Toy Concept Sketch of Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

Looks excellent!

Based on what I see, which seems to be pretty much the animation model, I wonder how there going to do the trailer.

I must admit this is disappointing slightly, when they mentioned only "Rodimus" in the secret message I was hoping they were referring to Hot Rod, I don't know how I feel about an MP who isn't stand alone and requires a trailer.

Oh well, I'll still be all over this thing when it comes out!

Well, this doesn't show us much, it just looks like the animation model. And yeah, now that I think about it, I guess I would rather have Hot Rod than Rodimus Prime.

This will probably look better in toy form but i want a Masterpiece Shockwave!

Looks sweet. Definite buy. But a thought occurs...

How hard would it be to create a car mode that simply attaches to the trailer for this figure? Hot Rod and Rodimus were virtually identical physically in the cartoon/movies. Why not have a changing face (ala the Seekers), a flip down motor, and allow the car mode to dock with the trailer? Makes sense to me...

First-Aid wrote:Looks sweet. Definite buy. But a thought occurs...

How hard would it be to create a car mode that simply attaches to the trailer for this figure? Hot Rod and Rodimus were virtually identical physically in the cartoon/movies. Why not have a changing face (ala the Seekers), a flip down motor, and allow the car mode to dock with the trailer? Makes sense to me...

thinking the same thing! I'd buy it either way of course, but i might buy 2 if it can double as hot rod and rodimus!

First-Aid wrote:Looks sweet. Definite buy. But a thought occurs...

How hard would it be to create a car mode that simply attaches to the trailer for this figure? Hot Rod and Rodimus were virtually identical physically in the cartoon/movies. Why not have a changing face (ala the Seekers), a flip down motor, and allow the car mode to dock with the trailer? Makes sense to me...

Some good ideas, we would essentially get what Fansproject is doing though in that case perhaps. Though the bigger issue I guess with this is that Rodimus Prime's 'nose' is a bit short, so you may get a bit of a shrimpy looking hot rod out of it.

It's probably why the Fansproject Rodimus looks a little odd connected to the trailer, but maybe I'd need to see a colored version once and for all before I get a good opinion. >.>

kirbenvost wrote:Well, this doesn't show us much, it just looks like the animation model. And yeah, now that I think about it, I guess I would rather have Hot Rod than Rodimus Prime.

From the words of people who have seen the prototype, Hot Rod will become Rodimus Prime when combine with parts from the trailer... Ala Fans Project....

That will be awseome as long as they don't make it too small. I'll buy one.

Sweet! Head sculpt looks good on paper

Don't get too exited, remember what happened when the first sketches and prototype for MP Starscream where leaked and then officially released? Everybody loved it due to it being show accurate, just like this thing here, then they changed it.

The concept of it combining with the trailer to make Rodimus Prime from Hot Rod is pretty interesting, but I'll wait for the final pics before I get too exited.

Blurrz wrote:This is either going to be a hot mess or a hot rod. I hope it's the latter. BTW, we have basically identical avatars now, we're twins.

As in batshit crazy people?

Words cannot convey how happy this makes me. Thank you Takara.

*fangasams*

Its probably easier to create Rodimus Prime with the trailer as it will allow more freedom to get things right in alt mode as more can be hidden beneath the trailer. Should allow them to get a better robot mode rather than be forced to hide it all in Hot Rods car form.

My guess is that the next MP after this one will be Hot Rod.
If they can make Rodimus, then with just a few slight changes and you have Hot Rod.
And I think marketingwise that it's more rendable to sell them seperately

Anyhow, I am sure gonna get Rodimus. And Hot Rod for that matter.

This is hardly a concept of the toy; it's just an official announcement of MP Rodimus Prime. The picture(which looks more like a design sketch for the cartoon) is just to show the readers who Rodimus Prime is.

Now all we need is Galvatron.

