The thing about this Grimlock is that it makes me wonder what the hell they were thinking with the fruit-loop colored, cartoony-looking figures from 2014.

Like, we all knew those weren't accurate at all but seeing the old Leader-figure side-by-side with the new one is just... wow. Pictures taken from Emgo's review.

 

Prime VS Grimlock!

 

To be fair, when made that old Leader Grimlock, they could only reference concept images since the CG assets were unfinished at the time. If you look at his old concept below, it's pretty damn close to what you see in his first Leader. You can even see where they got the orange bits from.

 

My, what an Improvement.

 

True, although the old Leader figure also has some details worked in which are not present on this art, the horns for example.

It's probably a mixture of having to work with changing designs as well as wanting to make the Dinobots more visually appealing towards children. If they were all the same color, dark tones with patina detailing, they would probably look too boring on shelves. Giving them all their own bright colors made them a bit more interesting for the young ones I guess.

So it probably wasn’t a bad decision but I’m still glad that we finally got an accurate Grimlock. Now we only need the other three…

 

^^^^This.

 

Yeah, the horns aren't present but may have been a last-minute addition after they saw the final model. They were too far into the design stage to change anything significantly. But yes, regarding the colors, they're obviously not as bright as it suggests in the concept art. They were definitely trying to appeal to kids as you said.

 

Given there's not that many characters that will warrant a leader figure besides the Dinobots and some Constructicons, I'd like to see this happen at some point. This line is definitely collector aimed, so I'm sure Hasbro are aware that collectors would want a full, in scale set. They could just upscale voyager Scorn and mould him in the same colour plastic as Grimlock, with the dry brushing in a rust colour. Slug probably needs to be a leader too, though I guess they could get away with him and Strafe as large voyagers like Megatron.

 

Now that makes me hope they release the constructions in this line and they can combine to make a massive devastator...

 

Very well said..
The movie Dinobots' designs are "busy" (mechanical & fossilized effect) that you can't really notice where all the parts are moving while transforming as compared to vehicles that we can see where that part goes on transformation sequences. Heck the members here are even debating in the MPM-4 thread the specificic inaccuracies the figure's moving parts vs the cgi model. But we never had so much debated about "Where's movie Grimlock's parts move to, etc.?"

 

For all my hatred of the figure's inaccurate and simplistic transformation, I have actually really, really come to like this guy. Even more than blackout. Seriously, the transformation (in terms of the visual difference) is simply spectacular for how little work you have to do. I still wish he was a little bit more symmetrical in dino mode, with more bulk moved from his lower legs to his dino torso. But for what we do have, I can't deny that the transformation is, for the lack of a better term, elegant.



Hopefully this is a stepping step to an even better Grimlock figure down the road. (^.^')

 

I'm not sure where I stand on this guy. His transformation isn't complicated, but it's annoying. Panels, swivels, tabs, etc.

The codpiece on mine comes off with the simplest manipulation, causes the hip skirts to come loose as well. Just irritating.

Looks great in both modes, though. Good grief.

 

Ck Wong

 

Finally, someone did it. I am at peace...

 

At this point, I'll be happy if they only make a Studio Series Voyager Slug.

 

Any pics of this with the old leader class scale?

 

I am in two minds getting this.

I had him in hand but turned him down largely because I don't like the aesthetic of grimlock.

But I could get him and have him as aoe nemesis primes mount and maybe rename him nemesis grimlock.

Can't decide. The figure is a beaut tho

 

Well in a hindsight, figures like these especially from this line will not be re-released on a new deco or character again except from some figures that still have huge potential for milking money like:
- Starscream (to be repainted for a ROTF version)
- Optimus Prime (could have a complete deco for an exclusive or repainted as nemesis prime which could be another exclusive)

This line is aimed for our inner 10 years ago selves not the kids of today.
If this line seems expensive for some, I hate to say this but it's purely business.
Regardless of how majority of the figures are "half-baked" or "90% complete" hence, the trade-offs and compromises in designs or paint apps. I'm betting Hasbro is pulling a "One-Shot Big-Time" on this line.

I hope this line flood the pegs like POTP or CHUG line in time.
Like what's happening in TRU Hong Kong and TRU in Vivo City.

 

ヒロタケ on Twitter

 

That looks great. It appears that the gray plastic has been dry-brushed to match the other metallic areas. Actually, maybe the whole thing was repainted?