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