General Information: Images:
*Text below and images from Transformers.com Turn the tables on enemy forces when you throw this warrior into the fight! Press the button to reveal this figure’s robot allegiance and then prepare him for a battle. Your TURBO TRACKS figure is dedicated to destroying any opponent and his converting blaster will help you two get the job done. If robot combat turns into a car chase, convert your warrior into sports car vehicle mode and send him racing off to rule the “road”! Figure comes with converting blaster. Ages 5 and up.
Vehicle Mode:
That said, there are some aspects of the figure that differ from the Corvette. The most noticable is the front half of the vehicle, which is significantly shorter in length than the Corvette. The front end has a very different grille design than the Corvette, complete with headlights mounted directly in the front instead of on the top. The rear window has a different, more angled shape than the curved shape of the Corvette's rear window and the wheel spokes are a different design as well. Combined, these details all work together to differentiate the vehicle significantly from the Corvette despite the Corvette design elements carried over into the design. If you look at the sides of the vehicle, you'll see Tracks' missile launchers. I wasn't exactly crazy about them there (hence the way he looks in my photos) since they detract a bit from the "disguise" aspect of the vehicle. However, there really is no other place to store them. I can sort of see the appeal in that they offer some extra "mechanical" detail to the vehicle, but with a car that is meant to look sleek and smooth, they are a bit too distracting. Tracks is cast in four primary colors: dark blue, clear plastic, black and a smokey grey translucent plastic. The main color is blue, with the black used for the tires. The translucent grey plastic is found on the windows while the clear plastic is used on the headlights. Paint applications are done in red, yellow, gunmetal and silver. The red and yellow are most heavily featured on the hood, where they form a fairly intricate flame detail - a homage to the flame detail found on the original Generation One Tracks. The front grille is painted gunmetal grey while the sides of the wheels are silver. A bit more red appears on the back on the rear lights while the black is used on the back window. It's a fantastic color combination that pays proper homage to the original while looking great on its own. My favorite aspect is the way the red contrasts against the blue. Transformation to Flight Mode:
Flight Mode: Transformation to Robot Mode (from vehicle mode):
Robot Mode:
Tracks also borrows design elements from his G1 animated counterpart. One such aspect is the face design. The original Tracks figure had a face with thin eyes and a sharply defined mouthplate. When time came to feature the character on the television show, he was given a more expressive face with a mouth instead. This design was carried over into the Action Master and Alternators versions of the character and now this version has a similar face. The other aspect is the weapon design, with his blaster borrowing heavily from Track's animated weapon design. The original G1 figure had a long barreled rifle, but it was shortened for the animation model, and it is that weapon which is included with this figure. There are many details that belong to this figure all its own. The "Classics" style figures don't just update a character, they also give it plenty of extra details. A lot of these are concentrated in the legs. Eeach leg section is distinctive from the next, with the thighs leading to knee armor that then leads to lower legs with several layers of detail and armor. I'm particularly fond of the layered armor sections in the middle of the lower leg, right by the wheels. I also dig the design of the feet which extend out in a U shape a bit, offering a bit more stability than the typical Transformers feet that extend inwards in a U shape. Tracks also reveals a new detail in this form with the panels that extend out on the sides of his chest during transformation. There you'll find a circular detail with a point at the bottom leading to several raised ridges. I really enjoy the aspect of having details that are hidden in vehicle mode pop out in robot mode and these fit the bill perfectly. One final aspect of the sculpt I'd like to comment on are the hands. Instead of the traditional fist design, these hands are slightly open, with the fingers all in slightly different positions, making them quite distinctive in appearance. However, the insides of the palms are sculpted to allow his weapon to fit in perfectly! I really dig this part of the design. All of the vehicle mode colors carry over into this form, except now a lot more white and gunmetal plastic is revealed. The white makes up the head, the missiles, the upper arms and key sections of his wings. His lower arms are black along with the back half of his weapon (the front half is silver). His upper legs are gunmetal while the lower half is cast in blue. There's quite a bit of paint deco in this form, but it isn't obvious at first. The first ones you'll ikely notice are the red on his face and wings, both consistent with his G1 appearance. You'll also find red on his forearms and lower legs. However, the color I almost didn't notice until I stared a bit was the lower leg being painted gunmetal. The color matches the plastic on the uper leg very well, to the point where at first I thought that section was cast in that color! One "surprise" color is metallic green, which appears on the parts that pop out on the sides of the chest. This may seem to be a bit out of place in the overall color scheme, but if you take a look at Generation One Tracks, quite a few of his stickers featured green as a color, so this is a nice nod to that design aspect. Very nice work overall. As with G1 Tracks, the heat sensitive rub symbol winds up on the center of the chest in this form. Out of the packaging I noticed my sticker was raised a bit and I had to flatten it down, but it's not perfect and there's a bit of a "bend" in the middle. I recommend taking a good look at the sticker on yours in the store before purchasing it to be sure it was applied properly. Tracks has twenty four points of articulation in this form, which is a fantastic amount. This includes five on each arm and leg and hurray, waist articulation! Several of these points are ball joints including his shoulders and hip joints, allowing a good range of motion. Since you can move his wings a bit, he can even move his arms behind them if you wanted. There are no fancy features in this mode. Tracks is just a solid Transformer who changes from one mode to another (and another) and back, just like the classic figure he is based on!
Final Thoughts:
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Tracks is one of those interesting Transformers that is not what you would term as a "headliner" like Optimus Prime or Bumblebee, but he has popped up several times in Transformers history since his original 1985 appearance. He appeared in the later years of Generation One as an Action Master. When Generation One reissues began to be released years ago, Tracks was one of them (along with variants in red and black in Japan). More recently, the character appeared in 
