Wreck-Gar gets his first Classics-style update with this toy, and in vehicle mode, as expected, he's a motorcycle. It's not the most aerodynamic of motorcycles- looking a little bit "old"-- but that, of course, fits for the leader of the Junkions. The overall silouhette of this mode is pretty darn great, but most of my problems with this mode-- and this mold, in general-- come from just how obvious may of the robot bits are in this mode. The arms are clearly folded up behind the front wheel, the main body is clearly just behind those, the head pokes out a little from the bottom, it's fairly obvious from the shape that his toes come up from the front of the seat... it's all just a bit much and a bit clunky, on a mode that's generally supposed to be rather seemless. The windshield is also ridiculously small. (On it is contained Wreck-Gar's "Reveal the Shield" G1-style rubsign, where if you rub it, it reveals he's an Autobot.) The color scheme of brown, gray, and various shades of orange-yellow is classic Wreck-Gar, and looks pretty good, though I wish the gray was a bit less boring-looking of a shade, as opposed to that blah milky shade they're using on way too many Transformers these days. The mold detailing is decent enough, being smooth in places where it should be (such as most of the front part of this mode, to make it more "aerodynamic"), and more detailed in places it should be, like the motor chains around the wheels and the pistons and the like on some of the robot parts. Of course, since it IS supposed to be a Classics-style update of a G1 character, there isn't as much mold detailing as there's been on the recent bunch of movie toys, but that's to be expected. Some of the paint apps are quite well-done, like the nice bronzish-red on the interior of the tires and the black "flame" paint apps on the sides behind the handlebars. Using a BLACK flame is a pretty nice twist, to provide some nice contrast without resorting to the tried-and-true yellow flames, which would tend to blend in a bit with all of Wreck-Gar's yellowish-orange. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention one awesome thing about this mode-- as shown above, IT CAN RIDE ITSELF. Meaning, if you're to either get another Wreck-Gar or one of the Junkion redecos of this mold, you can have the toy, in robot mode, ride another of the toy in vehicle mode, just like the Junkions did in the '80s animated movie. There's slots and and corresponding pegs on the seat and waist of the mold to ensure they fit on securely, and it's a great idea that adds quite a bit of fun to this mode. Oh, and there IS a flip-down kickstand for this mode to keep it stable. (Almost forgot that, too.)
    A few notes about Wreck-Gar's transformation-- it's quite easy to get him to robot mode, but getting him back to vehicle mode requires a bit of patience. It's not a COMPLEX transformation, but it's one of those where everything has to line up just so, so it can be a bit annoying. (Always remember to pull the hip pieces out at the waist when starting-- that's an easy step to forget and you can't get everything "just so" without it.) Also, there's a bit of an "automorph" gimmick on Wreck-Gar's right foot-- as you push the windshield bit back, the rubbery handlebar bits will automatically fold back and the whole bit will sink into the leg piece a little. It's kinda cool, but do NOT move the handlebar bits outwards by yourself, as they're rather skinny and can snap easily. (You'll have to move them back manually when converting him back to vehicle mode.)
    I honestly don't have many bad things to say at all about Wreck-Gar's robot mode-- it's almost certainly the mode that the toy was designed around, and looks great proportionally. Some may take slight issue with both tires being on the left limbs, but I think that adds to Wreck-Gar's rather haphazard, "Junkion" look, being slightly imbalanced like that, so I like it. Both wheels frame the silouhette quite well here too, instead of just being extraneous kibble. Wreck-Gar's face sculpt is fantastic, both capturing the character's signature sneer/smile expression as well as having lots of paint detailing to boot. The chest details, such as the "engine-like" vents on the stomach, are also pretty nicely done, and Wreck-Gar has those two gun-like protrusions on the side of his chest without them being right where... well, right where the nipples would be were he a human being, as was oddly the case with the G1 toy. I'm not a huge fan of the yellow flames on the chest, though, as there were black flames on the vehicle mode-- I think it would've looked a bit more cohesive if those carried over to the chest detailing here. Still, they certainly don't look BAD. Wreck-Gar's articulation is excellent-- he can move at the neck (at two places), shoulders (at two places, though the movement on the left shoulder is a bit restricted because of the wheel there), and at the elbows (at two spots), the wrists, the waist, the hips (at three places), the knees, and the ankles (at two places). Given that his wheels don't add too much to his weight on his left side, this means you can get him into a ton of cool poses. I will say that Wreck-Gar's weapon is admittedly rather weak, though. I do like that it fits in nicely with his vehicle mode and forms an exhaust pipe, but in this mode-- it looks like a pinwheel. There's no getting around it, the "blades" of this "axe" simply aren't big and/or long enough to really look like a weapon.
    Autobot Alliance/Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar is a great tribute to one of the more unique characters of G1, particularly in robot mode, and the gimmick of the mold to "ride itself" is much appreciated, as well. I take issue with how easily visible the robot parts are in vehicle mode, and his transformation is kind of annoying-- and though those are big strikes, they're the only real significant ones against him (the lame weapon is rather minor). Recommended for fans of the character, or those who want to get two of the mold in some form-- mildly recommended otherwise.

Review by Beastbot

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