General Information:
Release Date: August 2013
Price Point: $14.99 (Depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Energon Axe, Ion Blaster
*Images with asterisks and text in italics from Amazon.com:
When an Autobot is seriously damaged in the field he goes to Autobot Ratchet, but for everyday aches and pains, Hoist is the most trusted guy around. There's no strut or spar Hoist can't fix and no malady so baffling that he can't diagnose it. He supplements his vast knowledge with an easy bedside manner that makes him well liked by his fellow Autobots and universally acknowledged as the expert on everything from wrist rust to scraplets. The battle between Autobot and Decepticon is never over and this Hoist figure is the next generation of awesome Transformers action. Your Hoist figure is a rescue robot who can help his fellow Autobots out of a jam, whether he's in robot mode or SUV mode. His tow hook becomes a blaster when he's in robot mode. Keep converting him back and forth so he can handle whatever his Decepticon enemies dish out.
In Summer of 2013 a wave of "Generations" figures was released featuring several characters as they have appeared in the IDW series of comic books. One of these releases was Hoist. This is an Autobot who has been around since the early days of the "Transformers" toy line. In the second year of the "Transformers" toy line, many sculpts from the first year were repurposed as new characters. They took the basic sculpts and gave them new parts, colors and in some cases heads. With this new version of Hoist, history repeats itself as the Trailcutter sculpt has been retooled with a new head and deco to make Hoist! Check out my Trailcutter review for details on the basic sculpt. This review will cover the changes made to the figure for this release.
Packaging:
The new style of "Generations" packaging features a card back with the G1 inspired "grid" pattern and a small "Transformers Generations" logo at the top. Most of the "art" in the background is provided by a cover of a comic book exclusive to this toy. In this case it's the Spotlight Hoist with a printing created just for this release. On top of that is the figure in robot mode with its accessories. It's a nice packaging design, but I think it would've been better if the "Transformers Generations" logo was larger on the card or even printed right on the comic book.
Robot Mode:
Hoist uses almost exactly the same body sculpt as Trailcutter. The only major change is the head. Hoist features a whole new head sculpt based on his G1 and current IDW comic book appearances. It features a "helmet" section with thin, angled sections leading to a face with visor eyes and a mouthplate that comes to an angle in the middle. He also has small little notches on the mouthplate, a carry over detail from the Generation One days. It's a great head sculpt and is immediately identifiable as Hoist.
The other change made to the figure is the accessory included with the figure. Instead of the shield/blaster combination included with Trailcutter, this figure comes with a tow hook/blaster. In robot form this blaster is a handheld weapon. The handle is the base of the tow hook, so the barrel of the weapon can swing up and down. If you wanted to, you could easily swing open the weapon to form the tow hook (which in turn looks like it's a fishing line).
The other major changes of course involve the colors. The main plastic colors are green, silver, black and orange. Green and silver are the most prominent, keeping with the G1 colors (though most of the "silver" in G1 was vacuum metallized silver). Black and orange make up smaller portions of the figure including parts like the elbows and the lower section of the chest. Translucent blue is found on the chest and it's used for the eyes. Paint details are done in the same colors, with silver being the main paint color used. The deco pattern is different than Trailcutter's. For instance, silver is used on all the headlights and fog lights, not just top lights. He also has silver on his forearms where Trailcutter had no paint details. Orange is used on his knee armor which reflects a similar color/detail pattern on the G1 version of the character. The weapon also has deco on it in the form of yellow "hazard lines", a carry over detail from the vehicle mode.
All the joints on this figure are nice and tight. He still has the six attachment points for weapons on his arms and the flat piece behind his head. Since the sculpt is pretty much the same as Trailcutter, he can use Trailcutter's shield/weapon.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the weapon if attached and set it aside for now.
- Swing both fists into the forearms.
- Push both feet up.
- Swing the chest piece up.
- From underneath the figure, push the robot head and the center panel of the hood up.
- Turn the robot head around and push it down.
- On each forearm, swing out the thin panel on the bottom.
- Rotate each shoulder piece up so the curved piece on it aligns with the wheel.
- Swing each wheel in, tucking the shoulder pieces under the hood.
- Adjust each forearm to form the sides of the vehicle.
- Swing each leg to the side and forward.
- Take the weapon and swing each half out.
- Attach the hook to the hole on the back of the cabin section.
Vehicle Mode:
While not exactly a "sculpt change", without the shield/weapon piece on the back this vehicle winds up looking more like a pickup truck than the "SUV" style vehicle that Trailcutter represented. The tow-hook looks great here rising above the vehicle in the back at an angle. Unfortunately if you start messing with it the hook pops off fairly easily. It's really meant more for show than anything else.
The main plastic color featured in this mode is green, with the tow-hook and wheels cast in black. Bits of orange plastic show up here and there such as the base of the tow-hook and the hook itself. The windows are clear (with a tinge of grey). Silver is used on the rectangular piece at the center of the figure. It's also used for the fog lights and headlights in the front. Much to my surprise, it's also found on the rims, a detail that has been neglected more and more in the past couple of years. This made me smile and the vehicle looks much better with the detail. Some black paint is used to paint the front tow line section. On the sides of the tow-hook arm are yellow hazard stripes. Another yellow and black hazard stripe detai can be found on the doors. Rounding all these details out is a large silver and red Autobot symbol on the center of the hood. Overall, this deco looks fantastic and it immediately evokes G1 Hoist while looking more modern.
Final Thoughts:
Hoist is a really cool redeco and retool of Trailcutter. It represents the character well and is a fun toy to boot. Highly recommended!
