[REVIEW] Richard's Reviews: Powerlinx Hot Shot & Jolt

As Armada winds down, the line comes under siege from repaints of just about
every toy that's come before in Armada and some from Beast Wars. Powerlinx
Hot Shot goes one step further into being a remold as well as sporting a
much-improved color scheme compared to some of the other repaints in the
line.

Tech Specs
Until Hasbro actually updates their site with more profiles, the original
will just have to do. At least Powerlinx Hot Shot received new artwork as
well as a new paint job.

Autobot: Hot Shot
"Well let's go!"

Hot Shot is a young, heroic fighter who rushes into danger without regard to
his own safety. He courageously charges into the middle of the fight to aid
his friends in battle. He has taken charge in several battles, showing great
leadership potential. But he needs the guidance of his elders before he can
hope to lead the Autobots. Will he learn to be a leader who strives for
good, or will his reckless nature ruin his promising future?

Strength: 6.0 Intelligence: 7.0 Speed: 9.0 Endurance: 6.0
Rank: 5.0 Courage: 8.0 Fireblast: 4.0 Skill: 5.0

Start
At 5 ¾" in length, Hot Shot resembles the love child of Hot Rod and a brick.
He is, however, primarily red with yellow, gold, black, silver, and blue
highlights. Dark yellow flames with black outlines dance across his hood as
well. A red Autobot insignia is molded into the left side of his spoiler,
and as with the previous paint scheme, it's poorly painted on.

You can attach the engine block/weapon to Hot Shot's hood. Pressing down on
the front portion activates his front grabber-claws that open up from his
front bumper. The detailing suggests that these may have meant to be
saw-blades, but they are far too thick for that and the lack of any paint
detailing doesn't help either. There are three Minicon hard-points in
vehicle mode: one on either side of the spoiler and on in the middle of the
spoiler. One can attach four Minicons if one leaves Jolt attached to the
engine block. The weapon and Jolt can attach to any of the hard-points.
Attaching Jolt to the middle hard-point and lowering the rear section and
propeller down creates the "transport mode."

Change
Remove Jolt and the engine block. Open the doors and swing them all the way
forward. Flip the rear of the car forward and separate the mid-section
outward, turn to reveal the robot arms and hands. Split the front apart and
rotate forward.

Finish
Standing at 5 ½" in height, Hot Shot is ready to battle the Decepticons, so
long as they don't stand directly beside him as he has an extremely limited
field of view. He features swiveling shoulders, elbows that bend,
ball-socket hips and knees that bend back slightly. He is still mostly red
with a yellow torso and black upper legs. There are a lot of nice details.
Sadly, not may of them are painted to show them off, although not as bad as
the previous version.

He features the same number of hard-points in robot mode: the two on the
outside of the spoiler and one on his lower back. Placing Jolt on his back
flips the missile launcher concealed in his rear axle and wheel assembly
over his head. Moving Jolt upwards makes the cannon face forward and fire.
His visor is now molded in the upward position, so he can't cover his eyes
from the blast of his tire-cannon. The new face is a slight improvement over
the original.

Jolt
Still measuring in at 2 ½" in length, Jolt is now completely yellow with the
exception of the black windows and black plastic that forms his upper legs
in robot mode. His propeller spins very well considering his size. He
features two Powerlinx indentations, both are underneath. One is just past
the cockpit and the other is in the tail. Transformation is simplicity
itself. Flip his cockpit section forward and down and his tail section down.
He stands at 2 ¼" high and is articulated at the shoulders, hips and knees.

Overall
Hot Shot and Jolt were a very nice introduction into the world of
Transformers Armada. Sadly, it's mostly been-there and done-that at this
point. There aren't a lot of gimmicks, but enough to keep one entertained
for a bit. The best parts about this toy are the new color scheme and
remolded head. Still, if you already have the original, you're not missing
much unless you really like the new paint deco and jonesing for a new Hot
Shot head.