Open for business again
We came, we saw, we kicked as-err reviewed.
Three reviews up tonight.
First we have from Takara, the re-release Hot Rod(or Hot Rodimus I believe they called him in this instance).
This is the “hero” of Transformers: The Movie. He makes his debut here along with a few other of the years new Transformers. Nominally paired with the veteran Kup, he eventually acquires the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and becomes the new Autobot leader: Rodimus Prime(reviewed a few entries ago).
This is a remake of the original toy that came out in the mid ‘80s’. Like most of the Transformers from that time, he doesn’t feature much in the way of articulation in Robot Mode, unlike the new breed of Energon and Alternators. Even so, he’s still pretty cool. The only articulation to be found, for the record, are swivel joints in the elbows in addition to the elbow joints and swivel wrists. He’s molded in about 4 colors(dark rust red, orange, yellow and chrome). His head features some grey and blue for variation. Stickers cover the rest of his details, like the flames on his hood and sides, plus his leg ornamentation. He comes with two light grey blasters for weapons.
To transform from Robot to Vehicle Mode is not all that complex, again, like most of the Transformers of the day.
In Vehicle Mode, he appears as a futuristic sports car with the exposed engine, huge rear wing and gleaming chrome exhaust running down either side.
As this is not only an import and not that new, Hot Rod can set you back a bit, unless you opt for the just released Targetmaster version(which features the same Hot Rod, just a new transforming weapon). I lucked out and found one in a local comic book store and got a nice price on it. Like Rodimus Prime and other reissues, Hot Rod is mostly for the older fan, and isn’t really a toy to be played with(which isn’t stopping me anyway since he is cool.) For fun, here’s Rodimus Prime and Hot Rod together.
Up next we have from Star Wars: A New Hope, Red Leader’s X-Wing.
This is another reissue of a classic toy, in this case a repaint of the Kenner/Hasbro X-Wing Fighter from their 3 and 3/4 line. This holds one pilot figure and one Astromech droid. The cockpit opens and closes and the landing gear is retractable. It features a nice assortment of little details, from engine ports, the lower cargo hatch, battle scarring and general wear and tear. The primary color is grey, but there is some black and light blue mixed in to give it a “heavily used” look. Red stickers provide the adornment seen on the flanks of the fuselage and the decoration on the S-Foils(wings).
As for the S-Foils, as seen here, they are able to be opened and closed by way of small tab on the rear of the craft.
The X-Wing comes with one figure, Red Leader, but does not come with an Astromech droid. And as such, I had to use R2-D2 as the droid, even though it’s not Luke piloting.
Pricewise, this TRU exclusive will set you back $30. A bit much, perhaps, but then Star Wars vehicles are always up there in price thanks to the licensing. Even so, the X-Wing is rather large, with a nice wingspan topped off with the lasers on the S-Foils’ ends.
Lastly, we have another classic movie vehicle. This time it’s Ecto-1 from the movie “Ghostbusters”. Although, this version of the venerable vehicle more closely resembles it’s brief appearance in the sequel, before it gives way to Ecto-1A.
Anyway, this 1/21st scale replica is from Joyride Studios(part of Racing Champions/Ertl, the same folks who brought The Car to die-cast several reviews ago). It faithfully reproduces Ecto-1 down to the little warning label on the right rear off the car. The hood opens to reveal the huge Cadillac engine that powers the extra long former ambulance. The front doors open to reveal the detailed dash, while the tailgate opens to reveal the ghostbusting gear in the back(though no proton pack pull out rack, sadly). The top of the car is fully decked out in all the ghost sensing equipment that was found on the real car, with two real wire antennas, rotating sensor dome and rubber hoses. Also included is Slimer molded in clear green plastic.
Price at TRU was apparently $18.99, even though the shelf tag showed it to be $24.99. Though maybe the smaller scale meant a lower price point, even though it’s still about as big as a 1/18th car(and it would have been nice had this been 1/18th, but it would be even bigger and more expensive). Regardless, if you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters or maybe just a fan of vintage Cadillacs, then this is for you.
