DSC_1234
Ah yes.. the Dinobots. Probably the reason many, many people my age became interested in dinosaurs in the first place.
The original Dinobots were introduced during the G1 era as creations of the Autobot Scientist, Wheeljack. Grimlock, Snarl, Slag, Sludge, and Swoop, the near indestructible badasses, would go on to become one of the most popular subgroups in Transformers history, being represented in all forms of media.
When the Power of the Primes line was announced, not only was it going to bring back the Dinobots in their G1 aesthetic, the line was going to add a new member (Slash, who I bought but haven't opened), but more importantly, it was going to introduce a Dinobot combiner, Volcanicus, which was something G1 fans have been dreaming of for a very long time.
5 months into the new line, I've finally managed to collect them all, and while I've read stuff and seen pictures online, nothing beats in person for collecting thoughts.
I think if I were to summarize it, overall my feeling would be overall positive, but very bittersweet.
First off, it must be stated that while the G1 toys were crude in terms of articulation, they had a very luxurious look to them due to the use of painted die cast metal parts, and of course, chromed plastic. Sadly, both of these are gone - die cast I can understand, but the chrome.. man. I would have liked to see this, and wish Hasbro/Takara had released the Dinobots in some platinum boxset so they could budget for a better deco. Detailing on the actual bodies is decent, though now we have to contend with these poor quality decals.
Secondly, the proportions of the figures. Each Dinobot used to be a stand alone figure in a size somewhere between what we would call a Deluxe and a Voyager today. While Grimlock is still large (he's got other problems, mind you), all the remaining bots have been shrunk down to Deluxe size. Of course, this means smaller everything, and sadly gone are the chunky robot proportions of the Dinobots. With the exception of Swoop (who was rather slim to begin with), all the other limb Dinobots look like they went on a crash diet this past 30 years, and makes me wish they would finish the MP Dinobot line they started with Grimlock years ago.
Thirdly, the lack of weaponry. These guys used to be packed to the teeth with weaponry, with each dino possessing projectile AND melee weapons. Now, Slag and Sludge come with the same blaster, Swoop and Snarl come with a sword, and Grimlock comes with none. The combined Volcanicus also is weaponless.
As stated, my favourite limb is definitely Swoop, who made the transition with an overall positive feel. Not as pretty as G1, yes, but gains significant articulation and body proportions that fit the character, and best of all is less fragile compared to the original toy. The others are OK, more or less gaining the same articulation upgrades (Slag can't move his head, sadly) but overall looking kindy skinny.
Grimlock is not bad in robot mode, but his T-Rex mode is disproportioned, most likely the result of him having to become the torso for Volcanicus... I mean, look at the dino feet!
Speaking of which.. combined mode is best described as lanky. If you're a collector of these combiners, then you probably known there are a few Third Party companies just ITCHING to fix this problem.
The main issue is that the torso, specifically the waist, is way too narrow, and this is of course further worsened by the fact the shoulders are so broad. The feet, while improved over the standard Combiner Wars entries, are still undersized and could stand to be a bit bulkier and higher. The hands are passable, but are universal so they've got this weird double thumb thing going.
On the flip side, Volcanicus has decent amounts of articulation. Combiner articulation was one of the needed improvements brought about by the Combiner Wars line, and the use of that particular pegging system is still in place.
So that's pretty much my thoughts on the Dinobots - a needed step into the 21st Century in terms of toy design, but an overall step backwards when it comes to aesthetics.
DSC_1234
Ah yes.. the Dinobots. Probably the reason many, many people my age became interested in dinosaurs in the first place.
The original Dinobots were introduced during the G1 era as creations of the Autobot Scientist, Wheeljack. Grimlock, Snarl, Slag, Sludge, and Swoop, the near indestructible badasses, would go on to become one of the most popular subgroups in Transformers history, being represented in all forms of media.
When the Power of the Primes line was announced, not only was it going to bring back the Dinobots in their G1 aesthetic, the line was going to add a new member (Slash, who I bought but haven't opened), but more importantly, it was going to introduce a Dinobot combiner, Volcanicus, which was something G1 fans have been dreaming of for a very long time.
5 months into the new line, I've finally managed to collect them all, and while I've read stuff and seen pictures online, nothing beats in person for collecting thoughts.
I think if I were to summarize it, overall my feeling would be overall positive, but very bittersweet.
First off, it must be stated that while the G1 toys were crude in terms of articulation, they had a very luxurious look to them due to the use of painted die cast metal parts, and of course, chromed plastic. Sadly, both of these are gone - die cast I can understand, but the chrome.. man. I would have liked to see this, and wish Hasbro/Takara had released the Dinobots in some platinum boxset so they could budget for a better deco. Detailing on the actual bodies is decent, though now we have to contend with these poor quality decals.
Secondly, the proportions of the figures. Each Dinobot used to be a stand alone figure in a size somewhere between what we would call a Deluxe and a Voyager today. While Grimlock is still large (he's got other problems, mind you), all the remaining bots have been shrunk down to Deluxe size. Of course, this means smaller everything, and sadly gone are the chunky robot proportions of the Dinobots. With the exception of Swoop (who was rather slim to begin with), all the other limb Dinobots look like they went on a crash diet this past 30 years, and makes me wish they would finish the MP Dinobot line they started with Grimlock years ago.
Thirdly, the lack of weaponry. These guys used to be packed to the teeth with weaponry, with each dino possessing projectile AND melee weapons. Now, Slag and Sludge come with the same blaster, Swoop and Snarl come with a sword, and Grimlock comes with none. The combined Volcanicus also is weaponless.
As stated, my favourite limb is definitely Swoop, who made the transition with an overall positive feel. Not as pretty as G1, yes, but gains significant articulation and body proportions that fit the character, and best of all is less fragile compared to the original toy. The others are OK, more or less gaining the same articulation upgrades (Slag can't move his head, sadly) but overall looking kindy skinny.
Grimlock is not bad in robot mode, but his T-Rex mode is disproportioned, most likely the result of him having to become the torso for Volcanicus... I mean, look at the dino feet!
Speaking of which.. combined mode is best described as lanky. If you're a collector of these combiners, then you probably known there are a few Third Party companies just ITCHING to fix this problem.
The main issue is that the torso, specifically the waist, is way too narrow, and this is of course further worsened by the fact the shoulders are so broad. The feet, while improved over the standard Combiner Wars entries, are still undersized and could stand to be a bit bulkier and higher. The hands are passable, but are universal so they've got this weird double thumb thing going.
On the flip side, Volcanicus has decent amounts of articulation. Combiner articulation was one of the needed improvements brought about by the Combiner Wars line, and the use of that particular pegging system is still in place.
So that's pretty much my thoughts on the Dinobots - a needed step into the 21st Century in terms of toy design, but an overall step backwards when it comes to aesthetics.