AT LEAST WE ALL SEEM TO AGREE ON SOMETHING.
Yeah this is not a prototype sketch. This is just a preliminary sketch. This shows what they are aiming for in both modes, they work away between the 2 and what ever process used, will determine how the final thing will look eg. hinges, kibble, proportions, re-shaping etc. I can bet for a start that neck will go. And a whole heap of features will be added, then stripped back due to costs. We will def have a matrix in the chest compartment. Probaly a slide back fist with some weaponary like a saw or sumit, and a pack of energon goodies.
I totaly agree that, this should be a Hot Rod which docks with the trailer and merges with the trailer to make a Rodimus Prime. A trailer that simply splits down the middle to make some lame battle station has never appealed to me, I'd much rather all that extra plastic do something alot more interesting. And lets face it, most of rodimus is hidden under that trailer, there isn't gonna be much transforming going on, instead of hiding the rest of rodimus, hide hot rod, the trailer can stil split in 2, an stil have a few bits to merge to make rodimus, after all, rodimus is only a bit bigger, you don't need a whole traile rfor that. This way, we can have our cake and eat it.
A battle station for G1 purists & Hot Rod for those of us who want something a little more ingenius. So come on Takara pull your finger out, and do what is so obvious and isn't really that hard to acheive, since the trailer can mask alot of the issues, and Hot ROd and Rodimus, were not hard to engineer, if the originals had some extra articulation, they would of been virtualy like there cartoon counterparts, so we already know it's not a MEgatron situation. This is an easy project, so make it good.

How long till people start speculating on his height?

I hope he gets better shoulder articulation that MP Megs, MP Grimlock and Classics Hot Rod. The idea of an Hot Rod that can be upgraded to Rodimus Prime without paying extra is SO FREAKING GOOD that it won't happen.

Dead Metal wrote:Don't get too exited, remember what happened when the first sketches and prototype for MP Starscream where leaked and then officially released? Everybody loved it due to it being show accurate, just like this thing here, then they changed it.

The concept of it combining with the trailer to make Rodimus Prime from Hot Rod is pretty interesting, but I'll wait for the final pics before I get too exited.

The starscream situation was different. That was a fully working prototype, tey brought in a secomd designer, to help appeal to Macross fans. Why they did that knowing they were going to make numerous repaints, which TF fans wwould buy is beyond me. Thats why Starscream was released in green. It was all aimed for people outside of the TF fandom. I think they thought they could make an extra buck. Anyway we ended up with a more realistic plane mode, and a whole heap of people complaining about hip kibble.
Now here all we have is an almost revelotech looking sketch of what Rodimus should look like in either mode. You can clearly see that there has been no allowances for any engineering aspects that would be needed to make this a transforming toy. Let alone something ready for production.
If we are to receive this toy this year, which is what I thought, then they are way down the line, they must already have a working mock up. Usualy we see te finished thing by now, as this has been released makes me think, that it's either so brilliant they don't want ideas nicked, or its a complete joke and they don't want to dent sales, an will use this to generate pre orders. Remember Megatrons prototype sketch. Teh final toy was more or less the same, but some how the sketches proportions looked so much better, even the face was spot on, we ended up with something that looked so different but so the same.
These things move so fast, by the end of the week we may be treated to the first shots of the real thing. At least the ball is rolling, so we won't have to wait long now.

Looks like I'll be making my own "Sons of Cybertron" display!

i cant wait masterpiece is amazing

While I'm not a Roddy fan, I'll snap up this toy quickly.

Although the pictures really don't say much at all.

my guess is he'll turn out to be a huge block of awesomeness like MP Prime. compared to megs/screamer, the engineering isn't too involved on Prime, but he's huge and he's metal! If he's smaller na dmore complex then cool beans. And I am happy as bunny!
Best news ever!

I've been waiting a long time for this MP.... just a little longer...

