Rodimus Prime

"Now, light our darkest hour!"

Name: Rodimus Prime
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Protector
Motto: "Experience is the benchmark of maturity."

Profile: Rodimus Prime is the mature, transformed persona of Hot Rod. This transformation and simultaneous assumption of the Autobot leadership occurred in a major battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. It is as Rodimus Prime that Hot Rod defeated Unicron and restored order to the galaxy. Rodimus Prime speaks with the savvy of a seasoned veteran. He can be hot-heated at times - he has a tendency to act first and ask questions later. Rodimus Prime's sole purpose is to protect all life.

Abilities: He possesses acute military prowess. Rodimus Prime is an expert tactician with exceptional manoeuvrability in battle. In robot mode, he carries a photon eliminator that shoots high voltage electricity. Range: 500 miles. Speed: 200 mph.

Weaknesses: His only weakness is his compassion for other living creatures.

Strength: 10; Intelligence: 10; Speed: 9; Endurance: 10; Rank: 10; Courage: 10; Firepower: 9; Skill: 10

G1 Animation Model

Robot Mode

Alt Mode

Alternate Versions

G1 Marvel Comic

G1 Toy

Official Images

Here's the Hasbro release of Masterpiece Rodimus Prime, which is the version of the figure I recently picked up. The original Takara designation was MP-09, but curiously Hasbro doesn't number it at all. The Takara version was also a QC nightmare, suffering from numerous minor defects and prone to breakage. The Hasbro version of the figure improves on some of these, but has its own QC issues. I've read reports of people opening the package and removing the figure, only for one of the arms to be left behind, or of arms spontaneously falling off when the figure is just standing for display! I've also read about issues with the knees, in that they can also break. Obviously mine was second hand and it's still in one piece, but if the reports are to be believed even the 'good' figures will eventually fail. Thankfully I didn't pay too much for mine and I hope to get my money's worth before the worst inevitably happens...

Hasbro Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

Below is a shot of Hasbro Rodimus in his robot mode, along with almost all of his accessories. You get a couple of blasters - which actually combine to form his larger photon eliminator rifle - a welder (attached to his left hand in the pic), a disc cutter, a Matrix of Leadership, and the Hasbro-exclusive Targetmaster companion, Offshoot (changed from the original name, Firebolt). What you can't see is that there's also a second, much smaller Matrix within Rodimus's chest. This was included because the cavity is too small to accommodate his regular Matrix, but it looks very silly.

Hasbro Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

As you can see, his colour scheme is closer to the original G1 toy and Marvel efforts than the animation model (as is usual for Hasbro releases). I have to admit to preferring the animation colours, but Takara's release of the figure doesn't emulate those perfectly either, so there's a trade-off with both. I'm pretty happy with the Hasbro colours on the whole though, particularly the dark grey face, which gives him a more weathered, aged appearance. I also like the maroon/burgundy colour used for the majority of the figure, and even the flame pattern has grown on me. You'll also notice that the guns have a few paint apps, which is a nice touch.

One last gimmick shared by both the Hasbro and Takara figures is that they can alternate between being Rodimus Prime and plain old Hot Rod. This is made possible by moving the hip and shoulder joints up or down, adjusting the fin on his back, and swapping out the face via a neat mechanism that allows one to tuck behind the other. To be honest though, I wish they hadn't bothered, because it's this over-engineering that is responsible for most of the QC issues. Additionally, the Hot Rod and Rodimus were not only different heights, but also different colours. Although you can make him shorter as Hot Rod, he's still way too tall, and of course you can't repaint him every time he transforms...

Here's Rodimus in his futuristic vehicle mode. It has more in common with the G1 Hot Rod toy than the Rodimus one, especially because the trailer that comprised his 'Winnebago' mode isn't included with the Hasbro version (presumably to cut costs). The car looks okay, but it's not good enough to warrant the time spent on the transformation, particularly given the fragility of the mould...

