General Information
Release Date: July 2021
Price Point: $79.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Target Exclusive with a limited number sold on BigBadToyStore and Entertainment Earth
Accessories: "Poison Anchor" weapon (Blackarachnia), Allspark, Car Cover (Rear), Bazooka Halves x 2, Skis x 2 (Bumblebee), "Brisko" Headmaster (Fangry), Cyber Blades x 2 (Optimus Primal)
Official images and text in italics are from Target.com:
- BUZZWORTHY BUMBLEBEE: You've probably heard the buzz, but Bumblebee is kind of a big deal. And now the bodacious bot is making his mark with a line of some of the most buzzworthy Bumblebee products for fans of all ages
- WORLDS COLLIDE: Bumblebee escapes with the Allspark through an unstable spacebridge to protect it from Decepticon hands. Worlds collide as he finds himself in an alternate universe, facing new beast threats!
- ALTERNATE UNIVERSE-INSPIRED: For the first time, add Nemesis Primal -- the evil clone of Optimus Primal -- to your collection, plus Blackarachnia, with deco inspired by the original art release from the 1996 Beast Wars toy. Also includes G1-inspired Bumblebee and Fangry figures
- AWESOME ALT MODES: Figures convert from robot to alt mode in 18-22 steps. Comes with 5 weapon accessories and Allspark accessory. Fangry figure’s head converts into Headmaster trainer Brisko figure
- BUMBLEBEE-THEMED PACKAGING: Buzzworthy Bumblebee figures feature special collectible packaging
Description
You've probably heard the buzz, but Bumblebee is kind of a big deal. And now the bodacious bot is making his mark with a line of some of the most buzzworthy Bumblebee products for fans of all ages. See what all the buzz is about, only at Target.
Bumblebee escapes with the Allspark through an unstable spacebridge to protect it from Decepticon hands. Worlds collide as he finds himself in an alternate universe, facing new beast threats! This pack includes 4 alternate universe-inspired figures, including Nemesis Primal, Blackarachnia, Bumblebee, and Fangry figures. Figures convert from robot to alt mode in 18-22 steps. Fangry figure’s head converts into Headmaster trainer Brisko figure. Includes 2 Cyber Blades, bazooka, crossbow, and Allspark accessories.
Buzzworthy Bumblebee figures feature collectible special packaging themed to fit the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line. Collect more Buzzworthy Bumblebee figures, only at Target (each sold separately, subject to availability).
Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro. Hasbro and all related terms are trademarks of Hasbro.
- Includes: 5 figures, 4 accessories, and instructions.
- Ages 6 and up
- Warning: Choking Hazard - Small parts may be generated. Not for children under 3 years.
Background:
In 2021 the Buzzworthy Bumblebee line of Target exclusives were going strong and special multi-packs featuring redecos and retools of Transformers figures were a highlight of the line each year. In 2021 the four pack was called "Worlds Collide" featuring a story where a hapless Bumblebee winds up in a universe where he encounters Fangry, Blackarachnia and Nemesis Primal, an evil version of Optimus Primal! This four pack was a fun mash up of sculpts from Titans Return, EarthRise and Kingdom. While this set was a Target exclusive at first, years later a limited supply would be sold via BigBadToyStore and Entertainment Earth.
Fangry is an interesting figure. He reuses Titans Return Fangry for his head while the body is a retool and redeco of the sculpt that was used for Titans Return Grotusque and Twinferno.
Packaging:
The "Worlds Collide" four pack is a rectangular window box that has a large window to show off the figures inside. The box features "Buzzworthy Bumblebee" artwork on the left side. On top is the "War for Cybertron" logo and the "Worlds Collide" title in the middle. To the right is a vertical "Transformers" logo in black. Along the bottom is the "Buzzworthy Bumblebee" logo and the names of the characters. They are arranged from left to right: Nemesis Primal, Fangry, Bumblebee and Blackarachnia.
The back of the box shows off the figures in both modes in the same order from left to right. Each figure has its number of transformation steps called out. Nemesis Primal has 22, Fangry has 21, Bumblebee has 18 and Blackarachnia has 20.
"Brisko":
In G1, Fangry's Headmaster was named Brisko. However, this set does not name him but I'll use the name for the sake of this review. Brisko is the same sculpt used for the Titan Master included with the Titans Return Fangry set. In head mode, the deco is the same with a black "helmet" section and a neon green face. The robot mode however is different, inverting the colors of Titans Return Fangry. The main body, head and thighs are black, while the arms and lower legs are pink. The top of the head is painted pink and the face is painted white. These are not exactly G1 colors, but they do add some more detail to the figure which did not have as many details in Titans Return.
All the joints on this figure are still good and the pegs on the bottom of the feet still work fine on attachment points you'll find on Titans Return era figures and playsets.
Robot Mode:
Fangry's body is a retool of Grotusque. It is not a simple redeco however. There have been several changes made to the figure. Here's a rundown:
- Chest: The panel that forms the middle of the chest is a new piece. It is based on the design of G1 Fangry's chest. Among the most distinctive features is a circle off to the right side with a raised line in the middle. The best details on this panel are details along the top with the letters "SPD", "STR" and "INT". These are a callback to character stats that were activated by inserting the head of the G1 toy. Now, this doesn't actually function on this figure but I really appreciate the nod to the original figure.
- Shoulders: The shoulders have been replaced with rectangular pieces. The front has small "fins" sticking out and the sides have a series of three thin rectangles. These details are both inspired by details on G1 Fangry's shoulders.
- Waist Panel: The panel that sits between the abdominal area and the thighs is a new piece. This panel is a bit flatter than the ones on Grotusque and Twinferno. It also features a thin rectangle on either side.
- Beast Mode Parts: I'll go into this more in the beast mode but the beast mode hands and head are both visible in this mode and are new parts created for Fangry.
In another nod to the G1 Fangry figure, the deco tries to match that toy as much as it can. The plastic colors on this figure are pink, black and grey, all of which were the main colors on G1 Fangry. The designers also tried to match up the colors to the original in terms of arrangement. For instance, the original Fangry had black shoulders and pink forearms. This figure has the same. Paint colors include black, red, green and metallic blue. For the most part the deco on this figure is better than the one on the G1 toy. Topping it all off is a tampographed Decepticon symbol on his abdominal area but it looks a tad "squished" on the left side. I'm guessing that is unique to my copy.
This basic tooling has been used multiple times so some wear and tear is to be expected and sadly there is some here. For the most part the articulation is good on this figure but the hip and knee joints are much more loose than its predecessors. My copy can stand and pose if you fiddle with it quite a bit, but he also flops over now and then so that's less than ideal. Sadly, this figure did not come with any weapons and his wings cannot detach to form a shield (as they did in the G1 figure). That said, his fists will accommodate the G1 Fangry's blaster if you have it!
Transformation to Beast Mode:
- Detach the Brisko figure and set it aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing each robot fist into the forearms.
- Swing the beast mode hands up.
- Rotate the forearms around at the joint above the elbows.
- Swing the beast mode head up and push it down over where the robot head was attached.
- Move the arms up to get them out of the way.
- Swing the ankles and feet out to the sides.
- Swing the lower legs up over the thighs.
- Swing the ankle/foot sections in and push them into the abs on either side of the spine.
- Push the lower legs together.
- Swing the tail halves back and connect them together.
- Swing the robot feet down and swing out the beast mode legs and swing the feet out.
Beast Mode:
G1 Fangry's beast mode was an odd bipedal-wolf-thing....with wings. In text that sounds rather silly, but if you look at it I think the monster looks cool. In some ways he reminds me of the types of enemies sometimes encountered by the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As mentioned above, there are three new parts created for this beast mode:
- Head: The beast mode head looks like a wolf head complete with sharp-looking teeth and thick neck with fur details. This piece is made of black plastic with green eyes and silver teeth. The jaw is on a hinge so you can open and close the lower jaw.
- Fists: Unlike the robot hands which look mechanical in design, the beast mode fists look like furry/organic hands. Each fist is slightly open but features a 5mm port to attach weapons.
The feet and tail on this beast mode all carry over from Grotusque including the "furry" texture on the lower legs and the ridges on top of the ail. Like previous versions of this figure, the chest can be opened up to reveal a pilot seat for Brisko. Swing the beast mode head back, then swing the chest panel up and the clear panel under it. Brisko fits right inside. This is one of my favorite features of this sculpt and I'm so glad to see it was kept intact.
Final Thoughts:
Fangry is a great retool of Grotusque and Twinferno. This is also a fairly obscure character who has not gotten a lot of attention over the years so it's great to get a Generations version of him. The retooling is great, the figure looks cool in both modes and I love the homage to the Headmaster "stats" on the chest. I am sad there are no weapons included however. I think that would have added a lot. To me this is the main reason to get this set. Recommended!
Pros:
- Plenty of retooled parts that look great, especially the beast mode head.
- A fun, relatively obscure character.
- Good (and unusual) deco.
Cons:
- No weapons included.
- The knee and hip joints being loose is not great.
