Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation to Robot: Easy
Difficulty of Transformation to Leg: Very Easy
Difficulty of Transformation to Arm: Easy
Color Scheme: Dark gray, moderately dark semi-metallic red, moderately dark semi-metallic cherry red, and some silver, light metallic gray, dark glossy purple, dark metallic gunmetal gray, royal purple, very dark metallic violet-red, and black
Rating: 9.2

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Combiner Wars Dead End. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Combiner Wars Dead End here.)

    "Brake-Neck" is the new copyright-friendly name for Wildrider-- like his fellow exclusive release Quickslinger, he was part of an original G1 combiner team, but was sidelined from mass-release because, just like the original Aerialbots were all jets, the original Stunticons were all cars, and Hasbro wanted to vary it up a bit for the mass release. Brake-Neck/Wildrider this time around is a redeco of Dead End-- much to my delight, since I think that Dead End is the best of the CW Stunticon molds. Brake-Neck's color scheme very closely mirrors his G1 color scheme, with his main colors being gray and red, with a fair amount of black thrown in as well in robot mode. Unfortunately, one of his shades of gray is that light milky gray that's really blah and should've been replaced with a more metallic-looking color, but thankfully this shade of the color is only present on the robot chest and the tailpipe weapon. All of the rest of the gray is dark gray, which is by far the most dominant color in his vehicle mode, in particular. By itself, just grays and blacks would look pretty boring, but thankfully there's a good amount of semi-metallic cherry red in his robot mode-- on his fists, upper arms, and upper legs. It's a really nice-looking shade of the color (though the red paint is just a TITCH duller than the plastic, but the color mismatch is only slight), and it contrasts excellently against both the black and the dark gray. In vehicle mode there's a bit less of it-- mostly the stripes along the sides-- though the windows are a really dark, rather sinister-lookng violet-tinged color of metallic red, which looks mighty nice. There's also a bit of gunmetal gray on his front hood-- a nice color in and of itself, but it's so close to the dark gray plastic it doesn't really contribute much to the color scheme beyond being a spot with a metallic sheen, really. There's also some silver on the wheel hubs, headlights, and robot feet, which helps to provide a bit more contrast if not color, and a bit of purple paint on the chest, which helps break up that light milky gray some, at least.
    No mold changes have been made to Brake-Neck, with the exception of a new headsculpt-- made to look similar to Wildrider's G1 cartoon headsculpt, which is a rather angry-looking red face surrounded by a helmet with rather weird pointy antennae sticking out at the "ears". It's a good headsculpt, even if not one of my favorites, and it obviously fits the character well.
    As a mold, I enjoy Brake-Neck considerably more than his "replacement" Offroad. Thus, for those of you who want the team as it appeared in G1 or simply want the team based upon the strength of the molds, I'd go with Brake-Neck. However, if you're looking for a more varied Menasor combiner, or are looking for something that looks better color-wise, I'd go with Offroad-- the latter's green and aquamarine headlights are more striking than Brake-Neck's various shades of red against the dark gray.

Decepticon Operational Status Update, reported by Soundwave:
Brake-Neck is truly one of the oddest members of the Decepticon forces. In vehicle mode he's capable of top speeds near 250 mph, which gives him all the momentum he needs for his favorite tactic: crashing into things. Time and again, Brake-Neck has raced into combat-- functioning as "the tip of the spear"-- and ended up in a bent and twisted wreck. He enjoys impact, howling with unnerving laughter before, during, and after his spectacular crashes. In robot mode, his scattershot blaster enables him to target multiple opponents simultaneously. With fellow Stunticons forms Menasor.
CONCLUSION: Combat approved and endorsed.

HISTORY (extracted from compulsory biographical download):
An unending barrage of high-speed collisions has left Brake-Neck's sanity in question. Is his recent name change a signal of some sort of processor breakdown? Decepticons normally don't worry too deeply about their teammates, but Brake-Neck is needed to form Menasor. If his downward spiral continues, he may find himself replaced. Forms either an arm or a leg of Menasor, the combined form of the Stunticons.

Review by Beastbot

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