Turbo Tracks
Review by JoshB
I never had Tracks as a kid, never really wanted him and I was never given him as a gift or anything, so I have no real connection to this character or design. But when I saw how well they translated the G1 style design to the Generations line version, I knew I had to get one and check it out.
Car mode is excellent. The blue seems like just the right hue to invoke the vintage feel. The toy is molded in color, so paint applications are limited, but effective. The most striking decoration is the tribal flame design on the hood.
Another G1 throwback is the inclusion of a rub-sign on the hood. This symbol reveals itself when you apply heat to it. There’s no surprise here, this one’s an Autobot. I think it would be cool if it actually could be either Autobot or Decepticon, but I think transfans would have a heart attack trying to collect good and bad versions of each character.
In car mode you can attach the two missiles to the undercarriage on either side, or you can flip around a panel on the trunk and attach them there. The extra connection point with the option of hiding it is a nice touch.
You can also make a flight mode by folding the doors down and out, and unfolding the wings.
Transformation is well done, with a few interesting twists and turns. The front of the car becomes the legs and have to be pulled down in addition to separating. The arms are stored in the trunk area, and the whole trunk acts as a nice looking backpack which can store the gun inside.
Although not explicitly stated, the toy has a cool mech-alive like feature in its transformation. When you push the hood up on the chest, it simultaneously reveals the head and pushes the arm sections out.
I’m sure this is a QC error on my sample, but the face looks like it got acid thrown at it. Sometimes these mistakes slip by, and are not indicative of the quality of the line as a whole.
The gun unfolds and can fit in either hand.
Articulation is really good, with standout joints being the double jointed elbows and swivel waist. The exception is the feet – the feet are too small and the ball joint not tight enough. He’s prone to shelf diving.
Otherwise, he rocks pretty hard. Of course, the Japanese release of this looks a lot better, with a metallic finish and additional paint details, but that’s the way it always is, isn’t it?
Comments
7 comments postedMeh. Do not want.
He really does look like Two-Face in that shot, doesn't he?
I'm looking forward to the Wheeljack remold if it ever stops being an eBay exclusive. If not, I still have at least one version of this great mold.
I usually don't agree with EVA, but this time he's dead on. This thing has no presence what so ever. "Meh" was an understatement. The lack of paint aps make it look more like a knock-off than an official release, and that face, really?
As the kids these days are so fond of saying, "FAIL"!
You didn't cover the flying mode. But it's still looks bad.
Firstly, you have a bad sample with the paint apps to the face. I have one of these and everything looks fine there. Also I have no looseness with the feet either. To bring this guy alive, all you have to do is ditch the lousy rub symbol and get yourself the sticker set from Reprolabels. It looks fantastic once you've added those. But even just replacing the rub symbol with a proper Autobot one does the trick. He's one of my favorites of the newer TF toys.
I find it so amusing that people often say a toy is bad when there's uncontrolled flecks of paint on a toy, or when the mold on a certain piece is not 100%. To me, these are the results of mass production- some minor flaws are always expected to slip past QC once in a great while. I can deal with minor errors so long as they don't interfere with the performance of the toy. Stop whining, you bitches.
I didn't shoot down getting this because he has some extra spots on his face or a rub sign. I shot it down because the flight mode is a joke, the legs are uninspired, the flame on the hood is atrocious, and the color scheme in both modes screws my eyes up just like this: >.<
I just got about 3 reveal the sheilds line from march... till this month I got optimus prime , Seargent Kup and as of April 25 I just bought fallback... I never got brawn back then... so I think I get the redeco well Ive seen turbo track in stores now at first i kinda ignore it but after seeing some pics of the flying mode well I guess I'll give him a shot :) and the I like his Paint design