Name: Wreckage
Series: Movie Tie-Ins
Allegiance: Decepticon
Alternate Mode: M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (thanks for Fit For Natalie for the model)
VEHICLE MODE
Height: 6cm Length: 13cm Width: 5.5cm
A white armoured troop carrier with grey camouflage and eight grey wheels. While the colour scheme is really basic, it's far from lazy. The camouflage is well thought-out, with various patches continuous over the seams. All eight wheels have silver painted hubcaps and there's a single grey gun on top. There are a few outbursts of transparent red plastic, and while this isn't ideal, it's quite a minor colour. There's a very subtle grey Decepticon logo on the front, which blends into the camouflage at a glance.
The sculpting here is very good - there are lots of rails, windows, hatches and the like all over Wreckage. The rear end features safe-door like hatch and jerry cans on either side (which would be huge). The combination of a detailed sculpt and attentive camouflage pattern make this an attractive vehicle.
It's not often you come across a Transformer with eight rolling wheels - especially at this size. They're all basically at the same level - give or take a millimetre or two. Which means that you'll get at least six rolling on a hard surface and usually all eight rolling along carpet or a similar surface. The gun on top doesn't move, sadly - it's actually linked to a robot mode gimmick, which needs it to be rigid. Wreckage also comes with two slashing weapons, which can be deployed in this mode, giving him two transparent red blades, above and to the sides of the driver's window slit. You can't actually deploy these blades - you have to partly transform Wreckage, deploy the blades and then transform him again. I'm annoyed that these detachable blades can't actually attach to the outside of the vehicle, since the spring loaded deployment would offer some more play value.
While the play value isn't quite what I'd hoped for, the sculpt and paint job are quite good, and I am impressed with the wheels. I'm still happy with this vehicle mode, but it would have been nice to see some more play value. Wreckage looks really good, with attention to detail we don't often see on a deluxe, and is one of the most realistic armoured truck Transformers we've seen.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Lift up the rear, fold away the black panel. Fold the blades out to the side and detach. Unfold the lower legs, fold up the support brackets for the blades. Unclip the wrists from underneath the truck, lift out his shoulders. Push the grey gun forward, activating the automorph feature. All at once the front folds down to form the chest, the shoulders pivot back, the head is revealed and a transparent red cannon on his waist slides forward. The automorph is tidy and effective without taking away the fun of transformation. You can clip the blades to the undersides of his forearms or place them in either hand.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 13.5cm Width: 9cm
Wreckage is again based around white and augmented by grey, but the colour scheme is quiet different now. The camouflage is almost gone - only the area on his chest around the grey Decepticon logo has camouflage. Instead his head, groin, hands and feet are grey plastic. His face is silver with some gold highlights, and the gold is also found on his groin and feet. Wreckage's arms and thighs are a brick red colour, which works well alongside white and grey. There are two wheels in each forearm and boot, bringing a touch of black into play. Rounding things out are the transparent red blades (with black handles), waist cannon and eyes. There is a lightpipe in his eyes, although there's a panel behind his head which prevents it from working properly. I really like this colour scheme, and I'm impressed that the camouflage is stripped away and replaced by the red and grey plastics.
The attention to detail is carried over here, with the sculpt on his legs, face and arms being quite detailed. In some ways he reminds me of Night Slash Cheetor, since his shins are slightly concave and his head is designed to look down by default. I tend to tilt his torso back slightly to compensate for this deliberate design aspect. While I can't say I like the design choice, it's not really a problem since Wreckage is poseable enough that you can get around it.
While the play value is limited in truck mode, his robot mode is a lot of fun. The slashing weapons can clip under his arms, giving him wolverine-style blades, or sit in either hand. They retract into the black handles and spring out thanks to small grey triggers, and the triggers are compact yet visible without being too easy to set off. The hands themselves are in a loose grasp position, yet have been designed to hold the handles on his weapons. While Wreckage's hand weapons are melee weapons, the cannon on his waist provides him with a ranged attack.
The articulation is great and the poseability also strong. His head, shoulders, hips and ankles are ball jointed while there are two hinges per elbows and knee. The wrists rotate as does the waist, allowing for some nice slashing poses. Wreckage has useful heelspurs _and_ smaller supports on the side of each foot (they're kind of star shaped), allowing him a wide range of dynamic legs poses. My only complaint regarding the poseability is that the panel behind his head restricts the neck joint far more than I'd like. Otherwise, this toy has a wonderful range of poses.
Great detailing, nice colours, excellent limb poseability and stability all combine to make Wreckage's robot mode a strong one. I appreciate the options we have with the blades - and this contrasts with the lack of options in vehicle mode. The cannon on his chest can't really aim, but then it's tied into his automorph. I do wish the head was a little more dynamic, but on the whole this is a good robot mode, and is Wreckage's better mode.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of.
OVERALL
This character doesn't feature in the film, which is a shame since the robot mode would look fantastic on the big screen. Both modes are generally good, and while there are some shortcomings - the restricted weaponry in vehicle mode and the head issues in robot mode - Wreckage is an impressive toy. I'd recommend him despite his omission from the movie - 8.5/10
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