General Information:
Release Date: October 2018
Price Point: $17.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Walgreens Exclusive (in US), Regular release in Japan
Accessories: Hand/Prime Armor, Axe weapon
Official images and text below in italics are from Walgreens.com:
The Autobots and Decepticons use Prime Masters to wield the incredible powers of the most legendary bots in the universe: the Primes. Prime Masters carry the spark of a Prime, allowing them to share a Prime's godlike ability with other bots. How will the scatterbrained Junkion leader wield this epic power? Anything is possible and everything is at stake when the Power of the Primes is unleashed! Transformers Generations Power of the Primes Deluxe Class figures are 5.5-inch-scale figures that come with a Prime Armor accessory. Insert a Prime Master figure (not included, each sold separately) into the accessory, attach it to the figure's chest, and imagine Wreck-Gar wields the power of a Prime. Figure Specs: Deluxe Class Wreck-Gar Modes: robot, motorcycle Converts in 15 steps Includes Prime Armor accessory and collector card Also works with Prime Master figures (Not included. Each sold separately. Subject to availability) Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro. Includes Deluxe Class Wreck-Gar figure, Prime Armor accessory, battle axe accessory, collector card, and instructions.
For the past few years, the Walgreens chain of stores has begun to carry exclusive Transformers figures in the United States. In some cases the same basic sculpts would be released as general releases outside the US. Previous exclusives include "Titans Return" Brainstorm and the "Titans Return" Clone set. Now a new "Generations" release has hit Walgreens shelves with the release of "Power of the Primes" Wreck-Gar! This figure is a retool and redeco of the "Combiner Wars" Deluxe Class Groove figure released in 2016. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Packaging:
Wreck-Gar is packaged on the same style of bubble card as the rest of the "Power of the Primes" toy line. The backing card has a black background with a vertical "Transformers" logo on one side with the "Generations" logo above it. Wreck-Gar's artwork is actually the same artwork used for Groove but a new head has been drawn on and the colors are different. The back of the packaging shows Wreck-Gar in both his modes indicating a 15 step transformation. Interestingly, his write up mentions him being "scatterbrained", a direct reference to his Generation One counterpart's tech specs.
Accessories:
Wreck-Gar includes two accessories. The first is an axe weapon. The sculpt for this was originally released with "Reveal the Shield" Wreck-Gar. This axe has a long handle that folds in half. The axe blades actually swing out in unison (causing some to joke it looks like a pizza cutter when the blades are not extended out). There is also a clip on the side that was originally used to attach to "Reveal the Shield" Wreck-Gar.
The other accessory is a Prime Armor/Fist piece using the same sculpt as the fists included with the Dinobots such as Snarl. The hand's most distinctive feature are giant spikes on the knuckles. The fist is cast in black and the small panel cover is silver.
Robot Mode:
This sculpt was originally designed to represent the Protectobot Groove, so the designers did two things to turn it into Wreck-Gar.
First there is a new head sculpt based on Wreck-Gar's G1 appearance. You see, the original Wreck-Gar action figure transformed in-part by having the front of the vehicle mode turning into the robot head. That means parts like the headlight and handlebars wind up on the head. His animation model stylized these parts, but they were still present (with the handlebars becoming "horns"). The animation model also stylized the G1 toy further by giving Wreck-Gar a long mustache and goatee style beard. The new head sculpt is a great representation of that animation model while still hinting at the G1 toy's design. I really like the sculpt, but due to the design the head is slightly smaller overall than Groove's so it can fit into the chest cavity when you swing the Combiner peg out.
The second change is the deco. Instead of the mostly white plastic used on Groove have been replaced with metallic copper and silver plastic. Smaller parts like the windshield are clear plastic while the wheels are black plastic. The copper color is absolutely gorgeous and these serve as good base plastic colors for Wreck-Gar.
On top of the plastic colors are paint colors based right off Wreck-Gar's G1 appearance. Metallic dark brown paint is used on the shoulders and lower legs. Silver paint is used on the head and the eyes are painted red (which made Wreck-Gar an oddity in G1 for an Autobot-aligned character). Red paint is also used on the "headlight" on the head and the chest. Black paint is also found on the chest. I am pretty impressed with how well these colors help Wreck-Gar look like his G1 animation model. The colors also work together very well. I think he looks great.
All the joints on this figure are nice and tight, which is great given that this is the third use of this base tooling. The axe weapon included with the figure can attach to either fist, but due to the raised curves on the handles only the very end can fit into the fist. The Prime Armor cannot attach to the chest but it can hook up to the bottom of the right forearm or fit into a fist.
