FOC Grimlock: A Transformers Review

It's probably been well over a year since my last TF Purchase, but I really liked the previews we had of this guy, and his inclusion into the Voyager size class was a big factor in me buying him. When I came across the figure in Hong Kong while on vacation I didn't hesitate to get him, and after I opened him up to see if he was as good as I'd hoped, well....

Let's say I he's not much of a keeper (at least to me.)

This is my review of the upcoming Fall of Cybertron Voyager Class Grimlock, a very awesome looking figure and the most recent iteration of the Dinobot commander out there, so to start off the review let's talk about the T-rex mode.

At eye level it looks good, it has a nice, hunched profile that's more evocative of the modern T-rex stance but with a more G1-ish feel to the shapes from the blockish head and the fat and bulky dino-legs It's not at all like the sleek, almost cyborgish look of the IDW grimlock design that I like. 

But despite that this looks very imposing and 100% dinobot-like. 

The front profile seems wonky but honestly you're never gonna look at this guy from any angle other than from the sides or a 3/4ths view now, are you? 

A closer look at the head shows an autobot insignia on the top of the eyes. it's connected to a transparent red plastic assembly that houses the LED gimmick.

And this is what it looks like lit-up. Pretty cool in my opinion and way cooler if seen from a dark background. I only wish there was a lock to keep the head lit instead of relying on a springing mechanism that only makes it light up when you open the mouth. 

Now that we talked about some of the good points on the figure, let's cover a few bad ones. The most immediate to me is the fat tail. It not only looks fat from the side but from the front as well and it's one of those things that takes some getting used to.

they just did a terrible job of hiding the feet in dino mode, though I can understand the challenges of designing  the toy based on the 3D render/concept art... the art always cheats.

And then we have the lack of a stomach. If you keep grimlock hunched it won't be such a problem but damn it's pretty annoying that the dino mode has this big, hollow gap where his gut should be. It perpetually throws me off.

You'd think they'd hide some of these flaws by integrating the weapons into the transformation but they opted to really cut corners (which is kinda normal for FOC toys). 

So where do the weapons store in bot mode?

....yyyyyep.

Now I've never played FOC, but looking at the screencaps the dino mode looks pretty close to the game model, most of the gripe again is on the tail  and the missing stomach though they really could have thought it out more but hey, they have budget restrictions in designing the damn thing.

 Moving on,  I love the detailing they did on the figure, and despite having minimal paint-apps and relying on the base color of the plastic it's still pretty good. I can only imagine the Takara version (being painted as they usually are) will top this already neat looking color scheme. 

Let's talk about the Robot mode next. But before that, let's briefly tackle transformation. It's literally very easy to do and I think only requires one picture to get the gist of how it's done

*insert "looks like it's break dancing" joke here*

Robot mode. Boy is he chunky in all the right places. This bot succeeds in bringing bulk to both his modes but I think the robot mode wins out between the two modes. Mainly because all the mass is placed in locations that help establish Grimlock as one menacing robot, from the huge limbs and wide chest to the tapering waist.

 Looking at it from the front there are little to no gaps for you to focus on, everything gives the illusion of being solid. And I use the term illusion because whatever works for the front...

is only about a third true for the back. If you're really anal you'll notice the hollow shins/feet. the hollow back and inner shoulders. It's bad but not Swindle bad (you're welcome, Perry.) so it (just barely) works out. 

A lot of parts are again wonderfully sculpted and designed. I love the headsculpt on Grimmy here, though the  now classic "teeth on the side" look might make it even better in my mind. all the techno greeble is pretty nice to look at too, especially at how some parts are colored in red. If painted just right they'll look like they're perpetually venting energy.

Another thing I dig is how the normal autobot insignia in dino mode now transforms into a more custom one with more angry looking eyes and a toothed mouth. 

And the light-up gimmick reaches here as well. since the dino head is stored in the cavity behind the chest, activating the light makes it bleed into the transparent plastic parts of the robot chest though it's not as cool as the dino mode light-up head since not a lot of light bleeds through. 

Articulation isn't really hindered with Grimlock in this mode (at least when you're not expecting RD/Revoltech levels of articulation) and he can pull off some good poses. Since he has some nice ratchet joints in the limbs and pretty tight articulation overall, you'll have hours of fun posing

Though there isn't much beyond "charging, slashing, defending or kneeling".

His weapons in this mode definitely feel undersized. Especially the sword, but I'm half-expecting 3rd party companies to pick up the slack. 

Is FOC grimlock worth it? it depends on how much they sell him for. Personally I wouldn't buy him beyond the  150 HKD ($19) I got him for, which is roughly 800PHP. I'd actually keep him if I got him for lower. Why?

