Lugnutz

So many Transformers these days are weird, unearthly things - the robots in disguise have really gotten away from disguising themselves as anything that might fail to attract attention. Every so often, though, an Autobot or Decepticon will slip through with an alternate mode that doesn't draw more attention to itself than a 7' albino rastafarian. A loner, a renegade and a rebel, Lugnutz's only true friend is his assault rifle, "Dutch." He much prefers cruising the dusty back roads of Earth, doing crimes and terrorizing the populace to running missions for Megatron. But if it means a chance to blow something up, he's willing to swallow his pride and take a job. A powerful dual stoke engine and specialized exhaust filters allow him to generate enough engine noise to overwhelm Autobot audio receptors and shatter reinforced glass in a 100' radius. There have been quite a few Transformers who changed into motorcycles over the years, but most of them were pretty terrible. They were either completely made-up designs or they had idiotic alternate forms. We never had a good, solid motorcycle before, but the Cybertron line has fixed that. Lugnutz is quite obviously based on (but legally distinct from) a Harley-Davidson. A sportster, most likely. It's got the distinctive V-twin engine, a single seat and saddlebags around the rear wheel. The detail on the headlight is sculpted, amazingly, and the little license plate has a Decepticon symbol. The body of the bike is orange, with golden flames. There's a bit of silver dotted around, and two shades of gray. The handlebars are adjustable, and the wheels roll freely. The bike is 4 1/2" long, and though it would probably be a little bit too small to look right with your GIJoe figures, it would be close. Transformation is pretty simple, with one tricky part in the middle - you have to swing his legs out to the sides, turn them around, and then turn his entire lower torso. His head is concealed in the gas tank, and his arms are the engine. The left side tailpipe comes off to act as Lugnutz's gun, but it looks more like a trombone. The robot looks pretty good, though there are a few minor issues. The design is mostly symmetrical, but with just enough small differences to make it seem "real." His gun is so long that he can't bend his arm when he's holding it, and there's a big hollow space behind his torso. The backpack formed by the rear wheel and the saddlebags actually looks like it belongs, and the big spurs on his heels keep him balanced. All the Cybertron figures have little key-activated features. Lugnutz's key makes a grenade launcher pop out over his right shoulder. The fact that you need a special piece of plastic to make the feature work is a little bit silly, but the launcher really does look nice, and adds some firepower to the little guy. Lugnutz is 4" tall, though his head is actually about half an inch lower than that. He moves at the knes, hips, shoulders and elbows, not counting all the hinges and swivels that allow him to transform. It can be a bit tricky posing his arms, since the bike's front wheel pokes out of his shoulders, but they're still entirely mobile. Lugnutz is a Scout-class figure, which means he's on the bottom tier of both size and cost. If you don't like Decepticons (or want to start your own tiny, tiny biker gang) this exact mold has just been re-released with a new red paint job as an Autobot named "Hightail." No matter which one you pick, this is one righteous little hog. Do you like realistic Transformers or wild ones? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.

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