While most of the toys in this segment owe much to the original 1980s line, Grimlock benefits from having multiple inspirations. The transformation owes some of its process to Robots in DisguiseWarrior Grimlock [FOTD #1,253], but the sculpt of the toy seems to owe much to the original 1985 toy, while the coloring borrows from Age of Extinction. This toy would be an absolute joy in the hands of a customizer, but thanks to this line being tough to find I doubt I'll be seeing any customs.
The 7-inch tall robot is one of the better ones in terms of articulation - you get knees, elbows, hips, shoulders, and a neck. The only other figure in this line with knees is Megatron, so if articulation is your barometer of greatness I suppose that this may be your shining gem. He stands nicely and has beefy arms, plus loads of sculpted panels that don't have a lot of paint on them. There's so much orangeish brown here that it does a pretty good job disguising the fact that you could probably paint this toy up in grey and gold and end up with something that would look appropriately vintage. He could use a sword or a gun, but at least he has a decent head with bright blue eyes and a painted helmet. The face mask ain't bad either, it also has a chin. I wouldn't have expected a chin on a face plate.
Transformation is based on Robots in Disguise Grimlock - the tail folds out of his leg, the T-Rex head folds out of the chest and over the robot head, the arms become legs, and the legs become a tail. This is easy to do - it's a 6-step toy.
The t-rex is a cute little dinosaur with moving legs and tiny little hands. The dinosaur's neck has a lever on the back that causes his mouth to open and close, which is arguably the only action feature on this entire line. The little lever is such a minor feature, but it adds a lot - now big Grim here can chomp on things or work sort of like a puppet. It's charming - it doesn't really look exactly like any particular Grimlock, but it's not like Hasbro tends to go out of their way and try something new. I'd love to see what else they might come up with when they mix up colors and styles, mostly because things like a green Grimlock or another color of Arcee make the toy box a little more interesting.
And that's it for the Cyber Battalion! Next up - the Cyber Commanders. I'm very fond of these little guys, although I do find it to be unfortunate that they will exist as a footnote at the bottom of the page of history which talks about Combiner Wars. People aren't chasing these down, nobody seems to want them, and American kids will never have them - but maybe Latin American and Chinese kids will luck into them. I look forward to finding out how they played out in a couple of decades. Until then, I'd say go ahead and spring the $23 or whatever to get yourself a Grimlock as long as you have no problems with a big, fun, simple toy. It also wouldn't surprise me if all Voyagers got simplified to this level in the next five to ten years as Hasbro cuts costs in the face of increases in labor and materials, so enjoy a peek at tomorrow!
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