I hope it isnt a big version of the g1 toy...Ihope that you dont just pull the body from the trailer and its done. They need to make the skill level for it the same MP1,

Hmmm...Kinda looks exactly like ......Rodimus Prime. Gotta be honest. Masterpiece never really knocks me off my feet. You know what you are getting. Maybe thats the allure. And yes I do actually own a couple MP's(Skywarp and Ultra Magnus) so I'm not trying to speak outta ignorance.

Looks like an animatioin model to me, but than again I dno't read Japanese so I wouldn't be surprised if it is a toy prototype. Hot Rod is one of my faves so I will probably get him no matter how screwy it is...

Looks boring.

I'm really excited about this.

I would love it if the trailer could add to Masterpiece Hot Rod and make him into Rodimus Prime but think that would be too cool for TakaraTomy to do + they could make more cash if they sell them separately/remolded as has been mentioned before.

Size wise I just hope he isn't the same size as Megatron or Optimus Prime because I preferred Grimlock and the Seekers in terms of height (and only Optimus and Megatron should really have that extra height as they are the original leaders) in my opinion.

Can't wait to see some official pics but think it will be a while yet before any get leaked by one of our Seibertron members in China or Japan who always get their hands on all the new TFs first.

As long as he doesn't "rust" lime my MP-Megs did, I'll be a happy little Skywarp.

I am hoping this will be Hot Rod in vehicle mode that combines with the trailer. How about this for a gimmick? It has two faces, one young and one more mature. There is a slot for the Matrix of Leadership inside his chest with a switch. When you put the Matrix in his chest the face rotates from the young Hot Rod, to the mature Rodimus Prime. I would love that. Throw in a sound clip of Peter Cullen's "Arise, Rodimus Prime" and the toy would be totally worth the price.

now I need a masterpiece skockwave, ginrai, headmasters, brainmasters, etc.

So far it looks a lot like the G1 toy. The robot turns into a tiny portion of the vehicle mode with the rest just being covered up by the trailer. This just might be the simplest Masterpiece int he entire line.

But I can't completely blame them. The Roddy model is what it is: completely untransformable without major revisions to it's design.

Trikeboy wrote:I am hoping this will be Hot Rod in vehicle mode that combines with the trailer. How about this for a gimmick? It has two faces, one young and one more mature. There is a slot for the Matrix of Leadership inside his chest with a switch. When you put the Matrix in his chest the face rotates from the young Hot Rod, to the mature Rodimus Prime. I would love that. Throw in a sound clip of Peter Cullen's "Arise, Rodimus Prime" and the toy would be totally worth the price.

If it did all that it would be ridiculously awesome, but realistically it won't do any of that. However if it did I would gladly eat my words.

Mach wrote:

kirbenvost wrote:Well, this doesn't show us much, it just looks like the animation model. And yeah, now that I think about it, I guess I would rather have Hot Rod than Rodimus Prime.

From the words of people who have seen the prototype, Hot Rod will become Rodimus Prime when combine with parts from the trailer... Ala Fans Project....

I really hope they're right.

If Roddy can become Hot Rod then it'll be the best Masterpiece since Prime.

Maybe both vehicle modes are part formers. Because the robot mode shown doesn't have and vehicle mode kibble like wheels on the legs

exciting stuff.. I think most of us hope for a hot rod that can transform into rodimus. obviously, these sketches tell us nothing, but they're still neat. who was talking about a prototype? tell us more!

I would´ve liike this form or look for him:
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs8/f/2005/2 ... _Robot.jpg

Can everyone read the post title, it says toy concept sketch. It's not a prototype, it's mearly initial concepts, they will make loads of these, before even thinkig about the actual engineering.
I don't see why people think the hot rod / rodimus combo is nto gonna happen, it's one of those ideas that is not only genius but is really practical for this figure, the fansproject add on proves this.
I'm just wondering what approach they will take. Either the G1 purist, or the alt or robot mode sacrafice.
I know one thing, I don't want the bulk of this mold to be a lame battle station!

