Lift-Ticket (BotCon 2015 Attendee-Only Exclusive)
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Diaclone
Size: Deluxe (comes in a 2-pack with Burn Out)
Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Moderately pale red, black, chalky orangish yellow, and some silver, blue, transparent pale blue, light milky glittery gray, and off-white
Rating: 8.0

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Generations "Thrilling 30" Trailcutter. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Generations "Thrilling 30" Trailcutter here.)

    Lift-Ticket is an homage to one of the Diaclone paint jobs given to the toy that would eventually become the G1 Hoist mold. Lift-Ticket is only partially sentient, relying mostly on his "pilot", Cline, for instruction, though it should be emphasized the toys cannot interact in any such way. Lift-Ticket's paint job is mostly red, but not a "bold" red-- rather, a slightly pale shade of the color, which actually looks better than a straightforward red would've, as the latter would've been a bit too bold when compared to all the orangish yellow paint used on the rear section of the vehicle mode, the crane arm, the robot shoulders, waist, and eyes, and for part of the stripes on the sides. The orangish-yellow and red really contrast and complement each other well, and the black used on such areas as the tires, crane arm and missile pack, and front bumper and stripes help to give the color scheme a nice "dark" color to keep Lift-Ticket from being too light. There's also a fair amount of silver paint and light milky gray plastic, mostly visible in robot mode on places like the lower arms, upper legs, knee, and toes, though some minor vehicle mode details on the front are also painted silver. The silver serves as a nice contrast color against the black; against the red it looks okay, but nothing particularly special. I don't like the particular shade of light milky gray that was used, though at least a fair amount of "glitter" was used in the plastic to make it a bit more interesting visually. As one final color, there's some blue on Lift-Ticket, both in terms of the pale blue used for the transparent plastic and some blue paint on the robot shoulders. The blue paint looks VERY nice contrasting against the red, but the transparent blue is a bit too pale; a bolder blue would've popped better, if you ask me. Just like on the Diaclone toy, Lift-Ticket has "WRECKER" in white along the sides of his vehicle mode, over the stripes; however, the white isn't "solid" enough here, as you can still see the stripes behind the lettering, which just looks kinda bad and should've been fixed before the final release. Additionally-- although otherwise Lift-Ticket has a pretty respectable amount of paint-- not putting any paint on the rear end of his vehicle mode was a bit of an oversight, I think.
    The same mold changes have been made to Lift-Ticket that were made to Generations "Thrilling 30" Hoist, but no mold changes have been made specifically for this release. Unfortunately on a fair number (but not all) of Lift-Ticket toys, the bottom of the crane arm was assembled backwards (as mine is); hence the odd configuration of it in the vehicle mode pic above. To fix this you'd have to remove and re-insert a pin, so I just leave it alone. It's kind of a bummer, but doesn't ruin the toy; it still collapses into gun mode just fine.
    Lift-Ticket is part of a two-pack that Transformers fans have been requested for a while-- that is, a Diaclone homage. It pulls off its job pretty well (with a few minor exceptions, like the see-through "WRECKER" emblems), has some fairly nice colors, and a good amount of paint apps. He's a solid recolor, but since Hoist also has the yellow/black stripe patterns, I felt this toy needed a bit more to stand out, even if it wasn't accurate to the original Diaclone toy. As is, it's essentially "red Hoist", which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it could've been implemented a bit better.



Lift-Ticket Bio:
FUNCTION: Salvage and Mechanical Repair, Strategic Defense
MOTTO: "If your engine isn't tuned to peak performance, you give your enemies one more weakness for them to exploit."
From maintaining a diplomat's fleet of vehicles to rebuilding and repairing military vehicles for the United Commonwealths of the Indio-Pacific Treatise, Cline has always been a mechanic in demand. When the Diaclone program started in Tokyo, his nomination to the first team of mech pilots was echoed by representatives from a great many nations. If the team was to be a success in the defense of the planet from the Waruder invaders, it was going to need someone in the field that could conduct repairs and prevent breakdowns.
Lift-Ticket, the mech assigned to Cline, is well-equipped for repair and recovery operations. In vehicle mode, its tow cable is capable of pulling several dozen tons for vast distances. In humanoid mode, the powerful servos and hydraulics in the arms of Lift-Ticket can lift twice as much. Unlike Burn Out and Dia, the artificial intelligence Lift-Ticket possesses and Cline do not share personalities. Cline is detail-oriented and methodical, while the AI of Lift-Ticket is more alert and on guard. More than once, its wary programming has grabbed Cline's attention away from his repairs just in time to dodge a Waruder's venomous sting or evade its vicious, crushing jaws.
Strength: 8.0
Intelligence: 7.0
Speed: 5.0
Endurance: 6.0
Rank: 5.0
Courage: 6.0
Fireblast: 4.0
Skill: 9.0

Review by Beastbot

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