Toy review - Studio Series 42 Long Haul

[Magnus]

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 7
Released here - June 2019
Approximate Retail Price - $49
Approximate Size - 16cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Dump truck
Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy, capable of forming part of Devastator
Main Colours - Green
Main Accessories - N/A

Vehicle mode









The on-screen truck was a Caterpillar 773B dump truck. The basic shape of the toy is inspired by it, but many of the details are incorrect.

Transformation

Transformation is fairly simple in terms of steps - I have a suspicion that this was driven by a desire to make Long Haul a solid, stable leg and foot for Devastator by keeping the complexity and part count down. The sides of the dump bed can lock in pretty firmly, and may require some force to pull open. The only really fiddly part is keeping the rear wheels and arms out of each other's way when transforming, and that isn't really difficult.

Transforming from vehicle mode to Devastator's leg and foot is likewise fairly simple.



Transforming back to dump truck mode can be a bit more challenging, as it can take some force to lock in the front of the sides of the dump bed. On my example, performing this step seems to place tension on the arms, which prevents the dump body sides from securely attaching to the back of the dump bed; as a result, they tend to pop out. So far, I've managed to get the dump bed sides to tab in without popping out once. Perhaps the front of the dump bed should have been a few millimetres wider, to place less tension on the arms and sides once they lock in at the front, or the arms should be able to settle and lock further into the middle of the truck's dump bed.

On my example, the backpack doesn't tab or lock in robot mode, but it holds in position well.

Robot mode









Long Haul stands 14.5cm at the top of his head, with the large, forked panel on his back adding another 1.5cm. He ends up looking solid, chunky and stubby, but this is faithful to Josh Nizzi's original Long Haul concept, which made it into RotF practically unchanged. He does have quite a substantial backpack, though, which I suspect doesn't fold or break down as it forms part of Devastator's foot.

Long Haul is nicely detailed and painted in robot mode, with no shortage of moulded detail and applications of gunmetal grey, silver, green, and red paint.

Long Haul is articulated, but the range of motion is limited by the shapes of the torso and the limbs. His head is mounted on a ball joint. The shoulders can rotate and abduct/adduct, there is a rotator just above the elbows, and the elbows themselves are hinged. The waist has a ratcheted joint, and there are large detents between locks, so the waist clicks about every 30 degrees. The hips have ratcheted forward and backward motion, and friction-hinged abduction and adduction. There is a thigh rotator, which needs to be rotated outward to move the thigh forward more than one ratchet click. The knees are hinged, there is a rotator just below them that is used for transformation, the ankle has a rocker for inversion, and the toes are hinged upwards to transform.

Long Haul doesn't come with any weapons or accessories, although he has missile tips moulded into the panels on his forearms. It would have been nice for them to be painted, but the tips are used as tabs in vehicle mode, so any paint would quickly rub off. The ports in his hands, which plug into posts in vehicle mode, are just big enough to accommodate 5mm posts, although given the tight fit I'm not sure they were intended to hold weapons.





The Studio Series backdrop is the same Egyptian quarry that came with Rampage and Scrapmetal.



With his fellow Constructicons.

Verdict



Long Haul is a nice-looking, screen-accurate piece, but flawed - the aforementioned tension and alignment issues in vehicle mode mean that he ends up with a dump bed that isn't secured at the back, and it may be easier for owners to just leave the back unsecured if the plan is to display him in vehicle mode. If you're displaying him in robot mode or as part of Devastator, this is of course a moot point.

It would have been nice if he was a bit bigger, but his size was likely governed by the fact that he needs to form a leg alongside Rampage.

If you like the design, go get him. Just be aware of the potential issue with the dump bed.