Yeah, I was never a big fan of Rodimus Prime...The titanuim version 6" is a the best one because it incorporates the trailer into a robot mode...City Protector is a good idea because it will combine them...But G1 version is a big thumbs down,.....

maybe for the second face they will put his older face but with the black border around his eyes like in the
transformers headmasters cartoon

DTR69 wrote:Can everyone read the post title, it says toy concept sketch. It's not a prototype, it's mearly initial concepts, they will make loads of these, before even thinkig about the actual engineering.
I don't see why people think the hot rod / rodimus combo is nto gonna happen, it's one of those ideas that is not only genius but is really practical for this figure, the fansproject add on proves this.
I'm just wondering what approach they will take. Either the G1 purist, or the alt or robot mode sacrafice.
I know one thing, I don't want the bulk of this mold to be a lame battle station!

On the TakaraTomy site, in 2010 lineup, there are still two empty slots. One of these will be occupied by Predaking, the other just has "Masterpiece New" on it. Plus, we've had the clue in a hidden message "The name of the new Masterpiece is Rodimus". So yeah, a Masterpiece Rodimus Prime is very likely.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

DTR69 wrote:Can everyone read the post title, it says toy concept sketch. It's not a prototype, it's mearly initial concepts, they will make loads of these, before even thinkig about the actual engineering.
I don't see why people think the hot rod / rodimus combo is nto gonna happen, it's one of those ideas that is not only genius but is really practical for this figure, the fansproject add on proves this.
I'm just wondering what approach they will take. Either the G1 purist, or the alt or robot mode sacrafice.
I know one thing, I don't want the bulk of this mold to be a lame battle station!

On the TakaraTomy site, in 2010 lineup, there are still two empty slots. One of these will be occupied by Predaking, the other just has "Masterpiece New" on it. Plus, we've had the clue in a hidden message "The name of the new Masterpiece is Rodimus". So yeah, a Masterpiece Rodimus Prime is very likely.

You missunderstood what I ment. I was refering to the concept of having a Hot Rod MP which converted to A Rodimus MP rather than just a straight Forward Rodimus MP. The fact we are getting a MP Rodimus is a given now.

Corect me if I'm wrong but Didnt rodimus have bags under his eyes?

DTR69 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

DTR69 wrote:Can everyone read the post title, it says toy concept sketch. It's not a prototype, it's mearly initial concepts, they will make loads of these, before even thinkig about the actual engineering.
I don't see why people think the hot rod / rodimus combo is nto gonna happen, it's one of those ideas that is not only genius but is really practical for this figure, the fansproject add on proves this.
I'm just wondering what approach they will take. Either the G1 purist, or the alt or robot mode sacrafice.
I know one thing, I don't want the bulk of this mold to be a lame battle station!

On the TakaraTomy site, in 2010 lineup, there are still two empty slots. One of these will be occupied by Predaking, the other just has "Masterpiece New" on it. Plus, we've had the clue in a hidden message "The name of the new Masterpiece is Rodimus". So yeah, a Masterpiece Rodimus Prime is very likely.

You missunderstood what I ment. I was refering to the concept of having a Hot Rod MP which converted to A Rodimus MP rather than just a straight Forward Rodimus MP. The fact we are getting a MP Rodimus is a given now.

Corect me if I'm wrong but Didnt rodimus have bags under his eyes?

The head thing can be done in two ways: Like BW Waspinator's Robot/Mutant Head, or like Starscream, having two faces with a helmet covering up the one not in use. The Trailer is a different story though...

Sorry to say this, but we will most likely to get what we see in the sketch. Look at all other masterpieces, they all look like their G1 counterparts. Even the seekers originally. A combiner that has Hot Rod combines with the trailer to form Rodimus Prime will also need to have a bigger and different head like the Power Core combiners, not just a face change.

If this thing costs as much as MP Grimlock I might have to just wait for the Hasbro version for a fraction of the TakTom price. Still don't understand why he cost so much to begin with... As for the figure itself, love the MP line, but don't really have a strong feeling for this character either way. My excitement will largely depend on the engineering and design.

