Transformers Studio Series ’86 Hot Rod

At about 9pm on New Year’s Eve, one of my friends sent me a text that said, “Do yourself a favor and step outside for a second. You don’t want to miss this. I have something for you.”

Well, what could I do but step outside for a second? And on the back patio was this box:

Just a couple of days earlier, this same friend and I had been talking about the new Transformers: the Movie (1986) Studio Series figures, and I mentioned that I think I had to pick up the Hot Rod. And then he got it for me. That was a REALLY nice way to end 2020.

Converts from Cybertronian Sports Car to Robot and Back!

I then spent the next couple of hours transforming and posing him. Seriously, this is easily the best Hot Rod action figure ever made. He’s got his flip-down visor:

The ultimate in 1980s 2005 fashion.

And there’s some plug-in blast effects for his wrist cannons to recreate the moments where he’s shooting at the Decepticon-infested Autobot Shuttle from Lookout Mountain.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Inside his right forearm, he’s got the blowtorch he used to repair Kup while they were on the twisted planet Quintessa in TFTM:

And in the left arm, Hot Rod’s got a peg that allows you to plug in his buzzsaw from that same scene:

Also in this image: My green plaid pajama pants

And he comes with an Autobo Matrix of Leadership that his hands can open up and grasp onto, complete with a plug-in glowing effect for said accessory:

Lighting our Darkest Hour

And the insert of his box is a background painting from the movie, from the scene where Hot Rod battles Galvatron inside Unicron’s belly and unleashes the power of the Matrix.

1986 vs 2020 Hot Rod

I personally still prefer the non-transforming R.E.D. Series figures for their poseability (because I never keep my TFs in their alt modes anyways) but for a Transformer that lives up to the brand name, this Judd Nelson-voiced, turbo-revvin’ young punk is way past cool.

‘Til All Are One!

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