Review: #692
Name: Slug
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release: 2021
Size Class: Leader (Wave 7)
Mold Status: new
DANIEL WITWICKY:
Let's quickly cover off Daniel Witwicky first off. Like Wheelie that came with Grimlock, despite his permanently bent knees, he is able to stand up on his own if he leans forward a bit.
Also like Wheelie, there is extremely cost-cutting (to the point of thinking why bother with including it), particularly his legs which are completely hollow and little more than a singular panel with some struts for strength. Considering that he is designed to sit on Slug, it makes this all the more obvious.
He has balljointed shoulders and hips, which isn't too bad all things considered. He's almost completely unpainted white plastic though, which can make him feel a bit bland.
ALTERNATE MODE:
Slug transforms into a robotic dinosaur (triceratops) in the classic Dinobots color scheme of grey, silver and gold.
In terms of size, Slug is pretty good, and is one of the biggest Leaders in the line. It helps that he has a beast mode so he looks and feels even bigger.
The head is really cool and the gold paint used is excellent. Unfortunately, he cannot open his mouth as it's a part of transformation.
There are some pegs on the top that is designed for Daniel to peg in and he looks awesome there.
Slug is very static though, he can move his legs a bit but they're pretty limited.
Despite the static nature of this mode, it's still really good and thanks to being Leader class, it has a sense of presence.
TRANSFORMATION:
On the whole, Slug may not win any awards in terms of ingenious transformations but it is still pretty good. It takes the basics and makes it fun and satisfying. Of particular note are his legs, which doesn't take the lazy route of carbon copying his G1 figure but unfolding the tail section. Instead, it's still formed from that section but has the beast legs fold into his shins, to fill out the legs as well as tucking the extra kibble away. Otherwise, the front legs become the arms and you can him up so that you can reveal the head from inside the beast's head, all of which are very standard and unsurprising.
ROBOT MODE:
Of course, robot mode is where it is at and Slug looks really good here, more so in person than photos depict him.
The beast mode's head on his back behind his head is accurate to his design, what's more of a problem is the tail since it drops to below his knees and can get in the way sometimes. Furthermore, it doesn't clip that securely despite several pegs.
The head sculpt is nice, and it is painted a nice deep red, but that also makes it stand out from the plastic around it. Due to the beast mode head behind the robot head, it can be a little bit tricky to get your fingers just right to turn the head.
For size, Slug is one of the bigger Leader figures right now, on par with SS Grimlock, he's akin to what Leader figures used to be.
As part of the Studio Series line, he comes with a cardboard stand. The stand shows off the scene from the G1 movie where the Dinobots charged in uninvited.
There is a peg on either shoulder which is designed for Daniel to sit on. It's more for his left shoulder due to the way the peg hole on Daniel's legs are, it's harder to peg him on the right shoulder.
There are also pegs on his forearms for Daniel as well.
In terms of articulation, Slug has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
The ankles in particular are really good for keeping him flat on the surface for various poses.
He comes with a grey gun.
Slug can hold the gun in either hand (naturally) and it may have seemed big at first, but is the perfect size.
One of the best thing about this figure is how smart the hollowness was dealt with. As in, yes, Slug has hollow limbs but that's unavoidable nowadays, it's how he manages to hide them so they're not obvious that is what every other figure should strive for.
Apart from the gun and Daniel, there are no other gimmicks, Slug focuses on being a good Transformer first and foremost.
This is a strong robot mode and it is surprising at how well the designer managed to make this figure.
OVERALL:
Slug is the perfect example of how to update a figure. It doesn't need to be overly complex, it doesn't need faux parts, and it doesn't have to have visible hollow parts all over the place. The simple transformation for the most part, with a nice update to how his robot legs form, really makes the figure shine. This is a fantastic toy and is well worth the Leader price tag.
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