Hasbro Transformers Studio Series # 07 Grimlock Review

We all have our vices. Me? I’m a sucker for a good ‘Bayformer.‘ I’ll unapologetically step up to bat for any of the Michael Bay Transformers movies. I find all of them extremely entertaining. It’s actually a bit sad that we’ll be saying farewell to the current Transformers movie universe with this December’s Bumble Bee movie starring John Cena.

The Leader-scaled figures are what really sold me on this line. In fact, my original plan dating all the way back to Toy Fair was to only get my hands on Grimlock and Blackout. However, sometimes even the best intentions go awry. I ended up liking these two so much that I went back and grabbed all of the Deluxe and Voyager characters as well. I suppose that makes me a Studio Series completest now? So be it. It’s currently a slow period for the Masterpiece line, so instead of saving money I’m just diversifying how I get rid of it!

With all of the crazy detail in his sculpt, at first glance, Grimlock looks intimidating to transform. However, this is not the case at all. He’s actually the most simple of all the Studio Series releases I’ve messed around with thus far. His dinosaur mode is acceptable. It’s certainly a step up from the ‘Age of Extinction‘ leader Grimlock that looked like a large (but not this large) elongated seal. The Tyrannosaurus mode is pretty decent with average posability. It’s a little bit hollow and airy in parts. For example, if you look at his face head-on you can see right out the back of his head through his mouth.

It’s worth mentioning that his butt-flap doesn’t really tab into anything when in dinosaur mode. The instructions just tell you to tuck it under his tail. Which works fine until the joint loosens up and you find it falling back down to the floor. I feel like they could have done a little more here to keep it in place.

There aren’t any accessories included here unless you count that backdrop that all Studio Series figures are packed with. When the Age of Extinction line was released a few years back they gave Grimlock a giant mace that doubled as a tail. I don’t really recall him ever using that weapon in the movie, so I’m fine without it. If we’re being honest, the dinobots were almost an afterthought in AoE. They mostly stayed in their dinosaur mode when not tied up on Lockdown’s ship.

Something that the original movie Grimlocks did not have was this nice darkish-green wash. When the original Voyager Class figure came out I attempted to dry brush in some detail, and … well, I shouldn’t be trusted doing touch-ups on action figures. Back to Studio Series Grimlock, the parts that have the wash look great! However, they make the unpainted sections stick out even more. In robot mode, both of his arms lack any paint which is very noticeable.

Being of Leader Class scale, he’s a big dude! Just don’t get any ideas about integrating him into your Masterpiece collection. He’ll tower over most mainline figures, but comes up a bit shorter than Masterpiece Megatron.

Would I recommend Hasbro Transformers Studio Series Grimlock?

I suppose it’s a good thing that Grimlock looks cool! I’d imagine there aren’t too many fans of the movie’s characterization of Grimlock, because really there wasn’t much of that at all. He was freed, fought Prime for a few minutes, and then allowed Optimus to mount him. As I mentioned earlier, the Dinobots in Age of Extinction were mostly an afterthought. They probably could have been cut out of the movie without consequence.

In fact, most of the side characters in the Transformers film franchise are not afforded character development. The important thing about them is that they look cool! Grimlock looks really cool. And short of an MPM (Movie Masterpiece) release, I think this is going to be the definitive version of the character.

The Studio Series line is showing up all over the place. However, if you don’t feel like driving around keep an eye on Amazon or our sponsor, Entertainment Earth.

Confession – I found lighting for this shoot particularly hard, and in general I’m not happy with a lot of it. I apologize.

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