Bot Reviews: Transformers: Generations Selects Deluxe Lift-Ticket.

So, is Lift-Ticket a Legacy or Generations Selects figure? I think of it as Generations Selects, since it’s in a brown box, and exclusive to both Gamestop and Toys R Us. And all Generations Selects releases have “belonged” to a specific mainline, you usually just had to check the instructions for the logo and colors once you opened it. This one says “Legacy” on the box, and actually has an illustration of the figure on it, meaning they’ve given up the idea of this line being online-order-only, and accepted that it’ll be on store shelves. But I’m still primarily thinking of it as Selects, if only because I’ve still got some Kingdom stuff in the queue to talk about down the road, so I’m not quite ready to dive into Legacy yet.

Anyway, remember last week when I talked about how compelling rare or unreleased things are when it comes to collector-bait? That’s what’s going on with Lift-Ticket. As anyone that watched The Toys That Made Us knows, many early Transformers figures (particularly the Autobot Cars that formed the backbone of the early line) were repaints or re-releases of figures from Takara’s Diaclone line, from the years prior, often with only minor sticker and tooling differences. But a lot of these cars had additional alternate color schemes in Diaclone, which weren’t used in Transformers. And over the years, Takara, Hasbro and Fun Publications have all occasionally gone back to the Diaclone well, picking an unused deco, and giving it a Transformer name and identity. That’s how we got Exhaust, for example, and I go into more detail about how this process works over in his review.

In Lift-Ticket’s case, his colors are based around an alternate red version of the Diaclone robot that would become Hoist, unused in Transformers. It was Fun Publications that created their new name and identity, taking that red color scheme, and applying it to Thrilling 30 Deluxe Hoist as a BotCon 2015 exclusive, in a two-pack with Burn-Out, a black Skids repaint that I’m assuming is in the works from Skids’s upcoming Legacy figure.

The nifty thing about Lift-Ticket, who got an extended profile and a role in that year’s BotCon comic, is that they’re still not actually a Transformer, they’re the actual Diaclone mech (piloted by a guy named Cline), accidentally transported out of their own universe. But who knows if that’s still true with this version, which comes with no bio, and online sales copy that only references it being an update of a BotCon figure. At least this new Generations Selects one got a name, unlike the upcoming Diaclone-based Ironhide repaint, “DK-3 Guard” (ugh). As for me, I bit on this new one because Earthrise Hoist (reviewed here), whom it’s repainted from, was one of my favorite figures in that line, and something about this particular deco speaks to me. That, and it was previously only available as a vintage toy, or as a deliberately-hard-to-get-and-pricey BotCon figure, and I’m all for making a rare thing no longer rare. Since I already reviewed Hoist, I’ll be focusing moreso on the differences with this one.

Robot Mode

One big reason I loved the original Hoist version of this so much was its very chunky, chumbly, non-threatening sculpt, as Hoist was in the G1 animation. The funny thing about it is that in the lore of Diaclone, these mechs were created specifically to fight alien invaders, but Lift-Ticket does not read as that in the slightest (at least his FunPub bio says he was built for “rescue and repair.”)  Either way, this is a repair guy, a non-combatant, someone far away from the frontlines.

I still love the subtle headsculpt details, the grooves on the mouth, the little antenna on the sides, while I still don’t love his awkward arms, thanks to those altmode panels hanging off of them. In hindsight, the thing that bothers me most is it’s really hard to get the twin panels on his back lined up diagonally, they like to flop around. But overall, I’m still completely tickled by how friendly this guy looks.

So, these colors. They’re mostly straight swaps from Hoist. The green becomes red, the white becomes gray, and orange becomes yellow. Stuff like silver accents and the Autobrand on the chest is mostly the same (does that Autobrand mean this one’s not a Diaclone, but a Transformer instead? Who knows). His eyes are now painted yellow instead of blue, and he doesn’t have the scuff marks on his chest that Hoist had, but his hand-gun accessory is painted silver now, in an amusingly direct case of the budget being diverted to something different.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but as hinted at the start, these are Hot Rod’s colors, straight up.

