Grimlock is perhaps one of, if not the most anticipated toy out of the Dinobots, since the day he was announced. Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots, is one out of two Voyager Class Transformers toys to be released in Wave 1, alongside Optimus Prime.
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Grimlock’s dino mode is a Tyrannosaurus Rex with horns (maybe to make the dinosaur look meaner) molded out of copper, black, and grey plastic, topped with some cool silver and black paint applications, and black tiger-like striping. The detailed armor casts a shadow over those vent engravings, which makes the figure pop a little more. Overall, this particular concept and choices do relate to Grimlock’s short-tempered, animalistic tendencies. Proportion wise, the Voyager Class version is the best so far.
Grimlock comes with a spring loaded gimmick that closes his mouth, however most collectors agree this added feature would've been better if the mouth was initially closed instead of open. You can try to close the mouth yourself, without pushing the button that could possibly lock Grimlock's jaw shut temporarily.
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Unfortunately, Grimlock’s wonderful aesthetics are slightly hindered by the gaping chest cavity. The chest panels are on hinges that isn’t fully secured and instead swivels when tampered with. There’s also a strange hump on Grimlock’s back, whose only purpose is to conceal the robot head, as well as a tail that is obviously composed of two robot legs. However, one could consider the tail as being comprised of two large hooks.
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As part of Grimlock’s weapon storage option, his mace will snap onto the tail to extend that length, but the outcome looks rather goofy and not compelling.
Grimlock’s articulation is limited, but okay at best. Both arms are on ball joints, the legs are on two swiveling joints that allow Grimlock to pose like he is running. The knees also have two swiveling joints.
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Robot Mode
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To sum up the overall opinion of Grimlock in robot mode, this mode offers some great designing aspects correlating to this character’s revamped aesthetics, but some hardware essentials have also downplayed the overall appeal.
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On a positive note, Grimlock looks really cool. From his height, build, and armor, Grimlock embodies a certain stature that screams leader. The broad T-rex shaped shoulder guards perfectly complements the silver teethed chest gear and spiked armor boots. But none has been able to capture the sharp looking detail better than Grimlock’s pointed tip helmet and unique face shield that closely resembles Shredder’s signature look.
On a negative perspective, there are as many unwanted visuals as the good ones. There are just too many screws and hinges revealed from behind, not to mention the hollow parts that slightly take away the enjoyability of this figure. Grimlock also has some kibble, which is to be expected. The feet remnants are visible on Grimlock’s wrists, something that has been traditional on previous Grimlock incarnations, but his back skirt (T-Rex’s head) doesn’t fit well with the armor consistency.
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Grimlock's arms also suffer from staying in the gorilla position, where they bend inward towards his chest. Untabbing those dino feet from Grimlock's forearms, then rotating the biceps and wrists around can fix this issue, but at an expense of seeing dangling dino limbs.
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Weapon
Grimlock's weapon, a mace, is the most disappointing part of this toy. Because of the way this weapon was made and Grimlock’s molded closed fists, he can’t hold his mace properly with both hands. There’s a small handle located really close to the spiked club end that only fits in one hand, while the other is physically incapable to get around those bladed tips. The end result looks really unnatural and silly way for a warrior to hold or utilize a mace.
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Grimlock can also store the mace on his back like some sort of sheath, which is a pretty neat option. He does manage to look a little more imposing at some angles.
Articulation
Height
Size Comparison
Conclusion
Grimlock is very exceptional but there are also lots to be desired. I find Grimlock very imposing and cleverly designed in robot and dinosaur mode. However, the figure does suffer from revealing too many screws, hinges, gaps, and some unwanted kibble in robot mode. Not to mention the weapon function is very abysmal. Grimlock looks great by himself, but without a properly designed weapon, he doesn’t have much to offer.
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