Retro vibes.

Back during the original Bayverse Movie trilogy there were a bunch of toys made of characters that didn’t appear in the actual films. Most of them were pretty great.
Is Hubcap one of the great ones?
See for yourself.

Vehicle mode

They should have named this guy Hot Rod.
He’s red and turns into a hot rod! The actual Bayverse Hot Rod is black and turns into a Lambo.
That’s weird.
Also, this guy is called Hubcap, but he has no hubcaps.
That’s even weirder.
Hubcap is cast in a really pleasing red plastic and has silver paint details on his grill, headlights, bumpers, wheels and pipes. All his windows are painted in black.
Only three colors, but he uses them well.

Transformation

Really, really simple for a figure of this era. Only four steps. Keep in mind, this guy came out at the same time as Breacher, the most complex Scout Class ever.
Not a bad thing though. Fast transformations are nice when all your modes are good.

Robot mode

Now, if a Transformer has a unique vehicle mode, I usually display them in that mode.
The thing with Hubcap is, his robot mode is really good looking, so I’m never really sure what mode to leave him in.
Look at him! He’s got just the right amount of Bayverse aesthetic to be detailed but not overly busy. His face is nice and friendly looking, like an Autobot’s should.
Hubcap has pretty good posability. He has a ball-jointed head, universal shoulders and ball-jointed elbows. He’s also got universal hips, a thigh swivel and a knee bend. Oh yeah, his feet move up and down too. He can bust a move!
There’s one gripe I have with Hubcap though. While his hands are molded pretty nicely, they can’t hold 5mm or 3mm weapons. You can use clip on weapons with him though, so there’s that.
All and all, a great robot mode.

Toy or collectible?

Hubcap actually lends himself well to being a toy. He’s simple, has two good modes and is all around fun. However, he’s quite expensive now since he’s pretty rare. He now costs about as much as a Studio Series Deluxe new. Then again, he’s not much smaller than Volkswagen Bumblebee or Jazz, so use your discretion with that. Also, you can always buy him cheaper used.
I think all adult collectors should get a Hubcap whether you like Bayverse Transformers or not. That’s because even if you don’t like Bayverse Transformers, Hubcap can still blend into pretty much any collection.

Closing

Hubcap’s got retro vibes for more than one reason. Obviously, his hot rod mode is a nice and unique retro vehicle mode. But the other thing is, he brings back those 2010 vibes when Transformers were all still decently priced, hefty enough and maybe sometimes a bit too complex.
Well, not Hubcap. He’s definitely not too complex.