Name: Sludge
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release: 2022
Year of Release: 2022
Size Class: Leader (Wave 9)
Mold Status: new
ALTERNATE MODE:
Sludge, based upon his G1 incarnation, transforms into a robotic Brontosaurus.
There are no complaints in this mode, he looks great, and feels solid as everything clips together well.
As expected, given that he is the same scale as the previous two Studio Series Dinobots, he is big and chunky, worthy of the Leader size class. Above is a comparison with TLK Optimus.
The robot gun pegs onto his underside. It's a shame that it sticks out so that it is visible, given that right above it is an empty space (just not big enough to put it sideways like that, so wished that the designer had more budget to work it in).
The mouth can open and close, and it is painted a nice metallic gold.
Speaking of which, this mode has some articulation, such as his legs, and the neck. It's not amazing but better than nothing. An interesting tidbit is that the gold bits on his back are actually faux parts, they do not form the robot legs like the original did.
This is a strong beast mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
While not as good as Studio Series Grimlock, he's about on par with Studio Series Slug (or a tad bit below). It's still a solid transformation that nicely balances complexity and fun. There's quite a bit of rotating, given that the middle of the alternate mode rotates up to form the torso, bringing the rear legs are robot arms. While the back and tail section unfolds and then refolds to form the robot legs.
ROBOT MODE:
In terms of pure looks, the robot mode is great. He carries some kibble such as the "wings" on his back and the tail halves on the outside of each leg, but they're accurate to his original design.
The beast head is also one big chunk that just sits on his back. It doesn't actually peg or lock into place, which is surprising.
The head sculpt is fantastic as well, and can swivel left to right.
For size, he's almost as tall as previous Leaders, which means that he is really big when compared to contemporary Leaders like Earthrise Doubledealer and Kingdom Galvatron.
And of course he is perfect with his fellow Dinobots Grimlock and Slug, although he doesn't come with a mini-figure like those two did.
As part of the Studio Series line, he also comes with a cardboard stand, depicting the same scene as the other two previous Dinobots, being from the G1 movie where the Dinobots charged in.
Unfortunately, the biggest flaw with Sludge is not design, but rather quality control. At the very least, most if not all, of the first run has really loose knee ratchets, to the point where he will keel over backwards even when you're trying to stand him in a neutral pose.
Otherwise, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, hands, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
He comes with a gun.
The gun can be held in either hand but surprisingly, there is no official way to store it, not even a peg on the back.
Again, the loose knees ruin the play value as you need to be careful if he'll keel over or not, and furthermore, the hip ratchets are looser than you'd expect too.
This is a good robot mode for display, play value, not so much until Hasbro gets the knees fixed in a running change.
OVERALL:
Sludge may not be as well designed Grimlock, but is still a really well designed figure. So that it is a big shame that the robot mode is ruined by the loose knee ratchets that are plaguing so many copies of the figure. It's not the end of the world given that he can still stand and transform fine, just disappointing given that we finally get a decently sized figure that is also reasonably complex in a sea of ever shrinking figures.
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