In 2004, in the Energon series of figures, Transformers released Rodimus...just plain Rodimus...the best thing to happen to Hot Rod since the day before he turned into Rodimus Prime.

First off, he's a Semi...and if someone is going to turn into (or is already) the leader of the Autobots they oughta' be a Semi. It's the way things are done, son. But Rodimus here isn't any old Semi. He's a rocket Semi...you know, the ones you see at the drag strips, shooting flames and haulin' ass. Yeah, that's my kind of leader right there, not a stinkin' Winnebago.

His head sculpt is even closer to the G1 cartoon look than the original figures.

He's impressive in bot mode as well. Nice flame highlights, and the wheels for shoulders really bulks him up. All the while his inspirations are undeniably there. A great homage to the Hot Rod/Rodimus figures of old. I don't know what his toyline/cartoon story are, so I just think of him as what Hot Rod should have become.

Rodimus is the shortest of the bunch. Part of the Energon series was a gimmick where two Autobots could be merged together to form a larger robot, and you could use any one with any other one. So they did a great job incorporating that feature while still maintaining a great robot and vehicle mode.

Hot Rod is great all around. A nifty vehicle, a solid robot, great sleek looks, and no extra parts to lose. He's always been a favorite.

Rodimus Prime is pretty cool too. His robot mode is very static, but his design is clearly a "grown-up" version of Hot Rod, and I did think that was cool as a kid. He's a single unit when in vehicle mode, which is a plus, and his vehicle mode is cool even if it is a motorhome. If you gotta pull over and nap, pull over and nap in style!




Roll out!

On the Prowl...

Transformers Universe Classics Prowl that is.


I finally found this guy today. He is part of the re-launch of Transformers Classics, which was out a couple years ago and re-introduced classic G1 characters in all new designs that remained true to their original flavor, and especially to their cartoon likenesses.

Prowl here rocks. He's my "must have" of the current release (which also includes Sunstreaker and Tankor. I look forward to picking up a Sunstreaker soon!) I never had Prowl as a kid, but always loved and respected his character on the cartoon.


This "Universe" series is great. There's plenty of articulation, making the toys true "action figures" in their robot modes, as opposed to the near statue quality of most G1 Transformers. The transformations are clean and have little excess "kibble." In fact, Prowl here is designed so well even his shoulder cannons just tuck right under his windshield. The originals are famous for lost parts because usually those "extra" bits were removable components. Even Universe Prowl's pistol folds in half and tucks into his undercarriage in vehicle mode making it hard to lose or misplace. Brilliant.


Here's a "not ready for G1 players" lineup shot. Universe Prowl, Action Master Bumblebee, and Energon Downshift (aka Wheeljack.) Good times.


In vehicle mode, Prowl is still an homage/update from his G1 Datsun form.


He looks like a Nissan Z, the current iteration of the Datsun 240z that G1 Prowl and Bluestreak and Smokescreen and a couple others were based on.


Sadly, it wasn't until this photo that I noticed the off-center faction symbol. Hey Hasbro, you don't have to pay homage to my poor decal attachment skills of the eighties. Sheesh.

You can also see on the passenger headlight/fender where the paint app is a bit off, making it appear that there is a large gap. I suggest you look these over in the stores thoroughly before getting them home. I'll live, but some toy collectors are more anal than me.


He looks good coming and going. Of course, this is how you want to see a Highway Patrol vehicle. Going in the opposite direction, that is.


These Universe Classics retail in the ten dollar range. More are planned, including Ironhide (yippee) and Hound (double yippee!)

"Autobots, Transform and roll out!"

Life is a Highway

I'm obviously on a Transformer kick this week. Writing about the last couple toys has gotten me thinking more and more about the various Transformers I have or have had over the past three decades.

While everyone loves Generation 1, there have been many undeniably cool Transformers throughout many different series over the years. Some series have been more successful than others, both from a collector and a market perspective. But thankfully all of them have done well enough to keep Transformers alive.

The ones I personally love the most pay homage to the characters of G1. Sometimes they are the same character, sometimes they hint at someone from G1, but I really love the nods to the core characters of old.



That's why in 2005 I just had to have Downshift. Part of the Energon series (another cartoon that I did not watch. If the following intro does not explain why, you don't know me very well.)



Downshift is obviously really Wheeljack.





I would have loved to have had a Wheeljack as a kid, but I didn't. Downshift here is a reasonable replacement however, and in many ways is probably *gasp* superior. He has good articulation, a really cool robot mode, and although his vehicle mode isn't spot on to the Lancia Stratos that G1 Wheeljack converted into, it's pretty close and at least cool enough to be acceptable as some sort of European supercar, and probably way more acceptable on the open highway (I never understood who Jazz, Wheeljack, and Mirage thought they were fooling. You ever seen an open cockpit F1 on the freeway? "Robots in Disguise" my ass.)



The color scheme is right on target to G1/cartoon Wheeljack as well.



I don't know why they didn't flat out name him Wheeljack, maybe it had something to do with copyright laws. Whatever, he'll always be Wheeljack to me.

BTW I needed to find his instructions online to transform him for the pics and found Hasbro's instructions site - if you need to remember how to transform a recent toy and can't locate your instructions, or if you just want to see how some of the toys you don't have transform, it's a great resource!