Turbo Tracks is a pretty direct update of the G1 Tracks toy, with his alternate mode still a dark blue sports car, but a bit more "modernized". The proportions are great in vehicle mode, with no robot mode extras in sight. (Technically you can see his waist and upper legs through his windshield, but the plastic is tinted so dark you really have to squint to see them in this mode. Given that they're so dark, this is also one of the few instances where the painted-black windows don't obviously clash with the transparent windows.) The paint detailing is also quite well-done, with all the necessary details-- the headlights, taillights, grill, windows, and wheel hubs-- painted. The flames on Tracks' hood also look pretty darned awesome, taking his traditional gold & red flame colors and making them a bit more "tribal" in their styling. It still contrasts very well against the dark blue and catches the eye, as well. Being a Reveal the Shield toy, Tracks has a traditional rub sign on the center of his roof, which can be rubbed to reveal that he's--gasp!--an Autobot. Of one additional note is that this toy is capable of forming the "flying car" sub-mode just like the G1 toy, done by pretty much just rotating the doors out and folding out the little "wings" on them. It's admittedly rather lame, and it exposes a little of his inner robot mode, but given it doesn't really affect the toy otherwise, it's a nice little fan nod.
     In robot mode, Tracks takes very close cues from his G1 form again, with mostly only the proportions and detailing being updated to more modern standards. He also has a rather cool "automorph" part of his transformation, where when you push up on his hood/chest his shoulders and arms automatically move outward while his head shoots up and his chest gets wider. However, he does have a sizable backpack in this mode made from the rear third or so of the car. It says out of the way of most articulation, but it's still definitely worth pointing out. Otherwise, the other bits integrate into his robot mode pretty well-- the roof becomes his chest, and the front of the car mode stays behind his legs and forms part of his heels. The wing-doors and wheels make his silouhette around his shoulders a bit beefier and better-looking, to boot. His proportions are generally pretty good, except for the arms-- they're way too short and skinny size-wise, and are this mold's only really glaring flaws. (It's also made a little worse by the fact that Tracks is a tad barrel-chested.) The mold detailing is a bit more sparse than on most toys these days, but giving that this is a Classics-styled update of a G1 sportscar, it mostly fits his sleek design. On parts like the legs, robot head, and arms, the details are done quite well. The two "side missile" pieces from the vehicle mode are on the same detachable C-clips that many other toys recently released have, and are meant to be attached to the backpack behind Tracks' head-- though you can attach any other C-clip weapon to those two spots back there, as well as Tracks' handheld weapon, which has a C-clip attachment too. The color scheme is pretty spot-on G1, which certainly isn't bad-- blue, black, and white work quite well as a color scheme together, with some of the red and gold highlights making some good accent paint apps. That said, I feel that although the metallic gunmetal gray on his lower legs looks nice, the light gray and "regular" gray plastic are fairly dull and don't really add anything to the color scheme. As for articulation, Tracks has plenty of it-- he can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points), elbows (at two points), wrists, waist, hips, knees (at two points), and ankles (at three points). His backpack and wings do interfere a bit with shoulder movement, however. His two shoulder-mounted weapons can also move up and down at an additional point besides just the C-clip attachment.
    Turbo Tracks is generally a very nice and fitting upgrade to his G1 design, with great articulation and generally good proportions. His stubby little arms are a definite detractor, and his backpack in robot mode is a bit on the bulky side as well, but these aren't nearly bad enough by themselves to ruin the toy. If you're at all a fan of the G1 character, this is an easily recommended pickup.

Review by Beastbot

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