I loves me some Wheeljack, and Hasbro still hasn't done right by him, after giving his name to a traitor, then twice stiffing new versions of him with Downshift's name. From the first time I saw ROTF Sideswipe, I knew he'd make a good Wheeljack. Both of his modes look right, for the Autobots' resident mad scientist. I did a little trimming in the eye and nose area, then sculpted the signature banded faceplate out of Apoxie sculpt. I originall had three more grooves in it, than that, after looking over my other Wheeljacks, I decided that three bands was a better look for him. The center head crest is thick sheet stryrene, carved to shape and glued in place. The classics Wheeljack "ears" are thinner styrene I engraved, and set into nothces I carved in the side of the head. The front difussor is more thick styrene, and I blended it into the fenders with Kneadatite. The Kneadatite doesn't hold paint as well as the Apoxie Sculpt does, but it was originally designed for industrial repair work, and should hold up better to the forces the diffusor will likely be subjected to, being part of the feet. I still plan to build new shins for him.
I'm surprised you didn't just stick a head from stockade on there so the face work was already done. Honestly, while it looks cool, it feels like you're forcing oldskool WJ onto this toy more than making this toy a movie version of WJ. What I mean is that the car modification along with a paintscheme that surely wouldn't be on a 2009 or later movie character seeing as it's not possible for a corvette to carry, plus doesn't really fit with the rest. I do think you could make it a white car where you had the other colors (black, green, red) appear when he's in robot mode, though.
Don't have a stockade, and frankly, don't like his head that much. The transformation kind of dictates how big the head can be, so It's it's best to work with the original. I'm not trying to make a Movie Wheeljack, I just want a modern Wheeljack with good articulation. Energon and Cybertron Downshift are nice, but I find both to be lacking. I still haven't decided if I'm going put both red and green on his vehicle mode, or even how much I'll be trying to duplicate the old Allitalia scheme. But, I will be giving him his G1 colors. I'm planning to get him as close to G1 Wheeljack as I can, without totally clashing with the existing toy design.
I love what you've done with the head/face. I look forward to seeing the finished product on this one.
I can see your point of view but if he were to paint it up as an Indy 500 pace car it would open the paint scheme up to a lot of possibilities. Corvette pace cars are notorious for "over the top" paint schemes. Look at the '98 Corvette pace car in electric purple and shocking yellow! Even the rims and seats were yellow! Wheeljack's colors would seem subdued in comparison! Plus the pace car theme would be a nice carry over from the rally theme of the Lancia Stratos G1 Wheeljack! I must admit though, I would've used Movie Stockade's head as well.
I love the head! I think the mods blend nicely with it. I was wondering if the fender mods affect his stability (or lack stability actually) at all. He's not too easy to make stand on his own, do the new fenders help, or make it even harder? They do look sweet in 'vette mode though.
I'm going to make him a full blown race car, complete with his classic numbers on his doors. Race cars often have crazy paint schemes, so I think green and red souldn't be too bad. The front diffusor makes him much more stable, in most poses. When his center of gravity is front of the wheels on his feet, there's no longer a problem trying to stabilize him on convex shapes. The diffusor makes for nice big flat "toes." I'm still playing around with adding some sort of heel spur, to help with poses where his weight is further back.