Review: #20
Name: Hightower
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Revenge of the Fallen
Year of Release: 2009
Size Class: Legends
Variations: There is a TakaraTomy (i.e. Japanese) version and a Hasbro version, and both companies repainted it into G1 green and purple
CRANE MODE:
Hightower transforms into a truss crane, that is not immediately obviously if it is based on a real life model. He has the slot for the combiner peg in front. Nevertheless, it is an awesome little crane and the stronger mode of the two.
There's a 'cage' in the back. Anyway, he has four little wheels on the bottom for rolling, and the hook can swivel in and out. A lot of good detail but overall feels a tad bit hollow, he doesn't have much mass.
The little hook can be switched into a claw (the robot mode's tail) which I guess is some play-ability. He could do with a bit more paint to bring out the details, but overall, he is a good crane.
TRANSFORMATION:
Although the end result might not show it, Hightower's transformation is quite unique. A bit more involved than I imagined, primarily due to the legs, which is not intuitive the first time around. It is still a simple transformation, so converting between the two modes will only take you a few seconds, this is good.
ROBOT MODE:
Hightower ditches the traditional humanoid shaped robot in favour of a more beast-like silhouette. His legs are jutted way out to the sides, two tiny arms in front, and a tail, there's a mask/cage-like thing in front of his face.
Hightower is extremely static, the only thing you can do is move his tail, which has two joints. You can position it overhead as a sort of stinger and it looks good like that.
The more I look at him, the more I feel that his stance looks like one of those small dinasaurs, especially with the arms hanging out the front. It should be noted that this is a robot mode that's based on concept art, as Hightower's robot mode never appeared in the film and this is the only converting toy for this character...
He has an extremely small head, and since it's made from black plastic, it is extremely hard to make out the sculpted details, his eyes are painted red though. An unusual robot mode, you're either going to like it or hate it, I'm neutral.
OVERALL:
A really good crane mode and a unique robot mode, this toy is average. As a standalone toy, I probably wouldn't run out and grab it, but as part of a combiner set, he is good. A tad bit static perhaps in both modes, but the engineering is still impressive.
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Some more photos can be found at this gallery (at another site).
Credit: pictures and text is all mine, but I've linked a few pages to TFwiki.net
Reviews of other figures can be selected from here.