Review: #447
Name: Grimlock
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release: 2018
Size Class: Leader (Wave 1)
Mold Status: new
DINOSAUR MODE:
Grimlock, based upon his Age of Extinction appearance, transforms into a robotic dinosaur T-Rex.
This is a great dinosaur mode, despite there being a few issues. There is a flap beneath the tail that is held up only by friction and the sad part is that it is equally useless in robot mode, so it feels like a pointless compromise.
Despite there already being a Leader classed Grimlock in the Age of Extinction toyline, this is a brand new mold. Above is a comparison against AOE Optimus, and Grimlock is absolutely huge.
The sculpting is amazing and the whole figure has a metallic green airbrushing effect that looks much better in person than in photos. Note that the teeth is soft rubbery plastic.
The mouth can open to allow Grimlock into a roaring pose.
A spoiler for robot mode but there are two T-Rex heads, the second one is actually kind of in plain sight split on either side of his tail. This, coupled with the mace makes the tail the weakest part of this mode.
Poseability is fairly limited. He gets a neck since that doubles as the robot shoulders. The legs are also quite poseable but the static second half of his body stops him from being flexible.
A quick comparison against Age of Extinction Voyager Grimlock and the proportions are much better, as well as the colours.
A brilliant alternate mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
While simple, it is fun, easy and quite clever. He transforms similarly to AOE Scorn in that the head and tail of the dinosaur forms the robot arms, and the dinosaur legs form the robot legs, with the head popping up from the torso. There are some neat twists such as how the T-Rex head collapses into his forearm. The transformation is reliant on moving big solid pieces, so it feels satisfying and not likely to break.
ROBOT MODE:
Grimlock's robot mode is equally good and is a lot more screen accurate than any of the previous toys.
He has a huge flap on his back which is the previous mentioned piece that relied on friction to keep upright in dinosaur mode. Here, is still gets in the way and quite annoying.
The headsculpt, and just sculpting in general, is gorgeous. It can be a bit hard at first to see it but he has red eyes.
The airbrushing effect of the metallic green is present here too and it works wonderfully. It's surprising that Hasbro risked enough to put out such a "bland" color scheme.
The sculpting is intricate and note that he has two whole T-Rex heads on his shoulders, the second one is faux but looks great anyway.
As part of the Studio Series line, he comes with a cardboard diorama showcasing the Hong Kong battle scene.
While it looks good, the stand takes up a huge amount of space.
Grimlock is a huge figure. While he is only a bit taller than Optimus, he is a lot bulkier, wider and heftier. He is one of the most substantial Leader classed figure we've had in a while.
This may irk some people but Grimlock lacks a right hand, instead, it is his mace weapon. Too bad he lacks his handheld flail though.
Articulation is really good. He has ratchets and hinges for all of his joints, plus a waist swivel which is helpful.
His large footprint allows him to be stable in all poses.
His waist armor is split into three pieces and they are hinged to not prevent the hip movement.
A fantastic robot mode that's both screen accurate and fun.
OVERALL:
It is surprising at how well designed Grimlock is. Both modes are fantastic, the figure is solid overall and the size is perfect for such a menacing character. The colour scheme works a lot better in person than photos show. Grimlock is highly recommended.
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