Another new G1 mold in the Masterpiece series is always a great occasion since Takara release them so slowly these days. The previous Trailbreaker was pretty awesome, and this new Hoist is just as good. If you think the transformation is a reuse from the Trailbreaker, you'd be completely wrong! The engineers at Takara have done some incredible work to design a very similar car mode, coupled with a completely different transformation, into a bot mode that matches the cartoon aesthetic perfectly.
Click through below to watch my video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can subscribe to stay tuned for upcoming reviews.
Box and packaging is the usual standard Masterpiece style, and the set comes with a decent array of accessories. You can recreate some of the classic scenes from the cartoon episodes, such as when they all acted on set in alien masks.
There's also the swap out bumper piece to go with the more realistic chromed look or the cartoon style matte grey finish. I love the cartoon look, but I always use that bit of chrome when provided on figures, since I think it adds that extra bit of premium style on display.
The main attraction is of course the figure itself. The car mode is awesome, with a beautiful deep green and orange paint app. The rear carriage folds down and can tow other vehicles if you hook them over the little notch at the end.
I found the wheel clearance not that great, but that was resolved after a bit of adjusting after transformation. But I tend to keep my main cast of characters in bot mode anyway, so it wouldn't have been a problem for my display.
The doors and hood open just like they did on Trailbreaker. The details are slightly different under the hood, mostly influenced by the different transformation sequences. You can fit one of the human accessories from previous figures into the car, but it's pretty tight and I didn't even bother trying.
Overall, if you're a fan of car mode, you'll love this new Hoist. I think it's a pretty faithful representation of the Hilux variants that were produced back in the day.
But I'm a bot mode fa, and Hoist does not disappoint. The transformation sequence is drammatically different to Trailbreaker's and really do bring out the chunky stature Hoist had in the cartoon. The hips and thighs are a very faithful recreation of the cartoon aesthetic, and it really makes him stand out as something different amongst the MP cast.
They include a couple of swap out face plates too. I decided to go with the look he had in the episode with Grapple and the Constructicons, with the more pronounced chin guard.
There were only a couple of trickier parts in the transformation sequence. The panel rotation and folding in the shoulder areas can be confusing, so definitely follow the official Takara transformation video to make sure you do it right.
The other trickier part was making sure the backpack pegged into the back of the waist tightly. The first time will require quite some effort, but you will hear a satisfying click as it pegs in properly. Once that is done, the figure holds together very well and looks like he just jumped out of the 80s TV screen.
Side by side with Trailbreaker, the major differences in transformation and design become obvious. I love how the Takara engineers were able to factor this between the two characters, giving them the unique style that they deserve, as opposed to reusing the mold like the classic G1 toy. I think Takara has found the perfect balance in bot mode proportions whilst maintaining that realistic licensed car mode.
Displayed with MP Grapple, these two really do look like they came straight out of the G1 cartoon episode. It just makes me wish even harder for Takara to hurry up and do a proper MP Constructicon series!
All in all, I think if you're a G1 cartoon fan, then this new Hoist is a no-brainer. I just hope Takara continues this amazing design aesthetic and give us more G1 Season 1/2 characters this year.
