Transformers Masterpiece MP-8 Grimlock

Y'know what's awesome? Robots. Y'know what else is awesome? Dinosaurs. Combine the two and, unsurprisingly, you've got a hit. The Dinobots are some of the most popular characters in Transformers (I can't deny that I love them and this review is probably going to be heavily biased because of it). Their commander Grimlock is one of the most heavily merchandised Transformers characters. Me, Grimlock, king!

It's no surprise then that Grimlock was chosen to be the first new Autobot Masterpiece figure after Optimus Prime (MP-2 was Ultra Magnus' core robot and as such just a white repaint of MP-1 Optimus Prime). And while this figure was too short to scale properly with MP-1 it worked well with MP-3 Starscream (which would be remolded in MP-11) and MP-9 Rodimus Prime who would set the scale for the future MP releases.

In most fiction Grimlock and the Dinobots are a rogue element within the Autobots. They begrudgingly follow Optimus Prime who they recognize as a skilled warrior but largely do their own thing. No matter the fiction you could count on them to be some of the most bad-ass Autobots around. Except in Season 3 of the original cartoon where they became comic relief. A low point in their careers but also the inspiriation for most of this figures accessories.

Robot mode:

Grimlock's robot mode is pretty much perfect. His proportions are chunky and powerful. There is little kibble - what is present is there by choice. Most of the color is done through the materials he's made of so there's no worry of paint chipping over time. There's also a good level of molded detail across his body without over doing it.

His articulation is standard for most MP releases. Bicep and wrist swivels, hinge elbows and ball jointed shoulders mean Grimlock can wield his weapons convincingly. His hip and knee joints are nice and tight so they'll hold in a variety of dynamic positions. Grimlock balances well standing on the fallen bodies of defeated Decepticons.

In robot mode you have the option to give him blue eyes or red. This is controlled by sliding a small tab on the back of his head up or down depending on the color you want. I personally keep Grimlock with red eyes. But the choice is yours.

Transformation:

Grimlock is pretty easy to transform. If you ever owned the G1 toy it's essentially the same thing. The tail transformation is a little more involved but that's about it.

Start by curling up the fists and folding them into the dinosaur feet. There's a panel on the inside of each foot to accommodate the hands. Be careful with how the thumbs are positioned so they're not popped off their ball joints.

Next rotate the legs so the insides are facing out. The hips will come down on ratchets. Then the whole waist assembly can be disconnected from the chest. With the chest loose it can swing down into position to be the dinosaur hips.

Each lower leg section can rotate 180 degrees below the knee. The lower portion of the tail needs to be unfolded from the inside of the leg to make room. This should all unfold fairly easily. The only point that is a bit fiddly is getting the tip of the tail unfolded. As you're swinging these parts around, if it doesn't look like it's lining up with the hips click the knees one or two notches back. With both sides in position it's a small matter to peg everything together.

The top half of the dinosaur mode is the robot mode backpack. Swing the wings around and the head up. These will all tab together very easily. One thing to note is that the head connects to a gear in Grimlock's back (see below). Be mindful of how this is positioned. Sometimes this will stop the head sitting straight.

And now you should have an awesome robotic dinosaur!

Dinosaur mode:

What's not to love about this alt mode. It's a big robotic dinosaur. Traditionally Grimlock is said to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex but this dinosaur has three fingers not two. We'll go with T-Rex inspired.

Whatever you want to classify it as it's awesome. There's a bit more painted detailing present in this mode. Some of the mechanisms molded into Grimlock's sides have been painted in gun metal and red. His teeth and dinosaur arms shine in bright silver. It just looks spectacular.

The eye color gimmick is present in dinosaur mode as well. The top of Grimlock's head flips open allowing you to rotate a small wheel to choose either blue or red eyes for the dinosaur. Simple and unobtrusive. It's nice to have the choice.

Grimlock's mouth can open to reveal a small weapon inside. This is jointed so you can adjust it to your liking. Just be careful of the teeth. On the Japanese release (which mine is) the teeth are very sharp. Hasbro releases blunted them.

Grimlock also has a biting gimmick. Pressing his cheek causes his mouth the snap shut. Again, the teeth are sharp. Be careful not to trigger this with a finger in his mouth.

The dinosaur mode is very well articulated. The robot arms are the dinosaur legs so you get full use of them here. The dinosaur arms have a ball jointed shoulder, hinge elbow and individually jointed fingers. The head also has a good range allowing you to tilt Grimlock's body forward into a more natural dinosaur stance compared to the upright way he walked around in the cartoon.

