Wreck-Gar leads the Junkions, a race of junk robots. He's made of rusted scraps, chassis bits, manifold parts, and dented odds and ends. A little scatterbrained, he speaks in odd-ryming, pieced-together sentences. His words are a junkyard collection of broadcast fragments from T.V. commercials and radio jingles. In robot mode, he carries an armor axe and a decelerator laser that inhibits an enemy robot's flow of cerebral impulses.
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 114, May 23rd 1987 / Issue 187, October 15th 1988
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - The Transformers: The Movie, August 8th 1986 / Episode 94 (Season 3 #29), February 24th 1987
First Toy Appearance - 1984
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Takara
Toyline - United
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the windshield (covering the smaller tampographed one)
- Replaced the standard gun with 'Wreckheap Rifle' by Sunlink, available on Shapeways
Review
In a film full of quite shocking and bizarre moments, Wreck-gar's bonkers patois was right up there with the creepy Quintessions, and the annoying
Wheelie. Voiced by Eric Idle, who of course knew his fair share about surrealism, Wreck-Gar spoke in disconnected TV soundbites in an Australian accent. He and his fellow
Junkions could also fix pretty much anything, which makes you wonder what would have happened had they got to work on
Optimus Prime. Posessors of motorbike alt modes, they could also ride each other, which was very cool indeed. Unfortunately the G1 toy was a bit rubbish (pretty apt for a junkion) and several long decades would pass before finally, a figure would arrive to do Wreck-Gar justice.
Appearance (Robot Mode) 9/10
Wreck-gar is one of my favourite characters and I was sincerely disappointed with the G1 figure, who was lanky and had a pea-head. This was all to incorporate a gnarly alt mode. Thankfully, Wreck-gar has finally been done justice with a robot mode which suits his personality, and he can even ride other Junkions (careful). How good is that? I splashed out the Takara version because the Hasbro paintjob is absolutely disgusting. The shiny red fuel tank area is just fantastic, with carefully-applied yellow flames. The other earthy tones in use really suit the figure without being jarring. The extra kibble is actualy welcome here, helping to convey the rag-tag image of the Junkions. I bought and painted a
Shapeways G1-esque rifle, because I kind of missed him having one.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 9/10
I like everything about this alt mode. The paint apps are much nicer than the Hasbro release, and I'm so impressed on how little robot kibble is visible. You can see the hands above the engine if you look carefully, but that's about it. The wheels move very freely and I also love the little touches like the licence plate, and the rubberised handlebars which are flexible enough to allow any spare Junkions to hold them.
Transformation 7/10
The exceptionally clever transformation is marred somewhat for me by the automorph feature, which apparently puts great strain on the rubberised handlebars. I haven't had an issue myself yet, but I have read examples of people snapping them. The entire top of the bike literally lifts off from the running gear, and is unfurled to make the robot legs. The engine becomes the chest and the arms are unfolded back on themselves to form the shoulders. Finally, the head is revealed by lifting it forward. Half of the rear strut detaches and is then transformed to become a melee weapon, which reminds me of one of those flimsy wheels which spin in the wind.
Poseability 8/10
This mould is capable of most of the articulation you would expect from a modern deluxe figure. The way that his head is set into his neck and the surrounding kibble give it a limited range of movement, and also he bends at the knee oddly because of how his legs are used in the alt mode. His head is balljointed, as are his shoulders and hips, he has bicep and thigh swivel, jointed elbows and knees, wrist swivel and ball-jointed feet.
Quality 6/10
I have worries regarding this figure, and they are centered around the automorph feature, and also the fact that the rubbery handlebars deform quickly when packed away, which is why when I store this mould I do so with the handlebars bent to the side, rather than facing out. Also, my Wreck-gar was missing the back of the clip which is used to attach him to the motorbike when he is in robot mode. I can still attach him, but only just. I don't know whether this is an issue with more than one figure though.
Overall - 39/50
Wreck-gar looks the part, but his poseability is compromised by his transformation somewhat and he suffers from the aforementioned QC issues. These gripes aside, Wreck-gar has been re-imagined very successfully, and I am glad to finally have a nice figure of him!
