When I think Transformers, I think great car modes and great robot modes, most times. And then I look at Armada and wonder what went wrong.
I've loved Transformers since 1984 when I was given Smokescreen a month before my 5th birthday, 24 now, and I still love Transformers, I collect them but I never do what other collectors do, I take them out of the packaging and play. Ok, that's the lowdown and it will help in this review of Hotshot, bare with me, I'm a very direct person.
Vehicle mode: I'm not sure what kind of car this is supposed to be. I know it's a sports car, but what kind? Anyway, the main colour scheme is yellow and the first thought is "If I wanted pre-school, I would buy that." It's horrible, way too bright and looks more like something I would have been given when I was 3.
There are three powerlinks, all three of them dead. Jolt, a cute wee copter mode, an ok robot mode, can be fitted onto the middle yellow link at the back and flipped down to become a kind of rotor for the car mode, looks fun I guess, just weird.
The engine that Jolt carries slots into the grey patch at the front of the car mode. When pressed down and you hear a faint click, it opens the driving claws that look a little annoying if you're planning on carrying something. Oddly enough though, Hotshot is actually fun in this mode, a fairly solid car mode. It's just the colour that puts me off.
Robot mode: Not any better, I won't explain how to transform him, it's so easy my cat could do it. Instead I'll just explain the robot mode. Here the colours are more red and yellow with some black in the arms, not too bad, still a little too pre-school though.
Here Jolt's use is in an actual active powerlink that makes a very fun missile launcher shoot up and fire, depending how hard you've pushed the link up. The missile can't knock anything over though and aiming is a pest, so don't expect a Decepticon/Predacon to be falling over, maybe from laughter, but not from the hit. Still a good fun trick though.
Posing Hotshot is a joke, his legs have ball joints, but it's hard to make him pose because of the thickness of his legs, he just falls over. His arms are just as bad, can't have him giving the bad guys a nice 'hello' with no hands that can be seen. The head doesn't turn either, I don't think he would see much anyway with his huge shoulders. "Hey Hotshot!" "What? I can't see you! My shoulders are getting bigger again!"
Not a great toy, the car mode is fun if you forgive the horrible colour, Jolt is fun as a single toy alone, Hotshot's robot mode though is a little too basic, maybe this Powerlink version I saw mentioned(what is it exactly that's so special?) will be better, hope so.
"He's yellow! Surely you can hit a target that stands out in this barren place!"
Reviewer | Tony Neil Watt |
Date | April 28th 2003 |
Score | (7 out of 10) |
Reads | 5349 |
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