Hot Shot is no stranger to receiving CHUG updates in previous lines. For starters, he had a Universe figure back in the late 2000s that was improved slightly for Henkei; while the base figure was fine, the bumper kibble could be handled better still while the feet could clip on better. Then he received a redeco of Siege Hound with a new head, though that meant you had to get a Matrix Workshop upgrade kit to improve his appearance. But the Legacy Evolution line steps forward to give us another stab at the kid-appeal character of the Unicron Trilogy. Let's see if Armada Hot Shot's any good!
Here is Hot Shot in his vehicle mode. He's in his iconic yellow sports car with a hot rod engine modded for firepower as well as having 2/3rds of a spoiler to make room for a Minicon...which he doesn't have...the second time in a row where Hasbro excludes a Minicon partner of an Armada character, 4 if you want to count T30 Starscream and Combiner Wars Megatron. Setting the lack of Jolt aside, this is a nicely done alt mode that captures the character very well. Maybe it could use some red for the rims, but .aybe it would be best to not have them since the rear windows worm differently from the front. The main issue I have with the alt mode is the yellow paint not matching up with the yellow plastic, which happens a lot. The bumper does look oversized, and while you could open it to make the saw blades he'd deploy when his engine is attached, it does very little in effect, snd its best to leave the engine block attached.
The side profile is sleek andong like it should, though is it me or does he look a little wonkier than his old toy? I know Hot Shot had a specific look that gives him his identity, but it's just weird seeing how the doors don't line up with the windows if I'm being honest.
For a vehicle mode comparison, here he is next to his GenSelects counterpart. While that isn't his exact appearance in the Cybertron series (the Cybertron Defense design is not a futuristic Jeep), id does showcase an evolution from his original Armada form to the design we eventually get in the end of the Unicron trilogy.
His transformation is similar to the way it's supposed to work in the series, though tweaked without prioritizing the gimmick it'd normally utilize thanks to the Minicon. The legs mostly transform the same but the windows now end up on the legs, while the back of the altmode now makes up an actual backpack rather than being something that the arms and head are connected to. Luckily, the iconic design traits, like the axelzooka on the back and the spoiler shoulders, remain intact. The resulting robot mode is leaner than Hot Shot's used to from the Unicron Trilogy, as the character was noticeably wider in body frame rather than what we have here, and the back of his head was covered on the old toy but is more exposed here. Some may find the backpack sticking out more rather than being integrated within the body to be fairly off, but it still works and continues the illusion of Hot Shot pretty well. It's sort of like how Siege Megatron looked good though he had wider proportions than the norm, which is ironically the reverse situation here.
Head sculpt does do the character justice, though I kind of wish he had a smirk to convey his cocky attitude during Armada. at least he face has some nice paint to help it pop among the yellow plastic, and the visor, which looks like a set of headphones for gamers, has some nice gunmetal gray while the clear blue where it's supposed to remain untouched. His articulation consists of a slight ball joint for the head that mostly swivels, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends (which are harder to move right than expected), and ankle pivots. You can get more range for the knees only if you move the windows by the side of the legs. His gun can be held with either peg, but let's not stop the fun there...
...because the axelzooka is where things get crazy! His Evo-Fusion gimmick is basically a manual version of the Minicon powerlink only without Jolt. The real fun kicks into gear when his axelzooka comes off of the mushroom peg, combined with his engine gun, and becomes a flamethrower for him! SUCK IT, HOT ROD!!!
For some robot mode size comparisons, here he is next to his previously covered GenSelects Cybertron Defense self, and his fellow Armadaformer, Starscream. He amusingly towers over his later form given how Hound was fairly short, but he is appropriately shorter than Starscream. It makes me excited that we're getting Optimus in the near future and later Megatron once we see him get leaked.
And for anyone wondering, yes, Hot Shot can wield the Star Saber, which I kind of want to do because of how iconic it was for him to hold the weapon regularly. Overall, Armada Hot Shot might be the figure fans would want in the Legacy line due to how iconic he is as a main character in Armada, though I wish he had slightly better plastic quality and some way to have the legs work properly. Still, if you're someone who loves Armada, get him and be sure you already got Starscream.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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