While this might be a voyager class figure in the traditional sense, you can definitely see where that extra budget went.Īnd the subject of accessories, Hasbro have really gone all out to make this figure worth the price tag. While there are still plenty of paint apps on the figure for the additional detailing, the majority of the body's colour comes from the plastic itself which gives Hot Rod a really clean look and finish. It really does feel like this Hot Rod just leapt off the screen and into your hands. Given the size difference between the two, just how Hasbro managed to pull off such a clean looking robot mode at such a small size is incredible. No forced gimmicks, no design deviations based on other versions, just a solid G1-inspired figure that could even rival the Masterpiece when it comes to accuracy.
HOT ROD AUTOBOT SERIES
That brings us to the Studio Series 86 release, which is just a no-nonsense of G1 Hot Rod as he appears in Transformers: The Movie. In amongst all that was the Masterpiece figure, but given some of the QC issues that has maybe that's best left forgotten. Finally there was the Power of the Primes figure - a very cool release that combined both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime into one figure. The Titans Return/Legends version was another great toy, but suffered from being a weird cross between the G1 and IDW versions rather than just one or the other. The classic/Henkei offering was nice, but lacked that youthful exuberance Hot Rod (as opposed to Rodimus) should have. There's no denying that there have been some great Hot Rod toys in the last 15 years or so. Just behind the inner tray you’ll also find the instruction leaflet, which documents both the transformation and various other features the figure has. Inside the box you’ll find Hot Rod and accessories neatly stored on a plastic tray, held in place with multiple elastic ties. It's here that Hot Rod lights the Autobots darkest hour, as succinctly put by the one sentence bio. On the back you’ll find the usual Hasbro renders of the figure in both modes, as well as some text referring to the "depths of Unicron". The fourth numbered figure in the Studio Series 86 range, the box gives you some fantastic artwork of Hot Rod open the Matrix, along with all the usual Hasbro, TakaraTomy and Transformers brand logos.
You can however see all those wonderful accessories he's packaged with, so even before you begin to mess around with the engineering on this figure you know that you're getting more bang for your buck. Studio Series 86 Hot Rod's packaging gives you a good sense of how this figure is technically a deluxe sized Transformer rather than a true voyager class figure, since he's looking awfully small in that enlarged box.
HOT ROD AUTOBOT MOVIE
Arguably he's the perfect character to get this sort of treatment in a Transformers: The Movie-centric line - he's the star of the movie and if any Autobot deserves to get the perfect toy in a line celebrating it's 35th anniversary, it's him. An excellent example of this release method is Studio Series 86 Hot Rod, a deluxe class figure that's been released at the voyager class price point. On the one hand it does unfortunately make some figures more expensive than they perhaps should be, but on the other it can lead to some pretty interesting releases and help maintain proper scale between figures.
Take War for Cybertron: Siege Shockwave for example - a voyager class-sized figure at best, but comes with armoured parts to justify a leader class price point. The price of Transformers toys have been going up steadily for years now, but another tactic Hasbro have recently started to introduce is releasing smaller figures at higher price points and then making up for it with better engineering and/or accessories.
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