GRIMLOCK (Me no backhoe, me king!)
Vehicle Mode
Grimlock's vehicle mode is a backhoe measuring 14 cm(5.5") long with the shovel lowered. Main colours are pine and light green, with dark gray treads, some gold on his front and on his shovel, some grey parts, and a big red Autobot symbol painted on the side window. Grimlock rolls along on four small wheels mounted on the underside of his treads. Like a real backhoe, the shovel and cockpit can rotate 360 degrees in either direction. But his shovel is surprisingly stiff; it can't even touch the ground. Lame.
Attack Mode
A serrated spring-loaded claw flips out (excessive force required) from the arm of the shovel, giving it a vaguely T-rexish look.
Transformation
Pretty complex. The treads extend to become legs while the cab separates to form the arms. The shovel has to be removed and reattached to the green connector rod on his back, otherwise you'll end up with one impressively endowed Autobot. His hips don't snap together or anything like that, but the joints are stiff enough so that it holds together pretty well.
Robot Mode
At 16 cm(6.3") tall, Grimlock towers over his teammates. He retains the same colour scheme for the most part, with some metallic silver on his shins and chest. His head is light green with a silver face and an orange visor. He's got some weird arm articulation, with swivel joints at the shoulders, followed by ball joints, then hinge joints. On top of that his arms are asymmetrical, with the left one being longer and bulkier. He has no proper hands, just pincers. He's also articulated at the head, hips, knees, and feet. The shovel on his back can strike out over his shoulders like Scorponok's stinger. Unfortunately, it makes Grimlock very backheavy, and his lack of heel spurs doesn't help any. You have to have him leaning forward slightly or with his arms stretched out in front of him in order for him to stay erect.
Overall
While I prefer to call him Scoop, Grimlock is a fairly good toy. Realistic backhoe mode, complex transformation, decent robot mode, if somewhat unstable. Pity too about the largely unposeable shovel.
Reviewer | Daniel Suh |
Date | November 4th 2001 |
Score | (8 out of 10) |
Reads | 7135 |
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