The plastic feels cheap, as my friend put it: like the plastic they use to make clothes hangers

Which if you've ever owned a few will break oh so easily. Then there's the simplistic transformation that isn't really what I'd expect from a voyager. Not like RTS Lugnut or ROTF Bludgeon, which were good toys and definitely worth calling a voyager this one, an oversized deluxe. Hell I'd go so far as comparing it to an oversized Activator class/Scout, Not unlike the oversized bootlegs of Animated grimlock that used to be so abundant in flea markets in South East Asia.

 Then there's the gimmick which, when you consider the transformation scheme feels like it stole the funding for a better transformation.

I share the sentiments of people who would have preferred a better toy overall over one that lights up and amuses your toddler or dog. 

You should only get this if it's at a sale price or you're bored and have a lot of money, but even then, for the reasons stated above this toy will only really deliver if you love the character enough to glaze over its faults. 

And that pretty much sums up Grimlock. 

Not worth an initial release price, definitely worth getting once the price drops. 

Commissioned Figure Report: TFTM Megatron

Status: Finished

Timetable:

7/19/2011- Began painting face.

7/29/2011- Started on body.

8/31/2011-Body continued, gold detailing.

10/16/2011- Jet wing parts painting.

11/15/2011- Painting completed. 

Estimated time for completion:COMPLETED November 2011.


Details:

Drybrush repaint of TFTM Leader Class Megatron.

new custom: Ravage

goodness, has it been that long already?

Optimus Prime playing Clint Eastwood as portrayed by Peter Cullen: a review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon

when i watched the First Bay & Spielberg Transformers movie, i was in awe of what it could  promise for the sequels.  when i watched Revenge of the Fallen i was Dissappointed at the delivery but welcoming of the scope of it's mythology and macguffin. and when i watched Dark of the Moon i was pleasantly surprised and amused. but not impressed.

that being said i shall now try to distance the fan in me when making this review of Paramount Pictures' Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  there will be no major spoilers in this review, only my take on the entire thing.

this movie is actually very fitting of an action film and (western) summer blockbuster. it delivers all the things that ROTF failed to, in terms of action, length and epic feel. the entire film plays out like a war film in its final stretch and doesn't play out too much with the plot. this film is a visual treat, with stellar effects and eyecatching sequences. i'm glad i went in not expecting a moving story. all it had to rely on was the premise: freedom comes at the cost of betrayal. indeed there are several parties and characters here all on each other's throats, fighting for the freedom of something, be it cybertronians, people or tradition, and they all betray the same three things i just listed down. 

this whole movie is traitors traitoring traitorers traitoring everyone else.

the ever-moist Shia LaBeouf reprises his role as Sam, who is now struggling for meaning in a world that he feels no longer needs his specialized expertise- alien robots. and the alien robots have a job now working alongside the US military yet again acting as the world's police force. Sam on the other hand can't get a job, until his new girlfriend Carly, (played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) gets him one as a mailboy in Bruce Brazos(John Malkovich)'s company, Accura--something or other, i didn't really care to remember. thanks to Carly pulling some strings with her rich boss, Dylan(Patrick Dempsey) who Sam is jealous of.

that's the first half of the movie. Sam's growing pains. the other half of the story is the sci-fi epic, where prime and crew are alarmed to find their long lost leader Sentinel Prime (sci-fi legend Leonard Nimoy providing the voice) has been found on the moon. how the hell they missed him on their way to earth is anybody's guess. when they wake him up,at first things seem to be tense between the robots and the humans, but later on it all escalates into what Brains (Reno Wilson's character) later calls, a clusterfuck. mind you the transitions between both were jarring, but when the battle for Chicago became the focus,it was smoother.

the autobots still win in the end though, guys wearing primary colors often do. and the autobots in this movie are extremely different from the autobots of the previous movies. they are intimidating, agressive and angry. Prime in particular. there is no vestige of the calm and composed, heroic autobot leader. instead what we see is a man who is tired of the fighting, tired of seeing his comrades fall before him and tired of being betrayed by the people he sought to protect and fight for/with. And he resolves to end it once and for all by murdering everyone standing in his way. it is after all a war. and there are casualties on all sides. 

in a scene reminiscent to the confrontation between prime and megatron in the 1986 movie, prime makes a killing line towards one of the major villains and proceeds to maim him as graphically as possible in slow motion, while angrily blurting out the obvious: you die. 

he is an unstoppable machine of kill and hate up to the end and it scares me that these are the good guys. 

the villains on the other hand were almost nowhere to be seen until the climax, manipulating all the other characters from behind the scenes. Megatron (Hugo Weaving) gives a feeble performance in this film which deflates his status in myth as Megatron, the Decepticon supreme leader and brutal tyrant, almost close to being senile and useless (not hard for someone missing part of their skull) and died a meaningless death. he deserved more in this film.

