Animated Grimlock (Voyager)

Robot Mode: Quite a few of the Animated toys closely resemble their G1 counterparts. None more so than Grimlock. Not only does the robot mode look very similar to that of the G1 Dinobot leader, the two also share the exact same transformation design. Meaning that Grimlock has the head of his dino mode on his back, the sides of the dino's neck as wings, the dino legs as arms, and the dino tail becomes his legs. It's nice to see such close adherence to the original, though I could easily have lived with a different transformation design, too.

As a robot Grimlock is awesome with only very few minor faults. Chief among them are his arms. They are a bit too long for my taste, giving him a bit of ape-like appearance. Other than that, though, I like Grimlock's robot mode a lot. He looks exactly like he does in the cartoon series, he can do all kinds of dramatic poses (including one that makes it seem like he really needs to go to the restroom) and I especially like his head. It's the classic Grimlock head, but emphasized by that big jaw. Love it.

Grimlock's weapon is the flaming sword he carries in the cartoon, though it looks more like it's made from molten lava or something similar. A neat little trick here causes additional 'flames' to spring out when you put the sword in his hand (either one) and twist his wrist. Pretty cool, though I like the sword better when it's not extra flame-y.

So to stum things up: An excellent robot mode. I can live with the long arms and the rest is just plain cool. Straight A here, no problem.

Alternate Mode: Grimlock transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, what else. I'm of two minds about this mode. It does really well in the looks department. Sure, the proportions are not exactly those of a real T-Rex, but this is how Grimlock looks in the cartoon as well, so no point deduction for that. And I just love that huge jaw of how, as well as the thick torso and muscular-looking legs. The only thing that bugs me a little bit here is that you can see Grimlock's robot mode head when you look at him from the front at a low angle, but that's not a big thing.

Unfortunately Grimlock's beast mode falls a short in the posability section. The legs are fully posable, but the small arms are completely immobile, as is the tail. Also, the jaw does open, but only by way of a button on the neck and it only stays open as long as you press it. So one has to say that, as far as beast modes go, the Classics version of Grimlock is superior to the Animated one. So bottom line: A nice beast mode, but not as good as the robot mode.

Remarks: Considering the fact that Grimlock is one of the all-time favourite Transformers characters, it's actually surprising that he hasn't seen any screentime since G1. Sure, there have been quite a few Grimlock toys, but they were either part of series without a cartoon (Alternators, Classics) or numbered among those extra toys that didn't play any part in it (Energon, Beast Wars). Now finally, though, we once again see Grimlock on the screen and get a very cartoon-faithful toy to go with it.

The toy fulfills the requirements of being a very faithful redesign of the G1 version and looking pretty much exactly like it does in the cartoon. Sadly the beast mode does have some weak spots, but overall I'm very satisfied with this version of Grimlock.

Rating: B+

And for a second opinion, the review by guest reviewer Tobias H:

Prelude: In many ways Transformers Animated appears as a retelling of the original series from the 1980s. Which means, of course, that we are seeing numerous updated versions of characters, who have become long-lasting favourites among the fans of G1. Which also means, of course, that Grimlock has to be among these updated figures, there would have been no excusing his absence.

Grimlock’s origin story in Animated continuity is a brief one. Due to a little... let’s call it an “accident”, in which Bulkhead’s wrecking ball was at least partially involved, three animatronic figures from an amusement park were scrapped. Those three were the main attractions, seeing as they were rather life-like simulations of dinosaurs and were liked by both kids and adults equally. Dr. Sumdac wanted to repair the three. Unfortunately he accepted help from none other than Megatron in this endeavour.

This chain of events finally resulted in Dinobots running amok. And just like in the good old days, Grimlock became the leader of this rather extraordinary troupe.

Robot Mode: Grimlock is an interesting figure in just about every way. If you know the original version from the 80s, you will immediately notice a number of details, which have been retained for the Animated version. Grimlock features, among other things, a slightly transparent spot on his chest; the gold-coloured parts of his tail are on his legs just like back in the day; and finally he features the same little “wings” which are the halves of his chest in dinosaur mode. For that attention to detail alone Grimlock wins the hearts of every nostalgic Transformers fan.

Those are far from the only qualities this figure has to offer, though. Animated Grimlock can stand on its own as well. Let us begin with his excellent posability. Arms, legs, head, and even the hands are posable, partially multi-jointed, and so enable our beloved head Dinobot to adopt all kinds of dramatic poses. The only slight limitation here is that Grimlock’s shoulders sometimes bump into this “wings” when you twist the arms that way. It’s not a big thing, though, as you can simply move that obstacle further back, allowing the arms to twist in whatever manner they want.

The figure’s paint job is also well done. At first glance it might appear a little lacking in detail compared to some of the other Animated figures, but that’s not really the case and don’t forget, Grimlock looks just like that on TV, too. You can spot quite a few details upon closer inspection. I especially consider Grimlock’s hands to be very well done. Another nice detail is his facial expression, slightly stupid-looking, which nicely captures the character of this figure.

Also worth mentioning: Grimlock’s weapon. Just like in the days of G1 Grimlock prefers to fight with a sword, this hasn’t changed with Animated. In this case the sword seems to be made from liquid lava or something and it looks pretty neat. The weapon also offers a very funny gimmick. Have Grimlock hold his sword in hand, then twist the hand in a certain direction, and little flames emerge from the sword. Making it look ever better than before.

All in all I very much like Grimlock’s robot mode. A few little things might have been done a little bit better, but the bottom line is: Animated Grimlock is a very, very good adaption of the Dinobot leader’s robot mode.

Alternate Mode: For an alternate mode Grimlock has - who’d have guessed - a mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex. Being a Voyager-class figure, Grimlock is rather large in this mode as well and looks pretty impressive. I’ve heard it said that some people have termed this mode “the oversized chicken”, but that is definitely not my opinion.

Grimlock’s posability is not quite as good in this mode as it is in robot mode, but that isn’t really surprising. His rear legs are fully posable, of course, but the little arms (which are typical for a Tyrannosaurus Rex) can’t be moved. There is a pretty well-made gimmick heer, though. By way of a little, barely visible lever on Grimlock’s neck, his jaw opens and closes.

I can’t really say that much more about Grimlock’s alternate mode. I do want to mention a few tiny flaws, though. If you look at the dinosaur from the front, you can’t really miss seeing Grimlock’s robot head. In my opinion it wouldn’t have been too much trouble to hide it behind a panel or something.

Grimlock’s proportions might see a bit strange. His tail is rather short, making the front portion of his body seem much bigger than it actually is. I don’t really mind, though, because once again, this is how Grimlock looks on TV as well.

One thing that saddens me a bit is that you can’t store Grimlock’s sword anywhere on or in this alternate mode. This might have been an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and hide the head or something.

In the end I can truthfully say that Grimlock’s alternate mode might not be as good as his robot mode, but it is still a good figure with lots of play value attached to it.

Conclusion: First I would like to thank ebay seller bambam619 for this figure. I’ve really been looking forward to reviewing Grimlock ever since I learned that he’d get a toy. Finally, new Dinobots.

I can say that this figure has pretty much fulfilled my expectations. A very good robot mode that is a clear homage to the original series’ Grimlock and has a great gimmick in his flaming sword, and a not quite as good alternate mode, that isn’t perfect but does what it’s supposed to do, combine to make Grimlock a must-have for every fan of this series. Sure, there are a few tiny flaws here and there, but none of them big enough to really drag this figure down in any significant way.

Rating: In closing I award Grimlock a solid B.

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