Wheeljack City

During my lunch break yesterday I stopped in to the local Toys R Us for a quick look around. I was actually there to see the Pirates of the Caribbean Legos, because my daughter wants a mermaid Lego mini-figure, but as I always do I hit every aisle in the store to see what's new.

At the Transformers endcap were a bunch of old movie schlock and all those 'preview' Optimus Primes with 3-D glasses that no one cares about...and a lone Generations Warpath. Hmm, cool; I had considered getting that one (although as a kid my cousin owned the G1 Warpath, not I, so I don't really have any affection for him per se.)

What I was really hoping was that Warpath was a harbinger for the ever elusive Windcharger, so as I scanned the full Transformers aisle I was surprised to find the new Generations Wheeljack! I had to have him! There were a couple Kups and a couple Warpaths, one Scourge and only one Wheeljack. I never had Wheeljack as a kid but always loved his character in the cartoon. Ironically all the rest (Kup, Scourge and Warpath) were all part of my cousins G1 collection not mine; so again, I don't lament only having the funds for one toy this trip.

"Never do what your enemy expects you to do."

Wheeljack is superb. He's exactly what Wheeljack looked like in our 10 year old minds when we all played with the originals. And I love how the exhaust pipes double as 'wrenches' - what a fun touch!

His vehicle mode is far from the Lancia Stratos of the original, but still screams speed, power and Wheeljack.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Wheeljack is actually a 're-paint' of sorts, using much the same engineering and many of the components of the recently released Generation Tracks. But the transformation has been modified a bit as has the front bumper, wingtips (and of course the head) so there is plenty unique about this guy and he doesn't feel like a Tracks knockoff at all. I don't own Tracks and again I have no particular love for him, so displaying them side by side may be awkward but it doesn't affect me.

I know my pal Chunky B will be jealous of this one, as Wheeljack was one of his first and favorite Transformers and this one seems to be pretty hard to find (I've only seen this one so far.) Maybe they are going to be more abundant now, with the movie coming up, but who knows. They aren't made by Mattel, so there may be hope.

Addendum: I am so glad Wheeljack has an actual painted-on Autobot symbol and not that stupid rub sticker. I hated those as a kid and I hate them now. Would a cop or an Army Sergeant have his badge/rank blank for you to walk up to and rub against before knowing his affiliation? NO! Neither would an Autobot (maybe a Decepticon would, those guys are weirdos.)

On the Prowl...

Transformers Universe Classics Prowl that is.


I finally found this guy today. He is part of the re-launch of Transformers Classics, which was out a couple years ago and re-introduced classic G1 characters in all new designs that remained true to their original flavor, and especially to their cartoon likenesses.

Prowl here rocks. He's my "must have" of the current release (which also includes Sunstreaker and Tankor. I look forward to picking up a Sunstreaker soon!) I never had Prowl as a kid, but always loved and respected his character on the cartoon.


This "Universe" series is great. There's plenty of articulation, making the toys true "action figures" in their robot modes, as opposed to the near statue quality of most G1 Transformers. The transformations are clean and have little excess "kibble." In fact, Prowl here is designed so well even his shoulder cannons just tuck right under his windshield. The originals are famous for lost parts because usually those "extra" bits were removable components. Even Universe Prowl's pistol folds in half and tucks into his undercarriage in vehicle mode making it hard to lose or misplace. Brilliant.


Here's a "not ready for G1 players" lineup shot. Universe Prowl, Action Master Bumblebee, and Energon Downshift (aka Wheeljack.) Good times.


In vehicle mode, Prowl is still an homage/update from his G1 Datsun form.


He looks like a Nissan Z, the current iteration of the Datsun 240z that G1 Prowl and Bluestreak and Smokescreen and a couple others were based on.


Sadly, it wasn't until this photo that I noticed the off-center faction symbol. Hey Hasbro, you don't have to pay homage to my poor decal attachment skills of the eighties. Sheesh.

You can also see on the passenger headlight/fender where the paint app is a bit off, making it appear that there is a large gap. I suggest you look these over in the stores thoroughly before getting them home. I'll live, but some toy collectors are more anal than me.


He looks good coming and going. Of course, this is how you want to see a Highway Patrol vehicle. Going in the opposite direction, that is.


These Universe Classics retail in the ten dollar range. More are planned, including Ironhide (yippee) and Hound (double yippee!)

"Autobots, Transform and roll out!"

Life is a Highway

I'm obviously on a Transformer kick this week. Writing about the last couple toys has gotten me thinking more and more about the various Transformers I have or have had over the past three decades.

While everyone loves Generation 1, there have been many undeniably cool Transformers throughout many different series over the years. Some series have been more successful than others, both from a collector and a market perspective. But thankfully all of them have done well enough to keep Transformers alive.

The ones I personally love the most pay homage to the characters of G1. Sometimes they are the same character, sometimes they hint at someone from G1, but I really love the nods to the core characters of old.



That's why in 2005 I just had to have Downshift. Part of the Energon series (another cartoon that I did not watch. If the following intro does not explain why, you don't know me very well.)



Downshift is obviously really Wheeljack.





I would have loved to have had a Wheeljack as a kid, but I didn't. Downshift here is a reasonable replacement however, and in many ways is probably *gasp* superior. He has good articulation, a really cool robot mode, and although his vehicle mode isn't spot on to the Lancia Stratos that G1 Wheeljack converted into, it's pretty close and at least cool enough to be acceptable as some sort of European supercar, and probably way more acceptable on the open highway (I never understood who Jazz, Wheeljack, and Mirage thought they were fooling. You ever seen an open cockpit F1 on the freeway? "Robots in Disguise" my ass.)



The color scheme is right on target to G1/cartoon Wheeljack as well.



I don't know why they didn't flat out name him Wheeljack, maybe it had something to do with copyright laws. Whatever, he'll always be Wheeljack to me.

BTW I needed to find his instructions online to transform him for the pics and found Hasbro's instructions site - if you need to remember how to transform a recent toy and can't locate your instructions, or if you just want to see how some of the toys you don't have transform, it's a great resource!