G2 Hooligan

Robot Mode: I didn't immediately notice it, but Hooligan is pretty much the model on which Cybertron Thundercracker and Skywarp are based, only with Hooligan the designers did it right. The shoulders are solid, the posability is awesome, and even the wings on the back are mobile instead of fixed. Hooligan is a great little robot and even though his colour scheme is not something you're likely to see on a real fighter jet, I just love that tiger stripes look to pieces. Hooligan's main weapon is the missile launcher he has in place of a right forearm. The missile doesn't really launch, it's just stuck in there, but that's not a problem in my opinion. Alternatively Hooligan can also use his two missiles as spears. All in all, an awesome little robot.

Alternate Mode: Hooligan transforms into a fighter jet that I believe is some variation of the F-14A Tomcat. The tiger stripes colour scheme is even more visible here and just looks awesome. Hooligan's jet mode is small, but nicely designed. He has a landing gear, mobile wings, and the missile launcher on top gives him plenty of firepower. Absolutely no complaints here.

Remarks: I find it interesting that the Cybertron designers, be it by accident or design, copied the mold of a 10+ plus years old Cyberjet and managed to completely mess it up so thoroughly for Thundercracker/Skywarp. Anyway, Hooligan is a very nicely-made robot and I find myself liking him a lot. He doesn't feature any surprises or revolutionary designs, but he is solid, flawless, and just all-around great. All that and you can probably get him relatively cheap on ebay.

Rating: A-

And for a second opinion the review by Sam:

Robot Mode: Hooligan's robot mode has but one major disadvantage, which doubles as an advantage, though. The jet parts on his back do make him look stiff in most poses, but it does look extremely cool and contributes nicely to the overall look of the figure. It fascinates me one moment, makes me doubt the figure the next. Something I really like, though, are the two different arms. The claw gives him an air of power and gives him the look of a dangerous Decepticon right from the get-go.

So all in all a very good robot mode for its time. What bothered me a bit are the joints. They make for great posability, but they do wear out fast and thoroughly, causing Hooligan's arms to hang down somewhat sadly.

Robo-Rating: B

Vehicle Mode: The vehicle mode strongly resembles a Tomcat F-14 and looks really good. The tiger-striped paint job is very interesting and something different for a change. I wouldn't have missed the little landing gear, but it's there and does add value to the figure.

The entire jet looks pretty real, very wholesome, and well-designed. What bothers me a little bit is the claw-arm, which rest between the horizontal fins. What can I say? On the one hand a very nice idea, on the other it does look a bit unrealistic and out of place.

Vehicle-Rating: B

Transformation: Two steps to get from one mode to the other. This gives the figure a tremendous agility during play and a very good action factor. It was a lot of fun to keep transforming him back and forth to let the Autobots' feel his power. The only drawback here: Those little nubs where the legs attach to the jet's body get worn pretty quickly. So sooner or later those legs won't attach solidly anymore.

Trans-Rating: B

Remarks: Hooligan was my very first Transformer, so a lot of nostalgie and love goes into this review. I never would have given him away, but one day he disappeared. Hooligan, old pal, if you're reading this, please come home. One final thing: When I had him back then he didn't have any stickers on the inside of the tail fins, but rather more tiger stripes.

Total Rating: B

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