BEAST
WARS: TOY REVIEW
Name: Wolfang
Allegiance: Maximal
Function: Infantry
Beast Mode: Wolf
Average Price: 20 AUD
BEAST MODE
160mm long from nose to tail-tip, and 70mm tall at the shoulder.
Basically he’s a fairly standard deluxe size.
His wolf mode is fairly good, with excellent fur moulding,
and only a little visible robot-kibble (his robot arms are visible on his
wolf chest, and a few other blue bits show). The main problem is that he
only has 4 points of articulation in this mode, all centralised in his
hind legs. Still, as a wolf he’s really a rather good toy.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Remove his Beast mode tail and back (they become his weapons).
Detach his wolf-legs from their shoulders, then fold his wolf-sides downwards
and out of the way. Push his hips upward to his stomach (making him a rather
stumpy robot). From there it’s just a matter of pulling his robot calves
out of his thighs, then adjusting his arms so they’re in the right spot.
Finally pull his wolf-head in half and out to form his
shoulder pads. You’re supposed to turn them around, so the wolf eyes are
looking at the sky, but this is fiddly and quite often results in the pieces
popping off, so there’s no real need.
Now transform his tail into a gun. Simply pull the peg
down out of the bottom of his tail, and then pop it into his hand. His
back is a bit more fiddly. You have to turn the middle piece of it around,
then pull the handle out (this is hard to do without small fingers, nails
or something to lever it). His back then goes into his hand as a shield.
It’s a lot more work than with his counterpart K-9’s shield, and it’s a
LOT smaller. On the other hand is gun is a lot less obtrusive and less
dorky looking, and his missiles have better styling.
ROBOT MODE
Wolfang is one of the best early Deluxe toys in robot mode,
without a doubt. He has good articulation, with 15 major points, and good
ankles. In fact his neck is even on a BALL joint! Too bad what’s on top
of it. His face is ugly with his mutant head down or up. It would be ok
without the mutant head, except that he has a massive chin…
He stands about 150mm tall, and has a very, very stocky
build, making him look a lot shorter than he is (he has long legs). His
combination of a cool gun (it fires quite far) and a shield is good. He
also has a very smooth combination of beast mode features and robot features
(almost all his torso is robot, albeit, in a rounded sort of way, his arms
are almost completely robotic as well). More than that, Wolfang is fun.
His stable robot mode makes a LOT of poses easy, and (despite a few picky
things) he’s pretty much spot on.
OVERALL
I really like Wolfang (even though I don’t have him myself,
I’m reviewing my sister’s toy. The quality of this toy encouraged me to
buy K-9 (who’s a superior remould for several reasons, though he falls
down in a few places).
I give Wolfang a B+
This toy review was written by Andrew
Sorohan.
BEAST TRIVIA
The gray wolf, or timber wolf (Canis lupus) is a doglike carnivore of the
Canidae family. Once found in opened and timbered areas throughout North
America and Eurasia, they have been eliminated from most areas and their
numbers continue to dwindle. The gray wolf is a powerful animal, with robust
limbs, broad head, large feet and a deep but narrow chest. They have short
ears (an adaptation to colder climates), wide nose and they carry their
tails whilst running. The large Northern male may reach up to 2 metres
in length, including the bushy 50cm tail and weigh around 45 to 55 kilogrammes.
Females and Southern species are smaller though. Their fur is dense, long,
soft and usually gray, but can also be brown, reddish (tawny), black or
white. They are intelligent, social animals highly admired by native Americans.
They live in packs and mate for life. Although they feed on mice, rabbits
and birds, their primary prey are the larger herbivores; deer, moose, caribou
etc. The wolf attacks in a stalk-and-chase strategem. Their hunting serves
to control herbivore numbers and weed out those unfit for survival. Unfortunately,
they have undergone persecution from humans due to their attack on domestic
livestock. Reaching sexual maturity at 2 to 3 years, they remain with their
family group. They breed during December and April and produce litters
of 4 to 6 pups. Gestation period is 63 days. Although they are friendly
to fellow pack members, they rarely tolerate interlopers. All members of
the pack take part in caring for the young.
Bibliography: Encylcopaedia Britannica
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