G1 Weirdwolf

Robot Mode: Weirdwolf makes for a very bulky, powerful looking robot that still offers quite a bit of posability, especially for a G1 figure. His legs move at the hip and the knees, while his arms move at the shoulders and elbows. That's more than quite a few other G1 figures had, kiddies. His arm movements are a bit hampered by the wolf forelegs hanging off the elbows, but not much.

As a Headmaster Weirdwolf's head locks onto his shoulders and causes the tech spec meter hidden behind his chest plate to display his strength, speed, and intelligence (the last being a solid 10, so he's supposed to be a pretty smart guy). The head looks pretty good, though I've always had trouble figuring out which parts are supposed to be the eyes. As a kid I though that the tiny black line under the grey forehead was supposed to a visor, but from more recent comic drawings I guess the eyes are actually in the grey part. Whatever, I like the black visor idea better.

Weirdwolf carries quite a few weapons. He has a sword (really the tail of his wolf mode), a gun, and a three-piece missile launcher in each shoulder you can slide open and closed. So all in all Weirdwolf is a pretty good robot for a G1 figure. Posable, multiple weapons, nicely detailed, no obvious problems.

Alternate Mode: As you might guess from the name Weirdwolf transforms into a robotic wolf. I especially like the wolf head, it's very nicely done and has an almost organic quality to it that we didn't really see until Beast Wars many years later. Still, it's obviously a robotic wolf, not a natural one. Weirdwolf's sword becomes the tail here and he can still use the missile launchers in his shoulders. Only his gun doesn't have anywhere to go in this mode.

On Weirdwolf's back you find a compartment where his Headmaster partner Monzo can ride, almost like a cockpit. It also looks pretty cool if the cockpit's open with Monzo standing up inside it. Not sure why, but I love that look. Anyway, Weirdwolf is pretty posable in wolf mode, too, though when you pose the hind legs you kinda throw the entire hind section out of whack a bit, making it seem disjointed. Not a big problem, but it looks better if you keep the hind legs 'unposed'.

So to sum it up: Weirdwolf has one of the best beast modes among the G1 figures in my opinion. Good job.

Partners / Add-Ons: Weirdwolf's Headmaster partner is the Nebulon Monzo, a standard first wave Headmaster figure. Very posable and quite detailed for such a little guy, Monzo can form Weirdwolf's robot head or ride in his cockpit in beast mode.

Remarks: Weirdwolf first appeared in the G1 cartoon finale "Rebirth", where he was one of the Decepticons to undergo the Headmaster process. He also played a large role in the Japanese Headmaster cartoon series, being among the group of Destrons who destroyed Cybertron (or Seibertron, rather). He also scored appearances in the old Marvel comics and recently appeared in the Botcon 2007 comic "Games of Decepticon", where he was reissued as a repaint of Cybertron Snarl / Galaxy Force Fang Wolf, now no longer a Headmaster and talking to his wolf-hand instead of Monzo.

Weirdwolf is the only Decepticon Headmaster I owned as a kid and I loved the wolfy guy, so when I recently saw him at the Auto Assembly, I didn't hesitate to pick him up. He still holds up pretty well after twenty years with a good, solid robot mode and one of the best beast modes among the G1 figures. Now I'm not a big fan of the Headmaster gimmick, but it doesn't really hurt Weirdwolf and somehow his companion's name, Monzo, oddly fits together with Weirdwolf's own rather non-standard name. A good team. So the bottom line is, I really like this guy here. Recommended to all G1 and beast-style Transformers fans.

Rating: B+