Classics Rodimus

Series: Classics
Allegiance: Autobot
Categories: Deluxe
Year: 2006

Action is my middle name!
Young and bold, Rodimus races headlong into danger, throwing caution - and his orders - to the wind. He dreams of heroic deeds and hopes one day to gain the recognition his actions deserve. Despite his inexperience, he is a talented fighter. In battle, he can often be seen racing at speeds up to 180 miles per hour, dodging explosions and laser blasts in an attempt to close in on his objective.

Robot Mode: Rodimus is very similar look-wise to G1 Hot Rod. He has the same colours, the same basic set-up (car hood as chest, exhaust stacks on the arms, spoiler on the back, etc.) and is about the same size, too. In terms of posability and detailling he is much better, though. In fact, the only thing that slightly bugs me about him is that he doesn't have an Autobot symbol on his chest (I added that, see some of the pictures). Hot Rod carries a weapon, which can also double as a rocket pack on his back. He can also extend a tiny black saw blade from his hand, a homage to the original Transformers Movie. All in all, a very good robot mode.

Alternate Mode: Just like with the robot mode, Rodimus' vehicle mode is nearly identical in look to the G1 original. A red sports racer with exposed engine and a big yellow spoiler, Rodimus looks impressive here. Unlike his predecessor he does have a gimmick in this mode: He can apply his robot mode weapon to the back as a rocket booster, which can also be flipped forward into an attack mode. All of which makes for a very good vehicle mode.

Remarks: To get the obvious thing out of the way, this figure is, of course, Hot Rod. The only reason he isn't called that is that Hasbro doesn't have the rights to the name at the moment, so he's called Rodimus. Leaving the name thing aside, he is the best Hot Rod / Hot Shot / Rodimus ever. Combining the great look of the original with kick-ass posability and detailling, you have a near-perfect figure. And once you add the missing Autobot sticker to the chest, there is no more room for improvement. Recommended to everyone.

Rating: A