DTR69 wrote:The starscream situation was different. That was a fully working prototype, tey brought in a secomd designer, to help appeal to Macross fans. Why they did that knowing they were going to make numerous repaints, which TF fans wwould buy is beyond me. Thats why Starscream was released in green. It was all aimed for people outside of the TF fandom. I think they thought they could make an extra buck. Anyway we ended up with a more realistic plane mode, and a whole heap of people complaining about hip kibble.

Actually that's only partially correct. The "second designer" they brought in was master industrial designer Shoji Kawamori. He's the godfather of transforming mechs. He created Macross but was also one of the original designers of "Diaclone" and "Microman" before they were renamed Transformers and was the original designer/creator of Starscream, among others.

Mr. Kawamori has always maintained that since the Transformers were "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE" that the vehicle mode was more important. How would they disguise themselves if the vehicle still had a face visible underneath and arms and legs sticking out? Hence, sacrificing the humanoid mode for the more realistic vehicle mode, since a robot can look like anything.

agentk9 wrote:

DTR69 wrote:The starscream situation was different. That was a fully working prototype, tey brought in a secomd designer, to help appeal to Macross fans. Why they did that knowing they were going to make numerous repaints, which TF fans wwould buy is beyond me. Thats why Starscream was released in green. It was all aimed for people outside of the TF fandom. I think they thought they could make an extra buck. Anyway we ended up with a more realistic plane mode, and a whole heap of people complaining about hip kibble.

Actually that's only partially correct. The "second designer" they brought in was master industrial designer Shoji Kawamori. He's the godfather of transforming mechs. He created Macross but was also one of the original designers of "Diaclone" and "Microman" before they were renamed Transformers and was the original designer/creator of Starscream, among others.

Mr. Kawamori has always maintained that since the Transformers were "ROBOTS IN DISGUISE" that the vehicle mode was more important. How would they disguise themselves if the vehicle still had a face visible underneath and arms and legs sticking out? Hence, sacrificing the humanoid mode for the more realistic vehicle mode, since a robot can look like anything.

You have raised a good point there, one I have always wondered about. How realistic would the alt mode in actual life have to be. A jet would often be seen from a distance so as long as the outline was close, people would be none the wiser. Then there is also the issue, of where would all the robot parts go. If Bumblebee was a carbon copy of a real car, then his engine and lugage compartment would not be able to hide all the parts needed for a robot mode. How identical can you get before a robot mode not possible. I think it would be much more sendible for all the cars to have blacked out windows, and that the car doors not be able to open for pasengers as the whole inside was dedicated for robot mechanics. Even if transformers were real, I think that they would only be able to disguise there selves to an extent, they would not be able to be functioning cars in the sense humans could rive them. And I would expect to see some slits and grooves where panels would split apart. To transform into a car then have a displayable engine and a whole interiorfor humans to sit, just doesn't seem like there would be much lerft for robot workings.

Just for asthetics, I'd alwayd prefer a sacrafic ein alt mode so the robot can look good, after all it's the robots we all love. I think MP prime was done right, Starscream was the opposite end of sacraficing, and Megatron and Grimlock were hyped up versions of the original toy. WHat method tey use fr this MP is still yet to be seen.

DTR69 wrote: Then there is also the issue, of where would all the robot parts go. If Bumblebee was a carbon copy of a real car, then his engine and lugage compartment would not be able to hide all the parts needed for a robot mode. How identical can you get before a robot mode not possible. I think it would be much more sendible for all the cars to have blacked out windows, and that the car doors not be able to open for pasengers as the whole inside was dedicated for robot mechanics. Even if transformers were real, I think that they would only be able to disguise there selves to an extent, they would not be able to be functioning cars in the sense humans could rive them. And I would expect to see some slits and grooves where panels would split apart. To transform into a car then have a displayable engine and a whole interiorfor humans to sit, just doesn't seem like there would be much lerft for robot workings.

Some of the Alternators did a damn good job of hiding robot bits, actually.