Fansproject Severo

In the war for "who can make the best third party Grimlock," Fansproject enters the fray with Severo, a T Rex loosely based on a design somewhere between Fall of Cybertron and G1.  And what an exciting entry it is.

I have been collecting the entire Fansproject Lost Exo-Realm line, which is their take on the Dinobots.  They are reasonably priced, high quality, and come loaded with all kinds of accessories, especially these mini warriors that transform into melee weapons which I lovingly refer to as "Dino-Target Masters."  Being the most current release, Severo was available in 2 versions- the first was the main figure with blasters, sword, and one target master.  The second (which is what I purchased) is a deluxe version with a bitchin' throne and additional target master.

While I think the little guys are cute, the weapons they form (for all the Exo-Realm releases so far) are a bit indecipherable in terms of "well, what the hell is it?"  In Severo's case, the best example I can come up with is a double ended hammer, similar to the one Ultra Magnus uses in Transformers Prime, except it doesn't really look like anything other than two squarish dudes hanging at the end of a pole.  And resulting weapon is a bit heavy for Severo to handle in a combat position, but more of that later.

The other accessories are self-explanatory once you see pictures of Severo in action.  He has this MEGA HUGE hand blaster that is almost twice the size of MP Grimlock's dual rocket launcher (which is kind of ironic since Severo is noticeably smaller than MP Grimlock and not designed for the MP scale at all), plus two identical blasters that can be used as hand weapons or combine to form one huge blaster for Severo in T Rex form.  As with all the Lost Exo-Realm figures, Severo has a huge sword with a blade made of translucent red plastic.  There is also a crown included as a nod to King Grimlock from the original Transformers Comic Run by Marvel from the 80's.  Lastly, there is the throne- which is clearly a nod to "A Game of Thrones" design.  Each Dinobot's sword can be attached to the back of the throne to make a neat fan design, as well as attaching all of Severo's other weapons.  However, fans will notice there is a current empty spot, since we are still waiting for their interpretation of Snarl to complete the original 5 Dinobots.

If you read Falldownthemountain's review of MP Grimlock (which you should have, otherwise shame on YOU), then you will be very familiar with Severo's form and transformation since the same basic principles of transformation apply to both, as originated from the G1 Grimlock.  Robot arms become Rex legs, Robot legs become Rex tail, Rex head flips up and over from behind the robot, and there are two distinct wings in Robot mode that become part of the upper torso with attached arms in Rex mode.  Granted, there will always be subtle differences here and there among the various companies making transforming T Rex Robots, but the concept has yet to change drastically.  Severo lacks the light-up weapon feature and auto-swivel motion of MP Grimlock, but otherwise remains on the same level in smaller form.  Most of this review will be based on the differences between the two.

 

In Dino mode, the first thing anyone will notice is the awkward angle at which Severo's neck is molded.  Aesthetically, it was kind of a turn off for me, but not enough to keep me from purchasing it.  I prefer the straight incline of Grimlock's neck.  However, this angle allows for maximum movement at the two points where the head meets the neck and the neck meets the upper torso.  Severo's T Rex arms are actually an improvement over Grimlock's- they have additional swivel and bending options, and are thicker.  They even have plug holes on the insides where you can fit an attachment, although I haven't tried that yet.  Moving down to the legs, they are chunky and provide substantial footing when the T Rex has his head low in attack mode (most of the weight needs to be right on top of the legs for him to remain standing), but unfortunately, the missing rear toe results in Severo always falling back on his tail when he is in more of a standing position.  Gotta say, though, those front toe claws look great. 

Between the short, stubby tail and meaty legs, I get the distinct impression of Hasbro's FOC Grimlock, and I was never crazy about that mold to begin with, although I like the toy overall.  It would have been nice if Severo had a nice long tail like MP Grimlock, but he just wasn't designed that way.  To make up for it, Severo has a very impressive battle attack mode where his two identical blasters come together and fit on top of his back, making him every Decepticon's worst nightmare.  You can also attach his sword and big blaster on the hips via pegs, which results in a tank of of a dinosaur.  Lastly, he also has a flamethrower nozzle in his mouth (watch out for those sharp teeth!) to match MP Grimlock's design.

 As a robot, Severo is damn cool.  He has all the standard articulation of MP class Transformers, plus a few additional details that make him worth your time and money.  I have no issues getting him into various poses, as his legs are extremely movable at all the joints (there is a very distinct ratchet sound when moving the thigh connected to the hip), and the plastic is tough graded stuff, so you won't catch him tipping over.  The hands are similar to the other Exo-Realm Dinobots- a simple design of outward-swaying fingers clumped together, and a permanently placed thumb, which gives the entire line good grips on their weapons.  Unfortunately for Severo, his single blaster is SO huge that fitting it in his hand without the finger portion moving out of place will be a common occurrence.  I'm not sure why Fansproject made the blaster so big; the other figures have perfectly fitting weapons whose size does not overpower their hand articulation, so I'm sort of stumped on that one.  And considering Severo is not MP scale, I would think his blaster would be smaller, but that's simply not the case, so this leaves you with the choice of using one of his twin blasters as a standalone piece, which can be done.  They weigh less and look better.

Even though I understand the inclusion of the crown, I could have done without it.  It's made of cheap plastic, unlike MP Grimlock's metal crown, and the way it fits over Severo's head reminds me of the classic dunce hat.  The crown comes so far down on his head that it almost covers the eyes.  In the grand scheme of things, that's small potatoes.  Sit him in his throne and relish the coolness he gives off.  Have a spare Optimus or Megatron head floating around?  Severo would look even better as the conqueror with his foot on one head and the other head being held in his hand.

A Battle of Epic Proportions

Oh, these were the stunt doubles used for Transformers:  The Movie (1986).  That explains the missing Snarl.

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.