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Movie Wreckage Reviewed by Thunderscream
Unsung Warrior

Wreckage has the unique distinction of being one of the few figures, if not the only character, developed for the 2007 Transformers movie toy series that doesn't appear in any related media. Concept art for a character named "Stryker" was developed for the movie and bore a strikingly similarity to Wreckage, but the character was ultimately cut from the final script, possibly due to the already crowded Decepticon cast. Unlike the Autobot Arcee, who was also had concept art developed but was ultimately written out, Wreckage would not appear in the movie prequel comic series by IDW, nor would he be included in the video game tie-in. Although such filler characters are not uncommon, his exclusion when so many others are either included or based on vehicles in the film makes him a distinctive inclusion into the toy line.


Altmode: Personnel Carrier

Wreckage's vehicle mode is that of an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier. An article on Wikipedia classifies the vehicle as an LAV-C2; however, a military vehicle known as a "Stryker" might a more appropriate description, especially since he lacks the gun turret of the LAV vehicles. His primary color is white with dark gray camouflage splotches painted all over the vehicle body. There's a clear red squared in front and below the light gray colored machine gun. The wheels have been painted a gray-black with silver hubcaps and there's a variety of white, gray, and red colors on his underside.

While kids more than likely won't take notice, collectors familiar with Wreckage's alt form might scratch their heads at his "Arctic camo" color pattern, especially considering that most Strykers are painted either olive green or desert tan; the design he's based on had a forest green color. It's not an implausible scheme, however, considering some vehicles are undoubtedly assigned to posts in Alaska and other northern regions. There have also been complaints that he lacks any sort of major long-range weapon, aside from his machine gun mount. However, this is accurate to the design of Stryker vehicles, which has been a major theme with the movie line. It's also extremely appropriate when the bio printed on the back of his packaging is taken into account.

Wreckage has eight wheels under his main carriage, four on each side that roll freely - when he's not on the ground. The feet of his robot mode, located in the back of his undercarriage, hang down so low that they drag on any surface you place him on, preventing him from rolling anywhere. It's serious design flaw with the toy that hinders its total playability with the targeted market.


Transformation

It's always recommended that you read the instructions before attempting to convert your Transformers figure for the first time. Wreckage's packaging rates him as the typical "Advanced 3" for deluxe toy, though he seems a little simpler than that. The hardest part will be activating his "automorph" transformation. "Automorph" is simply a fancy term for an automatic transformation process when you move certain parts. In Wreckage's case, pushing the machine gun into the clear red "window" pushes his "gut gun" out, lowers his chest piece and raises his head up. His automorph process is a little more involved that other figures of his size, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The only problem is that it can take a bit of force to get it to work, so it might be better to use a finger on the red window that risk breaking the machine gun off him.


Robot Mode

Wreckage stands about 5½ inches tall, though even when he stands up straight, he looks like he's hunched over. You kind of have to push him back at the waist to make his head look straight ahead. All the colors of his vehicle mode transfer to his robot mode, with additional gray and white on his knees, feet, hands and upper body. Gold has been painted onto his feet, waist, and around the face. His arms and thighs have been molded in a fire red colored plastic. Under his chest is a large cannon sculpted out from clear red plastic. The back of his head and eyepieces have also been molded from clear red plastic so the eyes glow when a light is behind the head and the face itself has been painted silver.

Wreckage is a powerful looking character and his facial expression perfectly matches the stone-cold personality his bio mentions. He has twenty points of articulation, mostly in is arms and legs, though his head can turn and bob and he can turn at the waist. Despite his hunchbacked appearance, he's surprisingly stable in a large number of poses. His hands are molded like open "Cs", a trait common to Decepticon figures, and have limited movement at the wrists, though its minor as the wheel mounts on his arms get in the way. The same could be said of his waist articulation, as the top of his thighs bump into a piece of plastic that hangs off his back.

Although he looks like he could take on any Autobot in physical combat, he does have a little firepower at his disposal, should he need it. As mentioned before, Wreckage has a large cannon sticking out of his abdomen, just under his chest. It doesn't fire any projectiles, though the barrel is hollow, but kids and more creative adults will have no trouble imagining him blasting away at any opponent who manages to stay out of reach. I can't see this as a rapid-fire weapon and its location seems a little awkward for him to use it effectively, but then, again going by his bio, he probably wouldn't use it all that much anyway.


Accessories

Wreckage comes packaged with two folded up blade weapons. The base is molded a dark gray plastic while the blades themselves are sculpted from clear red plastic. These can be considered two weapons in one. When the blades are folded up, an observant person might note a pair of clear red tabs that look like gun barrels, giving him an extra bit of firepower. The weapons fit into slots in mounts on his legs; when he's in vehicle mode, the little gun barrels stick out to the front, giving him two more weapons to shoot at his enemy with. In robot mode, they simply severe as storage, though the panels can't fold back when the blades are in their space. This isn't really a bad thing, since their positioned where Wreckage can get to them quickly.

On the inside of the base of each weapon is a peg that allows Wreckage to hold them in his hands or have them mounted into holes on his forearm. If positioned right, he can use them as handheld or arm mounted machine guns, but these are not his primary weapons. Push back on a small light gray button in the back of the base and a red colored grooved blade flips out thanks to a coiled spring. The blades are sculpted so they look like plumes of energy jutting out from their mounts. There's a small, rectangular indentation on the inside of each blade that the trigger holds on to when the blade is folded up, but adds to the energy-like appearance of the blades. According to Wreckage's bio, these are the weapons he prefers to use on any Autobot unfortunate enough to have to face him. Whether in his hand or on his arms, these look to be very dangerous weapons and I have no doubt that he would be effective with them.

There's something else that one can do with the blades that's not well publicized by official sources, but has appeared in several image galleries on fan Web sties. With the blades extended out, turn them so that they face away from each other and the pegs pointed in opposite directions and push them together so they form a single, double bladed weapon. He can hold this combined weapon either in his hand or on his arm as normal, or in any of the wheel hubs on his arms, turning the blades into a sinister spinning weapon. It's an interesting little "Easter Egg" and I wonder if the designers didn't leave it out on purpose for more intrepid collectors to discover.


Final Thoughts

Despite the fact that he doesn't appear in any movie-related media, Wreckage is an excellent toy for his class and has become the sleeper hit for the series; he became difficult to find in many locations not long after movie toy line's debut. Whether you're interested in all the movie figures or those characters who appear in the film, Wreckage is a must have for any collection.

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