General Information:
Release Date: November 2016
Price Point: $4.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Fangry Titan Master, Dragon/Wolf Beast
Very early on in the life of the Transformers line the toy line began to move away from the sole gimmick of transformation. Once figures like Combiners were introduced it became clear Transformers could be more than just a robot that changed from one form to another. In 1987 Hasbro and Takara took a bold step into a new play pattern by introducing Headmasters. Headmasters were Transformers whose heads detached and became smaller figures that could then pilot or ride the Transformers in beast and vehicle forms (or in a couple cases, their battle station or city forms!). Now almost thirty years after they were originally introduced the Headmaster gimmick has returned in a new form: Titan Masters!
Titan Masters focuses on the return of small robots to Cybertron that can unlock incredible power, and it is up to the Transformers to merge with them and harness those abilities and strengths. In some ways the story resembles "Armada" which had a similar conceit for the Mini-Cons. In some cases, characters who had been Headmasters previously were brought into Titans Return as smaller "Titan Master" figures that included beasts or vehicles. Fangry was one of them. Fangry was one of the Headmasters released in the "Masterforce" era that came after the original "Headmasters" series. While he only appeared in comic books outside of Japan, in Japan the character was a key character in the series.
Packaging:
The Titan Master figures are packaged on a bubble card. The front of the card is universal across the assortment. It features Fortress Maximus' head floating above his body. To the side is a black bar with the "Generations" logo above the vertical "Transformers" logo. The insert in the bubble has a render of the figure in head mode. The head and vehicle are in the area under Fortress Maximus' head. The back is almost universal in that it features a diagram of the Titan Master "eco system" showing that the heads can attach to Deluxe, Voyager and Leader Classes. The difference however is in the bar code, which is specific to each character.
Robot Mode:
In Generation One Fangry was the larger body/Transformer while a character named Brisko became his head. When the designers created this new version of Fangry they decided to take Brisko's design and make it into this Titan Master figure. Some of the key details carried over form Brisko include the helmet, which features a wide crest and a mouthplate that covers up most of the face. He also has layers of armor that angle downward on his torso and a series of horizontal lines on his legs. I think the designers did a great job of carrying over Brisko's design elements into this figure.
Fangry is cast in pink and black plastic. The black makes up the arms and head while the torso and legs are pink. This combination of colors matches up nicely with the two primary colors on G1 Fangry. There are no paint applications on this mode, which is a shame but to be expected with this size class of figure.
Fangry has five points of articulation and I was surprised to find his joints are tight. Sure this is the first release of the figure so they should be tight, but they are much tighter than any other Titan Master I have so far. This was a very pleasant surprise.
Transformation to Head Mode:
Push the arms down. Swing the legs up at the hips, then the knees. When attaching the head to a larger figure, I recommend having Fangry's head facing the same direction as the larger face.
Head Mode:
Just as Fangry's robot mode is based on Brisko's, as is the head. This head is clearly G1 Fangry's head in design. It includes key features of that design including a U shaped crest, visor eyes, a pronounced chin piece and panels on the sides of the head that have two small raised circles on them. It is a very distinct head mode and it looks great. Like the G1 version of this design the head is mostly black with neon green painting the eyes and face.
Wolf Mode:
G1 Fangry's beast mode was a strange combination of a wolf's body with bat wings and even a tail from a reptile. This beast-like exo-suit for Titan Master Fangry uses that mode as the basis for its design. The head is a wolf head including a long snout, tufts of "fur" on the neck area and even fangs sticking out on the sides. His arms and legs all resemble a canine's legs and paws. The center of the body looks more mechanical, with hard angles and overlapping armor. The wings on the back are very bat-like complete with bone-like designs in between the "membranes" of the wings and a small claw on top. The tail doubles as a weapon barrel so it is not particularly reptilian looking but I suppose you could associate the series of horizontal lines on it to similar details on some reptile tails and bodies. Overall it looks great and does a good job of calling back to G1 Fangry.
This figure also uses pink and black. The pink makes up the torso, waist area and wings. Black plastic is used for the head, part of the chest, arms and legs. The eyes are painted yellow.
On its own, this exo-suit has a pretty hollow torso section. To fill it in you can slide in Fangry in head mode with his feet first (swing the wings forward first). You'll see two small pegs inside that the feet can attach to. The only bad part about this is that the dragon head from the alt mode sticks out in the back. I kind of prefer having the dragon head swung forward into the chest cavity. It actually fills it nicely and looks good. This figure has six points of articulation including the arms, legs, head and tail.
Transformation to Dragon Mode:
- Detach Fangry and transform him into robot mode.
- Swing the wings forward.
- Swing the dragon head up.
- Swing the wolf head in.
- Position the legs so he can stand on all four.
Dragon Mode:
The dragon mode is an interesting choice. It does not have anything to do with G1 Fangry, but given that the figure does have these two huge wings on it, the choice makes a lot of sense. The dragon actually looks pretty cool, complete with a head that has a sharp looking snout, jagged looking teeth on the sides and even layers of armor running down the neck. The only oddity is that part of the weapon mode winds up sticking out from his neck, as if someone jammed a tube into it to help him breathe or something.
The dragon head is where new colors are revealed in this mode. His eyes are yellow and the armor running down his neck is painted grey. I do wish there was a bit more color in this mode but it looks good for this price point.
The dragon has the same articulation as Fangry. He also has two tabs that stick up in the back where you can seat Fangry. Fangry's lower legs fit into the gap between the "seat" and the back of the dragon's neck. It's a fun little feature and adds some cool play value.
Transformation to Weapon Mode (from dragon mode):
- Swing the rear legs back.
- Point the tail back.
- Swing the arms down.
- Swing the wings forward.
- Swing the dragon head down.
Weapon Mode:
Fangry's weapon mode is very much a "because we say so" mode, meaning it is a bit of a stretch, especially the robot feet becoming weapon barrels. Still, it is a fun extra to have and since this class of figure is meant to interact with larger figures it gives it that ability.
Final Thoughts:
Fangry is a fun homage to his G1 counterpart. Sure he's not a full blown Deluxe figure, and yes, for the record I'd love to see that one day. Still, for a homage figure in the Titan Master assortment I think he's fun and looks great. Recommended if you're into this size class and like a cool G1 callback.
Pros:
- Great sculpting that pays homage to the G1 version of the character.
- Two unusual beast modes.
- Colors are great and do not shy away from being a bit loud (in a fun way, of course).
Cons:
- Many fans feel Fangry should have been a Deluxe figure.
- Relatively few paint applications.
- Odd weapon mode.
