Review: #253
Name: Lift-Ticket
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: BotCon 2015 - Souvenir Set
Year of Release: 2015
Size Class: Deluxe
Variations: repaint of Generations Hoist (itself a retool of Generations Trailcutter)
BIO-CARD:
Lift-Ticket is a BotCon 2015 exclusive, sold in a two-pack with Burn Out. He comes with a bio card establishing the character and giving him some stats. The artwork and card is nice but nothing to get too excited about.
VEHICLE MODE:
Lift-Ticket transforms into a predominantly red pick-up truck with a tow-crane on the back. Lift-Ticket is based upon the Diaclone (pre-Transformers) version of the G1 Hoist toy, why they couldn't have called this Hoist is a mystery (yes, the name sucks).
This is a great vehicle mode, with silver painted hubcaps, hazard paint across the sides and "Wreckers" on each door.
The base mold is a retool of Generations Trailcutter, which means inheriting all of its benefits and flaws.
Lift-Ticket is a Deluxe class figure but he comes off as being a bit small due to the shortness of the vehicle.
As mentioned earlier, he comes in a two-pack with Burn Out, a black redeco of Generations Skids.
While his only play value is that his wheels roll, this is a nice repaint of Hoist and looks great as its own figure.
TRANSFORMATION:
The only negative about Lift-Ticket's transformation is that way his shoulders form. The joints are somewhat tight and while they are designed to tab against the door mirrors (which is ingenious), they don't actually work that well. Otherwise, Lift-Ticket is easy to convert between modes and doesn't pose much of a challenge.
ROBOT MODE:
Lift-Ticket's robot mode is fantastic, he has great proportions and the colors pop out. While it can be somewhat weird to see Hoist in red, this figure works out well in the end.
The mold itself is very good. It doesn't have any kibble at all (the lights behind his head are a defining feature of the character).
The head sculpt is great and while it is a bit plain with the block of red surrounding the face, it manages to look decent. The head is on a swivel joint so can only look from side to side.
A comparison in robot mode against Trailcutter, Lift-Ticket pops out a lot more thanks to the additional paint applications and brighter color scheme.
Lift-Ticket gets taller in robot mode but is still quite hollow and light for his size class, the mold was released during a period where Hasbro was cutting costs as much as possible.
Now, next to Burn Out, the pair looks good together.
Poseability isn't something to be laughed at here since Lift-Ticket has the lot, including a waist swivel.
The only somewhat limiting part are his feet, they are just big blocks made from the vehicle rear. If the designer could have somehow incorporated ankle swivels, that would be fantastic.
His weapon is made from the vehicle's tow-crane, which folds in half to create a blaster, this is clever and looks goods. Some black striping like the rest of the vehicle would have benefited the weapon as the pure yellow looks too bland.
The weapon can be held in either hand, the weapon would have benefited from a more defined barrel as currently, it still looks like a folded up piece of plastic.
Lift-Ticket is stable in most poses and is able to pull off some dynamic ones.
A great robot mode that works better than expected.
OVERALL:
Personally, I got the set for Burn Out but I ended up finding myself like Lift-Ticket better. The mold is good and the color scheme works very well. Even if you don't care much for the Diaclone homage, this is a good figure. However, it goes without saying that Lift-Ticket is a very expensive toy, approximately US$40, a rise from 2014's souvenir two-pack. Either way, if the toy interests you, then he is definitely worth obtaining.
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