Rodimus' Classics toy is very similar in its vehicle mode when compared to the G1 version. There's more paint detailing, of course, and the proportions have been "sleeked out" a bit more. Because of those small proportion changes, even though it still doesn't look like a real car, it looks CLOSER to one. The "racing fin" on the back is also orange now instead of yellow, and a bit larger and more detailed as well, so it looks much better. The exhaust pipes on the sides don't stick out anymore, and are more realistic in their proportions while still giving the impression that this is a racin' machine. The metallic gold flames look much cooler and more stylized on Rodimus now, and aren't just a sticker anymore. The silvery blue bumper looks somewhat out of place given that there's no further detailing on those parts, though it was fairly cool how there's "headlight tops" molded on the sides of the front of this mode, though they don't actually slide up to reveal actual headlights. And, although you can see the driver's seats and whatnot through the windows, I don't like the color of said windows-- purple just doesn't go well with this otherwise fiery color scheme, and it's the only bad color choice of the bunch, really. Using it for the exhaust flames also looks rather odd too, though I have to admit the placement of the gun in the back part of this mode with the exhaust flames being the projectile fired from said gun was pretty ingenious. Rodimus' Autobot rub symbol is smack dab on the top of this mode, in between the windows.
    Rodimus' robot mode is also pretty similar to his G1 toy, but with, again, more realistic proportions and more detailing. In fact, you can tell that, despite the different transformation, the designers went to lengths to make sure that he still DID look like Rodimus, such as the upper arm design, the leg detailing, and even the exhaust pipe-guns on the back of his hands. I like the "door skirt' added to his upper legs, even if they do hamper the movement of the upper legs slightly. The engine/flame chest looks very nice, as does the detailing on his head. The head is just a tad small, however, and Rodimus' expression is a bit to serious considering his character. He does have light piping in his eyes, but his backpack (which has the characteristic Rodimus fins over the shoulders, of course) prevents light from shining through them, not to mention the rather dark shade of purple used. One of the most ingenious parts of this toy has to with Rodimus' legs-- it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't have the toy, but there's several little engineering touches that, though not needed, really help the toy feel more solid down there. There's the fact that the wheels actually scootch out some so that they don't interfere with the upper leg panels, tha the flip-down leg panels really weren't needed other than that they actually help to cover up robot parts on the BOTTOM of the vehicle mode and make it feel slightly more solid, and the way the robot feet fold around and out without being too obvious in vehicle mode is really neat. I'm not too fond of Rodimus' arms, however, for the sole reason that when the bend at the elbows, there's no real "mass" underneath to make it look like he's bending his elbows, more like he's cracking his arms in half. He does have a neat little flip-out chainsaw blade under his left arm, though (the box mistakenly refers to it as a voice communicator), which is really cool considering his used them in the original Transformers Animated Movie. Rodimus' articulation is decent, but not up to par with most of the other Classics-- he can move at the head, back-and-forth and the shoulders and elbows, at his hips (at two places, though the door skirt does restrict some movement), and two places at his knees.
    Classics Rodimus is a very nice update to his G1 self, with a very sleek vehicle mode and several very nice enginerring touches in robot mode. His arms don't look the best, though, and he is fairly limited in articulation, however, along with a few other minor proportional problems. Recommended.

Review by Beastbot

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