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Hey folks. This is nothing you haven't seen before, but I thought I'd share a few pictures and observations from my Mexican Hoist. Here it is in vehicle mode (compared with a US one):
 Have a look at the yellow/black striped sticker that runs along the side of the vehicle. The Mexican factory sticker is thinner (i.e. has a shorter width) and is no doubt made of a more papery material. Secondly, instead of a rubsign on the roof flap, the Mex version has a papery Autobot sticker. I think, but I'm not certain, the Mexican's green paint is a shade darker, too. Now the main thing that sets the Mexican Hoist apart, the robot mode:
 The Mexican version has the head of a Trailbreaker painted green, instead of the different Hoist head mold. This is by no means the only time that Iga just repainted a mold in the correct colour, only to not use the updated mold. The Mexican minibots and Smokescreen are other fine examples... Now for some packaging scans/pics:
 As with all Mexican TF boxes, the Hasbro logo in the bottom left corner of the box front is replaced with an IGA logo, and the text on the box is in Spanish. Unlike the first series Mexican TFs, the case assortment number is not printed in black over the US asst. number, instead it is white and there is no trace of the US number. The box back, as with all the later Mex releases, does actually have the tech spec graph and has the robot points replaced with an IGA logo. Also text has been added to explain the use of the then- recently-added decoders to Mex TFs.
 The box copyright reads "HASBRO INC." so 1986 is most likely the earliest this piece could have seen release in Mexico. Here's the insert (or what's left of it...):
 Again, notorious low quality materials used and the grey on the backer card is a shade darker than what was used for the USA inserts. The copyright is unique too, it has a block over where it should say "JAPAN" as that was no longer the country of manufacture or origin of this particular variant mold. You can find the copyright on this page under 1985 Autobots:
Some stuff on the paperwork that comes with the Mexican Hoist:
 This is a weird instruction sheet even by Mexican standards. The paper is very non-glossy, almost cardboard-like. That's typical Mexican. What's strange is that half the booklet is coloured and half isn't! It's just black and white! Now, second series TFs usually had the diagrams with highlights depending on the toy's faction (red for Autobot, purple for Decepticon), and the Mexican ones were no different. But as I say, this Hoist only has the second half of the instructions with the red highlights! Basically, the first side which includes the front cover is uncoloured, but the second side is fine. One last thing about the Instructions. The Hoist one is called "Instructivo", but usually that was only used on series 1 Mexican TFs, with series 2 having "Instrucciones". However, the more sheets I see the more I see there isn't really a pattern. Even though most series 1 are "Instructivo", most series 2 are "Instrucciones", the series 3 Metroplex reverts to "Instructivo" and there are series 2 exceptions like this Hoist and the Jumpstarters. The sticker sheets in Mexican TFs were just USS sheets, only the Mex factory stickers showed variations. But one thing to keep in mind is that even 1984 characters had rubsign sticker sheets, which means the assortment number is printed on the sticker sheet. That about concludes all I can deduce from this Mexican Hoist without having a USA one handy, and I'm sure there are other minute molding and colouring differences I've missed. This is, after all, the first Hoist I've ever owned. Hope you guys found that of some interest. All the best
Maz |