G1 Hoist

Hoist is one of the '85 TFs that I sort-of remember. It's probably his orange towing contraption which has remained stuck in my head all these years. He's got a cool characterization on the show; he's usually very upbeat. The only thing I remember from the comics is the Bruce Springsteen rip-off issue where Hoist keeps the concert going despite the Decepticon's attempt to steal sonic energy (or something like that). Hoist has a great vehicle mode. As a kid I remember thinking Trailbreaker (whom Hoist shares a mold with) was a Ford or Chevy pick-up. Looking at the mold now though, there's little resemblance. The truck is actually a Hi-Lux which I think is a Japanese make. The yellow/black striping on the side indicates immediately that Hoist is a service vehicle if the big towing blazoo on the back didn't do that already. I've never seen one of these towing platform things in the real world, but maybe they exist somewhere and it works well enough for a toy (UPDATE: yeah, so they do exist - saw one a few days before updating this review :). The front grille/headlights are all chromed and look amazing, almost model-like. Overall, despite a somewhat boring vehicle concept, Hoist ends up looking really good and stands out from the other sportscar Autobots. The robot mode is a little goofy-looking but has grown on me now. I like all the extras Hoist has - the chrome scanner that fits in the back of his head, the fact he can have both hands replaced with wrist missiles and, while it's not really an accessory, the orange "wings" on his backpack really give the robot mode a dynamic look. Hoist also has a few stickers that look somewhat robotic rather than like black lines topped by a yellow circle and red bar (something most other G1 stickers tend to be :), which changes up his look a little bit more. The headsculpt actually looks pretty scary to me - very un-Autobot-like! The TV Hoist is shown to be a little less soulless-looking. It helps to look at the overall robot mode and remember these toys were once mechas piloted by human beings. In that sense, the headsculpt is excellent since it does look very Japanese mech-like. I'll bet with a Diaclone driver this toy would be really cool, as the robot mode cockpit is right in the chest, like Optimus Prime has. Once again, the no-frills, non-deluxe North American packaging is somewhat saved (somewhat!) by a good DW-style cover.