Grapple's not quite as famous as the slightly more famous Inferno. He's just a yellow version of the guy with his own head (sometimes) and has a crane hook instead of a ladder. What makes him that interesting? Oh, he had an episode with Hoist where they helped the Constructicons out. Maybe it's not as much of a stand-out moment as the InfernoAlert shipping is, but it's something, I guess. Another thing that is something is the fact that he got a toy before Inferno did in the WFC line! Let's see how good he is with his return to the G1 design.
Here we have Grapple in his vehicle mode, which is a crane that he takes form in the old toy. Well, I know the Reveal the Shield version may have not been G1 accurate enough, but I did like it because it felt like an upgrade. Less toyish and more substantial if you know what I mean. This guy, having a design that's different from the RTS version (which isn't a bad thing if done right) makes for a bit of an underwhelming approach to the vehicle mode because of how faithful it is to the old toy. I'd like to see some additional stuff to make it more unique from the old toy like a second cockpit meant to control the crane or a different way to store the arms! This vehicle mode does at least have some good panel-lining, but I'm positive the G1 toy had a decent amount of it, too. All in all, it's underwhelming that the Earthrise line's the true form of G1 but with knees; Cliffjumper was at least a massive step up from the G1 Minibot in terms of appearance and transformation (aside from the partsforming), Wheeljack is not just a better figure than the old toy, but is also neat as a Mini-MP for those on a budget, and I'm sure Ironworks is more worthwhile than the old Micromaster base. Hoist and Grapple make me question why some figures have better engineering or enhanced vehicle modes while others don't. It's at least ironic that they're the ones that I criticized because they are friends.
Its proportions capturing the old toy just makes it feel a lot less interesting than it is, because it's not like I wanted it to be the same as with the Reveal the Shield version of the figure, but I do want it to be less like that G1 with knees ideology that was a thing I saw in stuff like the POTP Terrorcons or what I initially felt Siege was going to be like.
The crane arm is at least functional, and I do like how it not only hinges up and down but also swivels. The hook even hinges, which is a nice thing, I suppose.
For weapon storage, he has his rifle peg on the side where the nozzle resides.
There is also a claw that doesn't look as nice when stored on the side, but you can attach it to the crane hook if you want. Looks pretty cool despite it not being articulated. It does have a clip to hold a ramp or a Battlemaster that turns into a ramp.
For a ridiculous size comparison, here he is next to his buddy Hoist. Am I doing something wrong here? I can't be the only one that thinks this vehicle mode scale looks absolutely ridiculous. A tow truck being bigger than a crane truck makes as much sense as a tow truck riding a small truck like in that shite cartoon. Absolutely ridiculous.
Transformations like the old toy, I suppose. It's got some interesting steps like how the crane arm hinges and collapses to make the design look a little tidy, and the head is able to be hidden away from a hinge of sorts. The only really interesting part of this transformation is that there are two pegs that go into the holes underneath the feet, and when you get them out of the box, you'll notice that either they're too tight to go any deeper or they snapped off. What I suggest you do is file down on the pegs and see if they're easier to peg into the holes. As for the robot mode, it's almost like a slightly beefier version of the Masterpiece figure, and I suppose it's nice to get this guy without spending more on an MP version; still, part of me wants more from this guy, especially given how basic AF he is compared to the other Transformers I mentioned. At least Cliffjumper and Wheeljack were more than the G1 with knees joke would say they are, but here, this guy doesn't quite work. At least he's relatively complete and not having any glaring gaps aside from the ones used for the 5mm ports or the hands storing away.
Head sculpt is accurate to what it should be, but those eyes though...they're not painted as much as they should for God knows why, and they not only look a lot smaller, but the plastic for the helmet is oddly see-through and results in the eyes looking a lot smaller since the paint didn't seem to be applied properly.
Articulation is the same as with most Siege line, though, like some Voyagers, he lacks wrist swivels as seen with Megatron, Soundwave, and Apeface. Also, his head is not on a ball joint but on a swiveling mushroom joint due to how his head is designed. One unfortunate thing about him is that his range of eyesight's hampered due to how he is designed. He can hold his gun with no problem, and his claw can replace one of his hands. The nozzle can replace the hand for a more traditional accessory, but without the launching gimmick of the old toy, it feels needless.
And now it's time to talk about the current reuse of the mold so far. Unexpectedly, Inferno is the retool of the figure whereas Grapple usually serves that purpose in the past. He's got key Inferno details like the hoses, a new head, the winglets around the head, and the ladder come water cannon. I do want to get this guy, though I'm more interested in using gift cards or discounts.
And now we have the Generations Selects repaint of the Inferno version of the mold as Artfire. This guy is pretty much Inferno if he had white on some parts of him as well as black thighs and some black for the shoulder pads. To be completely honest with you, this version of the mold would be fine if it weren't done immediately after the similar-looking version of the toy. A Hauler in Constructicon colors would be logical if you ask me, then we can go here. At least we have two different effect pieces with the Nightstick Battlemaster.
And for a recent addition to the Legacy line, here we have Road Hauler, who is in Constructicon green and might make me want to get this mold again since he not only represents a blip in G1 (albiet in the more familiar green instead of Grapple yellow), and not only is he given a new screaming head for a new look, but he also has the retooled pegs Inferno and Artfire came with. He either comes in a single pack among the 5 Overrides in a shipment, or it's him that outnumbers Override when an even split would make more sense, right Hasbro?
Here is a size comparison with some other figures, where he resides in between his friend Hoist and the next figure I'll take a look at after the Seekers, Optimus Prime. And yes, I said Seekers. More on that tomorrow. Grapple is one of the smaller figures in the Voyager scale, which isn't really a bad thing since Optimus is a normal Voyager scale as far as 2010s-era of figures go. Still, him being shorter than Optimus but taller than Hoist works, and it's even better in terms of scale when the Reveal the Shield version is a little too tall next to the undersized Thrilling 30 Hoist. As for Grapple himself, he's pretty underwhelming for a Voyager figure. I was pretty impressed with the Siege figures in terms of their engineering, especially seen with Optimus Prime and Springer being my favorites. Megatron and Apeface were pretty good, while Starscream and Soundwave were okay. Still, Siege's figures are generally seen by me as well-made and proof that the Generations line can be a bit more than just G1 but with knees. I don't see that with half of Earthrise's offerings so far. Maybe we'll see how the other two figures turn out. Also, have a feeling that Inferno will mostly be the same.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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