Specifically, the red is the exact same shade as Kingdom Rodimus Prime. The yellow is different, though since all of Rodimus Prime’s yellow was painted, but it’s instead almost the same shade of yellow as Studio Series 86 Hot Rod (Rod’s a hair more pale, Lift Ticket’s more mustardy), and the same shade of gray as the 86 figure, too. The “spoiler” being that color in the back really sells this as an unintended homage, too. As someone of less-than-athletic physique who likes Hot Rod, maybe I connect to this sculpt in these colors, just a little bit. Either way, it looks really good on this figure. It does unintentionally highlight one flaw in the sculpt, though: The torso on this figure’s completely empty and hollow, there’s nothing in there, and it’s more visually obvious here than on Hoist. I struggled to figure out why, until I realized that the lighter colors make his insides (or lack thereof) show up through his translucent windshield chest moreso than they did on Hoist, despite the windshield seeming to be the same shade of translucent dark blue. So, take that as you will.

Also, it’s extremely nitpicky, but mostly opting for straight-up color swaps leaves him as something of an imperfect Diaclone homage, simply because the original figure’s lower torso had no yellow on it , but was entirely black and silver (well, silver becomes grey on this figure already, which is fine). It’s a little thing, but if you’re going to do a homage, it’s something to note.

The rest of his construction is still just as good as Hoist’s was. I love the double jointed legs, and how amusingly flexible this round guy is. I find the arms awkward (though I appreciate the wrist swivels) due to those aforementioned panels moving along with the shoulders at strange angles, though I suppose it’s preferable to shoulder articulation being blocked.

Outside of the aforementioned little torch/weapon thingie that fits in his hand, he’s still got a bunch of weapons ports if you’ve got extra accessories or weaponizers, featuring two per arm, one on each foot, and two in the back.

Transformation

Admittedly, parts of this still trip me up, though I’ll admit I didn’t use the instructions the first time. The most challenging part of Lift-Tickets transformation is that when you fold the waist away, you’ve got to plug it in really tight, with excessive force, or the whole back of the altmode won’t come together.

Speaking of that, getting the back end to peg together also requires a specific order of operations for it to work (fold the legs first, then plug the truck bed into them, then fold the side-panels down to plug them in).

Still, it’s mostly a fluid experience.

Truck Mode

I love this truck mode. It’s so mundanely believable as a Robot in Disguise. It’s chunky, it rolls well, and it looks good. More Transformers should have alternate modes like this.

Again, this has almost the same color layout as Hoist, just with color swaps, with most of the paint apps being identical, save for that missing scuff up-front. The fake painted side-windows are now bright blue, oddly. I’d have preferred they kept the original blacks of Hoist, especially since that would be closer to the Diaclone original.

The big change is that the tampograph on the side of the truck isn’t just stripes, it says “Wrecker” in white letters, in a way that’s super-accurate to the Diaclone. It’s funny, because it makes him sound tough, when he really doesn’t feel tough otherwise (he also isn’t a member of the Wreckers). Outside of that, this is a lot closer to the original vintage figure than the robot mode, just missing some stripes on the truck bed, and is way more accurate than the BotCon homage, due to the altmode being closer.

I still appreciate the way the hanging-down ramp on the truck bed has a wheel on it that manages to not drag on the ground, but roll along with the vehicle. Hoist’s small back wheel has started falling out, unfortunately, but this guy’s is still tight.

For other features, you can mount that torch-like weapon in ports on the sides of him, on his back wheels, or on his truck bed if you want to flip it up.

And speaking of that little ramp, I actually have Earthrise-compatible stuff I can use with the connection point on the truck bed now, including Kingdom Rodimus Prime’s trailer.

Overall

This is a super self-indulgent purchase. Hoist was a good figure, a great one even. And this is a good-looking redeco, a homage to old fandom stuff, and an unintentional homage to a favorite character. Plus, it’s a case of a previously rare thing becoming easy to obtain, and that’s something I support. But this is definitely non-essential, and not even especially wild of a redeco. But dangit, I like it, and it’s a good figure, and if this tooling and colors appeal to you, you’ll find it good, too.

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