Review: #478
Name: Dinobot
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Maximal
Line: Masterpiece
Year of Release: 2018
Size Class: Masterpiece
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
Dinobot comes in your typical black styled Masterpiece box that looks great. The first thing you would notice is how big it is, and this helps justify the exorbitant price.
The amount of stock photos on the back should you give an idea of the amount of gimmicks this figure has. The designer has gone all out to make this the ultimate Dinobot figure you'll ever need.
Dinobot comes with plenty of accessories: three alternate faces, Dino saber, pieces for the stand, Golden Disc and a beam effect for his eyes.
Of course, he also comes with a collector's card.
DINOSAUR MODE:
Dinobot transforms into a velociraptor that is crazy accurate to the show, right down to the texture of the skin and paint details.
Yes, there are exposed robot parts when viewed from behind but considering that from every other angle he looks good and he isn't a massive shellformer, this is an amazing piece of engineering. Also note that the G1 Masterpieces all have messy undersides, a luxury that Dinobot isn't able to have.
Dinobot is huge in this mode. You don't appreciate his size until you have him in hand. Above is a comparison against Age of Extinction Optimus. Dinobot is so much heftier and sizable in comparison.
Unfortunately, Dinobot is a tad bit front heavy and the hip ratchets aren't strong enough to keep him upright at times.
The mouth can open to reveal a nice row of razor sharp teeth and a tongue that's independently jointed!
You can open up the head to rotate the eyes and give him ones that are slit. A nice and unobtrusive gimmick.
The designer made a huge effort to make this mode as poseable as it possibly can. Despite the tail retaining the weapon gimmick, it is jointed in multiple places near the end. The forearms features four sets of joints, the neck has two and the legs have four.
When prototype pictures were released, many were worried about the sheer amount of panels and the resulting panel lines on the figure. This is still a problem here but since it is now painted, it isn't as obvious and bad.
The figure comes with the Golden Disc, which has its own stand.
Using one of the clear pieces to slot the disc in, this will allow Dinobot to hold it in his hand.
Finally, you can combine the two pieces to form a long base. The arm is versatile allowing you to set the height since the supporting piston can lock in anywhere along the central ridges. To attach Dinobot, you need to attach another clear piece into his torso. Displaying him on the base means that any balance issues are negated.
This is an amazing dinosaur mode and even most astounding when you consider that the designer put more effort into the robot mode!
TRANSFORMATION:
The engineering of Dinobot is crazy. The velociraptor legs form the robot arms and that is the simplest aspect. You have to be careful with the ratchet shoulders because either due to poor design or shoddy assembly, it is liable to break, which is a shame on something this expensive. The legs unfold from the torso and requires a lot of little adjustments that you definitely need the instructions to get them all. One of the neatest parts is how the sides fold in upon itself to form the thighs, a neat way to hide the beast mode. Finally, the velociraptor turns inside out to form the robot (yes, Dinobot has a fake chest) and it remains just as impressive as when you first experienced MP Ironhide.
ROBOT MODE:
Dinobot's robot mode is simply amazing. Just like his beast mode, this is extremely show accurate.
One of the most impressive aspect is the lack of kibble AT ALL. Sure, his back bulges a little bit but considering that the beast mode's head and arms are tucked neatly in there, it is easily forgiven. The skeletal design is exactly like it was in the show.
The headsculpt is similarly impressive. He default face is a snarling one.
Swapping faces is extremely easy since you just need to pull it out and then swap the next one in. First up is his "beam" face, which has colorless eyes.
This is because you can attach the beam effect into his eyes and if you have some spare button batteries, light up his eyes.
The next face is a crying one which doesn't feel like it has quite enough difference to justify a separate piece.
The last face is an evil smiling one.
Dinobot in robot mode is approximately the size of a Leader sized classed toy.
Dinobot has excellent poseability, with ratchets in all the places you'd expect. He has ankle tilts to keep him balanced in dynamic poses.
His fingers are individually double jointed which is just crazy although his thumbs are jointed as one piece.
Again, you can use the clear piece to attach the Golden Disc and then peg it into his palm so Dinobot can hold it.
Just to note again, minimize the amount of times you use the ratchets for his shoulders. You can't avoid it when transforming him but you can avoid it in robot mode since there are separate shoulder hinges that you can use instead. You do not want to break this expensive figure.
The tail opens up to form the rotating weapon, as well as revealing his blade inside.
The blade is chromed and looks really nice.
The weapon can be held in either hand, like a typical blade.
Or you can peg it in such a way that it acts as a stabbing weapon.
The rotating weapon pegs into a slot in the middle of his palm. While it's still big and awkward, Dinobot can handle it fine with his ratchet joints.
The weapon can actually rotate. To prevent it from rotating you can flip a piece of plastic down to lock it in place.
When not in use, you can store tail on his back.
To utilize the stand, once again there is a clear attachment to peg onto the bottom of his waist, which then attaches to the arm of the base.
Having the base means that you can attempt to pose Dinobot in gravity defying ways without worrying about stability and balance.
Following on from MP Cheetor, Dinobot's torso uses kibble to replicate the velociraptor's head.
The color scheme looks great and you can feel that the designer spared no expense. Dinobot simply looks so good in person.
A fantastic robot mode that doesn't have any flaws at all. He looks great and plays great.
OVERALL:
MP Dinobot is one of the best figures in the line and a testament to the ingenuity of the designers over at TakaraTomy. Having two amazing modes and the inclusion of a practical accessory, being the base, makes the figure extremely versatile. While he is one of the most expensive Masterpiece Transformers yet, Dinobot justifies his price with a premium paint job, a staggering parts count and sheer attention to detail. It's just a shame that the shoulder problem is such an issue and taints the figure.
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