This is wanting to get the experience of other fans who own most or all the GP dinos, to choose ONLY one as a standalone dinos, and for best BOT / ALT mode (both modes matter). Pls note i am an ex owner of all 5 FT Dibots X that were fully painted, with a preference in Slag / Snarl / Swoop from that set, but GP is very different beast.

Alright, to get it off my chest, my ideal would be 3x GP, maybe the original 3 Dinos from the show (or Slag, Snarl, red Swoop), but not sure i will get even permission for one.... so i will have to settle for ONE. I may display him on it's own on my work desk, either mode.

So if you had to choose ONE dino from say between GP Slag and Sludge first, that you cared for both Bot mode AND alt mode, which one of the two and why? Pls consider Bot mode Look first, then Alt mode, then transformation. Is the bot legs of Slag much more obnoctious / bothersome in person than that of Sludge? I didnt like my FT Sludge as i felt the form of the lower legs bothered me, but feel the GP one seems better done than the FT one. Is the alt mode obnoctious? That head seems a bit weird in pics, but cant say the slag head looks perfect in pics either.

If i added GP Grimlock in the mix, would the answer remain. He looks great too, but, i think i would prefer a Dino that has a face for bot mode to be more expressive, and my journey started in 2008 with the original Takara MP-08, but feel maybe i can go differently this time if only owning one. That said, i understand maybe this is the ONLY dinobot that can stand better in dino mode with other MP autobots or in my Billy bookcase later on.



Pls note: the answer cant be Gautender (swoop), and really only because i want the red chrome version, and that is not getting re-released (and i heard the feet has looseness issues)... most want the blue one anyways, which is out of the question for me if i ever was considering a trio, or even as a standalone, but otherwise, yes, i would seriously consider it too. As for Guttur, i feel he does have the best alt mode... just that he also has the worst bot mode to my personal taste, and a bit though to chose him as single only one, whilst Slag / Sludge / Grimlock i see could be great standalones.

 

Sludge is by far my favourite of the lot, for what that's worth. Feels the most refined of the team.

 

If I were only to choose one from the entire set, it'd definitely be Grimlock. They're all great but I just feel like he looks more finished. Like he doesn't suffer from the lackluster bot mode faces that some/all of the others do for one. And I dunno' he just feels more complete somehow. Might be because he was the last one they did and they benefitted from all the lessons learned on the others.

My second choice would be swoop - he just looks majestic on his flight stand but I'm probably being influenced by just how much chrome he has. Dude just straight up sparkles in my display case with that majestic chrome wingspan.

Between Slag and Sludge, I'd choose Slag. I think that's probably just because I always thought he was more interesting in both looks and personality as a character. Especially if you get the recent reissue where he has the new bot mode headsculpt.

 

Can you pls elaborate. I am very interested in the details you have to share. Right now, i think it is first in my mind the debate between GP Slag and Sludge...

Sludge, i guess my 1st concern is how the bot mode legs will feel in person vs Slag. The 2nd is the dino mode head, or just in general, the dino mode between the two.

 

Sludge feels the most "confident" of the team in terms of his engineering, and aesthetically he's very well-balanced. (There's one thing you have to watch out for, though, is making sure to open his forearm hatch for transformation only when the elbow is straight, or you'll break it).

Snarl takes a slight hit due to his status as the first GP Dino, so there are a few bits on him that were improved on in the other releases. His hands have the least articulation of them all (although I'm not a huge fan of fully-articulated hands in the first place), and his face sculpt is a bit simplistic. Feels slightly out of place in the line-up as well, because of how they designed his gun in a more G1-accurate way (lacking the hose detail, though, which sort of annoys me), whereas the later GP Dinos got big honking hand-cannons.

Slag is a good release. He's just my least favourite Dinobot in general because of his "saggy" look, with how bottom-heavy he is, plus his downswept wings. The tail chunks hanging off the back of his legs get in the way a bit.

Swoop is their weakest release, with the paint-scratching issues on the robot head and the poor heel support in robot mode on the initial release (although this has supposedly been fixed). Huge wings and smaller feet in general make him the least stable of the lot, although that's only by comparison.

Their Grimlock is also very good, but he takes a slight hit due to his practically non-existent ankle rockers, which feels like a weird step backwards. And not that I've bothered with the LED gimmicks at all, it's weird that his gun doesn't have the light-up functions all the others do.


In reality, they're all very good. Some of the best 3P figures I've handled. Sturdy and confident in their design, with very little of that 3P tendency to go overboard with the engineering. Sludge is just the one I like the most aesthetically, with the fewest minor niggles about him.

 

Superator/Grimlock.

 

Thank you everyone.

I have just seen some pictures from @BoNKerS, and wow, i really see now why either Grassor or Gravitor has to be that one dino, and i have ALOT more appreciation for the bot mode of Gravitor... so if i miss out on Grassor, i know Gravitor is waiting for me later on one day.

Thank you @mx-01 archon archon, i really appreciate the sharing, and i think i understand what you mean.