Hasbro Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

Below you'l find some official images of the Takara MP-09 Rodimus Convoy for comparison purposes. You'll immediately notice that he's closer to the animation model in a number of ways, particularly the colour of his face and hands, the flame pattern on his chest (including the black outline) and, most notably, the black shin pieces. To be completely honest, the latter are the only thing I really miss from the Hasbro version. It's not so easy to see in the pictures, but the Takara paint job is actually more of a magenta to match Hot Rod, which is great for people who like to keep him in that mode (even if the scale is all wrong), but totally inaccurate to the animation colours. As I said, neither version of the figure is completely faithful, so you just have to choose the one that you find the most appealing (or, you know, the cheapest one).

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Here's the Takara version in Hot Rod car mode. Again, there are a few obvious colour differences, but it's essentially the same as the Hasbro release. A quick glance reveals different coloured headlights, windshield and spoiler accents, along with other minor differences.

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Below is a shot of Takara's Winnebago mode, which I must concede looks very smart. It opens up into a battle platform as per the G1 toy, but I'm told it's a nightmare to transform and it certainly doesn't justify the price difference between the two figures, even at the time of their original release when the Takara version didn't go for silly money.

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

I've since learned that there's a V2 Takara Rodimus Convoy that incorporates most of the fixes from the Hasbro version, along with some others. It's said to be the best version yet, but as one might expect, it also commands the highest aftermarket prices. Of course there's no way to know which version you're getting when you buy second hand, so it's very much a lottery, and while it is improved it's not actually 'fixed', so some QC issues remain.

In all honesty, given that Hot Rod now has his own Masterpiece figure, Takara needs to go back to the drawing board with this character and release a Rodimus-only version that accurately matches the animation model and doesn't break just by existing... Will we ever see such a figure? I guess time will tell, but for now both versions have their pros and cons, so it's really just a case of availability and how much you're willing to spend that will determine your choice of Masterpiece Rodimus. Me, I'm happy with my Hasbro version and he compliments my Fants Toys Sovereign (Galvatron) very nicely.

Takara Tomy MP-0 Rodimus Convoy 2018 Reissue

As I mentioned above, Takara Tomy's MP-09 is a renowned QC nightmare. Bad ankles, knees, shoulders... It's as if Roddy were an old age pensioner! This is actually the third release of the figure - specifically for the Chinese market - and purports to address most of the issues, but unfortunately only time will tell if that's truly the case. Here are a few shots of the reissue to get us started.

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Here are a couple of shots of the robot mode of the original Takara release of the figure. The eagle-eyed might spot a few minor, but key cosmetic differences between this and the images above.

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Takara Tomy MP-09 Rodimus Convoy

Give up? Okay, look at the hinge above the crotch piece in the first image and the crotch assembly/butt flap in the second image. Notice how they're red on the original version but orange on the Chinese reissue? Bet you had to scroll back up the page! Now this is a relatively minor detail and one that may not bother a lot of people, but it does detract from the 'toon accuracy of the figure and I can only assume it was done for monetary reasons (cheaper to mould the parts in that area out of one colour). There also appears to be a subtle difference between the shades of red used, as was the case between the first and second versions of the figure in the Japanese market, but it's not as obvious as the aforementioned orange plastic.

As for the mould itself, well it still has all of the design issues that affected the earlier versions, it's just that now the QC has hopefully been improved to the point that the figure shouldn't spontaneously fall apart... In all honestly Rodimus is crying out for a new mould, as the Hot Rod/Rodimus transformation gimmick really hurts the engineering and I firmly believe much better results could have been achieved it Takara had just concentrated on delivering a single robot mode. With that said, I am strangely fond of it. While not completely cartoon accurate, it is close enough to evoke warm memories of the G1 movie and series and the deco is much better than Hasbro's toy-inspired release (to my eyes at least). Although pre-dating MP-10, the figure which established the current Masterpiece scale, MP-09 still scales perfectly with the rest of the line.

I'm also very happy to have my hands on the trailer section for the first time (it wasn't included with Hasbro's release), as I was a bit fan of the battle platform on the original G1 toy. The Masterpiece version is actually surprisingly big, especially when fully converted. I'm less enamoured with the decision to give this version the 'Hasbro elbows', which are a poor design choice, and one of the ankles on mine has a tendency to pop out of place, but other than that he looks great posed next to the rest of my 86 movie Autobots.

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