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Badcube Lorry - Hoist

Although I love Badcube figures, Lorry falls short in a couple of places and has the same engineering problem that Speedbump has.

I don't think vehicle mode is as successful as Speedbump. From the top and front, it looks gorgeous. The paint application is clean and looks great. From the sides, there is a lot of visible junk in the undercarriage. Are those things supposed to be running boards? Perhaps it is inevitable because of Hoist's wings. I'll probably wait for one of the other options to use in a photo project. Like Speedbump, the sideview mirrors are made of soft rubber, but they feel firmer. He rolls great on rubber tires. The hoist actually works. The "cable" is only about four inches long and can be wound and unwound with the winch. He also has a foldout trailer hitch with its own rubber tire. The green part of the front fender seems to be a little bent on mine. While annoying in vehicle mode, it doesn't seem to affect transformation or be as pronounced in robot mode.

Transformation is somewhat involved. This is Badcube after all. It's manageable though. The instructions seem to be pretty easy to follow. Despite being mold mates, there are various aspects that differ from Speedbump. The feet have an interesting mechanic, but you can easily get turned around while transforming them. The pegs in the arms and upper body hold together very well. I wish the same could be said for those in his shins. Like Wardog and Sunsurge, you can keep his shins extended for a substantial gain in height. You get an unsightly gap in both shins though. Going back to truck mode was a little fiddly, but still manageable.

Robot mode fairs a bit better. He does capture that tubby look of the original character. Strangely, he's shorter than Speedbump. His calves are filled in, but the panels don't stay clipped together very well. For how the trailer hitch just kind of sticks off his legs, I would rather they had left it out entirely or make it removable. Die-cast in his stomach and feet give him some heft. No new paint applications are revealed in this mode. I like how some of his panels and molded details differ from Speedbump. His head sculpt is painted in a beautiful metallic grey with metallic blue eyes.

His head is on a balljoint. He can't really look down, but he can look pretty far up if you move the cannon out of the way on its double hinge. His shoulders are on hinged balljoints and have no trouble raising out to 90 degrees. He swivels at his biceps, one wrist, waist, and thighs. He has single-jointed elbows that can get to 90 degrees and double-jointed knees that can get to 180 degrees, but don't expect the shin panels to stay in place. I had complained about Speedbump for his wonky knees. Lorry's are no better. This is an issue that probably could have been solved with strong ratchets are having some part of the knees clip into place. His hips are on universals. He has ankle tilts and rockers as well as separate toe and heel tilts. Like Speedbump, I don't enjoy posing Lorry. While the joints in his arms are tight, the instability caused by his knees just makes him a chore to pose.

His accessories include a horse, two knights, and assorted weapons for the knights. The paint applications on the miniatures are decent, but do get a little messy in some places. The horse doesn't have any articulation. It comes with a mandatory white stand, but good luck getting in the pegs on its feet. The knights aren't that detailed, but they serve their purpose. Both have waists and arms that are on swivels and hands that can kind of hold their lances and shields. Even if you were patient enough to get the weapons pegged in, they fall out very easily. The legs are not articulated, but the lower bodies are swappable between standing and horse riding stances. The blue knight can peg into the horse. The red knight can ride Wardog if you're willing to experience his transformation again. Hoist's and the blue knight's shields don't have any emblems. The red knight has a gold crown on his shield. I'll probably be leaving the whole bundle in the box.

After the beautiful truck that was Speedbump, I'm a little disappointed with Lory's vehicle mode. Robot mode captures that G1 nostalgia very well. If it weren't for the knees, I would like this figure a lot more. I will be using him on one of my secondary Masterpiece shelves and hoping one of the other companies' versions don't have the same knee problems.