General Information:
Release Year: March 2005
Retailer: General Release (Target, Wal-Mart, Kay Bee etc.)
Price: $6.99 (Depending on retailer)
Transformation Difficulty Level: 2
Accessories: Cyber Planet Key, Gun

Images:

• On Card (Front)
• On Card (Back)
• Vehicle Mode
• Vehicle Mode (Right Side)
• Vehicle Mode (Left Side)
• Vehicle Mode (Back)
• Vehicle Mode (Planet Key Inserted)
• Vehicle Mode (Planet Key Inserted, alternate view)
• With Roadstorm (Vehicle Modes)
• Robot Mode
• Robot Mode (Side)
• Robot Mode (Back)
• Robot Mode (Close up)
• Robot Mode (Holding weapon)
• Robot Mode (Planet Key Inserted)
• Robot Mode (Alternate Pose)
• With Roadstorm (Robot Modes)

Tech Specs:
A loner, a renegade and a rebel. His 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-stroke engine and specialized exhaust filters allow him to generate enough engine noise to overwhelm Autobot audio receptors and shatter reinforced glass ina 100 foot radius.

Each Transformer from the basic sized figure and up comes with a Cyber Planet Key. Armorhide comes with the standard "Earth" Planet Key. Unlike the Japanese Galaxy Force "Force Chips", these have codes printed on them that you can use on the official Transformers web site to unlock extra content. In Lugnutz's case his code is s3y6 and his unlocked material reveals an image of his color chart and the following text: Lugnutz is a special kind of robot. A Decepticon not truly by choice but more out of a boredom to see what that scene is like. Like Burroughs and Kerouac before him, Lugnutz is a road scholar and he loved nothing more than to drive out into the desert, start a raging bonfire, stare into the infinities of space and write some deep poetry – musing on the life of the common Cybertronian. Lugnutz has a REAL hard time dealing with the L7 lifestyle of the other Decepticons and longs for the nanobrew shops of Iacon city where he could snap away the night listening to the poetry of metal men and women.

Lugnutz is the US release of the Galaxy Force Roadstorm. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.

Vehicle Mode:
Thanks to the image unlocked on the official site fans get a look at this figures' color chart. Whereas Roadstorm has a much more animated appearance with flat, bright colors, Lugnutz has a much darker color scheme. The grey plastic that makes up parts like the engine and kickstands is a gunmetal color as opposed to a flat dark grey. The lighter grey used on the junction between the headlights and the front wheel is also darker than the same section Roadstorm. Even the metallic blue of the headlight is darker.

The two bright colors on Roadstorm are orange and yellow. Both of these colors have been replaced. The orange is now a darker orange. The flames on the vehicle are metallic gold instead of yellow. Interestingly enough, the flame pattern on Lugnutz is different than the flame pattern on Roadstorm. The flames on Roadstorm are rather small and intricate, with big flames leading into smaller patterns. Lugnutz's flame patterns are wider overall.

One detail gets traded in for another with Lugnutz. He lacks the four silver dots in front of the seat on the motorcycle, but on his license plate he has a Decepticon symbol that is not found on Roadstorm.

Robot Mode:
Aside from the aforementioned color changes, the only color change in this form is in the visor eyes of the robot form. The orange used for Lugnutz's eyes is darker than the one on Roadstorm.

Lugnutz's Planet Key gimmick works just fine, no sticking issues at all. His joints are every bit as tight as Roadstorm's, which is important considering the rather heavy backpack he carries in robot mode.

Final Thoughts:
While the primary bright colors and flame patterns are different, this verison of the figure carries the spirit of the original. I still do not believe he is the best basic sized Transformer around, but it is nice to have an alternative to paying high import prices for Roadstorm.