Three reviews up tonight.
First we have from Takara, the re-release Hot Rod(or Hot Rodimus I believe they called him in this instance).
This is the “hero” of Transformers: The Movie. He makes his debut here along with a few other of the years new Transformers. Nominally paired with the veteran Kup, he eventually acquires the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and becomes the new Autobot leader: Rodimus Prime(reviewed a few entries ago).
This is a remake of the original toy that came out in the mid ‘80s’. Like most of the Transformers from that time, he doesn’t feature much in the way of articulation in Robot Mode, unlike the new breed of Energon and Alternators. Even so, he’s still pretty cool. The only articulation to be found, for the record, are swivel joints in the elbows in addition to the elbow joints and swivel wrists. He’s molded in about 4 colors(dark rust red, orange, yellow and chrome). His head features some grey and blue for variation. Stickers cover the rest of his details, like the flames on his hood and sides, plus his leg ornamentation. He comes with two light grey blasters for weapons.
To transform from Robot to Vehicle Mode is not all that complex, again, like most of the Transformers of the day.
In Vehicle Mode, he appears as a futuristic sports car with the exposed engine, huge rear wing and gleaming chrome exhaust running down either side.
As this is not only an import and not that new, Hot Rod can set you back a bit, unless you opt for the just released Targetmaster version(which features the same Hot Rod, just a new transforming weapon). I lucked out and found one in a local comic book store and got a nice price on it. Like Rodimus Prime and other reissues, Hot Rod is mostly for the older fan, and isn’t really a toy to be played with(which isn’t stopping me anyway since he is cool.) For fun, here’s Rodimus Prime and Hot Rod together.
Up next we have from Star Wars: A New Hope, Red Leader’s X-Wing.
This is another reissue of a classic toy, in this case a repaint of the Kenner/Hasbro X-Wing Fighter from their 3 and 3/4 line. This holds one pilot figure and one Astromech droid. The cockpit opens and closes and the landing gear is retractable. It features a nice assortment of little details, from engine ports, the lower cargo hatch, battle scarring and general wear and tear. The primary color is grey, but there is some black and light blue mixed in to give it a “heavily used” look. Red stickers provide the adornment seen on the flanks of the fuselage and the decoration on the S-Foils(wings).
As for the S-Foils, as seen here, they are able to be opened and closed by way of small tab on the rear of the craft.
The X-Wing comes with one figure, Red Leader, but does not come with an Astromech droid. And as such, I had to use R2-D2 as the droid, even though it’s not Luke piloting.
Pricewise, this TRU exclusive will set you back $30. A bit much, perhaps, but then Star Wars vehicles are always up there in price thanks to the licensing. Even so, the X-Wing is rather large, with a nice wingspan topped off with the lasers on the S-Foils’ ends.
Lastly, we have another classic movie vehicle. This time it’s Ecto-1 from the movie “Ghostbusters”. Although, this version of the venerable vehicle more closely resembles it’s brief appearance in the sequel, before it gives way to Ecto-1A.
Anyway, this 1/21st scale replica is from Joyride Studios(part of Racing Champions/Ertl, the same folks who brought The Car to die-cast several reviews ago). It faithfully reproduces Ecto-1 down to the little warning label on the right rear off the car. The hood opens to reveal the huge Cadillac engine that powers the extra long former ambulance. The front doors open to reveal the detailed dash, while the tailgate opens to reveal the ghostbusting gear in the back(though no proton pack pull out rack, sadly). The top of the car is fully decked out in all the ghost sensing equipment that was found on the real car, with two real wire antennas, rotating sensor dome and rubber hoses. Also included is Slimer molded in clear green plastic.
Price at TRU was apparently $18.99, even though the shelf tag showed it to be $24.99. Though maybe the smaller scale meant a lower price point, even though it’s still about as big as a 1/18th car(and it would have been nice had this been 1/18th, but it would be even bigger and more expensive). Regardless, if you’re a fan of the Ghostbusters or maybe just a fan of vintage Cadillacs, then this is for you.