Liftor

Liftor is an Autobot-allied Mini-Con from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy and from the Generation 1 continuity families.

Fork you.

Liftor is very much a tech-head, an avid tinkerer who is very mechanically inclined. It's what he's happiest doing, taking apart and re-assembling machinery. Unfortunately, he's stuck in the middle of a war, and Liftor isn't exactly the bravest 'bot out there. Battles rattle his nerves, and he's more prone to hide than fight. Still, he does occasionally summon up the courage to leap into the fray and help out when things get ugly, particularly when his partner Smokescreen is in trouble... with incredible reluctance, of course.

“	There's a difference between being brave, and being scrapped.	”
—Liftor's bio quote.

Fiction

Armada cartoon

(insert obligatory parrot joke here)

Smokescreen discovered Liftor's Mini-Con panel on the top of a steep mountain. He activated the Mini-Con and adopted him as his personal partner. Overmatch Liftor was seen helping Smokescreen's self-repair work after a series of losses when the Decepticons acquired the Star Saber. Conspiracy

During the fight for possession of the Mini-Con Downshift, Liftor powerlinxed with Smokescreen to convert his ladder arm into a large cannon. Giving cover fire to Hot Shot and Blurr in their pursuit, Smokescreen and Liftor shot down Starscream and Sideways before Cyclonus spotted them and knocked them out of the fight. Reinforcement Liftor and Smokescreen used this gargantuan cannon again in the next battle, routing the flying Decepticons until Demolishor tossed a giant rock at Smokescreen, Indiana Jones-style. Decisive Battle

Smokescreen was given possession of the Skyboom Shield after the Autobots acquired it, thanks to the launching power of his crane-arm which could quickly relocate the shield on the battlefield. Liftor powerlinxed with Smokescreen to fire the Skyboom Shield to Optimus Prime during one of their battles. Tactician Later on, when the Autobots first battled Tidal Wave, Liftor was seen powerlinxed to Smokescreen's cannon. Even their long-range firepower didn't have the distance to reach the flying Decepticon warship, though. Awakening

Liftor was present at the team meeting when the Autobots decided what to do with the Mini-Cons who formed the Requiem Blaster. Runaway

After Optimus Prime's death, Liftor was one of a group of Mini-Cons who confronted the angst-ridden Hot Shot, forcing the young 'bot to try to come to terms with the loss of his leader. Remorse

Dreamwave Armada comics

Liftor was among the Mini-Cons caught up in the Decepticon attacks on the Mini-Con Sector. Armada #10 When the Mini-Cons fled to Earth and were reactivated millions of years later, Liftor took refuge in the middle of a junkyard. As Rollbar did not return from a search for radio equipment, Liftor, Longarm, and Jolt went looking and discovered him in a trash compactor. Liftor turned the machine off while the others pulled their friend out, and they returned to their makeshift base. There, they managed to get a TV working, and spotted other Mini-Cons being chased by Megatron on the news. They made their way to the confrontation between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Liftor initially thought their coming there was crazy, but soon joined the fray, jumping down with Longarm to smash in Demolishor's eye. He then powerlixed with Smokescreen and helped chase away the Decepticons. Armada #5

Liftor later joined the other Mini-Cons and assembled on Earth for transport to Cybertron in an attempt to defeat Unicron. While the Autobots and Decepticons kept Unicron distracted, the Mini-Cons of this reality joined their power with those of Over-Run's universe, delivering an almighty blast that severely damaged the Chaos Bringer and forced him into retreat. The End

Panini Armada comic

In the early days of the Decepticons' hunt for Mini-Cons, Liftor was among the Mini-Cons who supported Dualor's plan to lure Megatron into a trap. Counter-Strike! Liftor came to thoroughly despise the Decepticons after a raiding party wiped out his home village on Cybertron. Underneath his calm exterior came to fester a deep-seated desire for revenge, though he never spoke in detail of the incident that sent him down this path. Liftor's profile

After the Mini-Cons' escape from Cybertron, Liftor ended up on Earth's moon, where he was later reactivated by a probe sent by Sparkplug. He soon found Smokescreen, who was losing a battle with Demolishor, and happily power-linked with him. Liftor's power boost allowed Smokescreen to punch Demolishor out of the way and force the Decepticons into a retreat. Between Two Worlds!

