Toy Review - Age of Extinction Dinobot Slug (Deluxe)

[GoktimusPrime]

Dinobot Slug
Series - Age of Extinction
Sub-line - Generations
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 1
Released here - May 2014
Approximate Retail Price - $30
Approximate Size - 13cm to the top of the head, 16cm to tip of the shoulder spikes
Allegiance - Autobot
Sub-Group - Dinobot
Alt-mode - robotic triceratops
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - purple, lavender & gunmetal grey
Main Accessories - x2 swords

Images
Stock photo

Beast mode

With Scorn


Robot mode


With Scorn


Comparison with G1 Slag


Appearance
A very "bumpy" toy with an aesthetic that bears resemblance to bones and fossils. It's a very purple toy, with lavender and gunmetal grey highlights throughout; which is rather interesting as I don't recall ever seeing this much purple on an Autobot before. There are reds on the shoulder pads and lower abdomen, as well as a red Autobot insignia on his left forearm (wow... a red Autobot logo on a movieverse toy!). There are silver decos on the top the robot head and dino mode's face, and both heads have blue eyes (painted, not light piped). There are also silver on the shoulders of the dino mode, and the tail, swords and horns are that trademark Hasbro Grey(TM). I quite like the head, which is reminiscent of a Medieval European jousting helmet. The aesthetic style feels kinda "Beast Machines-esque" to me; on one hand it's better than BM in that the type of beast is immediately obvious, but on the other hand it's actually not as solid as the beast modes in BM. If you don't like Beast Machines Maximals, then you're probably not going to like this toy (nor I suspect any of the Age of Extinction Dinobots).

Transformation
"Changes in 16 steps!" says the blurb on the back of the card. I do appreciate that the toy tries and avoids the simple "stand up and you're a robot" transformation that we sometimes see on quadrupedal moded TFs. The hind legs flip over to form the robot legs and the fore legs fold back and attach to the robot's ribs, allowing the underbelly to unfold and form the arms -- but overall it's not a terribly solid toy, and quite frankly the original 1996 BW Cheetor executes this concept better (though the hind-leg transformation is pretty neat). Whereas Cheetor's forelegs unobtrusively swing to the back, Slug's sit on the sides of the ribs and can interfere with arm articulation. However Slug's forelegs are articulated, unlike Cheetor's (although that's independent of the positioning in robot mode ). The tail just dangles out the back like a coat-tail, which isn't necessarily bad per se -- folding it up would have made it look neater, but it also would have constricted waist articulation, so I can see the merit in just letting it hang loose. It's also interesting how part of the frill folds down to form the shoulder pads in robot mode. It helps to break down the otherwise chunky shoulder kibble and also bring more red highlights to the front of the robot mode.

This toy is like an "incorporated shellformer"; a typical shellformer has alt mode panels hanging off the robot mode, like a transformable Pretender. This toy takes those panels and makes them form parts of the robot. On the plus side, it means less kibble hanging off the robot, but on the downside it means that parts of the robot are left feeling "hollow" and lightweight (because they're just panels folded over to form the forearms and lower legs). It's nothing new, we've seen this with Transformer Prime toys (e.g. Deluxe Knock Out, Voyager Predaking etc.), but this toy seems to have taken that concept to a new level. It's a feature which I think people are either going to love or hate. My first Slug had a badly sculpted right elbow joint, meaning that the right forearm was prone to popping off whenever I bent that arm. Hopefully this is an isolated incident and noone else's Slug has that problem.

Pros
+ 12 points of articulation in robot mode
+ Dino mode jaws open and shut
+ Fairly well balanced; able to strike several dynamic poses without falling over.

Cons
+ Dat name
+ Swords, horns and lower jaw are made of that really soft rubber we've come to expect from Hasbro now (re: First Edition TF Prime Voyager Optimus Prime's sword).
+ Depending on the QC of the individual figure, the beast mode's fore legs may be prone to easily dislodging in robot mode, if indeed the tabs can fit in at all.
+ The rear back panel is supposed to clip into two tabs. It doesn't.
+ The dino mode's head has five horns (three on the head/face and two on the lower jaw). Last time I checked, Triceratops has three horns. Does this make Slug a Penteceratops? Also, the mouth is full of sharp teeth, despite the fact that Triceratops was a herbivore. I guess this was Michael Bay's way of making the Triceratops more bad-bum.
+ The weapons attach to the sides of body in beast mode. It looks ridiculous. No way he's gonna walk through a door way with those things on ("Excuse me!" )

Overall
Being so highly stylised, this toy certainly isn't going to be everyone's cup of Energon. Have a good look at photos and other reviews, and possibly someone else's loose Slug before deciding if you really want to purchase this toy. Somewhat recommended. Try to get this toy below RRP because it's really not worth paying thirty bucks for.