TFC Hydrant [Project Prometheus] - Pictorial Review

Another combiner review, coming up! Let's take a break from Maketoys Quantron for awhile and proceed with TFC latest offering, Hydrant (Hotspot) of Prometheus (Protectobot).

Pic Credit : http://www.transformers-universe.com

Hotspot and the Protectobots are closer to the human than any other Autobots, giving their all in protecting them. However, it doesn't mean that they are not natural fighters. Countless time has the Protectobots become the opposing force battling the Decepticons, especially, the Combaticons.

Other TFC Not-Defensor reviews can be found below :

• Gumball (Not-Streetwise)
• Warning Line (Not-Groove)

In Package

The first thing worth mentioning is that there's been slight increase in Hydrant's price compared to previous TFC combiner's main figure, Nemean, said to be due to the increase of the weight. And yes, Hydrant in package is almost twice the weight of Nemean

Continuing their packaging style, artwork of Hydrant can be seen at the bottom right of the box, something missing from Ares's team members.

Back View

Same as always, Hydrant comes with an instruction sheet and also tech spec. But he doesn't seems to come with  a small poster.

Tech Spec

In addition to those, Hydrant also comes with other extra components.

These 4 connectors are used to attach Gumball and Warning Line's weapons to Prometheus's feet (will be explained afterwards).

The combiner port extension is used by Gumball in robot mode and combiner mode (will be explained afterwards).

I'm not quite sure what these are called but they are to be attached to Hydrant.

Alt Mode

I personally like Hydrant's alt mode. The transformation is simple but with some interesting steps on the back portion of the alt mode.

The alt mode is really solid and quite heavy. It might not be obvious but the fire truck is quite long.

The detailing are well done, from front to the back. TFC really put a lot of effort on the sculpt and the finishing as well as the small details. Even the paint apps are clean as I couldn't find any smudges anywhere.

Hydrant's gun transformed and attached to the extension ladder but not really well as it tend to fall off with slightest movement.

I remembered few years back how the crane on TFC Dr Crank was considered long enough but Hydrant surprises me more. This might not be significant to most people but I personally like TFC attention to detail.

The extension ladder can be detached just like Dr Crank's crane and under that, Prometheus's head is pretty much well hidden compared to TFC Hercules.

Alternate ladder configuration

Size Comparison

As expected, Warning Line is the eyesore for the team in alt mode. There's nothing much to do about it though as this is a common problem for combiner teams.

Side View

I'm not sure the size of both of these alt mode in real life but I think it's not that bad.

Size-wise, Hydrant is 2 times longer than Voyager Optimus Prime which is kind of long. If I'm not mistaken, it's roughly as long as Ultra Magnus with Fansproject City Commander add on.

Additional Parts

Again, I'm not really sure what they are. But if these pieces are molded to the body, the risk of being broken is quite big.

The combiner port extension can be attached to Gumball as a missile pod, using the peg as his gun attachment.

Robot Mode

Transformation to robot mode is quite easy, no surprise there. TFC always went for basic and simple transformation for their releases. Just like I mentioned, Hydrant is almost two times heavier than Nemean, and feels a lot more solid.

Side View

Even without the ladder, it's obvious that Hydrant is not a slim figure from top to bottom, especially his lower legs and lower arms.

Back View

The gun can be attached to the extension ladder on his back for storage purpose. Despite the ladder being long, Hydrant can stand on his own without any problem or supported by it.

Even without the extension ladder,  Prometheus's head is very well hidden by the base of the extension ladder.

Just like Hydrant's alt mode, the detailing on the robot mode is quite well done and not as plain as Gumball and Warning Line. While having s a lot of homage to G1 Hotspot's design, the shade of blue used is darker compared to his predecessor. 

The head sculpt is well done, homaging to G1 Hotspot, with blue light piping. The chest piece looks kind of weird as it is not all the way up, which I think I could've been a lot better.

