Toy Review - Generations Skullgrin

[griffin]

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Toy Review - Skullgrin

Series - Generations
Sub-line - (Generation 1)
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - Redeco with new head
Wave - 5
Released here - December 2010
Approximate Retail Price - $25-30
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Half-track, (weapons unit)
Main Features/Gimmicks - (none)
Main Colours - Grey, maroon, black.
Main Accessories - axe, 3 gun-pods.

[LordCyrusOmega]

Skullgrin is my favorite Pretender so a must for me

[kaiden]

I have to say the new head and colours are much better than darkmount.

if it werent for the fact i already have darkmount, i'd buy him, but now i'll wait til he's cheap.

[SkyWarp91]

PROS: The robot mode's appearance really conveys the harsh nature of the Decepticons - it's loaded with weapons and comes with a killer ice-pick like weapon that becomes the alt mode's cannon. It's a nice homage to the G1 Pretender with its satisfactory color scheme and the proportions of the robot-mode look truly menacing. This robot is a real looker. Also the loose mini-weapons experienced with my Darkmount were not encountered again on this figure.

CONS: The tank mode, ah the tank mode. I don't know if an actual tank like this exists in real life but if it did it is one real ugly tank. Its turret is too big and the idea of having truck wheels on the front instead of a consistent body of tank tracks just seems really out of place. Also the transformation, like for Darkmount is one of those processes you fear that if you do it wrong you could snap off/break something, in this particular case it's the shoulder joints that have to move about on a thin rod of plastic behind the chest. The complexity of the transformation for this toy doesn't bring much confidence to the owner. Lastly the ankle joints in robot mode, as the foot and the shins are held together only by a medial portion of the ankle the toy seems so unstable - however really when I played with it it was actually quite stable (guess it's the case of more than meets the eye, eh?)

TOTAL: 3/5 - It's a decent toy - it's got stable robot and tank modes that are menacing and ugly to look at respectively. A buy if only cheap recommendation.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I quite like the mould, as Darkmount was pretty cool. His head looks extremely small and put me off getiing him at full price. If his head were a bit larger (or at least the horns) I would be more inclined to fork out the dollars.

[Hursticon]

I really enjoy this mold and whilst the character of Skullgrin has somewhat been shoehorned into it - I don't mind it.

The colours are great and the head sculpt is a very Cybertronian-esque skull - much along the same lines as ROTF Bludgeons', but IMO this skull pulls it off just that little bit better.
The mold also allows it's self to be mis-transformed just enough to allow one to differentiate Skull grin from Straxus, whilst not inhibiting any of the poseability or playability.

All in all it is a very good modern interpretation of a classic character that only would've been better had it had been a completely realised modern day Pretender figure complete with Bot and Shell.

[Lord_Zed]

My Darkmount has leg issues, but around the swivel near his knees not his feet. Hope Skullgrin does not when I get him.

PROS:

CONS: The tank mode, ah the tank mode. I don't know if an actual tank like this exists in real life but if it did it is one real ugly tank. Its turret is too big and the idea of having truck wheels on the front instead of a consistent body of tank tracks just seems really out of place. Also the transformation, like for Darkmount is one of those processes you fear that if you do it wrong you could snap off/break something, in this particular case it's the shoulder joints that have to move about on a thin rod of plastic behind the chest. The complexity of the transformation for this toy doesn't bring much confidence to the owner. Lastly the ankle joints in robot mode, as the foot and the shins are held together only by a medial portion of the ankle the toy seems so unstable - however really when I played with it it was actually quite stable (guess it's the case of more than meets the eye, eh?)

I don't see a huge issue with Darkmount/Skullgrins tank mode, I see it as more of a mobile artillery piece, than a front line tank. Which is also more inkeeping with the Decpticon leader gun mode archetype.

That said I will still only buy Skull Grin Big W cheap.

[griffin]

It's unfortunate that the head had to be so small, to fit through the hole in the body section. That scale issue kinda spoils the overall look of the robot mode because your eyes are automatically drawn to a 'persons' head.
I like the colours though, and would have been nice to have the concept head shown at BotCon, which better resembled the Gen1 pretender shell head (but obviously wouldn't have worked due to the size restriction - with the horns, it would have been even smaller than the one they ended up with).

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

PROS:The tank mode, ah the tank mode. I don't know if an actual tank like this exists in real life but if it did it is one real ugly tank. Its turret is too big and the idea of having truck wheels on the front instead of a consistent body of tank tracks just seems really out of place.

He's a half-track with an overlarge turret/cannon. While Cybertron Scattorshot is the only other half-track TF I can think of off the top of my head I'm sure there've been a few over the years - Goki or someone can probably list all the others.

[Sky Shadow]

He's a half-track with an overlarge turret/cannon. While Cybertron Scattorshot is the only other half-track TF I can think of off the top of my head I'm sure there've been a few over the years - Goki or someone can probably list all the others.

Tacker is definitely one. And Meltdown and Half-Track could be said to combine into one.