Wheeljack w/ Star Hammer

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Cyberverse Vehicle Set
Difficulty of Transformation to Robot: Very Easy
Difficulty of Transformation of Vehicle: Very Easy
Color Scheme: White, moderately dark milky gray, light milky gray, light pale red, transparent aqumarine, and some dull yellow, dull dark metallic gunmetal gray, moderately light red, silver, black, light metallic silvery blue, and dark green
Figure Rating: 8.6
Vehicle-Base Rating: 8.4

Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
    Wheeljack's car mode is replicated very well at the Legion-class scale, looking quite accurate to the show model (with the only real exception being that his spoiler and some details on his back area are a bit more rounded off than in the show). Proportions-wise he's great in this mode, and hey, he even has an actual front bumper here, unlike his deluxe toy. His back end has a LITTLE gap in it at the bottom, but that's pretty minor-- considering the small size of this toy, it's rarely noticeable. Another minor issue is that his roof is a bit overly small compared to his windows, due to the chest not being able to compress because of the size. Wheeljack's angular bits with relatively minimal mold detailing are replicated here, and surprisingly, he has nearly all of the paint apps on this version that he does in car mode on his larger deluxe version! His Wheeljack-esque angular green-and-red designs on his front hood, roof, and the little red triangles on the sides are all present. His taillights are painted yellow and red, and his front bumper silver. His windows are also painted a flat black, which fits how it looks in the show pretty well. All of this means that this is quite a detailed car mode in an age when a complete set of paint apps on a toy this small are a rarity. The green, red, and black also all contrast excellently against the predominantly white plastic in this mode, and the overall color scheme is definitely Wheeljack. Wheeljack has two ports in this mode for holding Cyberverse-scaled weapons-- both of them are on the sides of his roof, slightly behind the windows.
    In robot mode, Wheeljack also resembles his general design quite well for the size, though it's not as on-point as his vehicle mode is. His legs look perfect, what with the front bits of the vehicle folding up to form his feet. His chest is also fairly proportional-- though again, the "chest" part is a bit small compared to the windows on his lower abdomen. His arms are the weak link in this mode-- as you'd expect from a sportscar Legion figure, they're simply made up of the car doors of the vehicle mode, with the robot hands molded inside. That said, the taillights on the shoulders help to add a bit more show-accurate bulk to them, and although it's simplified on this toy, this part of the transformation IS show-accurate. Beyond the car-door arms, there isn't any other vehicle mode kibble in this mode-- the roof forms behind his back quite nicely, and it neither sticks out too much nor impedes movement. Another color makes itself known in this mode-- namely, a milky shade of gray. Thankfully, it's a dark enough shade of the color where it doesn't look overly bland like the oft-used light milky gray color, and it helps to add a little more variety to Wheeljack's already varied color scheme. The sculpting on this toy is also well-done, with appropriate details like his front grill, wheels, and head all sculpted quite accurately, given the scale. His head is also accurately painted silver with blue optics and looks great, if a bit "stubby" because of the size and paint on it. For movement, Wheeljack can move at the shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles, with the former two on ball joints. Thus, he's quite poseable for a Legion toy, what with the knees and large adjustable feet to keep him stable. Both of Wheeljack's hands have been molded in this mode to hold Cyberverse-scaled weapons, though the ports from vehicle mode are now on his back and can be used for "extra storage".\

Vehicle ModeBase Mode (w/ Quickblade Bumblebee)
    Wheeljack's "Star Hammer", like the other Prime Cyberverse vehicle playsets, has a vehicle mode and a "base" mode. Of one note upfront is that it's likely called the "Star Hammer" for copyright reasons, as in the show, it's referred to by the much-cooler and fitting name "Jack Hammer". When it comes to the general proportions and look of the Star/Jack Hammer's vehicle mode, it's amazing how close to the show model it looks. The wings are proportionate, all the necessary mold details are present to make it spot-on with the show model, it's got two spring-loaded missile-firing cannons on the side, inside the wings (press the red trigger in the middle of each cannon to fire the missiles, which are oddly translucent green), and it's more-or-less in scale with Cyberverse figures, to boot! The only real obvious "extras" here are the bits required for the transformation and light piping gimmick, such as the guns being a bit further back and further up then they are in the show. Obviously there isn't a big cord in the middle of the mode that leads to a transparent blue weapon on top of the cockpit, either. Speaking of the light piping gimmick, by pressing down on the Autobot symbol on the top of the craft and a bit towards the rear, this will cause the connected transparent blue piece to light up a green color-- at least partially. As is the case with nearly all of these LED "light-up" gimmicks in the Prime toyline, it doesn't work that well. However, the piece that generates the green light can be detached from the weapon on top of the cockpit and affixed to the back of either of the missile launchers (where the light piping doesn't work AT ALL), on the back of either of the small transparent Wheeljack swords that come with this set as well as other Cyberverse-scale weapons, or it can be attached to the upper back of the 2012 Cyberverse Commander-class figures to try to light them up, with medicore results on the best of them and non-existent results in the worst cases. The color scheme used on this set is my only real issue with it, at least in this mode-- nearly all of the plastic is a light milky gray that looks exceedingly dull. Even a LITTLE bit of silver paint would've really spiced things up, but the main secondary color here is a rather light shade of red. If it was a darker shade, it would've helped with the contrast here, but as is, only the dark gray portions of the side guns and the paint on the wing tips really provide all of these light colors with any sort of balance. I really think the Jack Hammer should look a lot better than this in terms of colors and paint apps. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Wheeljack can indeed fit inside the cockpit, which opens up. It's large enough where any Cyberverse figure should fit in there, really, so it's not a tight fit at all. I wish the window was a little bigger so you could see him inside there better, though...
    The Star Hammer's transformation to "base mode" simply involves pushing back on the slider at the back end of the vehicle. This makes both the wings fold downwards and outwards, revealing larger side platforms, while the two side guns pivot forward. To be sure, it still looks more like a vehicle than a base here, but it does give Cyberverse-scale figures a bit more room to stand behind the side cannons, given the larger, less hidden platforms here. Flip-out handles allow figures to "man" both guns, and there's TONS of ports throughout the mode, both for Cyberverse-scaled weapons and a few for "regular"-sized Prime weapons, as well, so you can really arm up Wheeljack's ship. There's also clip points on each side of this mode to allow it to connect to other Cyberverse vehicle sets to make a larger "base", if you so desire.

    The Wheeljack/Star Hammer set is one of the more impressive Cyberverse vehicle sets out there. Wheeljack is a pretty solid little Legion figure and accurately represents the character. The Star Hammer set has an overly simple transformation and somewhat iffy "base" mode, but it's still better than most other Cyberverse playsets' base modes and the simplicity is sort of a selling point for these sets. I do really wish the Star Hammer had been given some more metallic colors and more paint apps, though, since not does it look more boring than it should, but there's tons of nice show-accurate little mold details on this toy just begging to be highlighted. Still, it's got a solid gimmick, an openable cockpit, two big ol' missile launchers, and tons of ports to pump up the weapon count even further-- recommended, if you like the Star/Jack Hammer design.



Wheeljack w/ Star Hammer Bio:
FUNCTION: Autobot Commando
Wheeljack works alone, not because he prefers solitude, but because the missions he takes on are just too tough for most other Autobots. All he needs is his trusty Star Hammer starship, his swords, and enough Energon to keep him moving.
Strength: 8.0
Intelligence: 6.0
Speed: 6.0
Endurance: 7.0
Rank: 6.0
Courage: 9.0
Fireblast: 8.0
Skill: 9.0

Review by Beastbot

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