Last Knight Slash

Prelude: Many thanks to Hasbro Germany for sending me this figure for an early review. And may I just mention again how much better I like my Deluxe figures boxed than carded?

Robot Mode: Let us start with what is easily the worst of Slash’s two modes. A very broad, muscular-looking upper body is sitting on two tiny little legs with the hip basically hidden behind dinosaur kibble hanging on his thighs. While Slash does have a cool look (I especially like the head and big shoulder pads) and a very nice paintjob, it is somewhat ruined by his strange proportions.

His articulation is mostly okay, except for his elbows. He has them, but due to his extremely thick forearms, he can barely bend them. Which makes poses with his two bladed weapons somewhat awkward. Also, the big dinosaur tail hanging off his back means he can’t really bend his knees or spread his legs too far, otherwise the tail will drag on the floor.

So bottom line: the robot mode seems more like an afterthought to the far superior beast mode here. Far from nicely done.

Alternate Mode: Now we come to what is clearly Slash’s better mode. He transforms into a Velociraptor, immediately calling to mind fond memories of the first Jurassic Park movie and, of course, Beast Wars Dinobot. The Velociraptor looks brilliant and where the robot mode seemed awkward and misproportioned, the dinosaur is looking agile and dangerous.

The legs are nicely articulated, the jaws can open and close, and the tail is rubbery, allowing you to pose it in various ways, too. Slash’s blades from his robot mode are stored underneath his dinosaur arms, which does restrict their articulation slightly, but it’s not really a big thing. So bottom line, by far the better of Slash’s two modes and the way I will display him from here on out.

Remarks: Slash, despite receiving multiple figures in the Age of Extinction toy line, was not among the Dinobots to actually appear on screen. He did appear in some tie-in material, but not the actual movie. Apparently there was a plan at one point to have a large horde of Velociraptor-type Dinobots appear alongside Scorn, but those never saw the light of day. Maybe Slash will have more luck in the Last Knight, we shall see.

As for the toy, it’s a bit difficult. The dinosaur mode is brilliant, both in look and design. I adore it. The robot mode however… yeah. So it comes down to the question how much you like Dinobots in general and how you intend to display them. If you are okay with Slash staying in dinosaur mode most of the time, then go ahead and get him. If you are more into the robot mode side of things, you might want to think twice, though. Me, I like the dinosaur mode, which is just enough to make me rate this guy slightly above average.

Rating: C+