Toy Review - Age of Extinction Deluxe Scorn

[GoktimusPrime]

Appearance
Much like Slug, Scorn's overall aesthetic exudes that "fossilesque" theme (though not as spikey as Slug). The toy is predominantly red and gunmetal grey, with orange highlights. The face plate and Autobot insignia are silver, with teal for the robot and beast modes' eyes. The tail is painted a darker and shinier red which differs from the red on the rest of the toy. The tip of the tail appears to have been airbrushed with grey, which looks quite nice. The head resembles a Crusader's Great Helm. While the beast mode still feels kinda "quasi-Beast-Machines," it is more solid than Slug's. The arms are asymmetrical, with the right arm formed from the beast's head/neck, and the left arm from the tail. The shoulders are also distinctly different and not just mirror-flipped versions of each other. I'm generally not a fan of asymmetry in TFs, but it actually works reasonably well on this toy. I think it's because the asymmetry's been used sparingly rather than all over the place as it was with the Transmetal 2s. The robot hips have these faux teeth kibble which looks a bit odd, but I suspect may make more sense when we see the movie model. The way that the spinal sails divide and sit on his back - it does look quite nice. Scorn also has "elf shoe feet". Amarth faeg! (that's kinda like saying "D'oh!" in Elvish ). His weapon is a stylised scimitar.

Transformation
I do appreciate that they've avoided making Scorn a straightforward "stand up and you're a robot" transformation. It's kinda reminiscent of Beast Wars T-Rex Megatron, but as The_Damned has pointed out, the robot form is rather noticeable in the beast mode. This is something that BW Megatron covered up better, but to be fair to Scorn:
a) He's a Deluxe, not an Ultra.
b) The robot mode doesn't have big kibble-panels hanging off its back like BW Megs does.
I also like how the legs turn around and the middle toe swings back to form the Elven robot feet. The scimitar stores inside the tail, which is a lot better than the ridiculous positioning that Slug has for his swords.

Pros
+ 13 points of articulation
+ Unlike the rest of his case mates, Scorn is not hollow and not a shellformer! He is by far the most solid figure of the lot.
+ The rubber parts are also solid, not super-soft as on many other Transformers, such as Slug.
+ The scimitar is solid plastic, not rubber. And it's surprisingly sharp for a Hasbro accessory! Great for eye-poking fun!
+ The overall form of the robot mode is imposing.
+ In beast mode, the head can swing side to side, as well as up and down, creating a rather authentic look head/beck movement. A nice and unobtrusive gimmick.
+ The spine sails are able to lock into position in both beast and robot modes, and they lock in well!

Cons
- The upper thigh panels of the beast mode have nowhere to lock in. Disappointing considering how solid this toy is otherwise.
- The beast mode's throat has a piece which only folds down so far, and dislocates when the head is turned upwards.
- The robot hand could've been better sculpted with fingers. It looks like he's an wearing angular oven mitt.
- I'm personally not a fan of tail arms. But as far as tail arms go, Scorn's is not bad.
- The head sits quite low, which can make playing with the head more difficult. I would've liked for the head to be able to rise just a few millimetres higher.
- While I do like how the leg panels swing out to beef out the legs, unfortunately there's no way for them to lock into that position, and they easily collapse back in during handling and play.

Other
A Spinosaurus is actually larger than a Tyrannosaurus Rex. So some people who are sticklers for scale might be perturbed by having a Deluxe sized Scorn next to say a Voyager or Leader sized Grimlock. Doesn't personally bother me though.

Overall
By far the strongest of the Wave 1 Age of Extinction Deluxe figures. It's a relatively solid toy that's well sculpted and decorated. Having said that, it's not without its drawbacks and I still don't feel it's quite worth paying full price for. Recommended.

[liegeprime]

Hmmm the AOE toys are a bit simpler than what the movie toys usually are...I guess that's good at least I don't need to find the instruction booklets all the time to figure things out ;P. But I can't help but notice that the toys packaging seem ... simple. oh well too much investment on the packaging usually means that the toys themselves tend to suffer in the budget cuts. ;P

[5FDP]

Hmmm the AOE toys are a bit simpler than what the movie toys usually are...

Wasn't Hasbro quoted in the last year as saying that's the direct they're heading in i.e. simpler toys?

[SMHFConvoy]

Video reviews from Vangelus and Peaugh recommend sanding the lower back edge of Scorn's head for greater articulation.

[klystron]

Video reviews from Vangelus and Peaugh recommend sanding the lower back edge of Scorn's head for greater articulation.

+1
This will fix the figure's biggest drawback. I was going to suggest it, but SMHFConvoy (and Peaugh) beat me to it. (Gotta be quick around here!)

Also, I keep the dinosaur mouth shut in bot mode. Otherwise he ends up with a hollow forearm, which looks kinda weird.

Regardless, this is great little figure.
+ Heaps of articulation. Capable of some great bot mode poses, and the spinosaur mode head is awesome!
+ Nifty transformation (very BW Meggs-esque). Easy, quick and fun. He's not a puzzle or shell former.
+ Good colour scheme. Red/Grey/Orange work well together. The teal alt-mode eyes and bot mode visor are a really nice touch.

- Alt-mode is a little... thin. Try not to look at it (pose it, display it) front on.
- The sword won't stay securely in the tail (think this might just be my one though...)
- The rubber tail/arm is pretty heavy and can cause some balance issues in both modes.

Although I dont have any other AOE figures, I can highly recommend this one. Even if you're not going to be collecting TF4 figures.

One other thing: AOE toys come with a free sticker - the big red "TRANSFORMERS" label on the bubble can easily be peeled off and applied elsewhere. Mine is on the clear side panel of my computer case!

[BigTransformerTrev]

Nice figure, very cool and matches Slug quite well, easy to imagine they are on the same team. Good colour scheme and transformation too. In this case, making an entirely new Dinobot character, it silences the critics somewhat who say "That's not how he looked in my day!"

Only problem I have is locking the tail in place in both robot and especially dinosaur mode. Any suggestions?

[Mythirax]

Nice figure, very cool and matches Slug quite well, easy to imagine they are on the same team. Good colour scheme and transformation too. In this case, making an entirely new Dinobot character, it silences the critics somewhat who say "That's not how he looked in my day!"

Only problem I have is locking the tail in place in both robot and especially dinosaur mode. Any suggestions?

They both match each other really well aye As for your tail issue, I'm not sure. Mine moves and clicks in every way I can find possible with no issues. I guess like most figures now days, every 1 in 3 has some terrible issue I'm finding.

As for my Scorn though, loving him to bits.

[GoktimusPrime]

Scorn's tail-arm comes packaged in a configuration that's not conducive to forming the tail properly. If you look inside the tail's groove you can see a grey plastic tab. Wedge your fingers in there and grab it with one hand, then hold onto the tail with another... then you gotta wriggle that damn sucker until the tail is set into this position:

Once that's done, the tail will sit flush with the dino mode's rump. I never bother resetting it back to the factory default position; as I find this position doesn't impede the robot anyway.