Battle Trolls Month: Series 3 Wolfman Troll Review (1993)

A face only a mother dog could love.

One of the few Battle Trolls I've kept since my childhood, Wolfman Troll was always one of my favorites. Not sure if that was purely because he looks like a gnarly werewolf or because he was the only Series 3 guy I ever owned (until recently, check out reviews here and here), but whatever the reason I am glad I held onto him over the years. Does he have his faults? OH heck yeah, but this does not make him a bad figure in anyway.

I believe once the early to mid 90's hit my parents started giving me an allowance, and this greatly affected what kind of toys I got. This made me think a lot harder about what I was spending my coin on, so as I've been compiling toys for review on this blog I've noticed a pattern appearing of 3 for $5.00 or 3 for $10.00 Kay-Bee Toys stickers. Wolf man Troll falls into that category as he was 3 for $10.00 and probably the main reason he did not end up costing me $20 on eBay decades later. Good job 12 year old me!

Contents! What do you get??
The standard fare with all Battle Trolls is 2 weapons: 1 is typically an 'action weapon' with a finger-flick operated projectile launcher of some kind, usually one that fits the theme of the troll in question. The second one is a solid PVC accessory either in the form of a melee or ranged weapon.

Just make sure to scratch him behind his ears, he's less likely to bite you that way...

Wolf man comes with 2 accessories, but his projectile launcher, a tombstone that fires a doggy bone, barely fits in his hand and can not even aim it at an opponent. Fortunately, it does stand up on it's own extremely well and can serve as scene decoration OR a shield for Woflman Troll...sorta. *sigh* Well at least he comes with a bad-ass melee weapon.

Rest in Peace is right, this
accessory died before it
left Hasbro's offices.

At least the doggy bone projectile can be turned into a cool
battle stick or cane. Right? RIGHT??

SvenTroll: "Wait, you're sure you don't want this back??"
Wolfman Troll: "I'm positive, you're the only one of us who can aim it anyway."

I can say with the utmost certainty that this would STING LIKE HELL
if you got smacked with it. A doggy bone launching tombstone is nothing.

Hol-lee-crap. Just look at that thing. Now, imagine getting a wolf man with above-average strength, whipping that thing around and landing just one hit on you. I made a mistake, that tombstone launcher is not a shield or for Wolfman Troll, it's to mark the graves of the enemies he has slain with this death on a chain. Wow. Crazy melee weapons aside, we used to use Wolfman Troll's fangs and claws to mess up our other toys in battle, so his lack-luster accessories were never a focal point of our adventures.

Okay cool, tell us about 'em!
Wolfman Troll does not have tons of hidden details to his sculpt aside from a few spots where his clothes are torn and his gray fur would have poked through. Typically, those small details are cut out during production as paying for extra paint applications can significantly increase the cost of the toy. Thankfully, here this does not distract from his overall look which is really phenomal. The detail of the fur, the teeth, the pointy ears and the awesome wolf-feet just makes this toy all aces. The colors here are blatantly Halloween Orange & Black and what better figure to put them on then a werewolf. Easily one of the best sculpted Battle Trolls of Series 3 with the attention to replicating fur alone placing it over the top.

I'm also a big fan of how they sculpted his legs, I believe the term is "degi-grade" and it is seen a lot on mutant animal characters AND the gargoyles on Disney's Gargoyles. It's great to see a more beastial werewolf here instead of the traditional wolf-man look. That look is good too, but it's great to see variety tossed in there.

Wolfman Troll (Front View)

Woflman Troll (Angled Front View)

Wolfman Troll (Side View)

Wolfman Troll (Rear View)

As mentioned in other Battle Trolls reviews, Wolfman Troll was afflicted with the most horrible of ailments: crappy arm positioning and low articulation counts. All Battle Trolls swivel at the waist and to Wolfman Troll's benefit he was given a slightly angled waist cut. This allows him to turn into a slightly useful wait to at least attempt to swing his weapon at someone. Plus, since he's a werewolf you can just have him jump maul your other toys and leave his weapons completely out of it. He really is a great example of a tie: what you don't get sucks but what you do get makes up for that.

Franken Troll: "Hey Wolfman Troll, are you coming by later for- YEEARRGGH!!!"
Wolfman Troll: "OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry Franken Troll!"
Franken Troll: "How many times have I asked you to STOP
leaving your weapons lying around!?"

Like all Battle Trolls, Wolfman Troll comes with a bio card detailing just what this crazy were-wolf-troll is all about. They are all more tongue & cheek/goofy then informative bios like on the Transformers, G.I. Joes & Ninja Turtles figures...but what else would you expect about a toy line of crass, bad-attitude laden troll dolls?? Feel free to save this file for your collection in case you lost your original one.

(Clip & Collect!)

Should I try to get this brand new?:
Most of the time I say yes because you want all the toy's accessories intact and in good condition, but Wolfman Troll does just fine on his own without any weapons. I think this is because he's a werewolf and you typically don't need weapons to make him more formidable- he's already a monster.

So what do you really think about it?:
This is a great Battle Troll, or even just a great werewolf toy. If you are a fan of the old Universal Monster films and want another werewolf/wolfman toy to add to your collection, this is a great one to add. His stance is ferocious and intimidating already so even with his arms in a lousy position for effectively wielding his weapons, his articulation does help that a little tiny bit. If you can find him loose and with a price you can afford pick him up, you should not be disappointed.

So a Scuba Diver, Werewolf & Cowboy walk into a bar...wait a minute: is this some kinda joke?!?

Also, be sure to check out the video below for a hands-on look at Wolfman Troll so you guys can see how his articulation works (what little of it there is..) and how his weapons look in real-time video. I prefer doing reviews two-fold so you can all get a good impression of the toy that still photography just can not replicate.

Battle Troll month has it's last review next week and we're going out with a bang! So be sure to check back here next Wednesday to see what it is (pssst: it's the Trollasaurus).