Vault put us a little behind, but never fear, the fifth and final review for Transformers Week is here! Friday wraps up with a look at everyone’s favorite Junkion, Wreck-Gar. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I was going to buy him when I saw him. I have a bias against out-of-scale motorcycles, but I do loves me some Wreck-Gar…
Wreck-Gar is yet another Transformer that first appeared in Transformers: The Movie, so I probably should’ve anticipated that I would buy him when I found him and never entertained the thought of passing on him. Wreck-Gar is introduced when Ultra Magnus & Co. crash land on the planet Junkion which is basically a giant landfill. Wreck-Gar is the leader of the ‘bots that live there (aptly named Junkions) who are a very strange group of Transformers to say the least. First, all the Junkions are basically immortal kit-bashes. They can repair themselves (& other TFs) from damage that would leave Ratchet filling out death certificates. But what makes them really odd is that they’re also TV junkies. Wreck-Gar himself speaks largely in slogans and idioms taken from Earth commercials. Yes, that does make him comic relief, but remember he’s a basically invincible robot with a giant axe. Keep that in mind when you’re laughing at him.
I never owned the original Wreck-Gar as a kid because I hated that his motorcycle alt mode was ridiculously out of scale with the car Transformers that I had. I know that’s silly because, as an adult, I know that Transformers and scale don’t really go together, but I was really hung up on that as a kid. I overlooked it sometimes, but the motorcycles bugged me. For example, Defensor was (and still is) my favorite combiner and I accepted the odd-sizes of the helicopter, ambulance, etc, but the motorcycle (Groove, I believe) always bugged me. Of course, it didn’t help that Groove sucked as a Transformer too. I had Happy Meal Transformers that moved more.
Anyway, so we flash forward to today and once again there’s a giant motorcycle alt mode mixed in with the other Transformers. Bah! But this time, Hasbro thought it through. He’s a motorcycle that the other figures can ride. He’s an odd fit for some of them, but when Wreck-Gar’s inevitable mold buddy shows up (in Japan, they’ve got Scrapheap on the way, but the US one hasn’t been revealed yet) they’re designed to be compatible. Wreck-Gar’s alt mode has slots in his seat and his sides that line up perfectly with tabs at his crotch and ankles. I wish I had two Wreck-Gars to show you, but that’d be silly. This certainly makes his mold buddy a must buy though, so look for that pic in the eventual review.
Ultimately, the alt mode is a decent enough motorcycle, but the main appeal is going to be other TFs being able to ride him than anything specific to itself. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t have the same appeal as Kup’s simple pickup or Jazz’s “Porsche”. I’m not a stickler for proper G1 colors but that might’ve helped me like the alt mode a little more. I do like the clear plastic on the windshield, but I’m not sure about other things like the black flames or the lack of any deco or sticker on his license plate holder. Speaking of, that license plate screams for some love from ReproLabels doesn’t it? Hasbro may as well be advertising for those fellas. Oh, and having his face stick out the bottom? I’m never a big fan of exposed faces in alt modes.
The transformation isn’t that crazy once you get used to it, but I still marvel at Wreck-Gar in motorcycle mold and wonder how it all works. His arms fold up to one side to form to the engine block and the legs somehow twist around to form the entire top half of the bike. It takes a bit to get everything lined up and interlocked right, but it’s not anywhere near as frustrating as Perceptor. I have a feeling that my future Junkion purchase will be spending most of his time in his alt mod as Wreck-Gar’s ride. Continue to Wreck-Gar’s Bot Mode…
Thanks for all the great Transformers reviews this week, guys! Hope to see that Jazz review sooner rather than later!
I’ve got some MU & DCUC to do, but it should be too bad. I’m not nearly backed up after the last few weeks of reviews. I am a little burnt out though… lol
Awwww! Sad Jazz!
Great review as always. I love all the trash laying about in this review. I spot some cool stuff like Chronohammers and a Gobon back there! Why are those in the trash??
I haven’t found the Wreck-Gar wave anywhere yet. It sucks because that was a highly anticipated wave for me. Even the classic Bumblebee in movie colors.
Well, if they were in the real trah they wouldn’t be here. 🙂
I did kinda like that Bumblebee, but I don’t know…
Nice review, but I’ve always hated Wreck-Gar. I can’t stand him.
That seems to be going around. LOL
He’s not my favorite, but I do enjoy him. Now Hasbro needs to make a Springer!
Great review. I’m not a Wreck-gar fan, but I dig this figure. I have actually bought him twice, mulled it over, and returned him twice now. Maybe if I find him on sale I’ll keep him (if any of the TRU near me had him during their $7.99 week I would have definitely snatched him up), but I’m having a harder time spending $13 w/ tax for deluxe figures.
I’ve been a little more hesitant post-Xmas. I was really enjoying the $9 price point. LOL
Great review! I love the ghostbusters sign at the end with Jazz. It’s little things like that I love about IAT.
I still haven’t found this wave or the Tracks/Jazz wave at retail yet and it’s making me grumpy. I haven’t had any trouble with the red carded stuff at all, but the yellow cards have been non-existant after the first wave.
Buster is sad for Jazz too. 😉
I’ve only seen Wreck-Gar once & Perceptor once. I didn’t grab the ‘Bee or Prime and haven’t seen them since (I don’t know if I really want those two anyway), so I’m definitely with you in the yellow cards being more of a pain than the red ones. My Jazz & Tracks came from Walgreens of all places.
The character is a pile of crap (sorry Guys and Gals, most of the movie ones were….) but this is a very sharp and downright essential toy – leaving aside the dodgy undertones for a moment my Jazz has a ride now and how feakin cool is that?!!!!! Terrific Bot mode and I can forgive the Italian ‘tache because he’s so poseable. More like this please Hasbro…..
Awww, no love for Wreck-Gar? LOL
I love that he can give rides to the other transformers! Though now we need an Astrotrain that all the other TFs can fit in…
Good review, but like everyone else – the right foot is supposed to be turned around, so that both feet look the same. Oh well, I guess noone looks at the instructions anymore.
I forgot to mention that! I was going there with my pile of my parts analogy. I did it the “proper” way the first time, but upon subsequent transformations I stopped because I think the feet being opposite give him more of that mismatched parts feel. Good catch, though!
Ya know, I see a bit of Jack Sparrow in that face…
Love a robot with a giant killer spinning pinwheel axe lo;
I only just recently bagged a Wreck-Gar and a Scrapheap, and I love ’em. But one horrible thing I noticed was that if you try to clip their axes into their hands so that they’re not holding onto the very end of the handle, you get big, nasty, worrying white stress-lines that make it look like the fingers will snap off with any further provocation. Bad bit of design there, methinks.
I’ve gone and ground down that raised, angled ridge near the end of the tail-pipe / axe handle so I can slide the axes further into their hands for a better grip. Now, if only those secondary market add-on parts-makers will make some replacement hands for Wreck-Gar and Scrapheap . . . .