Moist himself is a green Trailbreaker that's got a different component to his truck bed, a different head, and at least one stand-out episode that has him and Grapple work with the Constructicons. Oh, and Moist also got a name mixup by the movie director who looks like an older Spike Witwicky. He's actually called Hoist and got a donut from the same guy. So it's kind of a surprise that he's in the Earthrise line since the Thrilling 30 line made a decent version of the Trailbreaker/Hoist design, but we'll see how this guy holds up.
Here we have Hoist in his vehicle mode. The design of this tow truck is pretty much a 2020 version of the old toy's altmode, but it does have some additional details like the battle damage on the front...which is otherwise needless because of how small it is (and the fact that Earthrise is cleaner than Siege). Honestly, if it weren't for the lack of chrome and slight paint app or proportion differences, this guy would be a direct copy-and-paste of the G1 toy. I guess that's neat for the older fans that are as obsessed with their Geewun as much as Genesis Sonic fans are with anything that isn't modern. Even the back is about the same in terms of looks.
The side looks mostly good for what it is, though things like the bulk of the toy's back, the different shades of green, the wheels being different, and the kibble underneath the toy make me question how this guy turned out. Look, I get that they wanted to look G1 accurate with the back, but why can't they do anything meaningful with hiding these pieces when the G1 toy did that? Very disappointing if you ask me.
The weapon storage is fairly basic as you just attach the weapon to the side. That's pretty much it.
You can get this figure to tow something like the G1 version, but it's not really helpful since it doesn't really hold onto anything.
I don't have any of the Soundbarriers, but you can use Prime's trailer ramp to work if you want.
For a size comparison (yet again), let's use the same image from Cliffjumper and see how Hoist looks next to the other two characters. I feel he looks good for what he is as a tow truck, though the proportions might look toyish. And if you can tell, I don't have Ironworks...yet. I'll most certainly go back and collect the Siege figures I didn't buy yet when the line is over and make a bit of a catch-up review for them.
Transformation is a little basic, and moreso than the other characters I covered so far. I guess that's what happens when he's bigger than a normal Deluxe, but it is pretty disappointing when Cliffjumper and Wheeljack had a bit more to work with as Transformers. It's a shame that the only complex thing about this transformation is that you have to make sure the backpack has the winglet spikes pointed upwards and the headlight piece over the head...all while using the ramp while making sure that the winglets don't clash with it. The robot mode is the epitome of G1 with knees, as this figure looks just like the old toy but with 2020 plastic. I get that they're made to appeal to the fans that wanted their stuff to look more nostalgic, but it's pretty annoying if you ask me. And funny enough, this less refined design is carried over in the character model, which contrasts how the cartoon characters felt a little sleeker by comparison without any toy-accurate details. I suppose it is neat that Hoist is different from Trailbreaker, but it doesn't really make him any better. His head design is accurate to the cartoon show, with a visor and a mouthplate distinguishing himself from Trailbreaker.
Articulation is the same as what we previously got, but the arms are somewhat odd. Because they don't have any proper shoulders so to speak, the side panels are the actual shoulder joints for moving forward and backward. Hinging the shoulders in and out is made from what looks like the shoulders, which make up for how the shoulders look. It's functional, yes, but it is very odd given how he's designed. He has knees that are single jointed but could be double-jointed if you want. His one accessory can be placed on either arm if you wish.
The straight repaint of the mold we have is Lift-Ticket, which previously had a FunPub repaint in 2015 based on the Thrilling 30 mold. The repaint itself is pretty much a Red Hoist, but I like the WRECKER tampograph.
The only beyond-cosmetics reuse this guy received is Trailbreaker, who I do want to get even with his Hoist design elements carried over. Perhaps this mold might look good in black, but we'll see when I review him.
Let's use this image one last time. Here is Hoist with the other Autobot cars, and he's the only one to be from 1985! He's taller than the others, which makes sense, but in terms of engineering, I feel he's the weakest. At least Studio Series Ratchet and Siege Ironhide had interesting transformations, even if one of them had the same method from another version of its character, but Hoist is just too boring if you ask me. The other Autobots had at least interesting ways of transforming, like how Bluestreak has a couple of hinges and has a panel for his midriff when transforming the torso, Wheeljack and how his legs extend or how a waist swivel is involved with the transformation, Cliffjumper and everything except the partsforming, and Mirage's chest being the back of the vehicle mode instead of the front. Hoist is fine, but I don't think you'll get much enjoyment out from him.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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