Anyone find it ironic how the same people who didn't believe Bonaventura's comments on ROTB being a prequel to the 2007 movie are the same people who thought Wheeljack was going to be redesigned like Sonic was? I wish people would point it out more, but what else can I expect from the fandom? Anyways, Wheeljack wasn't as prominent in the movie, though I did like seeing him in the movie, whether he's showcasing his distaste towards Noah's "racism" and his decent attempts at being able to stand on his own in a battle. It's amusing seeing him do more than Downshift did in the Bumblebee movie, but let's see if the Studio Series figure manages to be better than the already good mainline Deluxe beyond the movie accuracy.
Here we have Wheeljack in his van mode, a proper Volkswagen Type 2 microbus. This is easily a step up from the original version, maintaining the similar details we already had with even better ones this time around, what with the silver trim that separates the light brown and the cream-white of the vehicle. The Volkswagen logo returns as well, especially after the Bumblebee movie had its titular character as a Beetle for a majority of time. I also like seeing the headlights and door handles picked out, the "Reparacion de T.V. Pablo" decals are intact (though the left side seen here separates the "-ablo" from the rest of it), and even the less noticeable details, like the rack on top as well as the bumper, better match the real model. Amusingly, Wheeljack's head is peering behind the windshield, which is sometimes funny to see like with X-Brawn, Armada Side Swipe, and some Ironhide toys.
The side of the vehicle is also looks pretty good in spite of the slight gap that the shins make since they don't entirely stay flush; it's due to the way what will be the forearms are molded. I wish the decals representing the "Ventas y Servicios" was intact, but it might be a nightmare to reproduce given how the toy transforms. I do wish the rims were given both the rims paint as well as the trim surrounding the rims.An actual issue I have with the toy has to do with the fact that the doors don't really match the shade of light brown that the rest of the figure has.
The gun can be stored on the top, which is a bit weak that it is a pistol similar to the generic Autobot pistol instead of the proper cannons that he had in the movie, but it loosely resembles the roof rifle that was shown only in a character poster where Wheeljack was fighting against Battletrap. I'm guessing it got cut since Arcee was already helping Jackie out.
For an alt-mode comparison, here he is next to his mainline counterpart. The new figure is already better than the previous version due to its much closer appearance to the movie's vehicle prop, between the sculpted details and the coloring being accurate. That being said, the mainline figure is a pretty good toy despite not being a licensed Microbus. Weirdly, Bumblebee was probably the only licensed carformer in the mainline Rise of the Beasts toy line, but then again, big name character and General Motors have been Hasbro's friend since 2007 (or earlier if you count Alternators).
And here we have Wheeljack with the rest of the Autobots recreating the promo pic Steven Caple Jr was in, and the scale is generally accurate apart from Optimus likely needing to be a bit bigger and Arcee a little smaller. Wheeljack being a small van is accurate to the real world since the Microbus wasn't that big of a vehicle to begin with, so this works pretty fine without causing worries over the size differences.
Transformation is where things get pretty bad for Wheeljack; it works well on paper yet the lack of spacing as well as the fact that the doors and the front of the van pop off due to them not being pinned ruins what might have been a decent transformation. The legs transform fine enough, but the doors don't have enough space to move out of the way due to the way they're oriented; meanwhile, the forearm kibble that is made up from the roof can be tedious to move out of the way if you're not moving the arms in the right direction during transformation. I don't agree with PrimeVsPrime that this is as difficult as the ROTF Leader Optimus because the issue that figure faced was a terrible instruction manual and fans not being patient or trained to transform the toy right at the time; I will at least say that the figure shouldn't have over-complicated the engineering that was seemingly taken from the Beast Weaponizer Wheeljack. As for the robot mode, it looks much better than past versions when it comes to the proportions. The torso is especially noteworthy for this thanks to the suspender design not being as clunky as on the original Deluxe. There are a few quirks that the figure does have,, such as the wheel facing inwards instead of outwards, and the lower back flap being visible (though it should go down further my bad). The biggest issue I have would be the wings facing the wrong way, which many found strange given how a lot of Transformers with door wings never have the same issue Pablo has. I do wish the robot mode had more paint apps, such as the Autobot insignia on the chest, the lights on the shoulders and thighs, the mirrors on the chest, and breaking up the hands from the forearms.
Head sculpt looks great, even if it triggered purists of both G1 and the Bumblebee movie (cope and seethe), though the paint missing on the Autobot insignia as well as the glasses temples is annoying, making the head look a bit incomplete. Weirdly, he looks less nerdy without the light piping lenses that the original Deluxe had. Articulation consists of a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders with a hinge for outward movement, elbow bends, bicep rotation, elbow bends, waist rotation, ball-jointed hips, thigh rotation, hinge knees with ball joints below them, and ankle hinges for slight front and back motion due to transformation as well as pivots. Also, his gun is clear plastic, which is unusual given how most of these weapons would be cast in opaque plastic or painted over; it's like a weird carryover from Legacy Year 1.
For a robot mode comparison, here he is next to the mainline version of himself, showcasing robot mode proportions that better matched the CG model than what we previously had. The one on the left does look like a Generations-esque take on the design, and while the original may have the lenses that glasses should always have, the Studio Series version at least shows the eyes better. Still, if you're not fussed about the aesthetic improvements of the newer figure and you have the original, then you can be fine with just the mainline take of Wheeljack.
Here we have Wheeljack next to the other Autobots in the movie, and it's great seeing everyone look consistent in quality. Especially compared to early on when only Bee and Arcee were Studio Series figures while Optimus and Wheeljack were mainline; Mirage was stuck with a Battle Changer despite being the star of the movie that isn't either Prime or Bee! Wheeljack's probably in 4th place when it comes to my love for the molds representing the Autobots, meaning he looks better than Mirage but still transforms poorly. Instead of translucent plastic we have to worry about, Wheeljack has parts to keep intact.
And here he is standing next to his Beewun counterpart! This pic was made to spite the people that mocked our lord and savior, Pablomus Prime. I wouldn't be surprised if the fanbase couldn't resist sending death threats to Paramount or Hasbro when the mainline toy got leaked, but they remembered how fans reacted to Sonic in the first movie trailer and decided to stick with this superior design.
Overall, Pablo Wheeljack LOOKS good as a Studio Series Deluxe, but there are problems that I have with the figure that are not the cliche "waahh Hasbro ruined Wheeljack reeee"; I wish the front of the van as well as the door wings didn't pop off constantly, and I especially wish the transformation wasn't as annoying as it turned out to be thanks to how tight spacing can be between steps. If the figure was able to have a little more time to cook, I could imagine it being better than it currently is. So in some ways, better than the mainline Deluxe, and worse in others.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment