Animated Oilslick

Robot Mode: Oh, where to start? Should the first topic be the glass bucket over his head that’s made to look like it’s filled with liquid? Or maybe his nicely twisted proportions that make him very tall and spindly, but with large hands and feet? His quite excellent articulation? No, I say with start with the hands, those excellent hands. Not only are they quite large, they also feature individually sculpted claw-like fingers, which make Oil Slick the first and only Transformer ever who is capable of sinisterly intertwining his fingers in front of him, underscoring his mad evil genius image.

So, let’s move on and... well, I did mention most of the stuff I wanted to already. Oil Slick is designed in such a way that it would be nearly impossible to make him a good guy, no matter the repaint’s colors. The bucket, the hands, the spikes, his entire look is just evil. Little side note on the bucket: apparently the designers originally intended to the thing to actually be filled with liquid, but the idea was abandoned because of fears it might leak in transport and, more importantly, the quality of the water in China was... questionable.

The one area where Oil Slick slightly disappoints is weaponry. He carries two drums on his feet, one of which is an actual drum that’s meant to contain his chemical weapons stuff. The other drum splits into two halves that are connected by a short chain, becoming a flail. While not the worst weapons ever, they are far from the best, either. Apart from that, though, an excellent, evil robot.

Alternate Mode: Oil Slick transforms into a bike that is very loosely based (mostly just the four-wheeled design) on a Dodge Tomahawk concept motorcycle. Basically it’s a big hog with a horned skull up front, leading to at least one kitbash I know that made him into a TF version of Skeletor. Anyway, the bike exudes menace and looks very cool in a dangerous way, so no complaints. It’s also big enough that other Deluxe-sized Transformers can easily serve as riders without looking out-of-scale. So bottom line: a very cool looking motorcycle, no complaints at all.

Remarks: When he first came out Oil Slick enjoyed the distinction of being the only Animated toy so far that had not appeared in the Animated TV series first. His first in-media appearance was actually in the comic books, before he finally did appear (if but briefly) in the third season episode “Transwarped”. Apparently he originally was designed as a toy-only character, but the Animated cartoon people liked him, so they gave him a cameo appearance anyway.

As a toy Oil Slick is just plain fun. An evil-looking robot transforms into an evil-looking motorcycle. Very nice. While he is certainly not the most prolific character in Animated and not a must-have by any definition, he’s a good Animated Deluxe figure that you won’t regret buying.

Rating: B

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