Hoist (Movie)

Hoist is an Autobot from the Transformers portion of the movie continuity family.

Fun fact: His other name is Moist.

Hoist may seem like just another nice and friendly guy, but any Decepticon who deems him an easy target will live to regret it. Hoist's been trained by some of the greatest warriors in the entire galaxy, and is considered a valuable asset to the Autobot cause.

Fiction

Toy bios

Mixmaster decided one day that he'd use Hoist as a guinea pig for his new toxin: the Autobot was rugged enough to prove it, and valuable enough that his death would hurt the Autobots. Hoist, however, proved stronger than the Decepticon had expected, and a back road brawl broke out!

Titan Revenge of the Fallen comic

Go on guys, get that evil bastard!

Ironhide and his team were taking out all the remaining Decepticons on Earth, including... er, Hoist? Spare Parts!

Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe

Pursuing the AllSpark after it had been launched into space, Hoist was one of the many Autobots that found their way to Earth. There, he participated in a great battle within a human settlement against the Decepticons. He towed Wheeljack to safety as the battle raged around them. The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe

Games

Transformers: The Game (PSP)

Voice actor: Mark Ryan

Hoist arrived on Earth some time after Optimus Prime and his team, apparently at the same time as Wheeljack and Sideswipe. He accompanied the other Autobots on their mission to Hoover Dam, and was seen escaping the complex when the Decepticons attacked. Transformers The Game (PSP)

Toys

Revenge of the Fallen

He's shooting his alt-mode!

• Back Road Brawl (Multi-pack, 2009)

• Accessories: Missile
• Known designers: Andrew Scribner (deco artist)

A Toys"R"Us exclusive, Hoist is a Generation 1-themed redeco of Transformers Longarm, and transforms into an unlicensed Ford F-350 tow truck, capable of towing another toy with his hook-arm. This hook-arm assembly becomes a huge hand-held spring-loaded missile launcher in robot mode. Unusual for a Transformers figure, his gun is affixed to his hand with a screw and is not meant to be removed. He has a single, nigh-insignificant automorph feature; his lightbar is geared to fold in half simultaneously.

Hoist features the same minor mis-assembly problem as Longarm, in that the strut between the crane section and the hook itself is reversed. It is easily fixed by carefully popping off the hook and turning it around, then unscrewing the crane part and flipping the strut. This allows the gun to fit together much better, as depicted on the packaging.

Hoist is only available in the Toys"R"Us "Back Road Brawl" figure two pack with a similarly Generation 1-themed redeco/retool of Revenge of the Fallen Mixmaster.

• More information on Hoist at TFU.info

Notes

• When artist Ken Christiansen turned in the "tow truck drone" design for the Transformers video game, he gave it a green colour scheme in subtle homage to Generation 1 Hoist. Toy designer Alex Kubalsky did not receive this reference from Activision in time, but independently drew from Hoist's G1 design for the transformation and robot mode, which is why the toy's head doesn't match either of the two drone heads the Longarm drone has in the game. Hoist appears in the PSP game, as a green-and-orange recolored version of the drone, and that redeco was eventually released in the Revenge of the Fallen toyline, finally fulfilling the original design intent.^[1]
• While Hoist himself does not appear in either version of the Nintendo DS game, a blatant nod to him is one of the many unlockable vehicle forms for Create-A-Bot in the Transformers: Autobots version. While the form (called "Maintenance") is not entirely like his vehicle mode, being a palette-swapped version of Longarm, it has a very similar paint job and the robot mode is almost dead on.
• Hoist's cameo as a Decepticon in "Spare Parts!" is likely to be a mistake.

References