Masterpiece Hot Rod is Takara’s second try at the character, and it arrived just six months after the first silhouettes. John DeLuna, Diecast and Don ask whether it redeems the original Masterpiece Rodimus Prime. Don and John have it in hand and like it more than the early photos. Diecast worries the robot mode is too short and the figure feels rushed. The crew also reacts to the Masterpiece Delta Magnus reveal and Takara’s faster release pace.

Expectations Going In

John recaps the timeline: silhouettes in Japanese magazines in September, then gray prototypes alongside Masterpiece Shockwave, and the figure in hand by March. Don had low expectations after bad photos, and the figure beat them. John says it met his higher expectations. Diecast, whose copy is on the way, also has low expectations. John is drawn in by nostalgia for the 1986 movie characters and would love Masterpiece Kup, Scourge or Cyclonus.

The Vehicle Mode

Don calls the car smooth, with few panel lines, a detailed engine and a spot for the gun. His copy will not roll cleanly because the orange chest piece hangs low. He also has matching scuffs on both arm pipes, like leftover sprue flash. Diecast says the vehicle looks spot on and scales well, though the exhaust pipes are too straight. John praises the rear of the car and the seamless spoiler.

The Robot Mode and Those Screw Holes

Don’s biggest gripe is the exposed screw holes on the hands. The crew agrees that small yellow plugs would have solved it. Diecast calls the robot’s short height a big hang-up, since he would need to double in size to become Rodimus Prime. He prefers the original Masterpiece Rodimus for robot scale. Don has not compared it with his other Masterpieces yet. John is bothered that it does not match the MP-10 scale, but says it looks less top-heavy than the photos.

Don says photos hurt both Hot Rod and Masterpiece Ironhide, and the backpack is more compact than he feared. He wishes the spoiler could move forward on the backpack. John and Don praise the face sculpt. Diecast says Masterpiece Ironhide won him over through its transformation feel, and he worries about the arms tabbing into the backpack. Don is more worried about tabs plugging into clear windshield plastic.

Is This a Redemption?

John calls Hot Rod the first Masterpiece that feels like a make-good. Diecast’s verdict is “Oh no.” He calls it an okay attempt that looks rushed, with a flat, wide chest, and would have waited another year. Don says yes and no. He wants another Rodimus Prime someday, and worries that Takara’s faster schedule is causing QC problems like those reported on Masterpiece Tracks and Road Rage.

Masterpiece Shockwave, Jazz and Delta Magnus

Don is skipping Masterpiece Shockwave, since his G1 figure and a third-party version satisfy him. Diecast is confident Shockwave will be good, since it is a bigger, pricier figure that is hard to mess up. John and Don say Masterpiece Jazz has to be right because of its repaint potential.

Diecast raises the news that Masterpiece Delta Magnus, the Diaclone-colored Ultra Magnus, is MP-31. He argues repaints should not land back to back. John says recent repaints like Road Rage and Clampdown felt like afterthoughts that dilute the Masterpiece line, and Don compares the pace to Robotech Valkyrie releases. The crew finds Delta Magnus’s reveal through retailer preorders underwhelming. The bundled Marissa Faireborn figure prompts jokes about Masterpiece’s eyeless humans. [Source: TFW2005]

Contributors: John DeLuna, Diecast, Don

The RFC Mini-cast

Brian Kilby

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