Toy Review - Titans Return Wolfwire (AKA WeirdWolf)

[SharkyMcShark]

WOLFWIRE

Series – Titans Return
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2
Released here – October 2016
Approximate Retail Price - $25
Approximate Size - I don't own a ruler and haven't since primary school to be honest
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode – Mechanical wolf
Main Features/Gimmicks – Headmaster
Main Colours – yellow, dark blue, grey
Main Accessories – cannon/gun, sword/tail, "Monxo" Titan Master


Review in short capsule form again. No pictures unless I'm feeling less lazy later on.

• Robot mode is outstanding. Well proportioned, interesting looking, decent set of paint applications. Articulation is good as well. No wrist swivel and you can't get the shoulders all the way up to 90 degrees out from the body, but I was quite happy to see that there's an ankle ball joint. You don't see that much on deluxes anymore and it pleases me.
• The figure interacts well with its sword, although this is hampered a bit by the lack of wrist articulation. It can't really hold the cannon too tightly though because the peg isn't long enough and the wrists are quite thick. You can certainly get it held but it's an at times precarious connection.
• The headmaster gimmick is again a delight on this figure. The only criticism I have is that the connection point is a bit too deep for it to play super nice with the other Titan Masters I've got. Monxo aside, you can get them to connect but it's not the most secure fit you'll see.
• Transformation is great. It really hits a lot of sweet spots and does a hell of a lot to spice up the standard quadrupedal animal 'robot limbs become animal limbs and lie robot down' formula.
• Wolf mode is very fun. There are echoes of Zoids in the design which really tickles me in the right ways. There's a good deal of wolf mode specific articulation, and the head is on a ball joint, though it quite limited. The only criticism I have of this mode is that the gun connects to the back using two tabs. It's not the most secure connection and it means that the cannon can't rotate, or indeed be swapped out for any other figures weapons.

The complete list of negative things I can find to say about this figure are as follows: Monxo is unpainted and the head mode could use another lick of paint on the visor, the cannon looks nice but the implementation of it is a bit lacklustre and limiting, there are some fine margins that were slightly missed in the engineering that limit interaction with the cannon and other Titan Masters (though Monxo connects fine)... and that's about it really.

Other than that this figure represents fantastic bang for your buck at this price point. I think I like it more than Blurr, and I bloody love that figure.

If Hasbro can continue to crank out one absolute winner like this per wave I'm definitely back on board. The engineering is on the whole solid, Monxo aside the figure is painted well, the transformation is good, it engages well with the gimmick and is fun in both modes.

Buy buy buy.

[GoktimusPrime]

I got the Legends version. Mine holds the cannon just fine and colours are nice (as one would expect from TakaraTOMY). I don't mind the toy not having wrist articulation - that's not unusual for a Deluxe Class figure - but my main gripe with this toy are the forearm panels which open up to stow the hands away; they're prone to disconnecting. The chest panel also opens up for reasons which elude me. I've heard some people say that it aides with transformation. I'm not a huge fan of Llarigo, the repaint of Apeface's gorilla unit. It doesn't really add anything meaningful to Weirdwolf and also adds an extra ￥800 ($10) to the price tag. Otherwise it's a really nice toy.











This review shows comparative pics between LG Weirdwolf and TR Wolfwire - I've seen Wolfwire MOSC at Kmart once and the mismatching yellow stands out to me the most. It seems to be continuing Hasbro's trend in their inability to match yellow.

Approximate Size - I don't own a ruler and haven't since primary school to be honest

I can't be bothered measuring mine, but I'd guesstimate it to be about 14cm.

[davieanix]

Posted this elsewhere, but just check his wrist hinges for cracks and stress marks.

[SharkyMcShark]

Yeah there are a few reasonably widespread QC issues on this figure it seems.

The main two are the cockpit hinge cracking and the wrists showing stress marks.

The cockpit hinge on mine is fine but the inside of the right wrist has a small stress mark.

[UltraMarginal]

I'm not overly impressed with the hind leg articulation in wolf mode. there are barrels of joints but because of the limitations in movement of the upper part of the leg the lower legs can't really do many different poses that still look reasonable when taking the rest of the figure into account.

some interesting transformation steps but i'm not blown away.

[Lint]

Best TR figure so far for all the reasons already mentioned. I think the lack of wrist articulation is compensated for with the arm swivel and elbow hinge (instead of a cheap floppy ball joint). My only criticism is that his yellow toe pieces tend to pop off too easily during transformation.

I have also just realised that I've had him mistransformed with beast feet in bot mode the whole time. I actually think he looks better that way though, more balanced from both a proportions and colour perspective.

[GoktimusPrime]

Managed to see a Wolfwire toy in hand and took some side by side comparison pics with Weirdwolf.

L: Weirdwolf, R: Wolfwire


I actually prefer the more uniform grey on Wolfwire's sword. Unfortunately Hasbro's gone with a cheaper shade of grey whilst TakaraTOMY's grey looks much nicer.


STR INT SPD


Cross Head On!


L: Weirdwolf, R: Wolfwire. Weirdwolf has silver teeth with dark burgundy coloured inner mouth while Wolfwire's entire inner mouth and teeth are all red.


Wolfwire has more colours happening in alt mode.


Monzo and Monxo


Wolfwire doesn't really have fewer paint ops than Weirdwolf - all told, both toys have about the same amount of paint ops as each other. But I think that overall TakaraTOMY have made better decisions in terms of where to use their paints. Hasbro could've easily skipped a paint op or two on from another part of the toy in order to paint Monxo's face (e.g. skipped painting that red strip on the back of the blade). IMHO Weirdwolf looks much nicer, but granted that it does cost twice as much as Wolfwire. So both toys are pretty good given their respective prices.

[SharkyMcShark]

Thanks for the photos GP.

I genuinely prefer the Hasbro version, mismatched yellow and all, though I do agree that I'd have sacrificed the splash of red on the sword for a painted Monxo face.

[shockNwave]

I know I'm in the minority when I say I have a soft spot for Snarl (Cybertron series) but Wolfwire is what Snarl should have been.

When compared to Snarl, Wolfwire has the better head sculpt in both modes. In alt. mode the limbs are bulky and therefore better proportioned to match the body and the tail is more dynamic looking due to the curvature and therefore more closer to being realistic.
All up I find him to be the best deluxe in the TR series partly because I prefer beast alt. modes over vehicle alt. modes (no offense to the Hardhead fans).

P.S. Wolfwire has a better cockpit than Skullsmasher.

[Lint]

I know I'm in the minority when I say I have a soft spot for Snarl (Cybertron series) but Wolfwire is what Snarl should have been.

Love Cybertron Snarl. Couldn't agree more with your statement.

I would totally buy a redeco/retool of this if they ever decide to go all CHUG on the Cybertron line.