(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Prime deluxe Wheeljack. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Prime deluxe Wheeljack figure here.)

    "Dark Energon" Wheeljack's color scheme is an homage to Slicer, a European late-G1 toy that was a redeco of G1 "Action Master" Wheeljack. Like Slicer, this version of Wheeljack's main color is blue, with some black (and some dark "dirty" gray) being the main secondary colors. In keeping with the whole "Dark Energon" theme, though, Wheeljack's blue is almost all transparent, and it looks good, particularly in vehicle mode where you can see all the little bits of detailing on both sides of the transparent parts. The blue itself is a pretty close match to Slicer's in terms of general hue. There's also just a touch of metallic blue on the roof of Wheeljack's robot mode-- by itself, the color looks great, but used in such a small section right next to transparent blue plastic makes it look a bit "off", as it's a bit of a lighter hue but not quite enough to provide contrast-- it sticks out in a generally bad way, in other words. The charcoal gray/black is a nice neutral to play off of, but it doesn't really contrast enough from the dark transparent blue to really make itself an all-that-great addition to the color scheme. What ARE appreciated additions are the paint apps that are more relegated to "accent" status on this toy-- namely, the red and metallic copper, which were also used on Slicer. The red on Wheeljack's front and upper legs is a nice light shade of the color that contrasts excellently with the blue, while the transparent red used for Wheeljack's windows really helps to give the red a bit more of a "voice" in vehicle mode-- having two transparent colors that are "opposites" on a toy rarely looks anything but good, in my opinion. The metallic copper is only used on Wheeljack's swords, lower arms, and head, but it looks fantastic against the charcoal gray and black, and I wish it had been used more compared to the gray/black or even the blue. He also has spiffy yellow-and-red "Autobot shield" symbols on the sides of his car mode, which identify him as a "Dark Energon Defender".
    No mold changes have been made to "Dark Energon" Wheeljack.
    "Dark Energon Defender" Wheeljack is a nice toy for those who A. Like obscure homages, B. Like transparent plastic, or B. Just can't get enough of Wheeljack. For an exclusive, he goes for quite a decent price--not really above that of your average deluxe--and given how good the mold is, if you fit into one of the above three categories, this is a definite purchase. When it comes to which version of this mold is my favorite, though, Dead End still slightly edges out this one.

Review by Beastbot

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