Wheeljack (EarthSpark/Tacticons)

For whatever reason, it's hard to deny the charm of Tacticons. Tiny little finger puppet incarnations of Transformers characters from EarthSpark (so far) that are inexpensive and fun to play around with. They may not be for everybody, but for a bunch of us, they're a lot of fun. I picked up Wheeljack around Christmas and haven't seen once since. As you can tell by the backdrop being my tablet sleeve and not the project display board... I also took this picture around then. But now that it's a few months later we'll take a look at this tiny little oddball. Wheeljack makes up the third wave of Tacticons. I assume others from prior waves fills out the rest of the shipping case as the lack of this figure that I've seen on the shelves leads me to think there wasn't a lot of this wave ordered or stocked. It could just be my local stores though.

So... Wheeljack is just a repaint of Bumblebee.

Yep.

Literally, it could have been anyone else as it doesn't exactly look like Wheeljack either. Maybe similar colors, but nothing screams Wheeljack about this toy. Thing is... it does look pretty good. Like, I wish they would have just random name assigned this toy as it's pretty decent all on it's own. A non-show character, yeah, who cares? In a oddball line like Tacticons, a rando character would be perfect. Weird recolors are part of what made little Transformers like Mini-Cons fun. Hell, it could have been a rally car version of Bumblebee. While it doesn't look like the character it's supposed to be, it's still a good looking toy. Like all Tacticons, Wheeljack transforms by sticking your fingertip into the opening in the rear of the vehicle. All giggling aside, the vehicle then auto converts (why aren't these considered Turbo Changers or 1 Steps?) into a non-articulated robot mode. I do wish the arms moved, but alas. You can then have the mightiest of finger puppet battles or transform Wheeljack back to vehicle by closing up the vehicle shell. This is a simple but likable little toy. Wheeljack is just right to keep in your bag and occasionally take out to play with. Perfect for stress relief or annoying your co-workers, who likely caused the stress to begin with.

Tacticons Wave 2 (EarthSpark)

I enjoyed the first wave of Tacticons so much, that the surprise of seeing Wave 2 at Target a little while back was a very welcome one. Honestly, I wasn't aware that they'd be happening as I couldn't remember anybody saying anything. Of course not being from the more popular size classes that's to be expected. Wave 2 features Arcee, Hashtag, and a repeat of Bumblebee. Of course I already have Bumblebee, so I snatched up the two new figures. Like the ones before, these are simple and small 1 step transforming figures that can fit on your finger tip like a finger puppet. As silly as the premise sounds (and is) they're really satisfying little toys. If you're a fan of smaller Transformers like I am, these mentally fall into the category that Micromasters, Mini-Cons, World's Smallest, and Botbots fall into. They're not articulated unfortunately... but it's ok. They just are what they are.

Of the two, Hashtag is my favorite. I don't know how well it shows up in the amazing cell phone photography I do, but there's a great glitter sparkle in her purple colors. It looks really nice in person and I like her communication truck alt mode. Arcee turns into a 50's type car in EarthSpark and I do like it, but for some reason this toy makes me think of Galaxy High (for some reason) and I like that better. It's a neat alt mode. Thanks to their size and Arcee's silver helmet, I'm reminded of Diaclone drivers a little. They're a little bigger than a Micro Machine, but could work well in one of those play sets. You could make a neat little scene and post the picture to your Instagram. I'm sure it'd get plenty of likes. Hopefully there's more of these Tiny TF's on the way. They're just right to stick in a hoodie pocket and carry around with all day. Not everything needs a million points of articulation or a specific shelf to be displayed on. I keep my smaller ones in a plastic shoe box.

Tacticons wave 1 (EarthSpark)

It's no secret that I'm a fan of smaller Transformers toys, after all the site is named after a play set for smaller Transformers toys. That being said, it's probably no surprise that I'd be a fast fan of Tacticons. Tacticons are a new size class of Transformers toys (specifically in the EarthSpark toy line) that are pleasantly small. When they were first shown I figured I'd just get a couple as I wasn't immediately interested by silly finger puppets. Then I got one and that's all it tooked to get hooked. Currently the only toys available as Tacticons are Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. Hasbro has a history of leading with main characters.

Like I mentioned up above and you've probably already heard... they're finger puppets. That's a silly thing you'd expect from a toy... which these are. However the finger puppet gimmick is mostly a distraction from what you're really getting- some cool little bots! Standing around an inch or so tall and transforming into chubby little versions of their alt modes, these little guys are cool. These are simple one step style Transformers in the purest sense of the word. I wish they came with trading cards.

Unlike other smaller Transformers toys, they're not articulated... or at least these three. Fortunately the simple neatness of the tiny toy overcomes that. You didn't buy a Tacticon to display on your fancy shelves... it's a fiddle toy that's in your hoodie pocket. Although they'd look your fancy shelves. There's something oddly satisfying about seeing them standing next to each other. Small toys like this tend to get a lot of interesting repaints and exclusives. That's something I really hope happens here. I'd love to chase down some unique Tacticons. Small, inexpensive toys can be fun to collect and easy to store. Just stick them in an old shoe box... but be sure to label it. Wouldn't want to get those Hey Dudes mixed up with your Tacticons.