Of all the Asia Exclusives, I think Hot Spot is the one I was most excited for –
The Inferno mold has gotten a lot of use – Inferno, Grapple, Pyro and now Hot Spot. Its a great mold with a fun transformation that feels really solid.
As for Hot Spot himself, well, he’s one of favorite characters. He’s a strong commander of his unit, willing to put himself on the front lines –
I gave him G1 Hot Spot/Defensor’s rifle as well, I think it works quite well! The paint aps on him are quite nice, including the black windshields and silver wipers, and the “Hot Spot” logo on his side.
One of my favorite features of Hot Spot though, is his head – black with red eyes, its so “decepticon-y” looking on a the very epitome of Autobots (I mean he’s a Protectobot after all ).
Here he is in War Within:
And here’s the AE Head Sculpt –
He does feature the “water hose” cannon that Inferno uses. It could also double as an energon blast, but we all know its supposed to be water…
Alt-mode he’s the same good ol’ fire truck the rest transform into:
And in case you’ve never seen this mold in person, here’s the “Bee shot” –
So, whether these guys come out in the US or not, I’m glad I grabbed him early. He’s a great figure. If there was a good Deluxe Motorcycle, Helicopter and Van, I’d be tempted to make the Protectobots, but that would be quite an undertaking.
More to come – I just received notice from TFSource that my iGear Medical and Weapon specialists have shipped (Iron HIde and Ratcht) so I’m looking forward to them!
Stay tuned –
Pax Cybertron 
oh wow not bad at all! I want one! I’m hoping for a US release, but its impossible to know what Hasbro will or will not do these days…
Using that G1 Defensor rifle is a nice touch. Wish I had Defensor.
Who’s Pyro?
Thanks HP, I like that rifle too, it looks good having him with two weapons and its all that remains of my G1 Protectobots, so its a good way to honor them!
Pyro is an autobot who’s most notable appearance was in Last Stand of the Wreckers – http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pyro – he’s called Spark by Hasbro now for licensing issues and at BotCon a few years back they did a redeco of Inferno to make him. I’d like Dr. Wu to make a LSOTW Pyro head so I could paint my back up Grapple!
That head sculpt is money! Need to find the best place to pre-order this guy for sure.
I know, right? Its very bad ass looking! I got mine through TFSource – but I believe they’re sold out. You might want to try eBay or waiting till the Holidays when he’s rumored to come to the US.