There is one other gimmick in this mode. Moving his tail side to side causes Grimlock's head to shake left and right. I'm not a fan of this. I would much rather have had the ability to pose the head myself. Still, it doesn't interfere too much with the toy.

Accessories:

The main accessories are Grimlock's double-barreled gun and his sword. These have come with every release of the toy. The robot mode articulation is more than adequate to get Grimlock into some very dynamic battle poses using these weapons.

Grimlock's right hand has an LED in it which can be used to light up the blade of his sword or the barrels of his gun. This in no way hampers the articulation in that arm. Both the button to turn the LED on and the battery compartment are inconspicuously hidden in the right shoulder. While I can't say I ever used this much I can see kids enjoying this play feature.

The original release of MP-8 came with accessories based on two Season 3 episodes of the original cartoon. These haven't been reused since. Later releases came instead with just the gun and sword or with a crown for robot mode.

First up we have Grimlock in an apron and bow tie with a drinks tray from the episode Madman's Paradise. The whole ensemble (but the bow tie especially) is very cute and fun to use.

The other is the device Grimlock used to transfer his intelligence into the Technobots in Grimlock's New Brain. The cap has a suction cap at the end of the hose so you can have Grimlock downloading his thoughts into a number of things for comedic effect. Like the waiter stuff this is silly and cute but in no way essential to the figure.

Final Thoughts:

I love this toy. Even with the annoying head-waggling gimmick it's a great figure. There are a few versions out there. As well as the original discussed here there's MP-8X King Grimlock in a Marvel Comics inspired color scheme and two Hasbro releases in the regular colors. Hasbro's MP-03 Grimlock came out in 2014 so would probably be the easiest version to track down if you were looking to add this toy to your collection. And I highly recommend that you do.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-25 Tracks and MP-26 Road Rage

Transformers toylines have a long history of reusing molds as multiple characters. In recent years they've taken this one step further. Remolding certain parts of a toy to make the reuse stand out as it's own character and not just a repaint.

MPs 25, Tracks, and 26, Road Rage, are a good example of this. Both transform into a Corvette Stingray. However their robot-modes have a number of differences to set them apart from one and other.

Vehicle mode:

As mentioned above both Tracks and Road Rage transform into Corvette Stingrays. In this mode, apart from the color of the car, both toys are identical. Even the flame decal on the hood is the same.

Tracks was made with a metallic flake through his blue plastic which looks very nice. It gives his car mode a nice shine to it. That said I personally think this car looks best in red.

Tracks and Road Rage do have "attack modes" but not in the same way as other MPs. No silly guns-on-the-roof here. Both come with a small blaster that plugs into the front bumper. This looks a whole lot less silly in my opinion. More like something you'd see on a car in a James Bond film.

Unique for a Masterpiece figure the car mode has an opening hood. This is because one of Tracks accessories is a static figure of Raoul, a human character from the G1 cartoon who tried to carjack Tracks in one episode. Honestly the Raoul figure is pretty ugly but the silver painted engine block looks nice.

Flight mode:

Getting from car mode to flight mode is very simple. Fold down the wings from the underside of the car. Lift up the rear window, then fold out and straighten what will be the robot mode arms. Line these up along the side of the car with the wheels parallel to the ground and they should tab in just behind the front wheels. Push up the tailfins from the underside of the rear window then lower it back into place. The wings have little tabs on them that will rest against the robot mode shoulders.

The original Tracks toy had a third flight mode which is retained for the MP. It's a little thing. Silly, but fun.

The blaster that attaches to the front bumper can be used in this mode as well. Road Rage can take this one step further. Her robot mode gun can plug onto the underside of the flight mode.

There is also a small amount of storage space in both alt-modes. Tracks' gun is small enough that it can tab inside the windscreen. Otherwise the small non-transforming Blaster (included with Tracks) or Twincast (included with Road Rage) can be stored here.

Transformation:

Starting in flight mode swivel the wings out of the way and untab the arms. The panels on the front can be flipped down and around allowing the hands to be flipped out. Lift up the rear section of the car, flipping in the tailfins and rotating out the small missile pods. The car roof and windscreen are on a double hinge that will allow it to fold up. While this is out you can remove anything stored in the alt-mode and flip up the head (and rotate the panel on the roof if you have the Autobot logo facing inwards in car mode). The shoulders need to be raised on a slight angle to allow the roof to tab in and hold everything together. The car doors are on two hinges that allow them to rotate around and plug into the back, then the rear of the car can tab into the back making a hood behind the head. The wings can be freely positioned however you think looks best.

