The retailer info leaked very recently for the first post-Trypticon Legends Series releases, and as it happened we got to have a first look at these figures quite a bit sooner than many may have expected. But it's likely that what Hot Rod(imus) and Kup ended up being was probably not quite what most were anticipating. Some of that is for the better, some not so much. But not all of it is entirely obvious either. Keep reading to find out more details for these TakaraTomy toys.
First off, both toys have not-insignificant remolding/new parts. On Hot Rod this is a mixed result to many. The chest panel has been replaced, and now no longer includes the flip up section at the bottom; the entire car hood stays flat on the front of the body. This seems to be in part serving the modified chest flames. Which are now a stained glass window. The whole flame area is clear amber plastic with a texture molded probably on the back side. This means that the whole piece is cast in this clear color and all the opaque parts are painted over. Which increases the chances of QC issues leading to ugly problems. This new piece also offers the opportunity to use a flip-around piece to let the car mode have an exposed engine block, but conceal that detail in robot mode. But otherwise Hot Rod does not have any new parts.
The biggest deal for these figures is the payoff to their Targetmaster designations, because they get actual Targetmaster partner figures! While I had speculated we might see reuses of existing accessory figures for this purpose, it looks like TakaraTomy went the extra mile and created fully new Targetmaster figures for Hot Rod and Kup. That may not be the happiest news for owners of Blurr and Scourge who still lack their own Targetmaster partners, but I think TakaraTomy wouldn't be TakaraTomy if they didn't end up using these new molds as event or campaign items modified to match the other characters who are supposed to be Targetmasters in the western fiction. Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, Scourge, and Cyclonus were never Targetmasters in Japanese G1. These figures are reasonably articulated: Lacking elbows, but appearing to have ball jointed hips and at least knee hinges. Transformation joints that allow the arms to fold over the bodies would add to the range of meaningful poseability too, in addition to of course being able to turn in to weapons.
And that's pretty much the rundown. It's not a far leap to expect to hear more new solicitations as soon as next month that will show where Legends is headed next - and maybe see how quickly they want to spread out these Targetmaster buddies too. And we'll be here to keep you up to date on all of it! You can pre-order these now at BigBadToyStore.com.
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