Fangwolf and Mindswipe (Transformers: Age of Extinction Kre-O Microchangers)

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2014

RRP: $AUD4

BACKGROUND

A few weeks ago, I reviewed another character from the Transformers 4: Age of Extinction blind-bagged Kreons, an endearing ankylosaurus by the name of Silversnout. But I’ve picked up a few others, too. So today, we take a look at the two mammal-based Transformers from this dino-dominated series – Fangwolf and Mindswipe.  

SCULPT AND ARTICULATION

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews of Kreons, you’ll know that Kreons are pretty much all built on the same basic body. Fangwolf and Mindswipe are no exception, though they both have unique aspects to their bot mode which make them stand out a little from their kin. 

Fangwolf is based on a character called Snarl from the Transformers: Cybertron series, which aired about 10 years ago now. I had watched the earlier series that aired around the same time – Armada and Energon, but I really didn’t like the animation style of Cybertron. As a result, I skipped it and the toys too – which is a bummer, cause I totally would have bought this awesome toy if I’d known about him. Aftermarket prices are currently a little more expensive than I would like to pay.   

Fangwolf’s bot mode is particularly cool. One of his hands is a wolf head! On the old Snarl toy, the wolf head was on the left wrist, but the picture shows this one on the right. I went with the older style, but the choice is up to you. His other hand holds a sword, which in alt mode becomes his tail. And as for his alt mode – his name gives away the secret; he does indeed become a wolf. Resemblance to a real wolf is not guaranteed, though.

Mindswipe is apparently based on Mindwipe, a G1 Headmaster toy. Apparently he had mystical hypnosis powers and could commune with dead Transformers – or more accurately, he wanted to, but couldn’t. I have to admit that I don’t remember him at all.  But he was a Decepticon then, and he's retained that allegiance now.

 

Mindswipe turns into a bat. His is probably the simplest “transformation” of any of the Kreons – you just pop off his helmet, face it forward and pop it back on. You can jiggle his wings and claws around a little to distinguish him more if you want, but it’s purely cosmetic. His head is the same piece as Fangwolf’s, but it’s cast in maroon, rather than white. It doesn’t specifically look like a bat, but combined with the wings it works as a whole.  His wings are enormous -- possibly a little too big, you'll definitely need the stand for him -- but they give him a really distinctive look that makes up for his overly simple bot-to-beast mode.   

ACCESSORIES

Fangwolf comes with his sword/tail. Mindswipe doesn’t come with any additional weapons, but both come with the basic Kre-O stand that we've come to know and love.

PAINT

All the paintwork appears to be done by tampographs, and all of them cleanly applied. However, I should add that this is the second Fangwolf I’ve bought – the paint scraped off some of the face on my first when I was trying to adjust his helmet. I haven’t had this problem with any other Micro-Changers, but I’d suggest you keep an eye on it.

Unusually, Mindswipe’s head is cast in black, and his face is tampo’d on in grey. It’s a really cool head, actually – I like the idea of mixing and matching it with other Decepticon pieces to make a custom one, but whether I follow up on that remains to be seen.   

OVERALL

Fangwolf gets a lot of points by virtue solely of being a wolf – just look at the name of this blog! Combine this with his arctic colour scheme, and we have a real winner here. Admittedly I’m biased due to his wolf status, but he’s one of my favourite characters from the series -- and I'm giving some thought to picking up a Cybertron toy of him, should I find one at the right price.  

Mindswipe is pretty good. He’s not my favourite from the line, but overall he’s $4 well spent.

This has been a fun series of Micro-Changers, and I should get some more reviews online soon. Hopefully the attendant movie will be fun too – I don’t expect great things, but it is pretty hard to stuff up giant robot dinosaurs. Hopefully some of these more obscure characters from the line will show up in the movie too, even if they’re only cameos.   

Silversnout (Transformers: Age of Extinction Kre-O Microchangers)

Company: Hasbro

Year: 2014

RRP: $AUD4

BACKGROUND

I’ve previously reviewed some of the Transformers Kreon blind bags, from the Preview Series and Collection 4. Making my way through Big W today, I came across a new series, tying in with the impending release of Transformers 4: Age of Extinction – though it’s confusingly known as “Collection One” and doesn’t actually include the "T4" logo or the words “Age of Extinction” anywhere. No doubt some eBay confusion and/or fraud is going to arise in the future.

 

SCULPT AND ARTICULATION

The most obvious point of reference for those unfamiliar with Kreons is a Lego Minifigure – they’re around the same size, and the Kre-O range as a whole definitely owes Lego a debt of gratitude. However, Hasbro refers to their figures as a “Kreons”.

Silversnout is built on the same basic body as all the other Kreons, and he changes into what looks to be an ankylosaurus – one of my favourite dinosaurs. His “transformation” is incredibly simple – just lie him down on his face and adjust the arms and legs to support him. It’s almost like one of those quick-changing transforming toys. The only part that detaches is his gun, so make sure you store that safely.

If this was a “real” Transformer, I’d be incredibly annoyed at the simplicity of the changing scheme. But as he’s a Kreon, I’m quite happy with it – I don’t want a whole bunch of spare pieces lying around that I have to store somewhere, which is what has happened with most of the other Kreons I own.

ACCESSORIES

Silversnout comes with the same black pistol that has been showing up for some time now, and the standard Kre-O stand.

PAINT

All the paintwork appears to be done by tampographs. They’re mostly pretty clean, but there are some small areas of paint slop on his face. No deal-breakers though.
The tampographs are a little more detailed than most of the other Kreons that I’ve owned, presumably to better fit the movie aesthetic. I’ve got mixed feelings about that; one of the coolest things about the Kreons is their simplicity. But he is a robot dinosaur, so I’m ready to let it slide. The only real point I think they could have added is some dots in his eye sockets, rather than having his head as a big blank piece.

OVERALL

I could see myself picking up a few characters from this Age of Extinction line. There’s some cool-looking Kreons, and now they've added robot dinosaurs to the mix too!  

Silversnout himself is a pretty cool Kreon. He’s not my favourite robot, but he’s one of the Kreons that I’ve actually liked the alt mode on. If you’re looking at picking him up, his bag code seems to be 40551 56.