Seperate the front of the car to transform the lower body. The side panels of the car around the front wheels needs to be pulled out. These will rotate down and get compressed back in to the legs. At the same time flip the feet down into place. The hood sections are on a double hinge to allow them to sit flush on the back of the leg. The panels on the inside of the leg can be rotated out and around to cover the transformation joints on the front of the leg. Then rotate the waist and the robot mode is done.

Robot mode:

Tracks and Road Rage aren't quite as clean in robot mode as a lot of the other Masterpiece figures. The backpack/hood is quite large and makes the back of the figure look quite hollow. It was present on the original toy and Tracks' animation model which is why it is retained here.

As mentioned earlier a decent amount of remolding was done to make Tracks and Road Rage look different from each other in robot mode. The head, upper chest, waist and thighs are different between the two figures. This combined with the different color schemes really helps distinguish one from the other.

Both figures are decently poseable. They're on par with any of the other MP Autobot car molds. The wings can hinder the shoulders slightly depending on where they're positioned but it's a small matter to move them out of the way.

While Tracks is armed with a small pistol (that uses the standard MP grip tab/palm slot system) Road Rage comes with a rather large gun based on the one the original toy had. When Road Rage first came out there were some complaints she couldn't hold her weapon properly. It turns out there's a small tab behind the grip that plugs into a slot on Road Rage's hand. When you get everything lined up I've found it to be very solid.

Tracks came with a flight stand that both can use in flight mode or robot mode. It simply plugs into the figures back. It's a real shame the stand wasn't included with Road Rage because it adds to the display options you have for Tracks. If nothing else the little boost means he can easily be seen when placed behind others on your shelf.

Final Thoughts:

Of the two figures Road Rage is my favorite. I like her head sculpt and colors more than Tracks. However if you were only getting one figure I think Tracks is better value. More accessories - including the flight stand - and the fact he's a memorable character from the cartoon certainly work in Tracks' favor. There are better MPs available but Tracks and Road Rage are still good toys.

Transformers Masterpiece MP-24 Star Saber

The original Transformers cartoon ended with the three part The Rebirth. After that it was just reruns until Beast Wars. Except in Japan where The Rebirth never aired and they instead had three original series - The Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce and Victory. 

Each of these series needed an Autobot leader to rival Optimus Prime. For Victory that leader was Star Saber. A transformer whose bio reads like bad fan fiction. He's smarter, stronger, braver, kinder than any other Autobot ever! Well, apart from in the IDW-verse where he's a homicidal zealot. 

Star Saber is actually the name of the fully combined form of Saber and the V-Star. Think Optimus Prime and his trailer, only they're futuristic space jet combiners. And also a Brainmaster, meaning Saber has an even smaller robot inside of him. He's a matryoshka doll Transformer. Seriously, is there anything Star Saber is not!?

This review will start with Saber - who is a complete Transformer in his own right - then move on to Star Saber.

Saber

Vehicle mode:

Saber's alt-mode is a futuristic jet fighter. While it is an accurate update to his G1 toy I find the proportions on this jet a little off. The nose cone seems too large compared to the rest of the jet. And the wings feel a little too small.

It's not bad, not by Transformers standards at least. There are a lot of Transformers with jet alt-modes that come off a lot worse than Saber.

The jet-mode has a working cockpit for Saber's Brainmaster partner. The Brain of Courage fits snugly into the space left for him. It's nice to see this feature worked into the toy without it having a negative impact on it in other modes.

Transformation:

The transformation for Saber is pretty simple. Firstly remove the Brain of Courage from the jet mode cockpit. Remove the nose cone and set that aside. Fold up the rear wings and pull down on the thruster sections to extend the legs. Then flip down the red pieces surrounding the landing gear to form his feet. The intakes on the back of the legs rotate around to a different set of intakes (this isn't essential in Saber's robot mode. It's meant more for Star Saber).

With the legs done you can move on to the upper body. The white sections on either side of the jet flip up and out to become the arms. They are then extended by flipping the lower halves out and down, then flipping out the hands. The cockpit window slides down the back and the main wings fold in to get them out of the way.

Robot mode:

Saber's robot mode will be faceless at this point. That's what the Brain of Courage is for. Opening up the flap on his chest reveals a second cockpit for the Brain of Courage. Plug him in then close the door. It's geared so that the cockpit will slide up into the torso and raise Saber's face into place. It's a simple thing but has a really cool effect.

Saber is a very striking robot. The combination of red, white and blue is very eye catching. I like the inversion from Optimus Prime with Saber's torso being blue and his legs being red. With his wide chest and powerful looking arms and legs he looks very heroic.