Classics

After the war, Liftor was put in charge of rebuilding numerous government centers on Cybertron. Liftor's projects were things of astounding beauty, though he himself didn't see beyond the technical specs of each building. He was very eloquent when it came to talking about construction, but was otherwise somewhat uncouth. Rumor had it he only opted not to join Broadside's rebellion in order to spite someone. Liftor's profile in Club magazine #33

Toys

Armada

• Smokescreen with Liftor (Super-Con, 2003)

• Takara ID number: MC-04
• Takara release date: December 26, 2002
• Known designers: Aaron Archer (Hasbro), Shogo Hasui (Takara)

Liftor transforms into a Cybertronic heavy-lifting vehicle that looks like something out of Mad Max. His forklift/ram-scoop assembly is jointed to lift up in vehicle mode. As a Mini-con, he has a "Powerlinx" socket on his vehicle-mode underside (which ends up on his robot-mode chest) which allows him to attach to any toy with a "Powerlinx" style 5 mm post; some toys have special Powerlinx posts that activate/unlock gimmicks when a Mini-Con is attached.

In robot mode, Liftor has a surprising amount of articulation for a Mini-Con, with shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and even a neck joint, putting him on par with most of his line's Deluxe figures (and better than some).

He was only available packed in with his larger partner Smokescreen, released in the second wave of Armada Super-Cons.

Unusually for this line, there are no notable differences between the Hasbro Armada Liftor and Takara Legend of the Microns "Lift" toys.

• More information on Liftor at TFU.info

• Grap & Race Micron (Multi-pack, 2003)

• Sonokong name: Smoky & Race
• Takara/Sonokong ID number: MS-04
• Takara release date: December 26, 2002

In Japan, the Smokescreen/Liftor pairing was available both as a normal set, and in a multi-pack with the Race Mini-Con Team. All of the toys in the set were identical to their normal releases.

This set was also released by Sonokong in Korea, as part of their Eunha Yeongung: Cybertron toyline, with no changes other than the packaging. This was the only way to obtain the set in Korea.

• Grap Super Mode (Deluxe, 2003)

• Takara ID number: MC-11
• Takara release date: August 28, 2002

In Japan, the Mini-Con Refute was treated as a new-body "Spark" upgrade of Lift rather than a new character. Available only with Super-Mode Grap, "Spark Lift" is largely identical to the Hasbro Refute toy, save for his shiny gunmetal tires and retooled slightly-shorter "fins" on the vehicle mode back end/robot toes.

Spark Lift transforms into a Cybertronic vehicle with a large forward gripper claw. A gear-wheel system moves the gripper-clamp when rolled along in vehicle mode, or when attached to the gearing system on the underside of the Armada Cyclonus mold (in theory, at least).

This mold was also used to make the Micron Booster Clamp.

• More information on Spark Lift at TFU.info

Built to Rule!

• Smokescreen with Liftor (Built to Rule!, 2003)

As part of the smaller-sized Built to Rule! sets, BTR Liftor could be rebuilt from a brick that resembles the original toy's vehicle mode to a brick that has the original toy's robot-mode head. Naturally, he came with Smokescreen.

• More information on Built to Rule! Liftor at TFU.info

Universe (2003)

• Smokescreen with Liftor vs. Ransack with Refute (Battle in a Box, 2004)

For Universe, Liftor was redecoed with a predominately black and yellow scheme.

He was available in a "market six" Battle in a Box multi-pack with his partner Smokescreen and the Decepticons Ransack and Refute. Recursive!

• More information on Universe Liftor at TFU.info

Notes

• Strangely enough, despite being a made-up non-word, there actually was a previous transforming robot toy by the name of Liftor. A late 1980s Robot Racer figure was the first to use the "Liftor" name. Of course, the fact that this Liftor was only available at one chain of gas stations in the United Kingdom over fifteen years earlier suggests the whole thing was probably a giant coincidence.
• Despite never appearing upgraded in the show, Spark Lift (Refute) had a character model drawn up which appears in the back of Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Lift (リフト Rifuto), Spark Lift ("Powerlinx", スパークリフト Supāku Rifuto)
• Korean: Lift (리프트 Ripeuteu)