That is so weird!
ME GRIMLOCK KING!
Only when cheap
No not this dino bozo
I'm more interested in beryllium baloney
That is so weird!
I picked this up at the weekend on the basis that I was close enough to having all the SS figures that I might as well complete the set, and I actually really enjoy it a lot.
The robot mode is freaking cool - I love the amount of detail devoted to something that got essentially 10 seconds of screen time, total. It's incredibly large for a 2018 leader class figure, and I dig the mace/fist. I'm less put off by the fake head than I thought I would be. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age?
Transformation is essentially taken from AOE Scorn - robot legs deform into dino legs, one arm becomes the head, the other arm becomes the tail, and the robot torso becomes the dino ribcage. I think this is also BW Megatron's transformation?
Dino mode looks incredibly menacing. Articulation is probably average. Nothing in the neck, arms at the shoulder, torso swivel along the robot mode shoulder joint, and nothing in the tail. The legs can be worked with, especially if you slightly untransform them to free up otherwise locked up joints.
I'm really just here for the free food and open bar.
I'm in the same boat as you - I had every other release already, I've been impressed with those (even Crowbar!) so thought - why not? Especially at the Toyworld sale price of $59.
Very glad I bit on this one. Without a doubt this is the most badass/evil/ominous mainline transformer I've ever seen. This is the sort of thing I'd expect from a third party release, not Hasbro. What's really cool is that I've seen heaps of 10 year olds in the toy shops getting excited about it too.
Now I just have to cross my fingers it's not possessed and tries to kill me in my sleep.
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Finally opened got around to opening Grimlock over the weekend and I think I can select a lot of the comments already mentioned in this thread. It did prompt me to pull out the leader AOE Grimlock. There really is no comparison.
One is like a care bear and the other is out for blood.
It makes me wonder why they thought the AOE leader (and voyager) could represent the character from the movie.
I love the detail in the sculpt. He just looks brutal.
Id recommend him just so you can pose him next to TLK voyager Optimus.
Another thing to bear in mind is time. They would've only had limited time to develop those toys. Plus Studio Series has the luxury of hindsight. Obviously later toys should be better than previous ones, not vice versa. *cough*Cyberverse*cough*
Pretty late to this game. Picked one up today as I managed to nab one for $49.
Visually this toy is absolutely gorgeous and the robot mode feels like the character has jumped out of the screen and become real -- a feeling that we normally associate with Masterpiece. Overall the pros absolutely outweigh the drawbacks on this toy; it's quite amazing what they've done. And I am quite appreciative of how everything on this toy is self-contained (unlike the AOE Leader who has parts of the dino mode forming the weapons). But even with the gaps in the Dinobot mode, it's still a much better Dinobot mode than the AOE Voyager and Leader. Yeah, the AOE Leader has the most solid looking Dino mode, but bear in mind that a good chunk of the back panel forms the shield, and the tail becomes the mace. Studio Series Grimlock is achieving a superior screen-accurate look while not resorting to "cheating" with removable parts, so I gotta award points for that.
Having said that, I find that some of the drawbacks include:
* The main one which everyone else has mentioned - gappy dino mode. Particularly the visible left hand which looks like he's uppercutting his own dino head.
* Right hand was sacrificed for a non-detachable spiked ball weapon. I'm guessing that this decision was made for budget reasons (the cost of the paint ops alone must've been bonkers).
* No other weapons/accessories; including the notable absence of Grimlock's spiked maul. The closed left fist means that he cannot hold AOE Leader Grimlock's mace or shield, although it should be possible for him to hold the Voyager's maul (which is more canonically accurate).
Overall, as a mass release Leader Class figure, this feels like the best that they could've done for this toy.
Beast mode
Robot mode
"We're giving you freedom! You defend our family or die." ←Optimus Prime liberates Grimlock by enslaving him
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear
Michael Bay's comedy gold
Comparison with the AOE Voyager and Leader, Dinobot mode
Comparison with the AOE Voyager and Leader, robot mode
Spiked ball weapon
"Bio-Boost!"