Toy Review – Generations Wheelie

Wheelie has always been one of the black sheep of the Transformers family.  Introduced in 1986 as the new kid-friendly character, Wheelie’s constant rhyming grated on people’s nerves, and the fact that his toy was as basic as basic got back then didn’t help matters.  He’s had several new toys since, and this latest one is his largest one yet.  So, should you get it, or should you forget it?

Don’t worry; that’ll be the only rhyme.  If you want more rhyming, check out his awesome TF Wiki profile.
Wheelie_HeadWheelie_Vehicle_02Retooled from the “Reveal the Shield” Special Ops Jazz mold, this Wheelie is a deluxe-sized orange and blue sports car.  With a spoiler, transparent windows, and deployable speakers, he’s a music-loving speedster.  His original toy was a car with a design from the far-off future of 2005; this car’s a bit more realistic than that, and like Jazz, he’s got hints of the Pontiac Solstice in him.  It’s a good update to Wheelie without having to create a brand new mold for him.

In robot mode, Wheelie’s got a different head than Jazz, based on his cartoon model.  It looks a little bit puny on the Jazz body, but it’s not too bad.  It’s a good sculpt, with all the detail you remember hating 25 years ago.  For weapons, he can deploy his speakers, but the best part is his blaster.  Sure, he can hold it like a blaster, but he didn’t wield a gun in the cartoon.  No, he had his trusty slingshot, so his blaster is scuplted like one, and I daresay I’ll never have him hold it as a blaster again.  It’s a nice nod to his backstory.

Wheelie_SlingshotHe holds together pretty well, albeit a bit hard to pose in robot mode.  I had some scares when transforming him from the car mode, though; his shoulder assembly got jammed mid-transformation, and I wasn’t sure I was going to get it unstuck without breaking.  By swinging his arms out of the way and moving some panels back and forth, the mechanism freed itself and rotated freely again.  It’s something to watch out, for, though.  In the process, you will also probably pop off his speakers, so don’t lose them.

Over the past two and a half decades, Wheelie’s popularity has grown, thanks to some better characterization in IDW’s comics.  It’s nice to see him get some love again, and while I’d like to see a new Cybertronian form for him, I’d rather have him use Jazz’s mold instead of no toy at all.