Review: #220
Name: Grimlock
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Robots in Disguise
Year of Release: 2001
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 3)
Variations: repainted into Universe Scavenger
ALTERNATE MODE:
Grimlock transforms into a two-shade green backhoe which looks pretty good at first glance.
The treads are molded plastic with some small wheels underneath to allow him to roll.
Unfortunately, the back is complete hollow so if you rotate the cabin too far, there's an unsightly gap.
The shovel arm has one joint (so it's perpetually bent) and the bucket can tilt slightly. Grimlock doesn't hold together very well, the cabin can dislodge easily and the legs can unpeg from handling.
Due to the hollowness, Grimlock feels insubstantial.
A passable alternate mode, it just feels as if he is poorly designed and can quickly turn into a mess with the loose joints and instability of this mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
Grimlock is easy to transform but his most annoying feature is the multitude of joints required for combined mode ruining it. Especially his lower torso is a mess of jointed pieces that does not peg together in place at all. The way the arms form are also counter-intuitive and weird.
ROBOT MODE:
Grimlock's robot mode is unique... and has a ton of problems.
The first issue is his feet which does not have heelspurs, this means he can fall backwards very easily. Add to the fact that his feet can't both fact directly forward as they get in the way of each other.
At least his head sculpt is decent, with an orange visor and silver painted face. It can turn from side to side.
One thing that works in Grimlock's favor is the fact that he is quite tall in this mode, thanks to the long legs.
Articulation is horrible. While he has your standard hips and knee joints, the lack of heelspurs means dynamic poses are out of the question.
His arms are weird jointed, you can't get meaningful poses out of them and they look weird if they're not at their default arms to the side position. The shovel arms sits behind his head and while it is detachment, there is not other meaningful place to situate it since his hands are claws.
A disappointing and flawed robot mode. The lower torso likes to deform since it's not pegged together, the limited arm possibility and poor stability kills any of the robot mode fun.
OVERALL:
Easily the weakest figure of the Build Team. Grimlock is a figure that you will get purely because he forms the fourth member of an excellent combiner. Grimlock has issues in both modes but his robot mode really suffers from instability and odd design decisions.
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