Toy Review - Age of Extinction Dinobot Slash (Deluxe)
Dinobot Slash
Series - Age of Extinction
Sub-line - Generations
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2
Released here - May 2014
Approximate Retail Price - $30
Approximate Size - 12.3cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Sub-Group - Dinobot
Alt-mode - robotic velociraptor
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - cyan, chartreuse & black
Main Accessories - x2 axes
Appearance
Like other AoE Dinobots, Slash's 'raptor mode is spiny, spikey and boney looking all over. A lot of the spines are swept back, as are rubbery frills which protrude from under the forearms, back, legs and rump, as well as the tail design. This is somewhat reminiscent of the feathers on an actual velociraptor (albeit exaggerated), which is interesting to see as no other 'raptor-moded Transformer has attempted to emulate the feathers before. On the down side, the head shape is too short and rounded for a velociraptor, more reminiscent of the 'raptor heads in the Jurassic Park films. We all know that Beast Wars Dinobot's beast mode was very much based on the JP raptor rather than a paleontologically accurate raptor form -- but Beast Wars at a time when Jurassic Park toys were enjoying the height of their popularity. So in the context of its time, that's understandable, and in late Beast Wars we saw Hasbro moving away from the JP raptor aesthetic and more towards a more paleontologically correct aesthetic with Mutant Beast Razorclaw (whose raptor shape is more elongated and sleek like an actual raptor, though still lacking feathers). It's been 21 years' since Jurassic Park... surely it's time for Hasbro to move on from that incorrect stylised velociraptor design and more towards something more accurate. :confused: Or maybe Spielberg wanted to make his own little JP reference with this toy... yeah, that's a stretch. :p The head also has two horns protruding from the back of the head, which doesn't make much sense since raptors never had horns, although I guess if squint real, real, real hard they might look feather-like. No? Ah crap.
Okay, paleontological nitpicking aside (it's not as if Transformers are meant to be robots in disguise or anything, right? :rolleyes:), it is a pretty fearsome looking predatory and carnivorous looking velociraptor. In day-glo 90s hyper-colours. :p The teeth looking pretty fearsome, and are painted silver. Airbrushing on the throat, shoulder spines and tail section look quite nice. The jaw opens really wide.
The robot head carries on the look of a feudal helmet... although I'm not entirely sure what this one is supposed to be based on. It kinda looks like an Etruscan Negau, only with additional ridges on the top and a visor added on the face... I don't know. :/ It honestly just looks like he's wearing a hard hat, coupled with the axes he ends up looking like a lumberjack and that's okay. ;) :p The dino mode's shoulder frills cover the upper thighs and crotch in robot mode.
Transformation
There's relatively little shellforming happening with this toy; almost all the dino mode parts are incorporated into the robot body. :) They've tried some new ideas with the arm and leg transformation. The entire tail section sits on the back; although in a not too obtrusive way (it's a lot better than the 'backpacks' of the Leader Class Optimus Primes!).
Pros
+ 13 points of articulation in robot mode
+ Dino mode jaws open and shut very wide
+ Relatively little shellforming - the way that the 'raptor feet are incorporated into the arms are much better done than on Voyager Grimlock.
+ I like the way that the axes become feathers on the beast mode's forearms. It allows the weapons to not only be stowed away in beast mode, but also makes them part of the beast mode, rather than having them stow away but not contribute to the beast mode (as with Scorn), or just awkwardly attach onto the beast mode but becomes an eyesore (as with Slug and Voyager Grimlock). It's somewhat reminiscent of Beast Wars. :)
Cons
- Those colours! Is Slash going to a rave party? Or perhaps he's going to live up to his name and unleash lubricant... or write that fanfic about Cyclonus and Tailgate. :p ;)
- Narrow feet make Slash one of the more challenging of the Dinobots to balance into dynamic poses.
- Ball joints are prone to popping off easily.
- Especially the body of the toy has some neat sculpted features which would really look nicer with some more paint apps, just to break up all that cyan.
- I wish the thigh frills could rotate so that they'd end up covering the knees instead of the crotch.
- The fists are designed so that the thumbs are in line with the inner elbows; in other words, as if he's permanently doing bicep curls. This effectively hampers the meaningful articulation of the elbows. :(
- Robot fists are clearly visible from the back of the beast mode.
Overall
Like the other AoE Dinobots, Slash is very stylised in both dinobot and robot modes, so people are either going to love or hate the aesthetic. I really wish that the fists were positioned with the fist holes in line with the inside elbows, this would have greatly improved the robot mode's playability. And I have mixed feelings about the beast mode; on one hand it's cool how they've added featherish elements for greater accuracy, but on the other hand they've retained the inaccurate Jurassic Park shaped head. Though this may have been Paramount's decision rather than Hasbro's... either way, the inconsistent approach looks weird (I'd rather they'd just go full JP like they did with BW Dinobot rather than this half-half-but-not-quite-either look). I came in with pretty low expectations for this toy. None of the Age of Extinction Dinobots have really impressed me. The Saurian-moded Transformers from Beast Wars were better designed, especially by 90s standards, whereas I find the AoE Dinobots are pretty ordinary by current day standards.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22..._shoulders.gif
Images
Beast mode stock image
Robot mode stock image
Beast mode
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psa1fc79a5.jpg
Robot mode
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...psdcc33020.jpg
