If you were born in the 80s, this is A Big Deal

Optimus who?
by Imthishan Giado

If you’re over 25, you don’t need anyone to explain why this new Masterpiece Transformer release is an absolute must-buy. The best bit? It’s available in Dubai, right now – but you need to know where to look.

Yes, it’s Hot Rod, the turbo-revvin’ young punk who dared take up the mantle of leader of the Autobots after the death of Optimus Prime in the 1986 film (he’s also kind of responsible for his death, but let’s not think too much about that) that traumatised millions of kids the world over.

This is the latest release in Hasbro’s much-lauded Masterpiece line, complex figures targeted at true collectors that boast impressive articulation, exhaustive accessories and an almost-obsessive level of faithfulness to the original cartoon, right down to the last transforming panel. Forget about giving it to the kids, they’d reduce it to bits of plastic kibble in minutes.

Exclusively available at UAE outlets of Toys “R” Us (because they paid Hasbro handsomely for the privilege of doing so) this American import’s priced at not entirely unreasonable AED300. Well, that’s certainly cheaper than the very dear Japanese version. You don’t get the famously-ill conveived “Winnebago” Rodimus trailer but otherwise, it’s got every easily-misplaced accessory the Takara version came with, including a very nifty Targetmaster. As a bonus, this version also lacks the massive build quality flaws that forced the Japanese to reissue it.

If past history is any indicator of future performance, the UAE branch of TRU is likely to import just this one shipment, and then never again. And then, probably deny they ever sold it in the first place. So don’t hang about.

If you needed any more convincing….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.