I think if i can have a duo, it MUST be these two, Gravitor and Grassor, and if i can have a trio... i must still be these two only... lol... because then i could be tempted to want want more, and i get the feeling one must stop at 2 or 3 for best display / appreciation (that was my downfall / mistake with the FT, i collected all 5, when i should have stopped at 3 max, so i can appreciate MUCH more and have proper space for 2 - 3 instead of 5), but i guess the trio would probably add Superator (or red gautender), lol, but it's not happening, gotta now take my time and choose between Grassor and Gravitor, and excited either way i think  


thank you Bonkers for this amazing pics (i love all your pics)

 

In order of my preference with a couple comments.

Sludge is definitely my favorite, Only complaint i have is the belly panels being too tight and slightly smushing a tiny corner of plastic that's the bottom of the foot. not noticeable but best in both modes. I like the Dino head even if its not 100% toon

Grimlock is great. Super imposing and looks amazing. Careful when pegging the chest together in dino mode.. its tight and you don't want to mar the plastic with a tool

Snarl - big fan. easy transformation and the paint seems good. Only issue mine has is a floppy thumb on one hand (future fixed it) and the bottom of 1 dino foot seems to have absorbed some of the styrofoam marks during packing/shipping

Swoop - small paint chipping, arms compressing is a little scary for me. I never had ankle issues (first run, Chome) Careful with the beak chipping the paint and Its not the greatest head sculpt. but i still like him

Slag - Honestly a good bot. My 2 gripes are the tail just being on the back of his calf making him a bit bulky and I find his dino head projects too high over his robot head. personal opinions of course.. otherwise he's be above swoop

 

Another thing to consider here is that if you're planning on sticking mostly with the FP Dinos, then Sludge might be your only option here, especially if you espouse the opinion that due to his dino mode, Sludge should be the biggest of the five.

These guys are all significantly bigger than the FP guys. Sludge being larger than his compatriots feels less thematically breaking than for any of the others. Maybe you could swing Grimlock, due to the typical "Leader=bigger" dynamic. And I do find Superator a massive aesthetic upgrade over Grinder. Grinder just has strange robot mode proportions, IMO.

 

I agree with both points in terms of mixing scale with Fans Toys, though I'm not sure scale matters as much to OP. Also Graviter is probably my favorite of my 5 in aesthetics and engineering.
Superator looks and feels way better to me than Grinder - when I had both in hand I absolutely preferred Superator in terms of aesthetics, heft and feel, but I initially kept Grinder because I felt he scaled better with my MPs. However, I keep my Dinobots on their own shelf now so I quickly sold off my Fanstoys Dinobots as they just seem less polished overall. I do absolutely hate the lack of ankle rockers on Superator though (he has REVERSE ankle rockers which are completely useless).

 

Chrome ass snarl

 

Thanks. I sold my 5 FT Dibots last year. It was a mistake for me having all 5, it takes too much space and i much less appreciate the ones i have then only having 1, max 3, so much that they all had to go. Now i dont even have money for all anyways.

I agree Superator is a massive aesthetic upgrade over grinder, and if i could go back in time, i would first replace grinder to superator, then maybe only pick my fav two FT (slag and snarl) to go with it, and sell my swoop and sludge, so i can have proper spacing for 3 dinos only. But that boat sank long ago... and i can maybe pick one right now, as a solo.

 

I really like the GP dinos. I would say:

Slag is best in dino mode - looks great and visually for me, is the coolest \ most visually interesting type of dinosaur (i have mine in dino mode). Bot mode i worry about the connection with the tail to the legs as it's really small.
Sludge is best in bot mode - dino mode is fine, but not that interesting a type of dinosaur for me (i have mine in dino mode for space reasons).
Snarl is good in either mode (i have mine in dino mode).
Swoop is good in either mode (i have mine in bot mode).
Grimlock is good in either mode, but bot mode is REALLY nice and imposing as he is huge (i have mine in bot mode).

My choice in your position would be:

Keep in one mode = Grassor\Slag in dino mode
Flip between modes = Graviter\Sludge

Although i would HAVE to have Grimlock\Superator too  

 

On one hand, I prefer the design of Guttur. On the other hand, Graviter is the best product.
I mean, they are all great. Really. But if I have to be nitpicky, Graviter is the one without flaws. If you like the character's design, that's your bot.

 

Thanks for sharing. Yea, i think in my position, with more money and space, you would buy the original 3 dinos, lol, Slag / Sludge / Grimlock  

 

lol, i am leaning on Gravitor right now over Grassor, man it sux picking only one, i wish i could have BOTH, lol.

 

Get a floating shelf to put them on, can stick that on any free wall space, put it out of each of the kids\pets\significant other...then sell off your old mobile phones and technology to the recycling people, eat ramen noodles and give up alcohol, food with taste and coffee for a month or two to replenish funds.

Done  

 

I’ll be honest, there is just something about that Metallic Grassor with the RED head. He REALLY stand out, and almost makes himself the leader of the group!!!

 

LOL, actually, i am kinda veganish and dont have coffee or alcohol. I still have a BlackBerry Z10 from 2012 as a phone where i can no longer even check my email.... I remember being in the macross forums when Yamato was affordable and still alive, and reading how everyone is eating only ramen for months and donating kidneys and stuff to make it happen. Oh, the good ol times  

 

Yea, and that new red angry face does seem BOSS actually. So maybe if someone had a trio, they should pick slag with red face as leader, and the other two would be gravitor and guttur maybe.