Transformers Review: Hound (AOE Voyager)

Intro:

            I’m sure by now, many of you out there have at least watched the movie Transformers 4: Age of Extinction at least once, while some others may have watched it more than once even! Anyway, whichever it may be, AOE has been a record breaking movie.

            Personally, I think AOE is by far the best movie in the franchise. Since the duration of the movie is longer, each character – especially the robots – gets more screen time with better character development. After the conclusion of Dark of the Moon (DOTM), there have been wholesale changes to the Autobot lineup, with only the most popular characters being maintained (watch the movie to find out who, bub), and a whole new batches of new characters being introduced into the franchise.

            One such character is Hound, which is undoubtedly my favorite character from the new movie. No longer just a mere scout as depicted in G1, Hound now serves as the Autobot’s resident Weapons Specialist and experienced warrior – taking over the role from the late Ironhide.  

           He’s probably the coolest character in the entire movie – he smokes a live bullet like a cigar, how cool is that?!

            I’ve wanted to get my hands on this figure for quite some time, and thanks to the good people in TEENCOM Melaka, I’ve finally managed to get a hold of him.

            So without further ado, let’s get on with the review.

Alternate Mode:

            Unlike the G1 Hound, which transformed into a military jeep, AOE Hound transforms into a military armored truck – an Oskosh Medium Defense Tactical vehicle. You can literally see the name OSKOSH engraved at the front of the vehicle. 

OSKOSH engraving

            The green paint apps on this figure are absolutely brilliant and the details all over the vehicle are very good.

            The wheels roll quite well and there’s even a molded-in spare tyre just behind the cockpit.

Details

            Scale-wise, Hound isn’t exactly compatible with the other Deluxe-class Autobots – he just seemed to be too small. I wish he could be just a little bit bigger, like the old Voyager from the 1^st movie or ROTF.

Fully-loaded

            However, he comes with an added gimmick – or rather accessories. Being a Weapons and Tactical Specialist, Hound comes with a whole lot of guns and blasters. He even has a Rambo blade!

            Not only that Hound can wield them in robot mode, he can also wield them on his truck mode.

            Each and every gun can be mounted onto a specific slot on the body of the truck. Unfortunately for me, since it could probably be just an isolated case, one of Hound’s shotguns cannot be mounted on to the designated peg. It’s either the peg on the truck’s body is too big, or the empty slot on the gun is too small. Whichever it may be, you just can’t mount the gun. The two pistols are mounted inside the truck while the dagger is attached underneath the truck.

            Kibbles exist on this figure – not so obvious from the sides, but horrendously underneath. Still, it’s a minor issue.

Kibbles

            Overall, it’s a very fun alternate mode to play with.

Robot Mode:

            First of all, Hound looks fat. I mean, he’s not really Leadfoot fat, but he’s kinda tough fat. In wrestling terms, he’s not really Yokozuna or Rikishi fat, but rather Mick Foley or Big Van Vader fat.

In short, he’s tough!

I love the facial hair....

            To quote a line from Hound himself – I’m like a fat ballerina who takes scalps and slits throats – that’s how big and tough Hound is.

The Fully-loaded Fat Ballerina

            Standing at about 6 ½-inches tall, he’s not as tall as the Voyagers of old or even Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, but as far as comparing to the latter, I guess he fits into scale just right.

            Everything about this figure exhumes coolness. The head sculpt looks awesome, especially with all those facial hairs, which is sculpted onto a softer rubber allows the head to turn without further hindrance. The hindrance is still there, but it could have been much worse. Unfortunately though, the head can’t look up or down at all. My only complaint about the head sculpt is that I wish the helmet can be taken off, just as depicted in the movie – now that would be just awesome.

From left: The current Weapons Specialist, and the late Weapons Specialist - ROTF Ironhide

            The shoulders are on a multitude of joints that allow movements in all directions. The elbows can bend slightly more than 90°.

Let's Dance!!!

You want a piece of me?!

            The lower arms are coated with chain gun bullets, which are also sculpted onto soft rubbers. Since those bullet coatings are attached directly onto the turn-able fist, the soft rubber are able to slightly cater the range of motion of the wrists.

You want some?! Come get some!!!

Don't I look macho?

            Hound comes with a waist joint, and the hips are on the exact same joints as the elbows. The legs rotate slightly below the hips and bend about 90°. Finally, the toe pieces can tilt to allow better postures and poses.

I'ma slit your throat!

            As mentioned earlier, Hound comes with a myriad of weapons and accessories, all of which could be mounted onto his body.

Ze Weapons...

BFG!!!

            Along with his above average articulations, you can actually put Hound into a variety of exciting poses.

Get a load of my BFG!

            If that wasn’t enough, the weapons offer one more gimmick – all of them can combined ala Super Sentai’s super weapons! All of the guns and blasters, along with the dagger, combines to form a friggin’ BFG – check the definition of that term on the DOOM 3 game info Wikipedia page, you’ll get what I mean.

            The robot mode is so much fun!