Update: Fellow fan Kevin Peoples has pointed out that the silver elbow pieces on the figure are actually swapped. The joint works perfectly fine and looks fine from a distance, but up close it is clear that Groove's elbows were assembled "properly".
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach any accessories and set them aside for now.
- Swing the back of the lower legs back.
- Swing the front half of each lower leg up.
- Swing each leg out a bit, then swing in the wheel halves.
- Push the leg sections together. You may have to slide the tab from one leg into the other (instead of the "snap" that you could do with Groove).
- Rotate the leg section around.
- Straighten out the arms, then swing them forward. Bend the arm at the shoulder to swing the forearm against the chest. There are tabs on the arms that correspond with gaps on the robot chest.
- Pull the front of the vehicle mode up, then rotate around the section with the windshield.
- Swing the vehicle mode's front section down.
- Attach the blasters to the sides of the rear wheels.
Vehicle Mode:
Groove's vehicle mode was meant to be a police motorcycle, but Wreck-Gar was originally more of a "Mad Max" style motorcycle (complete with spikes on his wheels). While no sculpt changes were made to the vehicle mode, the deco does all the work to make this into a believable vehicle mode for the Junkion leader.
All the colors from the robot mode carry over to this form. The copper color makes up most of it with the dark brown and silver bits breaking up any potential visual monotony. The really nice deco work is focused on the front section, where you'll find the windshield and handlebars. This is a clear plastic piece but a combination of silver and copper paint is used to help it match up with the rest of the figure. Even better, the "emergency light" sections are left unpainted with a silver background making it look more like internal machinery than emergency lights. Overall the deco on this mode looks fantastic.
The instructions included with this figure suggest using the clip on the axe weapon to attach the axe to a handlebar for storage. They then suggest attaching the Prime Armor to the 5mm port on top of the vehicle towards the front. However when I tried this, the Prime Armor would constantly push the axe weapon out of place. Instead, I would recommend attaching the Prime Armor to the top, then attaching the axe to the Prime Armor itself or attaching it to the back and again attaching the axe to it. You can see these recommendations in the photos above.
Transformation to Arm Mode (from Vehicle Mode):
- Detach the weapons and set them aside for now.
- Swing the halves of the vehicle's rear section out then back together, exposing the robot mode legs.
- Split the legs apart, swing the wheel halves out, then reconnect the legs.
- Move the robot forearms up, then rotate them around.
- Straighten out the robot arms, then push them down at the shoulders. Swing the forearms up.
- Swing the front of the vehicle up, rotate it around and swing it out to the side.
- Swing the robot head down, revealing the Combiner connection piece.
- Push the front of the vehicle back into place.
- Transform the Prime Armor into a hand and attach it to the port on the bottom of the feet.
Arm Mode:
I already liked this sculpt as an arm. It has a nice, blocky look that looks powerful. Even better, the use of the fist with the spiked knuckles is very appropriate character since the Junkions were shown with all sorts of spikes on their bodies in the G1 animated movie and cartoon. The Prime Armor/fist piece attaches without a problem and looks cool.
Transformation to Leg Mode (from Vehicle Mode):
- Swing the forearms up, then swing the robot arms out to the sides and rotate the forearms. Swing the arms down.
- Swing the front of the vehicle up, rotate it and swing this section forward.
- Swing the Combiner joint up, then swing the front of the vehicle back into place.
- Attach the foot piece to the bottom of the leg.
Leg Mode:
With the thick, angled design that makes up most of this figure the leg mode is probably the better looking of the two limb modes. I have always loved the way the front of the motorcycle kind of forms the knee armor. Unfortunately, the Prime Armor included with this figure does not form a foot so you will have to borrow a foot piece from someone (I used Groove's).
Final Thoughts:
Wreck-Gar is a super cool redeco and retool of the Groove sculpt. I have been looking forward to this figure for months and I am not disappointed. My only reservations about this figure revolve around the somewhat awkward way the "Reveal the Shield" Wreck-Gar's weapon was shoehorned into this set. Other than that, this figure is definitely recommended.
Pros:
- Excellent new head sculpt.
- Beautiful deco.
- All parts are still nice and tight.
Cons:
- I wish a different (or brand new) weapon had been developed for this figure instead of reusing the axe. It winds up looking kind of awkward in every mode.
