The beloved Animated character (particularly for me, since I came up with the whole "Punch of Kill Everything"-- or P.O.K.E.-- name for his attack that eventually became canon) now has a design for the "classic" Transformers universe! In vehicle mode, Lugnut is a WWII-style bomber plane, and his wing span is very impressive, particularly for a Voyager-- it's roughly a foot from wingtip to wingtip. The proportions are excellent in this mode, with wings that are actually proportional to the rest of the plane (a rarity for an aerial Transformer), he has a large transparent cockpit, a nice long tail section-- and no kibble on the bottom to speak of, really. The only robot bits that show in this mode are the fingers on the wings, though at least they fit into little slots and the overall silouhette of the wings-- if they were the same color as the wings themselves, they'd blend in almost seemlessly. The halves of the cockpit can also occasionally have trouble lining up exactly in this mode, though this can vary a little from figure to figure. The color scheme is realistic, but I much prefer Lugnut's purple-and-teal Animated colors. The dull greenish gray and dull teal-blue doesn't exactly make for the more eye-catching color scheme, but the transparent cherry red looks really nice as a contrast color on the transparent parts, as well as the dark red on a few other minor parts. The bronze engine intakes and guns (the latter of which can rotate up and down) also work well, as do the bits of purple (which become considerably more visible in robot mode). The "shark teeth" painted on the sides of the plane are also a nice addition, and a nod to his "Atomic" Animated redeco, while the yellow-and-black stripes on his engines hearken back to the initial release of the character. The "LU-6 NU-7" military callouts on the wings are a little funny at first, but a bit too obviously his name. As for a gimmick, the small turret piece can open up on the very back of the plane to give Lugnut some projectile-firing power-- there's a little gun under there that can be fired by pressing on the small purple trigger on his tail section. It can move down and up, but it is a bit of an odd place for a weapon, and it can be triggered rather easily. Since Lugnut is a "Reveal the Shield" toy, his allegiance rub symbol is near the tip of his left wing-- rub it and it'll reveal that he's a Decepticon.
    Just like his Animated toy, when you push forward on the tail section during transformation, his cockpit automatically opens up to reveal his head and chest, which is a pretty cool callback. Really, overall having such a different transformation from his Animated version while still making his robot mode so "Lugnut-y" is a feat of engineering. He still has his hunchback-- albeit in a slightly different manner-- and his arms are formed quite nicely from the wings while still being reasonably bulky. His legs are formed from the folded-together sections of the bottom of the vehicle mode. There are a couple of complaints I have with this mode though, so let's get those out of the way first-- there's a rather hollow gap in front of his upper legs and on top of the lower legs that are a bit unsightly. The top half of the cockpit also unceremoniously folds back behind his head, and the sides of said cockpit stick out from the sides of the chest a TAD too much. He also has the entire tail of his vehicle mode merely folded behind his back, but in that design decision's defense it was like that on the original toy and it doesn't get in the way of articulation much (nor is it a particular eyesore). You can rotate up the rear missile launcher so that it can launch over his back, just like he did on the Animated TV show. Most of the sculpting ranges from good to great, with little bolts and panels on the jet parts and some nice hinges, missle packs, and bolts molded into his robot parts. Making his fists out of the engines was ingenious, and yes, Lugnut now has actual fingers instead of a claw, though in a compromise he only has two fingers and a thumb on each hand. For his gimmick in this mode, Lugnut has-- to my great delight-- a "Punch of Kill Everything" gimmick. Push in on the small purple strigger on each lower arm and that section will spring forward slightly and suddenly in a nice "punching" action. (The bio for Lugnut also ingeniously explains why it's called the "Punch of Kill Everything" even when it doesn't technically kill anyone-- it actually rips little holes in the fabric of the universe. That's totally insane, and in a very good way.) As for articulation, Lugnut has it and then some-- he can move at the neck, mouth, shoulders (at two points), elbows, at the base of each thumb, at the base and middle point on each finger, and at the waist, hips (at three points), knees (at two points), and ankles (at three points). The hips and waist are a LITTLE restricted because of the alt mode kibble behind them, but that's still pretty incredible.
    Even ignoring my own personal like of and attachment to the character, Autobot Alliance Lugnut is an incredible toy and a great update to the character, looking great in both modes and improving upon his Animated version's design while still keeping many of his signature design elements. I wish his color scheme was a bit more purpley and less dull, but that and a few VERY minor kibble issues are the only real quibbles I have. A must-buy, to be sure. Plus, as a side note, if you want the P.O.K.E. mark actually on Lugnut, Reproblabels has you covered there!

Review by Beastbot

Back to Transformers: Autobot Alliance Index