Summary:

            I like this figure, plain and simple. He’s not really the best AOE figure out there, but he’s definitely the most fun to play with. The amount of accessories and also the coolness of the character depicted in the movie further add to the playability and popularity of this figure.

            Highly recommended.

Rating – 9/10

Transformers Review: Slug (AOE Deluxe)

Intro:

            Come on, let’s admit it. Yeah, especially you Geewuners. You people loved the Dinobots, didn’t you? Who wouldn’t? They individually big, big robots; and they are Dinosaurs! Back in the 80’s dinosaurs were cool. All the kids love dinosaurs-themed toys. So it was inevitable that dinosaurs were eventually incorporated into the Transformers franchise.

            Most people would tell you that Grimlock is their favorite Dinobots – same case with yours truly. But whenever it comes to the second most popular Dinobots, I’ve always liked Slag.

            Slag was tough, and he has no issues in confronting Grimlock whenever he feels like he needed to. Slag was awesome!

            However, due to trademark issues, Slag renamed as Slug in the AOE line. Honestly, the name sucks. Can you believe that?!

            Although I was kind of disappointed of how the Dinobots were portrayed in the film, Slug was still appealing enough to grant me buying him. If you’ve watched the movie, you’d probably understand why.

            Anyways, let’s not waste any time and let’s get on with the review.

Alternate Mode:

            Slug transforms into a Triceratops – a very weird looking one at that.

            Slug is predominantly purple and dark grey in color, with his mane (pardon my lack of knowledge in dinosaur anatomy) painted predominantly red.

            Maybe it’s just me, but just like Grimlock, Slug has a little bit of skeletal-theme going on here, even more so with its hollowness.

            Slug isn’t exactly very articulated. The ball-jointed front shoulders can move in all directions, but very limitedly since it is severely hindered by its chest piece and mane; the elbows bends up at about 70° or so. The head bends down and back up, and it has no way to look up; the jaws open; and finally the hips are on ball-joints, which again, their movements are severely limited.

With Mouth Open

            On the sides of the body, there is a hole on each side where you can peg in the swords. The overall look with the swords attached onto him is really silly. Maybe Slug is supposed to use it to take out the legs of larger-sized dinosaurs?

With Swords Attached

            Visually, the dinosaur mode looks good, but aesthetically, that’s another issue altogether.

Robot Mode:

            Keeping up with the “knight” theme, Slug is full on knight mode. Armed with a pair of swords, Slug really looks like he means business.

Knight with a helmet

            I have to admit, at first glance, I wasn’t really buying into the robot mode. Coupled with how the movie portrayed the character, I was less than impressed with the character. However, after fiddling with it for a while, it actually grew on me. I like the overall look of the character. The half-a-Triceratops-head-as-shoulder-pad surprisingly looks good – or at least to me it does.

            However, the idea of using the dinosaur legs as a way to make the figure looks beefier doesn’t quite work for me. The idea might be good, but the execution came a little bit short, unfortunately. For some reason, or maybe this could just be an isolated case, the peg and hole that is supposed to lock the legs to the main body just aren’t aligned properly. Even if you managed to peg them in, any attempt to pose the upper body would most likely result in them unpegging.

            Articulation-wise, Slugs is kind of good. He has all of the standard articulation points that you would expect from a good deluxe class figure. The head is on a ball joint; the shoulders move in and out; ball-jointed shoulders and hips; elbows and knees bend; and finally the tip of the feet bend upward.

            You’re probably going to enjoy posing him, possibly even more, if you compare him to the Voyager-class Grimlock.

            Overall, it’s a very decent robot mode.

Summary:

            Overall, Slug isn’t exactly a stellar figure, but he is good enough to warrant your attention. If you’re a fan of the Dinobots, Slug is definitely a must have along with Grimlock. Visually, both modes look good, while the robot mode wins with his articulations.

Rating – 7/10

Transformers Review: Platinum Grimlock (Age of Extinction Voyager)

Intro:

            When the first Transformers movie was in the works, and when various iconic character names were thrown around, there were a few names that were constantly mentioned: on the Decepticon’s side, we had Shockwave, Soundwave, the Constructicons, Soundwave, Skywarp and Thundercracker; while for the Autobots, we had Omega Supreme, Wheeljack, Grimlock and his Dinobots.

            While some of those names mentioned did eventually make it to the big screen, some never did. The Dinobots were probably the biggest names that never made it to the original trilogy. Can’t say that I blame them because these were the dinosaurs-based characters, and it was probably difficult to find a storyline that would fit them.

            Anyways, fast forward to 2014, TransFans all over the world have finally gotten what they wished for – Grimlock and his band of merry dinos are finally here, and what better way to start things off with Grimlock.

            The Platinum Edition Voyager-class Grimlock is sold in a twin-pack with Optimus Prime (read the review here).

            I have to say, I love G1 Grimlock, and there was no doubt that he was the physically toughest Autobot there ever was, to the extent of being even more powerful than Optimus Prime himself. So, I was looking forward toward AOE Grimlock action figure, but whether or not I’d be getting the Leader-class Grimlock remains to be seen.

