Transformers: Protectobot Hot Spot....

Protectobot Hot Spot

Without any shadow of doubt most Transformers fans I know or heard about would definitely hail the Generation 1 series as THE most definitive TF run among them all. Who can forget sitting in front of the TV anticipating what the Autobots or the 'Cons are gonna do during each episode, week in and week out? Who can ever forget the sadness and anger felt among all of us young fans back then when Optimus was abruptly taken away from us during the '86 movie? And who can forget the disgruntled fans when they were forced to watch the subsequent seasons without ol' Prime leading the Autobots? Yea sure, Ultra Magnus was originally given the mandate to lead the good guys after Prime's demise (we all can remember what happened to him on the planet Junk now can we?) and later Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime bla bla bla....
 
Anyway, for me (and to some fans I'm sure) this was THE robot that closely resembled Optimus Prime, maybe perhaps due to his similar mouth-piece and his head design. So in a way, he was the 'unofficial' Autobot leader although technically he was just a leader to the Protectobots (more on that later). I was overjoyed when I first heard Hasbro was releasing him under the Generations banner!

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The not-so-good thing about this figure.....
One interesting point to note is that Hot Spot here is part of the "GDO" batch of Hasbro's Generations release. I don't even know what GDO means but what I know is that it simply means that only the Asian market gets to see these on the retail shelves. Sadly, it also means that other Transformers fans from the rest of the world can only get them through special orders or some exclusive distribution made by companies such as Diamond Comic Distributors in North America. That sucks. I totally feel the pain of not being able to get equal opportunities to hunt for the toys I really want.

Anyway, let's get on with figure......

The packaging is the typical window-type packaging utilised by Hasbro since the very beginning of the Universe and later Generations line for displaying the bigger robots i.e. voyager class compared to the deluxe class (smaller) Universe/Generations/Henkei/United robots. It functions well since most of us can clearly see the figure inside (save for the back part) to check on the face sculpt, colour, any dings/dents and such.

Transformers Generations: Protectobot Hot Spot

At the back one can see both the robot and alternate mode of Hot Spot as well as his characteristics and personal traits.

Transformers Generations: Protectobot Hot Spot

Side bio gives us the write-up on the character. Seems that Hot Spot here is one helluva leader! He won't ask his subordinates to do whatever he HIMSELF would not do. Hmmm, wish that more workplace bosses were like him eh?



 
The figure itself is evidently a repaint of the mould used for Inferno and Grappel. I personally love this bulky mould as compared to many other flimsy/shell-like mould used in some of the Hasbro/Takara releases. So no complaints here.....this mould rocks! The tone of blue is perfect on Hot Spot. It's very similar to the original toy released in the 80s and that is how I remembered him look like in the cartoon series.
So let's crack him open and quickly transform him into his alt. mode i.e. rescue truck....coz that's how I like to start my TF reviews, starting with his alternate form. You dig? Heheh......

Protectobot Hot Spot

I love that 'flame design' at the sides of the truck. It gives him a rugged and rough look...almost belittling both Inferno and Grappel as the bad-ass among the three of them. Well, he does have a much more important role among them three trucks.....he's given the task to lead a team....Protectobots!

Hot Spot has the SAME gun as Inferno. Just as Inferno's, when he's in truck mode, the gun doubles up as a 'water cannon'Grapple, if you can recall from the Reveal The Shield line, had the 'crane' instead of this gun. I just wish Hasbro had given him the ladder instead to stay true to his appearance in the cartoon series. Nevertheless, he looks good with the gun so I'm not really complaining. I'm pretty sure some 3rd party 'fan project company' will give us that much needed ladder soon enough.

Protectobot Hot Spot

Just to give you a brief history, The Protectobots was a second generation of 'combiners' in the Generation 1 cartoon series. The Protectobots consists of Hot Spot, Blades, Streetwise, First Aid and Groove. Together they form Defensor, appearing mostly in the second and third season of Generation 1. Their main opponent was the Combaticons who would form Bruticus.

Protectobot Hot Spot

Protectobot Hot Spot
Protectobot Hot Spot
Protectobot Hot Spot

Protectobot Hot Spot

Once transformed into his robot form, you'll be amazed (again, if you already have Inferno or Grapple) of how articulated this figure is. He can achieve almost every pose you'd like him to be. I didn't do any extreme poses for my photoshoot though.....
 
Protectobot Hot Spot
Protectobot Hot Spot

With THAT head-sculpt and facial expression, it's easy to see why many kids assumed Hot Spot was the natural successor to Optimus Prime.

Protectobot Hot Spot
Protectobot Hot Spot

Protectobot Hot Spot



Protectobot Hot Spot

Protectobot Hot Spot
Protectobot Hot Spot
 
VERDICT: The Rebel says that this particular Autobot isn't really a must for casual fans. But if you're really into anything Generation One, then I guess this is an essential part of your display to go with your 'expanded' core characters. The fact that Hot Spot here is VERY hard to find in North America might be a deciding factor for you to start hunting for him. It's very unlikely that Hasbro's gonna give us the rest of the Protectobots to go with him anytime soon (but we DID get Blades sometime ago, right?). My money is on some 3rd party 'fan project' company to produce the 'add-ons' necessary to facilitate the 'combination' of all of the Protectobots (when ALL of them are subsequently released that is) to become Defensor.....but that's just me with my wishful thinking eh?

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