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.
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.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment