Most fearsome and powerful Dinobot. Although dedicated to the Autobot cause, resents authority. Cold merciless, but a valiant warrior. Has contempt for the weak, including all humans. Great strength, uses jaws to break almost anything in two. Carries energo sword and galaxial rocket launcher in Dinobot mode. Other than arrogance and lack of speed, has no real weakness.
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 29, October 5th 1985 / Issue 289, September 29th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 8 (Season 1 #8), October 27th 1984 / Episode 91 (Season 3 #26), November 18th 1986
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Fall Of Cybertron
Additions/Mods:
- Added an Autobot symbol to the chest, covering the tampographed 'dinobot' symbol
- Added an Autobot symbol to the t-rex head, covering the tampographed one
- Added the FansProject G3 Trailer weapon
- Added the Iron Factory Chest filler upgrade
Review
"Me Grimlock smash Hasbro Building!" Is what Grimlock would say if he ever saw the state of his 'classics' incarnation. This truly awful specimen is probably the low point of the entire
Classics line and its successors. It was the case that the only alternative was the beautiful but slightly too big Masterpiece figure. That was until Hasbro released a voyager-class Grimlock within their 'Fall Of Cybertron' line. But would this do Grimlock justice, or would it be flimsy and insubstantial as with some of the other FOC figures?
Appearance (Robot Mode) 7/10
I finally got sick of looking at the terrible Classics Grimlock, and as soon as this version arrived I melted him in my waffle iron. I can tell you that this figure is a major improvement! Early pictures of this figure had me very worried, but I must say that in hand, this figure is quite a lot nicer than those early photos led me to believe. The headsculpt is impressive, and the broad chest and shoulders give hime a very powerful look. The silver plastic is quite nice, but I'm not a fan of the pale gold, which looks washed out in my opinion. My biggest worry with this figure was gappiness, but actually it ain't too bad. The lower legs are hollow at the back but are kind of filled in by the tail tips. The back of the torso is completely hollow but reasonably filled in by the dinosaur neck and head. Also the addition of the Iron Factory filler makes the back slightly more complete with 'wings' which can evoke the G1 appearance if you wish. Compared to other figures on the FOC line, this feels very substantial. Size wise, He is about the same height as
United Megatron, albeit lighter, so scales very well with
Optimus Prime, being slightly taller than him. I also augmented the figure with a
FansProject sword, which looks nice and shiny.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 7/10
I'm not a major fan of this mode, which is a massive step backwards from the Masterpiece version, but it is still a lot nicer than the 'Classics' version. That thick tail will annoy you from certain angles, I won't lie. The hollowness was a major problem in Dino mode, with there being obvious voids from the neck all the way down to the baby maker. Unfortunately because this approximates an old-skool T-Rex, the 'chest' area is on full display. Thankfully, Iron Factory have produced a very decent filler which plugs in snugly and does not need to be removed. Also, they have done a great job in matching up the paint and plastic colour of the main figure - so much so that you do not notice this is a 3rd-party add-on at all. The light-up gimmick works impressively, but I feel that the surrounding plastic needed to be thicker to accentuate the effect, seeing as in dinosaur mode the entire head lights up like a Christmas tree. Also, it is a shame that the mouth cannot be posed 'open' - you have to pull the trigger or prop the mouth open with something, as I elected to do.
Transformation 8/10
The transformation is fun, with some elements which invoke the G1 figure. The dinosaur head and shoulders flip back to reveal the robot head, which is similar to the original, the main difference being that the shoulders do not split in two to form the distinctive 'wings' in robot mode. The tail splits apart to reveal the (not very well-disguised) legs. The bottom of the tail folds into each lower leg. Lastly, the fists fold out from the legs, giving the robot mode a very G1 feel in this area.
Poseability 8/10
The articulation is very good, with a ball-jointed head (although his chin prevents much downwards movement) good movement at the shoulder, wrist swivel, elbow joints, bicep swivel, decent hip articulation, thigh swivel, knee joints. No waist swivel though. Because of the transformation, the arms can also be posed inwardly or outwardly at the shoulder. Most of the joints are like little cogs, and these will obviously wear down with excessive use - a poor man's ratchet joint. Surprisingly this figure balances well, despite hollow heels and some back kibble.
Quality 6/10
Nothing feels immediately problematic on this mould, but the quality of plastic certainly feels lesser when compared with other figures in my collection. Also, those crappy ratchet-like joints are very tight and every time you move them it is akin to stripping the plastic cogs they hinge on. So I wouldn't like to say what the long-term prognosis for this figure is.
Overall - 36/50
I know a lot of people will consider using this figure in their 'classics' lineup. does it work? For me, it does, I stuck Reprolabels over the dinobot insignia and it looks pretty good. He scales very well with classics Voyager Prime in robot mode. Aesthetically, you can get away with it - it's not as jarring as trying to incorporate a Movieverse figure into your collection. So in summary better than I thought. As a stand alone figure people will definitely like this, and I feel that if you wanted to display this figure in your 'classics' collection in robot mode, he is a better fit in your collection than any other Grimlock out there. But if you prefer to display Grimmy as a dino, then it is MP all the way.
