Rodimus
(Combiner Wars)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Combiner Wars Blackjack toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Combiner Wars Blackjack toy here.)
Like the other components
of the "Optimus Maximus" combiner, Rodimus is a redeco of a lesser-known
character into a more "mainstream" character-- even if that mold tended
to fit the original, lesser-known character a bit better. In vehicle mode,
Rodimus fits his traditional look quite well-- the fin-weapon looks great
on the back and is most definitely Hot Rod-ish, and the general proportions
of the sportscar mode fit with Rodimus' traditional look, more or less
(although perhaps a bit more curvy). The plastic and paint colors are also
well-chosen, with the character's usual scheme of red and yellow accentuated
by a bit of black on the wheels, knees, and some small connector pieces.
The red plastic is a nice color with a good amount of glitter, giving it
a semi-metallic shade, which looks great on a car alt mode, though it is
a bit darker than it usually is on a Hot Rod/Rodimus figure. The yellow
is also a bit more "orangish" than usual-- think of the myriad movie Bumblebee
toys, that's the type of yellow plastic used here. Honestly, I think a
more straightforward yellow would've worked better here and provided a
bit better contrast against the red. The dark metallic blue paint used
for the windows is a very nice shade, but because the red is also a dark
shade, I think a lighter shade of blue would've worked better-- again,
for better contrast. There's also a few silver paint apps, such as on the
face, toes, shoulders, and headlights, which helps add just a bit more
"light" to the color scheme and looks pretty good, to the point where I
wish it was used a tad more, like on the lower arms or perhaps the wheel
hubs. Rodimus does have his iconic "flame" paint app along the front hood
of the vehicle, and it's well done, with the usual arrow-like flames erupting
out of the middle. All this said, in robot mode Rodimus' iconic look falls
apart a bit. Since the spoiler becomes a weapon for this mold, none of
it is behind his back-- and at this point, having a Hot Rod/Rodimus figure
without his iconic pointy spoiler behind his back is like having an Optimus
toy without some kind of window-like detailing on his chest-- maybe even
worse. It's just too obvious this mold wasn't primarily used for Rodimus.
Rodimus does have a
mold change, and that's a new headsculpt, done very much in his usual G1
style. All the necessary details are molded in quite nicely, and it's painted
well, too-- he's got the usual yellow paint on his forehead crest, and
some nice metallic blue eyes on his silver face. No complaints here regarding
his head. Unfortunately, in "chest armor" mode he still has just as difficult
of a time fitting onto the CW Optimus mold in
the latter's torso mode, which is a big bummer.
Combiner Wars Rodimus
has some nice plastic colors and a decent amount of paint-- along with
an excellent new headsculpt and "flame" paint app on his hood-- but the
missing iconic spoiler-behind-the-back look that he's pretty much always
had up until now makes it too obvious that this mold was not meant to be
Rodimus. That-- combined with the small size-- makes him a lesser recommendation
for fans of the character than most other fairly modern Hot Rod/Rodimus
toys, even if the mold itself is great.
Review by Beastbot