Here is the 2003 E-hobby exclusive reissue re-paint of Grapple, named 88 Road Hauler, Load Hauler or just Hauler. This bright green re-colour is another example of a reissue exclusive that didn't raise a great deal of excitement in me before I actually saw it in person. I don't like it as much as Sunstorm, but I do like it nonetheless. He has been given the previosuly unused JTF designation 88, not to be confused with D-88 Triggerhappy. Hauler makes some reference to the Grapple-like character who was seen very briefly recovering Hound in MTMTE, the Transformers cartoon pilot. His colour scheme is a result of Hauler having been a construction vehicle on Cybertron (a la Constructicons etc...)

The packaging is the generic-style E-Hobby box with the same inserts as before. The only distinguishing feature is the sticker on the back which says "88 Road Hauler". His character art as you can see is just the old Grapple art re-coloured green with blue eyes.

Here are the contents of the package. The collector's card is inside the plastic insert, the stickersheet and instructions will be in the baggie. That other piece of paper there...we'll get to that in due time. Notice also the 'Collector's Edition' robot points on the inner box flap.

Again, the same standard plastic insert layout is used as before with the accessories underneath the collector's card. I'm not certain if the white tray Hauler came in is one of the first to actually have all the sides taped together so that it maintains its tray shape instead of folding out into a net, but I can't remember if previous exclusives used tape on the tray too. Anyway, the tape holding the clear plastic insert pieces together came off quite easily, which made a nice change! It's a very colourful package so far.

Hauler himself is tremendously eye-catching, just like his co-release Sunstorm. Place him amongst a crowd of other G1 TFs and he certainly stands out. Neon-green has a tendency to have that effect on most things mind. The Autobot insignia above the front grill is tampographed and not a sticker. Having seen it in person now and messed about with it, I think it's a nice piece and I approve of the colours. The overall green/black/chrome look is an attractive combination, although I'm sure it will jar for some people.

Looking at the above set of pictures, in the top picture you might be able to make out something of a blue/purple tint in Hauler's windshield and siren casing. I've always been a fan of this mould and there really doesn't seem to be any issue with quality as far as the plastic and diecast go on Hauler, so still very positive.

His figure mode is easily as striking as his vehicle mode, and immediately you can see the recently-added blue eyes for this mould, first introduced for the Takara Collection DW-style Inferno reissue. I think they suit him very well, and probably a great deal better than yellow-eyes would have suited him. This mould's transformation isn't particularly complicated but I've always appreciated robots who had the shoulders a little way out, like Cyclonus, Mirage, Sideswipe etc and it's why when I transform a Prowl or Skids, I always push the shoulders up as well. I think it gives a more proportioned look and represents the huge robot image better.

The windshield on Hauler is not actually as opaque as it looks in the above pictures. As you can see, instead of his fists you can use the missiles and the launchers are pretty good. You can of course launch the fists as well. Overall, a pretty strong figure mode. Now for a closer look at the toy's paperwork:

Another excellent collector's card. These all look so good when placed next to each other in a collector's album. It's a little difficult to notice, but if you look at the picture of Hauler on his card back, you may notice his sirens are still a little orange. Obviously it's just a quick repaint of Grapple's stock photos.

The sticker sheet for 88 Hauler is pretty much identical to a Grapple stickersheet except for the fact that the stickers have a great deal more green content on them where previosuly there would have been orange or red. As with Sunstorm, you are provided with a faction symbol, but now you can get creative with its placement seeing as how the place it was originally intended for is now sporting an Autobot tampograph. I think there is a note about that on the sticker map in the instructions too (see asterisked text below on sticker map scan).

Now the second picture above is of a little piece of paper that came with this reissue. I had a good idea what it was referring to and got confirmation from Himawari. The sticker placement map on the instructions has mistakes on it. The above piece of paper is an apology and also contains the corrections for the sticker map. Here is the incorrect sticker map:

The rest of this article will concentrate on a comparison between an original rubsign-mould 1985 Grapple from the US and this Road Hauler. There aren't a great many differences in moulding at all, just construction really.

Some obvious colour differences there, orange vs green. You can see the difference in eye colour where the original TF has yellow eyes and the reissue has blue eyes. The difference in windshield colour should also be clear from the above pics. As far as I could tell, the accessories were the exact same mould, but the Hauler holds his gun much more firmly than my original TF Grapple. The siren casing differences are also apparent. And yeah, my Grapple is missing a wheel. There's a funny story about that wheel actually...Devvi owned that for a while...er, back to the comparison:

The above pictures are of where the crane section meets the head section on the Grapple/Hauler toy. One of the very first things I noticed about the reissue was that every time I raised or lowered the crane, it went "click click click", it had a ratcheting system. I was certain the old versions didn't have this and I was proven correct when I checked with the original Grapple. The notches I have outlined in the above pictures are evidence of this new system as those notches are not present on the old Grapple.

You can't see the copyrights well here, but they are both Hasbro/Takara stamped with dates. The only difference in the stamping is that the original Grapple was made in Japan and the new one in China. Also, take a look at the screw just below the crane. The Hauler screw has a washer, unlike the original. That difference pops up in various places on these two pieces.

The difference in colour for the siren casings and windshields should be a little clearer in the above picture. Also Grapple's rubsign is right there in clear view on the cab roof. But where is Hauler's?

Hauler's rubsign is hidden inside his cab. Grapple's cab section has those two big black circular things that are there to help cement the chrome grill in place, but they are not present on Hauler's cab. Again, the screw in the middle of Hauler's cab has a washer but Grapple's does not. I think the above picture is the best for showing how Grapple's windshield lacks tint, but Hauler's does not. I do really like the tint they've given to Hauler's windshield.

The above comparison highlights another difference that shows up many times between the two figures. Look at where Grapple's arms meet the cab section, they are secured in place by two silver screws. Hauler doesn't have screws there, instead he has two flat-headed bolts. On that same section, the orange Grapple has one hole on each arm just above the screws, but Hauler has a set of smaller holes too above the bolts. Here are some more comparison pictures showing how some of the screws have been replaced with flat-head bolts:

So either the screws had washers added, or they were replaced entirely by the flat-head bolts. There was only one other moulding difference that I noticed between the US 1985 Grapple and the 2003 reissue Road Hauler and it involves the silver chrome shoulder parts. The original has a hollow centre, but the reissue has an extra vertical chrome piece like a column. Here's the picture:

That pretty much covers all the differences that I could find between the toys. I like this mould and always have done. I think it has a nice chunky vehicle mode and a well-defined figure mode. It's true that only the arms have posabilty, and that if you lose the accessories it could seriously hinder displayability, but collectors take good care of their toys nowadays and they shouldn't get lost. The new colour scheme for Road Hauler is very eye-catching but I have the feeling fans will either take to it or hate it. I must admit to originally being skeptical about both Hauler and Sunstorm's colour schemes, but on close inspection I've decided that I like both toys and that they were worthwhile releases. If you own the originals, I think the reissue Sunstorm/Hauler set would make a fantastic addition to any collection, assuming of course that you approve of the colour schemes..

All the best
Maz