            Anyways, without further ado, let’s get on with the review.

Alternate Mode:

            Traditionally, Grimlock transforms into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, although at some point, he had turned into a Ford Mustang and even an excavator. Luckily for us, Michael Bay decided to stick to the T-Rex concept… or did he?

Grimlock and Optimus Prime

            Conceptually, yes, Grimlock is supposed to be a T-Rex, but did anybody actually look at it? I don’t know about you guys, but Grimlock sure looks more like a dog, rather than a T-Rex. Unless all the paleontologists were wrong, since when that a T-Rex ever had ears?!

Isn't that dog ears? O_o

AOE Grimlock vs Classic Grimlock

            If you ask me, Grimlock looks like a bipedal, heavily mutated/deformed dog, with lizard claws and friggin’ tiny front legs!

Grimlock vs Marvel's Devil Dinosaur from the Savage Lands

            Since this is the Platinum-edition, Grimlock has chromed parts all over his body, namely the lower jaw, head plate, and back plate.

            One thing that is unique with Grimlock is the eyes. At first, I thought it was translucent greenish eyes, but after a closer look, it is actually another piece of plastic within that has a leaf-ish/ web-ish feel to it. I can’t recall any transformers figures having utilized this concept before.

The eyes, as well as the trigger to close the mouth

            Articulation-wise, there’s really not much to talk about. There is no neck movement. The jaws are always opened. There is a trigger on the left side of his neck, that when you push it, the jaw closes. So you do those chomping actions.

            The tiny arms are on ball joints. By the way, since we’re talking about the arms, I don’t really like how they design the entire portion around the hands. There should’ve been some sort of plating to cover the sides of the dinosaur mode. It just look too awkward for me.

            Anyways, back to the articulations; the hips are on swivel-hinge joints, the knees bend and that’s all. The tail doesn’t wag… zilch… nothing… nada…

            Another thing about the figure is how the chrome plate on his back doesn’t seem to lock in anywhere. It just sits there in place, thanks to gravity.

The Chrome Plate on his back do not lock in

            Also, there is a notch on the tail piece that is supposed to slot into corresponding openings on the upper plastic piece. Unfortunately, they do not clip in or lock in, so at any moment that you are fiddling with Grimlock in this mode, they just might accidentally dislodge themselves.

Tail piece do not lock in

            Nice overall looks, but everything feels limited in this mode.  

Robot Mode:

            The robot mode looks nice. He looks big, buff and tough.

            The robot mode kind of reminds me of some knights from the Middle Ages Europe. The feet, somehow, kind of remind me of Sinbad’s boots. For some reasons, this seems to be a recurring theme amongst the AOE Dinobots.

            While the robot mode look okay, there are so many kibbles all over the, i.e. the T-Rex head, the dino’s small claws and feet etc. The T-Rex head as shoulder pads I can still let it by, because it actually turned out quite okay.

Grimlock and Optimus Prime

            Standing next to Optimus Prime, Grimlock looks to be the beefier one and definitely looks the tougher one.

Awesome Head Sculpt

            I kind of dig the head sculpt, which kind of reminds me of some of those Japanese chogokin robots ala Grandizer etc. The spikes on the boots look awesome as well.

            Articulation-wise, Grimlock is a far cry from Optimus. He has somehow substituted most of his articulations for visual characteristics. The head is on a combinational hinge-swivel joint. Theoretically, the head should be able to move in all directions, but due to the placement of the T-Rex’s ears, you might have problems in positioning the head.

Claw attaches to the main arm via knob and slot

            What essentially were the T-Rex’s legs are now his arms. As for the wrists, in theory he isn’t supposed to have any articulations, due to how the claw pieces attached to the main arms. However, by unlocking the connections, the wrists are unleashed.

            The legs, which are essentially the T-Rex’s tail, is connected to the hips via universal joints. The legs rotate slightly below the hips; the knees bend; and there is an inward ankle joints. The aforesaid ankle joints kinda looked awkward, because they just felt a little bit too high.

            Grimlock comes armed with a spike-mallet whatever-youmacallit thingy. Although the top part of the mallet can be detached from the handle, I don't really see the point. Also, the mallet and its handle can only be slotted in at a specific direction -- as to why, I have no idea.

            The articulation may not really that phenomenal, but you can still pose him in various different positions.

            In the end, the robot mode might look good, but unfortunately, at the expense of the articulations.

Summary:

            This Grimlock figure is really a mixed baggage. Aesthetically, Grimlock is an eye-candy – he just looks so damn good, but unfortunately articulation-wise, he’s no Optimus Prime.

            Still, we are talking about Grimlock here – he’s everybody’s favorite T-Rex. Seeing as how Grimlock is widely marketed everywhere, it means that he is probably going to feature heavily in the movies.

            Definitely should not be missed by any Dinobots’ fans.

            Recommended.

Rating – 8/10