Generations Wheeljack is an exceptional toy

I got my Generations Wheeljack on the Friday that just past. Then on Saturday, I bought another 2 more because it is such an impressive toy.

I initially didn't expect it to be so impressive because: 

• this is a Hasbro release and in recent years, the Hasbro releases were usually inferior to the Takara releases;
• this is supposed to be white and Hasbro usually makes them in an unattractive shade of white (take Reveal the Shield Jazz for example); and
• Wheeljack is based on the Tracks mold, which I found okay, but not impressive, certainly not exceptional.

I opened Wheeljack on Saturday and was blown away literally.

It is a great toy in itself, but the parts of the design that were tributes to G1 were unmistakable. While similar with the Tracks mold, it was not exactly alike - there are molding and engineering differences, for example for the lower legs.

What's so exceptional about Generations Wheeljack? 

• For once, Hasbro didn't screw up the colour scheme. The colours are pretty spot on with G1 Wheeljack and the white is actually a snowy type white instead of the dirty off white, of say, Reveal the Shield Jazz.
• Head-sculpt is spot on with G1 Wheeljack. One way that Takara may improve this for the United release is to give him blue eyes using blue plastic light-piping and extend the blue plastic to his head side fins (since these glow blue when Wheeljack talks). Don't really mind the greyish colour of the Hasbro release because it just appears like Wheeljack is not talking.
• While the mold is similar with Tracks, you can actually transform Wheeljack to look like his G1 counterpart - remolded wings to look like G1 Wheeljack, wheels on the arms can be turned sideways to more accurately mirror G1 (for Tracks, the wheels can be made to face front to mirror his G1 transformation, brilliant design here), bonnet of car is covering Wheeljack's lower legs in robot mode, just like his G1 Transformation. This design, just works and works so well for Tracks and Wheeljack).
• The car body kit, especially the body kit for the front of the car, is very reminiscent of G1 Wheeljack's Lancia Stratos Turbo vehicle mode.
• The missile launcher which is the 'gun' for Tracks can actually be mounted on Wheeljack's shoulder and its spot on with his "magnetic inducer" from G1 continuity (see the Desertion of the Dinobots espisode).
• Hasbro also outdid themselves with all the fine touches - for example, the part of Wheeljack's wings which are formed by the car doors is painted silver, like the wing extension, so they look like contiguous wings. This is unlike United Tracks which did not have paint applications on the inside part of the door and looks like he just has a very short white wings (being just the white wing extensions) instead of a long wings that connects all the way to his back.

Wheeljack in car mode - the paint apps are stunning, for a Hasbro release.

Wheeljack in robot mode

Wheeljack compared with his Hard Hero bust which I regard as one of the most G1 accurate sculpts of Wheeljack (actually, Hard Hero busts are very G1 accurate across all the characters they released).

Wheeljack joins the Autobots!

Wheeljack as part of the Autobot Medical and Science team, with Autobot leader Optimus Prime.