G1 Grimlock

Robot Mode: Grimlock is a very powerful looking robot with a big broad chest, big arms, big legs... and a tiny, tiny little head that sits very far back. Apart from that somewhat strange head placement, there is very little to complain about Grimlock in terms of look. He looks like a powerful warrior, mission accomplished, and the ‘wings’ on his back just add to the cool look. The figure also sports above-average articulation for a toy from that time. He’s still far from a contortionist, but knee joints really weren’t that wide-spread in 1985, so thumbs up for that.

One minor thing about Grimlock’s design, the fact that pretty much the entire upper body of his alternate mode hangs off his back makes him somewhat prone to toppling over backwards. That’s just about the only complaint I can think of, though. Grimlock carries a double-barreled blaster in robot mode (plus a sword and a rocket launcher I’m missing). So bottom line: not a perfect robot mode, but it nicely captures the look and feel of Grimlock.

Alternate Mode: As if you didn’t know, Grimlock transforms into a robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex, or rather what people in the 80s imagined a Tyrannosaurus Rex looked like (the Classics version captures the look somewhat more realistically, I believe). Still, how can a robotic T-Rex not be cool? He has big stomping feet (with knee joints, to boot), those cute little silver arms, a giant maw with lots of sharp teeth, and a (non-moving) tail. A remnant from his original Diaclone design (see below) is the cockpit on his back, which can open up to seat a Diaclone driver figure.

This is actually my favorite mode of Grimlock and the one he’s standing in my display case in. There is just something so incredibly cool about a robotic T-Rex… well, I’m repeating myself. Anyway, a great dinosaur mode, no doubt about it. Considering the time it was made, just about perfect.

Missing Parts: I’m missing Grimlock’s Energo sword and the rocket launcher with the silver rockets.

Remarks: I don’t think I need to say that much about Grimlock the character, do I? If you haven’t heard of him, you’re either a complete newbie to the Transformers franchise or far beyond my help, sorry. As for the toy, it started out as part of Takara’s Diaclone Dinosaur Robo series before it was licensed for the Transformers toyline. He was a fan favorite then (both the character and the toy) and a fan favorite he has remained pretty much through all his incarnations. The original G1 toy is still one of the best fgures from that time and except for a few minor issues holds up pretty well still. Besides, no true Transformers collection is complete without a Grimlock.

Rating: B+