Turbo Tracks: Highs and Lows
Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:16 pmI've been looking forward to Turbo Tracks and I was lucky enough to get him today. And I have to say my feelings on him are really mixed.
First up, his car mode. Shape-wise it looks very different to G1 Tracks and maybe not in the most flattering fashion. G1 Tracks was long, sleek and about 50% hood. Turbo Tracks has a wider, more rounded car-mode which reminds me more of the Universe version of Hot Shot. It's still a very attractive car but it loses much of the distinctiveness of the original.
On the plus side, his dark windscreen looks real nice, he has a decent amount of sculpted detail around his front and rear lights and though his flame decal looks a lot more artsy and tribal now I quite like it. Tracks seems like the kind of guy who'd like to keep his style current, after all. Also he has a sculpted, non-opening sunroof. I'm sure that Wheeljack will look better with this car mode.
His flying car mode is pretty weak, sadly. His wings basically consist of his car doors jutting out with stubby versions of his G1 wings on the end of them. By necessity of keeping his missiles hidden in car mode they're pretty small.
Transforming him is surprisingly complex with a lot going on in the arm department. There is a nice bit of auto-morph; pushing his chest up causes his shoulders to move out to the sides. Other than that his transformation is pretty vanilla. Turning him back into a car is a little trickier: his doors, hood and rear all need to lock in together when they keep wanting to pop apart.
His robot mode is an absolute treat. His wings no longer look ridiculous and he looks heroically bulky but not overly so. He has great proportions, decent articulation and his kibble is relegated to his back. In many ways he looks like a nice mix of toy-accurate, cartoon-accurate and his Binaltech self. One rather odd feature is his handgun which looks nothing like his but everything like Wheeljack's, one of the few concessions this figure makes to ol' WJ.
His bio is pretty amusing if you're the type who thinks that vanity=gay and that gay=hilarious (ie. if you write for the TF Wiki) but doesn't really add anything new.
If I sound negative at all in this post it's mostly because I love the original figure and the character and had high hopes for this guy. He's actually a really good toy and does well with having to keep three guns and 2-and-a-half modes in one deluxe mold. Plus he'll look great at Wheeljack too, I'm sure.
First up, his car mode. Shape-wise it looks very different to G1 Tracks and maybe not in the most flattering fashion. G1 Tracks was long, sleek and about 50% hood. Turbo Tracks has a wider, more rounded car-mode which reminds me more of the Universe version of Hot Shot. It's still a very attractive car but it loses much of the distinctiveness of the original.
On the plus side, his dark windscreen looks real nice, he has a decent amount of sculpted detail around his front and rear lights and though his flame decal looks a lot more artsy and tribal now I quite like it. Tracks seems like the kind of guy who'd like to keep his style current, after all. Also he has a sculpted, non-opening sunroof. I'm sure that Wheeljack will look better with this car mode.
His flying car mode is pretty weak, sadly. His wings basically consist of his car doors jutting out with stubby versions of his G1 wings on the end of them. By necessity of keeping his missiles hidden in car mode they're pretty small.
Transforming him is surprisingly complex with a lot going on in the arm department. There is a nice bit of auto-morph; pushing his chest up causes his shoulders to move out to the sides. Other than that his transformation is pretty vanilla. Turning him back into a car is a little trickier: his doors, hood and rear all need to lock in together when they keep wanting to pop apart.
His robot mode is an absolute treat. His wings no longer look ridiculous and he looks heroically bulky but not overly so. He has great proportions, decent articulation and his kibble is relegated to his back. In many ways he looks like a nice mix of toy-accurate, cartoon-accurate and his Binaltech self. One rather odd feature is his handgun which looks nothing like his but everything like Wheeljack's, one of the few concessions this figure makes to ol' WJ.
His bio is pretty amusing if you're the type who thinks that vanity=gay and that gay=hilarious (ie. if you write for the TF Wiki) but doesn't really add anything new.
If I sound negative at all in this post it's mostly because I love the original figure and the character and had high hopes for this guy. He's actually a really good toy and does well with having to keep three guns and 2-and-a-half modes in one deluxe mold. Plus he'll look great at Wheeljack too, I'm sure.