Starscream (Charlie Adler AKA 80% of the vocal cast of Cow and Chicken) on the other hand was dead on. conniving, patronizing and cowardly, he still gave out more than megatron in terms of performance in the film.

which isn't to say was a lot. i didn't like the acting of all the human characters, they bored me, and i as an audience member was supposed to relate to them more than i should the transforming cars. no,i was supposed to be distracted by everything blowing up, everyone getting shot/killed and Shia losing his shit all of the time. 

and a lot of the robot characters were introduced but underplayed. we really didn't get anything else character-wise to go by other than:

Soundwave=spy.

Laserbeak=spy/assassin.

Brains & Wheelie= comedy relief (but i like them better than the chevy twins).

Dino= italian.

Wreckers= highland laddies(?)

The Professor= the professor

Sentinel Prime= Galvatron (i'm sorry, that's all i could think of him whenever i heard his voice)
Shockwave= who?

aaand that's it, nothing else is to be known or expected of these hi-bye characters.

characters and plot done with, i loved the special effects. They were disorienting,  visceral and engaging, the fight scenes were lively and if i may use the term, beautifully executed. and that, i think is what wins me over with this film. it's your typical popcorn flick. you will enjoy watching it and not thinking, really. 

and since i tend to deny ROTF existed, i can say with confidence that this film is the sequel fans of the movie franchise have wanted, and yes, it is worth your time if you like action, adventure, and the opportunity to look up Rosey Whiteley's skirt. 

this film, it resisted being an hour-long toy commercial for a change (even though mech-tech was alsmost thrown around everywhere),and was actually a decent sci-fi action flick and that, i think is what surprised me. i enjoyed this movie and would love to watch it again when i feel tired of overthinking my everyday life....on torrent of course.

quick Q& A:

was the movie good? yes.

was the story great? no.

is it visually appealing? definitely.

should i watch it? yes, especially if you're a  fan.

did it have a nice soundtrack? meh. to be honest i was annoyed at the parts that had spoken lyrics shoehorned in the scene.

are skids and mudflap back? no, it's like they never existed in this flick. (yay!)

should i have high hopes when i watch it? don't. you'll be a bit more surprised by the end of it all.

should i buy the toys? no, you should buy me the toys.

tiny mods to generations wheeljack

i love my generations wheeljack to bits! aside from jazz he's one of the guys i wanted for my classics collection since it started so i'm glad we finally got him. but i couldn't get over how damn wide he was. so i tried out a mod i saw applied to tracks, and decided to use it with him basically refer to the picture below:

nce you open up the chest piece by unscrewing the 4 screws holding him together in the back you'll see the front part connected to the car roof is a sliding groove that attaches to the shoulder of the arms.

you cut the nubs that slide the shoulders in place during transformation, then glue them to their default position in car mode. but you will need to saw some parts down to provide clearance for the head to slide up.

when finished and done up right you'll end up with a slightly less chest-wide wheeljack. and the mod doesn't interfere with his transformation to boot. now if only he was taller.

true fans.

why do i have more than one? i don't know. at some point when i get united and 2 more of these i'll stop, but not before converting my spares into Autotroopers.

some minor repainting on this guy and i now have my new favorite megatron figure. size class aside this guy is just so appealing to me.

i fucking hate Orange Plastic on a non-orange centric toy. 

yeah i don't dig the fin extensions. i'm leaving them off. 

argh.

Generations Cliffjumper

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Last custom of 2010...probably

just sharing the last 2010 custom i'm doing (at this point i'm calling him done now anyway). my Generations Cliffjumper repaint!

also before i forget, the final look of my targetmaster custom. still an unnamed guy as of now.

HERPY HOLLADAISE

so yeah, seasons greetings! got something new to finish before year's end and maybe my final (finished) custom for 2010:

Merghy Crabmas!

got this beast wars basic Alligator Megatron yesterday from Kris, and spent part of this afternoon repainting it. i did do a mod to the right shoulder so he can hold the cannon G1 style and i like the way it looks in botmode. painted with creos acrylics(interior green, IJA green, RLM blue, Off-white, Midnight blue), P3(cold steel) , Games Workshop( bleached bone, gore red), and Tamiya( german gray), sealed with 2 layers of Bosny gloss and one flat coat.