Hasbro Transformers Masterpiece Autobots Rodimus Hot Rod

From TFWiki :
Hot Rod is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family. He has also been known as Rodimus Prime, Rodimus, and Rodimus Major.

And yet he still gets carded.

Hot Rod is brash and headstrong, with an overwhelming self-confidence that borders on arrogance. Kup has assumed the role of mentor and advisor to the impetuous young Hot Rod, offering him wisdom and advice when he needs it (though Hot Rod rarely feels that he does, much to Kup's annoyance). Arcee also serves as a calming influence on Hot Rod, and tends to either worry about him when he is not around, or deride and tease him when he is. Their relationship is antagonistic, but friendly. Exactly how deep Hot Rod's feelings for Arcee might run is unknown, whether they be friendly, romantic, or otherwise.

In contrast, his Rodimus Prime persona—while still headstrong and stubborn—seems to suffer from a severe lack of confidence, often doubting his own decisions and expressing distress over his position as an Autobot leader. Of course, much of this comes from comparisons with his former commander Optimus Prime—and let's face it, shoes-to-be-filled just don't get much bigger than that.

One thing that both sides of this Autobot's identity have in common is their impatience—neither Hot Rod nor Rodimus Prime can stand to wait around when they could be doing something instead. He is also very self-reliant, rarely sending others to do anything when he could be doing it himself. His Targetmaster partner is Firebolt. As Rodimus Prime, his vehicle sometimes splits between his robot and Mobile Defense Bay.

Have been wanting to add a Masterpiece Rodimus into my new (or should I say, restarted, since 2004) Transformers collection. And I only display my Transformers in robot mode. Don't really care much for the alternate vehicle mode. Opted for the Hasbro's Masterpiece version over the Takara one for a few reasons. Hasbro's cheaper. The absence of the trailer is definitely the reason for this and it suited me perfectly well since the trailer is of absolutely no use to me. Hasbro's version also has a grey/silver face that I more preferred over Takara's white face.
Was checking eBay for a good priced piece but no luck. One trip to CSC on a Sunday and I strike gold. Got a MISB piece on one of the flea market stall in a price range I'm happy with. If I remember rightly, I still paid slightly over retail - which is ok since this piece has long been sold out. It is also a Toys R'Us exclusive back then and that adds to the sweetness. Glad I hold out paying more on eBay.

After the joy came the heartache. I'm a seasoned toy collector and knows how to handle a toy when taking it out of the package. As how many toys are packaged these days, there is no difference for Rodimus. It lays nicely on a customized plastic clamshell with protruded nobs to hold the toy in place and not let it wiggle too much during transportation. I gently pull the nobs lose so that I can lift Rodimus off it with minimal hold-push on the clamshell - as how I have done with countless other toys I've bought.
The entire left arm of Rodimus fell right off. It was cracked at the hinge and it is a plastic permanent failure that there is nothing you can do. I can't go back to the flea stall since they may not be there anymore the next week and this is an MISB piece that I can't really fault the seller. A quick check on the internet made me realize that this is a common issue even back then and it is almost always on the left arm. And Collectors who has the piece for a while had it's arm dropped off involuntarily in display. This is a manufacturer's error.
No, I haven't fix the broken arm and it literally was fixated onto position in these pictures here.
I'm not going to elaborate a lot on the articulation except that it has all the standard points of movement. Almost all the points - except for the head - has a ratchet locking (ie clicking) mechanism while you position Rodimus into a pose. I don't like it as each "section" of movement is too large if you know what I meant. It is impossible to fine tune the pose without having the part move a big lot due to each "large section" of ratchet gear. Man I do hope I have explained this point clear enough due to my limited vocab capability...
Rodimus is also a "face changer". It has a younger face hidden behind the older face you see in this picture. He also has a blue visor which - according to Youtube video - can be lowered if you depressed the two round nobs beside the head. However, I just can't seems to do that on this piece.

The many faces of Rodimus. A montage tribute to the new leader of the Autobots.

Overall, I would rate Rodimus into 2 main category :

1. Aestheticness : 4 / 5
    Masterpiece Rodimus is an excellent design. It retain the old school style of a robot design without a lot of sophisticated panels and stuffs like how many of today's 3rd party bots has. Clean lines, simple flat surface but yet sleek and not chunky.
With my broken arm, I'm now seriously thinking of getting a Takara ver 2 to compensate it.

2. Quality : 1 / 5
    Apart from the broken arm right out the box that it got most of the points deducted, the other movable parts aren't also locking back in place cleanly. Just like when you had a door that doesn't quite align well with your door frame, door closes still but isn't flush.
The plastic material used also seems to react with the plastic in the clamshell. The left nob on the head also seems to have "melted" to a certian extend. That could be the reason why I couldn't lower the visor.

If you are in the same position as me that you wanted a Rodimus but doesn't care about the Trailer, I say still go for the Takara one. At least I don't hear the same issue as I've read about on the Hasbro's one. Takara's prices are much higher than the Hasbro's version but if it is better quality, I think it is worth it.