Rodney
From Transformers Wiki
- Rodney is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Rodney (ロドニー Rodonī) is one of the Autobot Master Warriors, the group of diminutive young robots training on the planet Master to become fully-fledged Headmasters. When connected to a Transtector, he uses his smarts and speed to leave his enemies in the dust.
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Fiction
The Headmasters cartoon
Several robots using Rodney's body design appeared as members of the resistance force formed to battle the Decepticons on planet Master. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons
Among these generic Rodney-based crowd-fillers are two robots, whose color scheme is quite close to the Rodney toy. Whether or not either of these is intended to be Rodney himself is unclear.
TV Magazine Super-God Masterforce prologue
Some time later, after the Decepticons had been forced off of Earth and a larger war began based around use of advanced technology from Planet Master, Chromedome and the other Headmasters took it upon themselves to train Rodney and the other Master Warriors in the use of their powers. The Headmasters Now!!
Toys
Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers
- Rodney (Cybertron Master Warrior, 1987)
- Known designers: Takashi Matsuda (TakaraTomy)
- Sold only in the third year of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers toyline (in a teeny individual box), Rodney transforms from a blue and yellow humanoid robot into a humanoid head. In this mode he can connect to any of the larger Headmaster toys' bodies, activating their built-in Tech Specs meter. Rodney grants his host body a Speed rating of 9, Strength of 6, and Intelligence of 10.
- Rodney and his fellow Autobot Master Warriors go for ludicrous sums of money on the secondary market. Naturally, this has led to some convincing knockoffs being made. The set with the widest distribution has a number of small differences from the originals, but one big obvious tell: these knockoffs lack the "© Takara '87" copyright stamping. Be wary when buying!
- Rodney (Cybertron Master Warrior, 1987)
- What go for even more ludicrous sums of money are the entirely-white versions of the Master Warriors, easily selling for over $1000 US a pop (and yes, there are knockoffs of these versions too, so be SUPER-wary).
- These are stupid-rare pieces, as they were only available as free giveaways with the purchase of other Transformers product, and prizes like these are usually run in very small numbers. These are the first known such promotional giveaways in the Transformers franchise.
- One of these promotions was the "Throttlebot Promotional Sales Campaign", where a random bagged all-white Headmaster was given away with the purchase of any Throttlebot at select Japanese retailers (sadly, we do not know which retailers these were). Reportedly, they were also available at Lawsons stores with the purchase of any Transformers product, both individually and as a big bagged set of six. Sadly, more concrete information on these campaigns is going to be... hard to come across.
Notes
- The original catalog photos of Rodney show him with much larger, more club-like arm-guards, which was reflected in his animation model.
