Transformers Galaxy Force: Fang Wolf GC-14 Toy's Dream Project Exclusive

A year or so ago I decided to downsize some of the modern TFs and one of the first group of toys to go was my Unicron Trilogy stuff.  Armada, Energon and Cybertron all went bye bye.  However I kicked myself for getting rid of a few pieces and eventually bought them for a second time.  Thanks to my friend at Lost Treasures, I finally was able to add this limited piece back into my permanent collection.

Exclusive to Japan's Galaxy Force line and a limited Toy's Dream Project item.  This black version of Fang Wolf (Cybertron Snarl) was released in 2005 and was limited to just 3,000 pieces worldwide.  Fang Wolf comes packaged in the same packaging as the regular toy with the only difference being the Toy's Dream Project sticker.

The back of the box is the exact same from the regular release of Fang Wolf.  I only included the picture because I love the battle scene in the upper left corner.

I'm not always a fan of the black repaints that Takara likes to do, but in some cases the black version looks better than the original.  I believe this is one of those cases.  I already liked this toy to begin with thanks to the awesome not quite organic looking wolf mode.  As much as I enjoyed Beast Wars, I love his this time around Takara infused the organic and Cybertronian look together. There are several areas on the toy that have molded fur (front legs), while other parts retain the robotic feel (rear legs).  Throw in the black and dark gray with touches of silver and you've got a much more menacing looking Cybertron/Autobot.

One of the things about the Galaxy Force / Cybertron toys that I didn't care for was the key gimmick.  Most of the "action features" were silly to begin with, but you also now had an accessory that you had to keep up with.  At least with Fang Wolf you could clip the key on his hip so you didn't have to worry about losing it.  It may not be the most fashionable look, but at least it's an option.

The Cybertron keys all had codes imprinted on the back side that would unlock content on Hasbro's website, but the Japanese versions lacked the code.

Speaking of the key and the features it unlocks, Fang Wolf's gimmick is decent.  There is a port on the back side of the wolf's neck that accepts the key.  When the key is inserted and pressed in, the lower jaw drops and reveals two large fangs.  I believe the regular Fang Wolf used translucent blue 

plastic.  The pieces of "fur" behind the ears also rotate up and down with the jaw as the key is depressed.

Now I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to animal Transformers having the beast head forming an arm/hand, but I can tolerate Fang Wolf's design more so than other Transformers.  The large wolf head does obviously hinder some poses you may want to put Fang Wolf into, but it's not as bad as it looks.  The rest of the articulation is very well done.

The robot head reminds me a lot of the Beast Wars Fuzor, Silverbolt.  It has that canine looking snout.

Fang Wolf's missile launching gun also doubles as the wolf's tail, however it's hard to tell that is the case.  Like with the fang gimmick in beast mode, the plastic used for the missile has been changed from a translucent blue to a smoky translucent color.

I no longer own Cybertron Snarl so I didn't have anything to use for comparison pictures.  I didn't even think about grabbing my Botcon Weirdwolf to compare and contrast against.  Anyhow, this is one of the better Unicron Trilogy molds in my book.  The large animal head / hand will be a major turn off for a lot of people, I get that.  However if you can ever grab this exclusive black version of the toy for a decent price I'd say do it.