Cybertron: Dirt Boss

Dirt Boss is a Deluxe Class Decepticon, available at Toys R Us for about $10, and for that price, you don't expect much. Let's see what we get.

ALT MODE
Dirt Boss' alt mode is a souped-up monster truck - the huge wheels definitely get this part over. He's mostly purple, with green accents on his piping and wheel supports.

THOUGHTS:
There's a lot of nice details. He has two large exhaust pipes in the bed of the truck, which you can imagine could speed his mode up considerably, almost making him a hot rod truck. According to Dirt Boss' bio, he's deceptively fast, and you can see him pouring on the power from these exhausts and leaving everybody in the dust. In addition, his front part, which become his legs in robot mode, can extend out in an undocumented "transformation", almost becoming claws he could use to drag rocks away.

Dirt Boss' red and silver Cyber Planet Key goes into the rear bumper of the truck. Once inserted, the wheel support snap down and out, dropping Dirt Boss' body and widening his wheelbase considerably (the tires go from being under the body to outside the body). It's a simple gimmick, but appropriate for an off-road vehicle like Dirt Boss - the gimmick would give him better support in certain rocky situations.

TRANSFORMATION
Pretty simple. The front part of the truck pulls sideways and out to become the legs (with the front bumper pulling out to become feet supports). The read sides of the truck pull out and twist on its joints to become Dirt Boss' arms. Use the Cyber Planet Key to extend Dirt Boss' wheelbase (or just pull them out gently) and then fold back the bed of the truck. A revealed piece of the bed then folds down to reveal the head.

THOUGHTS:
I don't think the robot mode's nearly as cool as the vehicle mode - it seems to suffer from "car on my back" syndrome - the wheelbase on his back is overpowering, and the positioning of it limits his arm articulation (can't bend them to his back because the wheels are in the way).

I also don't know if this is a part of my toy, but I notice two glitches that bother me - the head piece does not bend down flat against the shoulders of the robot mode, so it sticks up a bit - ESPECIALLY if the Cyber Planet Key is in place, because there's a small tab in the way. This seems REALLY sloppy in my opinion.

Dirt Boss has surprisingly good articulation despite the limitations - the legs have both complete hip and knee articulation, with the arms being able to move and pivot at the shoulders and elbows. You can put him in a large number of poses, as long as he doesn't fall over from the weight on his back. This is most likely why he has VERY long feet - to give a better support base.

In robot mode, Dirt Boss' Cyber Planet Key fits into the same slot as before. When inserted, the two exhaust pipes flip into a forward position next to Dirt Boss' head, becoming twin shoulder-cannons. It's simple but it works to give Dirt Boss some firepower - ESPECIALLY since he doesn't come with a weapon of any sort otherwise. The only problem with this was mentioned above - it causes his head to stick up slightly because of the tabs needed.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I like Dirt Boss, despite the criticisms above. I think he has a really neat vehicle mode for putting around (especially in battles against his listed arch-enemy, Hot Shot). His robot mode has some glitches but still has good points about it, and he has amazing articulation all things considering. If you like the vehicle mode, I would recommend this toy.

FINAL GRADE: B+

Nice work mate!
He is cool despite the wheels sicking out in bot!

The wheels dont bother me so much. He manages to look powerful regardless of them. What impresses me about the toy is two chip gimmicks working with the same slot, I think he's the only figure in the series to accomplish that.

How is the clear plastic on Dirt Boss? I have Inch-Up and it's so dark you cant even see the seat molded inside the vehicle mode.

The plastic's dark - if you look hard you can see the seats inside, but only if light reflects off the seats - otherwise, it's too dark to see.

Mike

I just got Dirt Boss today, I enjoyed him. however, i feel that he suffers from Meister-Shockblast - various combiner syndrome, his legs are backwards. i rotated his shins and then did the twist and twirl. i think it looks much better (hides the screws.)

Um, did you transform him correctly? The waist rotates 180° so the engine block is at the back and the grey piece is at the front. The twist and twirl isn't necessary. All you do is pull the legs down, rotate the waist, and rotate the lower legs forward.

Unless, of course, you actually did get a factory error. And then nevermind.

I made that mistake originally and wondered why his legs wouldn't go straight. Rotated the waist 180 degrees and hey! The legs work right.

Mike

^^^^^^

Me too!

yes

i think mine might be a factory error then. when i twist the lower portion, the screws are revealed. and the fact that his head doesn't go down flush onto anything is annoying. when i active his CYBER PLANET KEY he's lookin up at the sky.