Hubcap's vehicle mode
is certainly one you don't see everyday-- it's an old-style hot rod car,
complete with external exhaust pipes. There's no robot mode extras at all
in this mode, and the proportions are pretty much perfect. Although his
mold details are a bit sparse, they fit the alt mode-- and there are details
where there need to be, such as at the doors, rear trunk, echaust pipes,
front grill, and the like. However, the shade of light red used for most
of Hubcap's plastic (particularly in this mode) is a rather flat color--
a bit of metallic flake really would've made this mode look better in that
department, methinks. The major details are painted either in silver or
(in the case of the windows) black, both of which contrast fairly well
with the red, even if they aren't particularly dynamic. However, as far
as the color scheme goes this mode still needs a little something more--
a flame deco, a painted trunk, some "worn metal" deco, just something to
break up the big patches of flat red.
Hubcap's robot mode
design and transformation are very straightforward-- you can pretty easily
tell what parts go where just by a casual glance at this mode. That doesn't
necessarily mean it's bad-- this kind of transformation definitely has
its advantages. Hubcap's proportions are quite good, and light gray and
a dark brownish gray are added to his overall color scheme here, whereas
those colors were completely hidden in vehicle mode. Although the colors
certainly don't clash with the light red, they're pretty dull, too-- just
more shades of gray. As such, Hubcap's overall color scheme is rather underwhelming.
His mold detailing is very well-done, however, with his upper arms and
legs looking like they're made out of pipes, while the lower parts have
all sorts of intricate details in them. His headsculpt is also a nice mix
between the movie style and "Classic"-styled Transformers, though I wish
the paint used for his face wasn't such a bland shade of red. The car grill
serves as a decent enough chest, and the tailpipes on the backs of the
hands can double as blasters if you use your imagination, but otherwise
Hubcap is literally wearing the entire shell of his vehicle mode on the
back of his body. Granted, it's fragmented, allowing him a fair amount
of articulation, but it's just on the back of EVERYTHING, and takes away
quite a bit from the look of this mode-- it's definitely my biggest complaint
about this figure, hands down. As far as articulation, he can move at the
neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows, hips (at two points), knees, and
ankles-- so nothing extraordinary, but good enough. The car shell bits
on the back of his upper legs can particularly get in the way of movement,
however (and are the most unsightly).
Autobot Alliance Hubcap
has a unique vehicle mode with good proportions, but that's the only real
reason to get him. His transformation is very straightforward and has nothing
remotely unique about it, and his robot mode has his entire vehicle mode
hanging off the back side, really ruining a lot of its charm and restricting
movement a bit, as well. Plus, his color scheme-- though not loud or clashy--
is pretty dull, and really needed some kind of eye-catching secondary color
to complete it. He's not a bad toy overall though, just very boring excepting
the vehicle mode selection.
Review by Beastbot