Toy Review - One-Step Changer Grimlock
Name: Grimlock
Faction: Autobot
Subgroup: Dinobots
Size Class: Basic/One-Step Changers
Price: $20 (currently down to $18 at Target)
Alt Mode: Carnotaurus (but he tells everyone he's a T-Rex because he has issues about being so small)
Accessories: None, unless you count elf shoes
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9693c853.jpg
Beast mode, side
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96e74a5d.jpg
Beast mode, front (blurry)
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/...psaeae4169.jpg
Beast mode, with his father, Voyager Grimlock
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/...psa5738b5d.jpg
Robot mode
http://i1146.photobucket.com/albums/...psce27905e.jpg
"Son, you'll wear elf-shoes until you learn to straighten your arms."
I picked this up for two reasons: one, because I was interested in how the single step transformation gimmick worked, and two, because I plan to pick up the enormous Stomp and Chomp Grimlock once it appears, and the idea of being all "Yo dawg, I heard you like Grimlock, so I put Grimlock on your Grimlock so now you can ride Grimlock like a Grimlock" was too good to pass up.
So how does it hold up? Honestly, given the size and price point, the obvious limitations, and placing it in the context of a toy about a gimmick, rather than what we've come to expect from Transformers... he's not bad. In fact, doing the simple step transformation back and forth repeatedly is pretty fun. For anyone interested in toy engineering, working out how the different mechanisms attach together to make the whole thing transform in (almost) a single step is fascinating.
About that "almost" - he does require a little bit of help to transform, especially back from robot mode, with the positioning of the tabs. That doesn't exactly kill the gimmick completely, but he's more of a one-and-a-half step changer. :p
The dino mode is a little chunkier and stubbier than the voyager and leader class versions. The effect is a version of Grimlock that makes him look... cute. However, despite the cutesy appearance when compared to other versions of Grimlock, this is still clearly a vicious predator. There is a good bit of sculpted detail and well-applied paint that bring out that detail. Grimlock has no points of articulation in this form. Yes, that's right. He is literally a plastic statue. But then again, that isn't really what this toy is about.
His proportions in robot mode are odd, but he's not quite so cute anymore. His arms, unfortunately, are curved inwards as if he's flexing his muscles. His legs are simply the dino head split apart with some parts moved around by the transformation. Nevertheless, the mode is different from the dino mode, and noticeably so. That's important for these gimmick toys, and it's impressive that they were able to create something so different with a one-step transformation. One particularly nice part of the sculpt is that although the dino head ends up nowhere near his shoulders, the shoulders have nonetheless been given a tooth-like appearance, helping him to look like the movie model. His arms are able to move in this form, giving him a whopping two points of articulation.
The toy could have been improved. There's no real reason why the arms should have no articulation allowing them to be transformed out of the curved position. The hips could split apart a bit more and move up to make a blockier robot, but one with better looking legs, and it's easy to imagine how that could have been accomplished while preserving the one-step gimmick. However, this isn't just a toy designed to transform in one step. It's a cheap entry-level product for children, and with that in mind is under the constraints of cost involved. Additional moving parts would have upped the cost and eaten into the margins, and so he is what he is.
And, in my opinion, what he is is a fun little toy that looks okay in both modes and is fun to transform back and forth. I like the cutesy looks of the dino and the quirky appearance of the robot. The sculpted detail is good and the paint brings out that detail. He's not a great toy or a collector's item, but what he is is a nice little entry level product.
I'm impressed that the one-step gimmick is as effective as it is, and to be honest, if Hasbro can work out how to do that with more articulation it isn't exactly going to ruin Transformers forever. I'm not sure I've ever been convinced that complex transformation is either the be-all and end-all of the Transformers line, or that it necessarily makes for better toys. This version of Grimlock shows off modern engineering in a different way from toys like ROTF Optimus Prime or Prime First Edition Bulkhead, and I'm fine with that.
Overall, a fun toy, nice to look at, fun to transform back and forth and watch all the parts move, and a great entry-level product, as well as being interesting from an engineering point of view.
In my head canon, I have decided he is Grimlock, son of Grimlock.
Unlike the other Dinobots, this version actually does have elf shoes.
ETA: It's been pointed out that, since the dinosaur Movie Grimlock most closely resembles is a carnotaurus, he should be about one third the size of the upcoming Slog toy (apatosaurus), and also ought to be about half the size of Scorn (spinosaurus). Even if you take his word for it that he's a T-Rex, he still ought to be significantly smaller than those two (half the size of an apatosaurus and around the same size as the spinosaurus). With that in mind, this version of Grimlock is actually the most in-scale version of the character yet released! However, unlike other versions of the character, this version is still wearing elf shoes.
