Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 16, 2018 10:40:50 GMT
Generations Power of the Primes Slash
There have been several attempts to add new characters and dinosaur forms to Transformers Holy Quintet of Dinobots Grimlock (Tyrannosaurus Rex), Slag (Triceratops), Sludge (Brachiosaurus), Snarl (Stegosaurus) and Swoop Pteranodon. Notable additions are found in Beast Machines, RiD/Armada, Power Core Combiners and Age of Extinction.
However in the Classics/Genertions line there's only been one real Dinobot previously, the 2006 Classics Grimlock toy. 11 years later all the Dinobots are being redone and they've got a new friend, the female Velociraptor Slash.
Slash's robot mode has got the Dinobot look of silver, black and red dead on but something doesn't feel right: the figure is far too slight for a Legends class toy with a thin body and limbs that feel more like an old Best Wars basic. This is most obvious in the hands, a thin strip of plastic round what looks like a huge 5mm hole. They look oversized and I'm worried that a few years down the line we'll see quite a few of these broken.
Articulation: ball joints at hips & shoulders. Bending knees & elbows. A turning head. Thigh swivels, which are used mainly for the Transformation. I'm wondering why we don't see ball joints at the elbows and knees, would have saved the need for those thigh swivels.
Transformation: fold the tail up off her back over her head. Swing each thigh round 180° then Tab the lower legs together. Bend both knee & hip forward 90° bringing the legs up over the chest where they tab in place. Fold the robot feet back. Bend the arms 90° at the elbow then swing each arm forward about 45°. Fold the dino feet out under the hands. Open the flap on her back folding out the dino head nd bringing the dino arms forward with it. Position both and close the hatch on her back.
No real complaints here about the dinosaur mode: it's a velociraptor done in the original Dinobot style. The small arms move up & down at the shoulder, the mouth opens and the head leans back as well as the arm articulation for the robot being carried over to the dinosaur legs.
My problem here is the Titanmaster compatibility: the Titanmaster is supposed to sit in the compartment on her back the dinosaur head is stored in during robot mode. The problem is it's not long enough to accommodate a Titanmaster with it's legs bent at the hips and stretched out in front. To seat a Titanmaster in there and secure it's ankle spur you need to bend the knees forward and keep the hips straight which looks wrong. There's no footpegs in the compartment so standing the Titanmaster in there isn't an option and it's difficult to seat it naturally on the back of the dinosaur with the legs inside the compartment.
It's nice but you feel she could do with being a bit bigger and bulkier. It almost feels downsized from a normal Legend by 10%-20% to make it clear she is a she rather than a he. Slightly larger would make her feel more appropriate for her size class and fix the problem with the Titanmaster not being able to sit in her properly.
There have been several attempts to add new characters and dinosaur forms to Transformers Holy Quintet of Dinobots Grimlock (Tyrannosaurus Rex), Slag (Triceratops), Sludge (Brachiosaurus), Snarl (Stegosaurus) and Swoop Pteranodon. Notable additions are found in Beast Machines, RiD/Armada, Power Core Combiners and Age of Extinction.
However in the Classics/Genertions line there's only been one real Dinobot previously, the 2006 Classics Grimlock toy. 11 years later all the Dinobots are being redone and they've got a new friend, the female Velociraptor Slash.
Slash's robot mode has got the Dinobot look of silver, black and red dead on but something doesn't feel right: the figure is far too slight for a Legends class toy with a thin body and limbs that feel more like an old Best Wars basic. This is most obvious in the hands, a thin strip of plastic round what looks like a huge 5mm hole. They look oversized and I'm worried that a few years down the line we'll see quite a few of these broken.
Articulation: ball joints at hips & shoulders. Bending knees & elbows. A turning head. Thigh swivels, which are used mainly for the Transformation. I'm wondering why we don't see ball joints at the elbows and knees, would have saved the need for those thigh swivels.
Transformation: fold the tail up off her back over her head. Swing each thigh round 180° then Tab the lower legs together. Bend both knee & hip forward 90° bringing the legs up over the chest where they tab in place. Fold the robot feet back. Bend the arms 90° at the elbow then swing each arm forward about 45°. Fold the dino feet out under the hands. Open the flap on her back folding out the dino head nd bringing the dino arms forward with it. Position both and close the hatch on her back.
No real complaints here about the dinosaur mode: it's a velociraptor done in the original Dinobot style. The small arms move up & down at the shoulder, the mouth opens and the head leans back as well as the arm articulation for the robot being carried over to the dinosaur legs.
My problem here is the Titanmaster compatibility: the Titanmaster is supposed to sit in the compartment on her back the dinosaur head is stored in during robot mode. The problem is it's not long enough to accommodate a Titanmaster with it's legs bent at the hips and stretched out in front. To seat a Titanmaster in there and secure it's ankle spur you need to bend the knees forward and keep the hips straight which looks wrong. There's no footpegs in the compartment so standing the Titanmaster in there isn't an option and it's difficult to seat it naturally on the back of the dinosaur with the legs inside the compartment.
It's nice but you feel she could do with being a bit bigger and bulkier. It almost feels downsized from a normal Legend by 10%-20% to make it clear she is a she rather than a he. Slightly larger would make her feel more appropriate for her size class and fix the problem with the Titanmaster not being able to sit in her properly.
