The Energon Pub

I was expecting to be blown away by Prime/RiD Wheeljack, but found myself kind of missing the Generations Wheeljack I had all packed up and ready to return.

Which one do you guys like better?

Prime: Great sturdy robot mode with a fun and challenging transformation. But, shoulders get in way and wrists don't swivel, and windshields jutting out really get in the way.

Generations: He's good ol' Wheeljack, looks like he's straight out of G1, and even has wrenches. This mold is a little wobbly - the backpack doesn't lock in well, it's a pain to fold those arms in just right when transforming.

But - both are excellent toys. If you had to keep one - which?

Generations. Prime is a fine toy, but Generations looks way better.

For the wrenches alone, Generations gets my vote.

Generations, I think it's just better overall

The wobblyness on G Wheeljack is not an issue on mine. That Prime Wheeljack (which I do not own) looks so very G1 toy... If it ever turns up over here, I'd get him. Keep both?

Generations hands down.

Generations WJ is the winner hands down as you said he's all G1.

Prime WJ however is no substitute every thing about him and any other wheeljack to come from now on will just be out classed by Generation WJ G1 greatness.

As cool as Prime Wheeljack is, I'm going to go with the masses and say Generations Wheeljack. He's just that cool.

I however see no reason to limit yourself to just one Wheeljack. I've got Generations, Prime and Alternator Wheeljack all bein' sweet on a shelf together ( I never understoood why they went with blue stripes on Alternator Wheeljack though. Seems like it would have been easy to simply give him green and red stripes, but still a cool toy.).

Generations, if not for the wrenches then for the headsculpt as well. That's not saying Prime's toy is *bad*...but it feels such a different character in a lot of ways.

Kung Fu Man wrote:Generations, if not for the wrenches then for the headsculpt as well. That's not saying Prime's toy is *bad*...but it feels such a different character in a lot of ways.

AHEM...Drift...AHEM A different character? What are you talking about?

I only have Generations WJ, but I love it. Mine's not wobbly and neither was the first one I had that I returned because it had an error and one of the upper legs was the wrong part. Yet my RTS Tracks is all sorts of wobbly, though mainly in the legs not the back.

I agree with whoever says to have both. I would if I could find a Prime WJ.

It depends on who as a character means more to you. Prime Wheeljack has only been in like one episode and is cool and all but he's a different character than his G1 counterpart. More a warrior than a mad scientist/mechanic. I have both but that's because Wheeljack is one of my favorite characters altogether. Both are cool and different in their own ways. Go with both if you can find the Prime one- it's a cool figure.

I get the feeling that once everybody starts getting the Prime toys in (or at least on the shelf), we're going to have more WJ's about than we know what to do with.

I saw the note on TFWiki about Prime Wheeljack supposedly being a master mechanic just like in other incarnations (but we just haven't seen it yet). That sounds slightly like some producer or writer covering his ass after doing something with a character that fans complained about. However, the rest of Prime has been pretty damned good so far be it from me to complain.

I have both. And I was actually disappointed in Generations Wheeljack for the same reason I was disappointed in Generations Tracks - the wings and scoop backpack.

The wings, frankly, suck. And the entire rear end of the car is just hanging off his back like some cavernous empty backpack.

On the other hand, Prime Wheeljack has horrible elbow articulation and mediocre shoulder articulation, plus (as many peole have said) it simply FEELS like a different character. This isn't the Brooklyn accented mad scientist who built the Dinobots (depending on your timeline), it's just another Autobot warrior, this time with swords.

Now, don't get me wrong, I really like BOTH figures. Generations Wheeljack is filled with that "G1 with new technology" goodness, and Prime has a nice bot mode and less kibble than 95% of the figures out there. I just don't think they're perfect.

Only Generations Jazz is perfect.

I'd go with Generations WJ. Prime WJ is a great fig, don't get me wrong, but I just feel that Generations is more versatile in that it can be displayed with the Prime figs and not look too out of place. Prime WJ is rather stylized, and doesn't look like it would make a good substitute for Generations WJ, especially when my Generations collection far outnumbers my Prime stuff, which consists of just Arcee.

Besides, wrenches befit a mad scientist more than swords.

Speaking of which, are WJ's swords all rubbery and bendy like Drift's?

Generations Wheeljack! Prime Wheeljack's head sculpt makes him look like an angry chimp.

DarkEnergon wrote:Prime: wrists don't swivel

Yes they do.

Valandar wrote:Only Generations Jazz is perfect.

Chest doesn't lock into place and the American version doesn't have painted wheels so not perfect. I like Gen. Wheeljack better. Plus, how often can you say the Hasbro version of a Classics figure is better than the Takara?

Prime WJ looks like a monkey. Generations Wheeljack is Wheeljack. And yes I have both.

I'm a G1 guy. Generations wins.

If you're looking for a true G1 update, then Generations Wheeljack is clearly your guy. However, if you're looking for a cool figure, both are worth keeping and just displaying them with other figures of the same style.

If you're a true Wheeljack fan, I'd advise grabbing Superlink Wheeljack (The Japanese version of Energon Downshift) as well. Heck, even the Spychanger Wheeljack is kinda cool if you like small figures.

Mykltron wrote:

DarkEnergon wrote:Prime: wrists don't swivel

Yes they do.

Guess I meant his forearms. He's double-elbowed, really, but you can't swivel above either elbow, you rely on the ball joint on his shoulder. His hands are on ball joints, and I think that's how they tried to make up for it, but him being a swordsman, it gets a little frustrating trying to pose those swords.

btw - his swords are nice. Two colors of gray, between the handle and the blade, and not super-bendy at all.

I do have Energon Downshift (albeit severly battle-damaged) and he's actually very awesome. I miss the days when transformers were made of moving chunks, rather than shards.

Well, I don't have Prime Wheeljack, but I have the Generations one and think he is great. Anyone interested in a more lengthy opinion on him (as well as on Tracks) as well as seeing some photos of him with his Reprolabels, can do so here.

Generations. The Wheeljack who blew up his own lab doesn't use two swords.

Prime Wheeljack. Generations looks too much like the G1 toy rather than his animation model.

You can just put Generations Wheeljack's accessories on Prime's. Ain't rocket science. It annoys me when people put down the whole figure because of an on screen character portrayal and his sword accessories. Simple fix: Remove the swords from the picture. Swap weapons. Forget everything about the damn Driftjack characterization, and he's not a bad Wheeljack.