"Evolution"
Rodimus Unicronus/Nemesis Hot Rod (Power of the Primes)
Well, here's an unexpected redeco! Perhaps as a store exclusive I might have expected this, but a mainline release-- at the Leader class size, no less-- of Hot Rod in his Shattered Glass deco?! Super cool, and one that this Transfan super-appreciates. It follows the source material pretty closely for the most part, with the main colors being black and gray. Unfortunately, the gray plastic used is a light milky gray, as opposed to the more semi-metallic gray of the Botcon 2008 toy. However, the metallic purple is a really rich, deep color, and pops EXTREMELY well against the black in particular. As opposed to the more "gas-like" flames of the Botcon toy, the metallic purple flames on this version of evil Hot Rod/Rodimus are more angular than they traditionally have been, giving them almost a "knife-like" edge. This wonderful shade of metallic purple isn't just used on the chest flames for both modes, though-- it's also used on both robot mode waists, both of their foreheads, and on Rodimus Unicronus' toes. There's also some purple on the flames on those foil stickers used for the flames on the vehicle mode trailer, and there's some more foil stickers with some basic robotic details on them on the knees and lower Unicronus feet, the upper Nemesis Hot Rod arms, the lower Nemesis Hot Rod feet, and there's also Decepticon symbol stickers on the front top sections on the trailer. Just as in nearly every case, I find the foil stickers a bit cheap-looking, and just like with the Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod toy this was repainted from, the stickers can unfortunately crease a bit around the area where the trailer folds apart at the top, ruining some of those flames. Red is also used as an accent color-- a dull transparent shade of it is used for the window of the vehicle modes, and it's also used for the "Matrix of Chaos" Rodimus Unicronus carries within his chest (mostly painted over with black and metallic purple). The eyes of both of the robot modes are a cherry red, and both just beam with evil-- both shades of red are pretty ominous colors. Beyond simply the milky gray plastic interspersed between the black plastic bits, there's also some glossy light gray paint used around the Unicronus fists, on both of the robot faces, on the headlights, and on a stripe section below the flames on the vehicle mode trailer. In this same "section of the color wheel", there's also a bit of silver paint used on the exhaust pipes, rear portions of the "regular" vehicle mode, and below the "collar" of Unicronus to give them a little extra shine.
