Mexican G1 "Trailbreaker Head" Hoist

MEXICAN HOIST HAS THE WRONG HEAD! Maybe you knew that already, after all this is one of the oldest and well-established G1 variants of all. Along with the Canadian G1 Red Slag, the European Milton Bradley G1 Red Tracks and black Mexican G1 Prowl, "Hoistbreaker" is a legend. Believed to have been released in 1986 in Mexico and subsequently exported around Europe, the Plasticos Iga Mexican Generation 1 Autobot Hoist was manufactured with Trailbreaker's head cast in green instead of the Diaclone Wrecker/Hoist head sculpt. It's commonly referred to as the Mexican Hoist with Trailbreaker head, and that's precisely what it is. I personally have never seen a corrected Mexican Hoist, they've all been like this in my experience.

Other than the standard Iga lower quality packaging and inserts with Spanish text, and the head of course, Mexican Hoist exhibits differences elsewhere too. There's no rubsign on the roof, instead the standard Iga off-centre paper-quality Autobot sticker in its place. The yellow and black stripe factory stickers across the side of the vehicle are thinner and not quite as well printed on Iga Hoist compared to a Hasbro or Takara effort. 

Finding an incomplete Hoist like this one can be a major headache, the shades of orange and green used are not like the Hasbro release. Thankfully this specimen had all the orange parts so I wasn't fussed that it was missing a fist. The green across the Iga Hoist is less consistent in painted vs moulded sections than on a regular Transformers Hoist.

While it is accepted that Mexican G1 Transformers are not quite up to Takara or Hasbro build quality, they are far from feeling like bootlegs, in my opinion. This Hoistbreaker was completely serviceable and transformed perfectly, displays amazingly well and stands out as one of the most spectacular cases of repainting vs remoulding in the history of the G1 line. A mega variant, always has been. It's been over a decade since the last one I owned and it still takes my breath away. 

That head

Blocked country of manufacture on copyright

It wouldn't surprise me to find out collectors re-purpose this toy as a completely new character in their collections. It's the kind of thing that will never get a reissue or homage, existing purely in its vintage and original state for history to appreciate. 

When I first produced an article on this figure for TF-1 I said it wasn't that rare, especially not in countries like the Netherlands and the UK, but in recent years I've noticed the value go up to even 3 figures for a loose specimen. Well worth it in my opinion, with the number of collectors recognising variants like this significantly more than a decade ago, and with financial situations becoming more secure for a certain portion of the buying community, Mexican Hoists tend to enter collections quickly and stay there longer. I felt privileged to have this in my possession recently, whereas a decade ago it would not have represented such a great score.

All the best
Maz