Wheeljack’s paint job is simple but still pays homage to the design of the G1 figure. His body is molded almost entirely in white, while some of his robot pieces are molded in a darker metallic gray or black. The green and red stripes that run across his top have always reminded me of a chewing gum package. I don’t know why, they just do. Something I really liked here is that the stripes are given a rounder form and don’t feel as compacted as the original toy.
I mention this in almost every Transformers review, but that’s because I’m usually very impressed by how much articulation the designers are able to fit into these figures. One of the things that always bugged me as a kid is that my Transformers weren’t very poseable. So I’m always happy when I get a figure like Wheeljack who’s got a very stout stature but can still be put in some great action poses. His head, shoulders, and hips are ball joints. He’s got hinged knees, elbows, and ankles. While his biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs all have swivel cuts.
Wheeljack comes with three accessories. He’s got his classic shoulder mounted gun that’s the same as Track’s blaster. But he also comes with two wrench-like tools instead of the missile-like shoulder guns that Tracks has. I love it when characters come with more than just weapons. What’s even better is that they can be stored behind his shin guards while he’s in robot mode.
I’m not usually a big fan of car-formers just because they all start looking very similar to me. But I am very happy with Wheeljack. His shorter stature, head design, and wings give him enough of a unique look for me. Plus you have the fact that he comes with tools and can be posed doing more than just fighting.
-Vault
Nice review. Glad you like Wheeljack as well.
Thanks. He turned out nice, so it’s hard not to like him.
Yeah, I’m glad they finally decided to give him his due 20+ years after his only other figure! Love the review! 🙂
Thanks Ewan 🙂
where are these hitting? I haven’t seen ANY of the the last few Generations waves up here. Nary a peep out of that one wave (STR? RTS??). :/
In CA at least, this guy, Warpath and Thundercracker have been hitting Walmarts, some near the front registers. I think the Warpath wave has shown up in TRUs too, but I don’t know about the ‘Jack here.
This one’s actually Noisy’s, but I think he picked it up at a local Walmart. We have five in our area and only one got this wave in.
I didn’t end up having as big of a problem with Wheeljack being shorter than Tracks as I thought I would. I generally demand that people not have a problem with me being short, so I feel like I should give Wheeljack the same consideration. xD
One thing that gets me is the difference in white plastic we get between Wheeljack, RTS Jazz, United Jazz and Generations Drift. Drift had the most faded white plastic, RTS Jazz was a bit less dull, Generations Wheeljack is a nice clean white, and United Jazz is BLAZINGLY white. As far as I know, none of them are painted white either, so I wonder what the reasons are and whether some will fade more.
I don’t know, that’s an interesting question. Something we’ll also have to keep a lookout for is how much each yellows over time.
I would like to pick up Wheeljack, but I’m not so desperate for one I’ll pull a “No Matter the Cost!” online for one. Since Dark of the Moon toys seem to be choking the shelves, I’ll have to scope out the supermarkets and low-end Targets/Walmarts that don’t keep up to date (one benefit of such stores). A few weeks after DOTM toys hit, I found HFTD Scout Breacher in a grocery store. A nice little figure he is.
Yeah, you also might want to check out TJ Maxx. I don’t know if they’ll be getting this wave, but I just picked up my Wreck-Gar from there.
His head reminds me of the 70’s robot Jeeg.
Your right! I wonder if he’s an homage to that?
Another great review Vault.
Considering that this is just a remold/repaint of tracks I can hardly believe how much better it is than Tracks – maybe it helps that I love the character whereas Tracks I am a lot more Meh! about….he was kind of annoying in the cartoon to say the least.
I usually have a lot to moan about when it comes to Hasbro, but credit where it’s due I now have a pretty full roster of spot-on G1 TF’s thanks to the last year of releases and I can sit in my Ivory-tower with fingers in ears and pretend the Movieverse isn’t happening while marvelling at this guy, Jazz, Blur, Wreck-gar et al and generally feeling all is right with this corner of the Toy-World.
More Generations please Hasbro…..I don’t want ALL my Mini-Bots to come from 3rd Party sources.
Thanks 🙂 I think he’s better than Tracks too. I agree on the G1 stuff. It’s nice not having to buy just the movie stuff. I can’t wait until the Prime stuff comes out, that Arcee looks great.
I figure that the difference between a transformers medic and an engineer is that the engineer can remove components, but the medic has to operate around the other systems. It’s just a matter of skill, and hence it is why Wheeljack can fill in in a pinch, even if the tendancy to make things explode would normally make Wheeljack shy away from the task.
You may be right. Either way I think most of the bots feel safer with Ratchet doing the work, lol.
Cool review, Vault — though I’m admittedly less interested in this figure since it seems clever but lazy to me. I don’t think Wheeljack has different thighs — I think they’re just flipped around — and I have no idea why Wheeljack is shorter than Tracks when they share so many parts. Even Tracks feels too short to me (mainly because of how the torso overlaps the crotch), so an even shorter Wheeljack just seems kinda… meh.
I’d probably pick the figure up if I ever saw it on sale, but otherwise I’m fine using Cybertron Downshift as my Wheeljack. 🙂
You’re right. The thighs are the same, just turned around. It’s his lower leg that’s different. Tracks’ skeletal part is made to slide, while Wheeljack’s isn’t. Thanks for the correct.
Also, I totally forgot about Downshift. I should have put him in the review. 😛
While l’m not a fan of Wheeljack, this figure is an outstanding modern interpretation of the 1980’s toy, & for that reason alone, he’d be a nice addition to my collection. If only the superior Japanese version wasn’t such a rip-off I’d own this guy (and many others) by now… Great review btw.