Comparison Shots

Voyager Optimus Prime is roughly at Hydrant's chest level, making Hydrant look a bit too tall if you have them side by side. 

Hydrant is half a head taller than Blackbird (and a head shorter than Nemean).

With the rest of Not-Protectobots

TFC Autobot Combiners Group Shots

Hydrant fit in really well with the previous TFC Autobots combiner team members, something that's missing from Maketoys combiner teams (Giant and Quantron)

Just as I thought,  after the increase of quality starting from TFC Aethon, Hydrant is by far the best of all TFC combiner team members.

Hydrant is far more solid without any parts being loose with the joints being extra tight. Even compared to the last combiner leader, Nemean, the difference is substantial.

Despite being a large figure, Hydrant is quite stable with his joints strong enough to withstand his own weight.

The gatling gun

The panel on the shins can be opened, revealing some sort of missile pods, giving him more fire power.

Hydrant comes with swivel-jointed head, swivel and hinge on the shoulders, ratchet joints on the elbows, swivel joint on the wrists and also articulated fists.

Hydrant also comes with ratcheting swivel joint on the waist, ratchet joint on the hips and knees with ball jointed feet (limited range of movement).

Hydrant's articulation can be considered a bit disappointing compared to previous TFC releases. Despite having good joints, this limitation kind of disrupt his playability.

Well....might not be THAT bad

 Combiner Mode

By using the 4 connectors, Gumball and Warning Line's guns can be attached to Prometheus's feet.

The combiner port extension can be used with Gumball in hand mode, in which by attaching it, the combiner port is now on the middle part of the hand.

Seeing how the missile pods fit nicely inside the forearm, I can't help but think that this is not something TFC had just thought of but instead has been planned  from the beginning.

Another crucial improvement made is the connector on the legs are no longer on a hinge (like TFC Nemean) but rather slides down from inside of the legs and on fix location, improving the combiner's stability.

The controversial design! It's not something new for TFC releases to be bashed (with or without reason) but Hydrant takes the cake. Unlike what they usually did, this time TFC opted for a very G1 look in terms of Prometheus's design, rather than the Neo-G1 aesthetic.

Hydrant is fairly large in combiner mode, compared to Blackbird. This made him look kind of short and bulky...too bulky.

3 out 5! It always made me happy to see a combiner starts taking shape.

Side View

From the side, Prometheus is too slim especially Gumball as the leg. The combiner port extension can be attached to add a bit of mass to it but doesn't really help.

The head sculpt resembles G1 Defensor's toy more than the cartoon version. To be honest, it not really my cup of tea. Hydrant's shoulder plates combined into Prometheus's chest plate which is a nice touch, compared to TFC Uranos that uses additional part.

Size Comparison

Prometheus is just few millimeters shorter than Uranos which is not really noticeable. 

Few more months to have 4 complete combiners

Although the guns attached to the feet improves the aesthetic of the figure, it does hinder his articulation a bit. So it's better to not use it for maximum range of movement.

While waiting for the rest of the team members, I'll be using Uranos's hands to get a rough idea what Prometheus's look like once complete. However, the slim designs of the hands doesn't really fit Prometheus overall design.

Few other major improvements are stronger hips that are able to withstand the weight of the upper body and hands. Also, Prometheus comes with ratcheting waist swivel, unlike TFC Ares.

Also, unlike Ares's feet that can be split into two parts, Prometheus's are one solid piece and the ratchets are stronger than before.

Due to his body proportions and the strong joints, Prometheus able to do a pose that not much other combiners are able to do (as far as I remember).

Another additional gimmick is Prometheus's scramble city ability where both Gumball and Warning Line can form Prometheus's hands (Uranos's legs are also too slim and doesn't fit Prometheus well).

I'm curious to know how will this scramble city gimmick be for the remaining 2 members. Still, quite happy with the improvement TFC made for Hydrant (and hopefully their future releases).