General Information:
Release Date: February 2020
Price Point: $14.99 (Varies by retailer)
Retailer: General Release (Amazon, Entertainment Earth, Target, Walmart etc.)
Accessories: None
*Images and text below from Amazon.com:
- 5. 4-INCH STEALTH FORCE HOT ROD FIGURE: Warrior Class Stealth Force Hot Rod figure is 5. 4-inches tall.
- REPEATABLE ATTACK MOVE: Convert the heroic Stealth Force Hot Rod to activate his signature Fusion Flame move. Fun attack move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps.
- 2-IN-1 CONVERTING TOY: Easy Transformers conversion for kids 6 years old and up! Convert Stealth Force Hot Rod toy from race car to robot mode in 7 steps. Makes a great gift for kids!
- TRANSFORMERS CYBERVERSE CHARACTER: Blue and grey Stealth Force Hot Rod toy robot inspired by the stealthy daring Autobot hero from the Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures cartoon, as seen on Cartoon Network and YouTube.
- INSPIRED BY CARTOON NETWORK SHOW: In the G1-inspired Cyberverse series, giant Transformers robots from the planet Cybertron engage in epic battles, activating signature abilities known as Action Attacks! Kids can imagine unleashing this special power with this Action Attackers figure!
Convert to Activate Signature Action Attack Move Easily convert and attack with Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures Action Attackers toys! Simply convert Stealth Force Hot Rod figure from race car to robot mode in 7 steps. The last step of conversion activates the figure’s Fusion Flame move! Once converted, move can be repeated through easy reactivation steps.
Discover Other Signature Attack Moves Imagine recreating awesome Cyberverse battles with Warrior Class figures that perform the attack moves featured on the animated series! Explore the unique powers and skills of each character while bringing the epic adventures of Cyberverse to life. Look for other Action Attackers figures, each sold separately, to discover the signature attack moves of favorite Cyberverse characters!
Heroic Autobot Stealth Force Hot Rod There’s one thing Hot Rod is good at: everything. The bot just wins. At battle. At life. Whether it’s space surfing through an asteroid field or rampaging solo through a Decepticon warship, he’s always pulling off something most bots wouldn’t even be crazy enough to try. (It helps that he’s got flamethrowers in his arms that can work as weapons or as mini jet-thrusters.) You’d think that would make him cocky, but Hot Rod is one of the nicest, most fun-loving, funniest bots around. Luckily for him, he will need all these skills to confront a terrible new threat to Cybertron. His new dark look will help him slip under the radar and save the day. Again.
The third season of Cyberverse featured the Transformers returning to their homeworld of Cybertron. Hot Rod was heavily featured in this arc and for a brief time he took on a color scheme that was mostly black. This figure is based on that deco. This is a redeco of the first Warrior Class Hot Rod, so you may want to check out that review before this one.
Packaging:
Like previous Cyberverse Warrior Class figures Hot Rod is inside a bubble attached to a card. The packaging colors use the design for the (very long) series title: "Transformers Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures", a sub-line of figures that appear to be devoted to one of the story arcs in the third season of the Cyberverse cartoon. Hot Rod's package art is different than the first Warrior Class Hot Rod. The art reflects the primarily black color scheme of the figure itself. I like the purple/yellow combination of colors that makes up most of this packaging. It really pops on store pegs.
Robot Mode:
There were no tooling changes made to the Warrior Class Hot Rod figure for this release. This makes sense as Hot Rod did not change his robot or vehicle mode designs in season three of Cyberverse. The color changes however are significant.
The color swaps on this figure are pretty much a one to one change. The red parts are now black. The metallic yellow parts have been swapped out for a flatter yellow color. The translucent blue parts remain the same. Paint colors on this figure include silver, yellow, and light blue. They are pretty much used on all the same spots as the first Warrior Class Hot Rod but the colors definitely pop a lot more against the black. A couple deco points are different including silver on the elbows and crest. The same tampograph found on the first Warrior Class Hot Rod chest is used here, but again the colors contrast brilliantly against the black color.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that this deco bears a strong resemblance to a deco used for a Legion Class Hot Rod back in 2017 for the Toys 'R' Us exclusive segment of The Last Knight toy line! That Hot Rod featured mostly black deco, a yellow spoiler and orange/red flames on the hood, very similar to this figure!
The joints on my copy of this figure all feel just as tight as the previous version. The "Fusion Flame" action feature is the same on this figure, and I hate to say it is still fairly unimpressive. I would have rather the flames swing forward somehow since Hot Rod does actually fire flames out of his arm weapons in the cartoon. Here the flames just angle upward and seem kind of useless in battle. That said, it looks nice since they used translucent blue plastic which contrasts nicely against the black plastic that makes up the arms.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Connect the legs together by sliding the tab on one leg into the slot on the other.
- Pull the back piece out, then rotate it around.
- Swing the chest panel up over the head, then push it down over the head.
- Swing the arms in, tabbing them against the slots on the sides of the legs.
- Push the back piece (with the spoiler) down.
Vehicle Mode:
Hot Rod's vehicle mode has the same sculpt as the first Warrior Class. It is a bulkier take on the Autobot than we're used to seeing, but it works and is surprisingly show accurate. The black plastic makes up most of the vehicle, so much so that at certain angles you really cannot see the translucent blue plastic (but it's there). The yellow color on the spoiler pops beautifully, as does the light blue and silver details. I really like how the flames in front look too.
Final Thoughts:
"Stealth Force" Hot Rod is a really nice redeco of an okay toy. There's nothing crazy outstanding about this figure, but it is also not an awful piece either. Between the original and this one I actually prefer this one. If you want a Hot Rod in this "Stealth Force" deco this is probably your best bet as I'm not sure the Deluxe Class Hot Rod figure will be given this deco. Mildly recommended.
Pros:
- Good robot mode sculpt.
- Vehicle mode is an interesting, more "aggressive" design than the traditional Hot Rod vehicle form.
- More distinct deco than the first Warrior Class Hot Rod.
- Nicer deco than the original.
Cons:
- Limited articulation.
- Action feature is not that great.