The jet-mode nosecone can attach to either shoulder as a shield. This pairs well with his sword. The guard is designed to look like the jet nosecone scaled down. The reason for which will be more apparent in his fully combined robot-mode. He can hold it well but his arms sadly aren't articulated enough to pose him doing any really fancy sword fighting poses.

Instead of the sword Saber also comes with a gun. The grip is quite large to allow for it to be held comfortable by the fully combined Star Saber but the designers put a notch in the grip for Saber to be able to hold it securely. He can get an decent two-handed grip on the gun which is a big plus. Single handed the gun looks comically large for Saber.

Star Saber

V-Star:

The V-Star isn't really anything on it's own. It's big and can store most of the unused accessories when not in use. And that's about it. It's main purpose is to be combined with Saber in both vehicle and robot modes.

Vehicle mode:

The V-Star acts as a booster rocket for Saber's jet mode. Think those rockets NASA use to get the space shuttles into space.

The jet mode connects via a spring loaded catch on the V-Star. The rear wings need to be folded down and the front wings folded up for the jet to fit between the boosters. There's a small button on the top of the V-Star to release the catch and detach the jet.

Combined things look a little better. With a defined cockpit section the the whole thing looks more like an actual vehicle. It all holds together very well.

Transformation:

You'll want to start with Saber and the V-Star separate when transforming to Star Saber. Starting with Saber you need to remove the nosecone and extend the legs. Fold the rear wings up and flip the intakes around to the flatter dark grey side. The Brain of Courage should be removed from the jet cockpit (if it's in there) and placed into the robot mode cockpit. Slide the cockpit glass down and fold the main wings up as you would in robot mode. The jet mode now gets folded in half using the leg joints.

Seperate the front and rear halves of the boosters on either side of the V-Star. The rear sections will swing down and in and lock into place to form the legs. You will need to rotate the thighs to get all the joints lined up properly for robot mode. The feet are straight forward - just a couple of hinges to unfold from the around the thruster exhausts. Fold up the wings against the legs to get them out of the way.

The arms simply need to be extended down. Like the legs you may need to rotate joints around the right way.  The lower half of the center section is on a double hinge. Lift the red module up on it's arms so it's out of the way. Swing the rear section up and two plugs should fit snugly into two plugholes behind each shoulder. There's another small panel that will fold up on a similar double hinge to plug in the the upper back and hide the gap left by the arm the red module is on.

There are two dark grey hinges on the front of the V-Star that need to be opened up. Saber's balled up jet mode will plug into the gap in the torso. Then close the grey hinges and fold down Saber's rear jet mode wings to complete Star Saber's torso.

The last step is really cool. Flip up the grey sections on the red module. This is Star Saber's head. The arm it's on will allow you to lower it down over Saber's head to complete the robot mode. There's a little spring loaded clip on the arm so once the helmets down you can unclip the arm and swing it onto Star Saber's back.

Robot Mode:

There is a lot less blue to Star Saber's robot mode than Saber's. He's mostly red and white with some blue and yellow accents. Like his smaller self he still has a very heroic silhouette.

The face sculpt on Star Saber almost looks mean. Probably meant to be righteous anger. He's going to go smite Deathsaurus for some evil dead or another. It's a really nice head design. Similar enough to Optimus Prime that you can see the inspiration without just being a copy.

The nosecone of the jet becomes the guard on a much bigger version of the sword Saber carried. Star Saber can use the smaller one if you want but it's not nearly as impressive as the massive sword he's intended to wield. The blade is a separate piece stored in the V-Star. The nosecone contains a short grip that tabs firmly into Star Saber's hand. A second two-handed grip is included that clips into the nosecone section when the short grip is in it's vehicle mode position.

Star Saber also has a large shield. The center part of the shield can slide out to be replaced with a piece to convert it into a display stand for the vehicle mode. He holds the shield well and - in theory - has plenty of articulation to take full advantage of his weapons of choice.

A massive sword wielding robot should be able to use his massive sword and shield, right? Die cast parts in his feet make him very stable. Multiple hinges and swivels means he has a big amount of range in his arms. He can easily get a two-handed grip on his sword.

Sadly these joints aren't as tight as they should be and tend to sag. Especially when holding his shield. Which is a real shame because he'd look great on shelf with his sword and shield raised high, ready to take on a horde of Decepticons. Instead I've had him standing straight with his arms by his side because that's where they always end up.

Final Thoughts:

Unless you're a big fan of the character I'd hardly call Star Saber an essential purchase as part of a Masterpiece collection. He looks nice but the joint issues are disappointing. Star Saber is by no means a bad toy but I think a Masterpiece Optimus Prime or Ultra Magnus would work better as the leader of a collection of Masterpiece Autobots.