Slog
Series - Age of Extinction
Sub-line - Generations
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 3
Released here - September 2014
Approximate Retail Price - $50
Approximate Size - 18cm (16.5cm to top of head)
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Robotic Brachiosaurus
Main Features/Gimmicks - N/A
Main Colours - grey, black, red
Main Accessories - x2 ballistic lances, x2 dual cannons

Visually Slog looks suitably bulky and both robot and Dinobot modes (masking what is in actuality a rather lightweight and 'hollow' Voyager, as one would expect from AoE ). The relatively uniform dark grey of the toy makes it look the most screen-like compared to the other AoE Dinobots -- somewhat ironic considering that Slog doesn't appear in the film. Slog's robot form really carries the whole armoured knight theme of the Dinobots, including his 'elf shoes' feet.

The instruction sheet is virtually useless, and they're still showing the toy transforming from Dinobot mode to robot mode, even though the toy is packaged in robot mode. Conceptually, the transformation offers an interesting take on trying to make both moulds bulky out of a lightweight toy, and this is achieved by having the robot torso expand and contract, as well as the legs unravelling to re-wrap itself to form the rear part of the Brachiosaurus' body. It's an interesting enough concept that tries to move away from making this toy too shellformery. Unfortunately the concept doesn't quite work out in practice as it does in theory. The toy just suffers from getting in its own way. In Dinobot mode, some of the spines (made from that soft rubber) which protrude end up squishing up against each other because of the girth of the hips underneath. The butt-flap which forms the dino mode's chest doesn't appear to have anywhere to lock into, and as such just hangs down the front like a massive baby bib. In robot mode, the dino head/neck/shoulder section doesn't seem to lock in. This wouldn't be too bad if not for the rubbery butt flap exerting slight upward pressure. The two side halves of the tail which form a "belt" get in each other's way whenever the legs move back and forth (e.g. in a walking action). However I personally find the most frustrating feature of this toy to be the elbow design. It suffers from the same problem as Slash and Strafe in that the elbows can only bend as if Slog is doing bicep curls. This could have easily been fixed by either giving Slog wrist articulation or just positioning the fists 90 degrees outwards giving the elbows natural frontal movement.

I do like the use of silver on the face and forearms (dino shins and toes), as well as two small red tampographed Autobot insignias. Other than the protruding body spines, Slog is relatively the least "monstrous" looking of the AoE Dinobots thus far. The mouth even has more herbivorous looking shorter teeth (as opposed to Slug, who has more carnivorous looking teeth despite Triceratops being a herbivore). No additional head/facial horns, no extra heads or tails. The way that the front feet slide out is also a neat feature.

The red on the actual toy is a rich and shiny paint, with airbrushing used on the tail tip. However, the red on the weapons is a bit too bright for my liking; makes it look too much like a toy (yeah, I know). The lances are pretty cool though. The tip of each lance looks like the end of a gun barrel, making them reminiscent of Anti Tank Lances from the computer game, Valkyria Chronicles. The lances may be mounted on Slog's shoulders in both Dinobot and robot mode, and may also be hand held as melee lances. The shoulder mounted position is somewhat reminiscent of how real-life anti-tank lances were used, the pre-cursors to modern day RPG launchers.

Overall, there are some neat concepts in the design of this toy, but unfortunately Slog suffers from having various parts that either get in the way or just don't hold together. The elbow/wrist thing is inexcusable, and positioning the fists outwards would have cost nothing. Mildly recommended if you can get it at below RRP.


Pictures

Robotic brachiosaurus mode



Robot mode



Comparison with G1 Slog