Just got mine. Joints aren't rock solid but I don't have anything that flaps around. Easily the most bland of the 3 bots so far. A longer neck would have been nice but then he really would have been too top heavy to stand up. Columpio suffers from that issue. He's big and beefy though. Will easily dominate in a display.

 

Also just found out, if the back of the tail isn't coming together flush satisfactorily it's most likely because something with the folded up legs inside is a teense askew. There's no give there, you have to have it folded up perfectly. Otherwise those top back and tail panels aren't going to get flush.

 

Overall, Hasbro did my boy right. He is loose in the legs but, I think I can fix that. His transformation is a little more complex than it needs to be but, the results can't be beat. Bring on the other 2!!

 

I definitely found myself a little surprised by some of the steps (like pulling out and rotating his torso), but the overall effect is quite good.

 

Chalk me up among the winners of the Sludge lottery. Got mine from Amazon, and he's perfect. No floppy knees, no floppy hips, perfect paint. Couple great-looking robot and dino modes with an inventive transformation and strong articulation, and we've got another hit! All four Leader Dinobots in Studio Series have been home runs, and I sure hope Hasbro doesn't keep us waiting long for Snarl and Swoop (and Scorn and Strafe and Slug, eventually).

 

4 Leader Dinobots? Grimlock, Slag and Sludge and we're waiting on Snarl and Swoop..

Whos the 4th one you're talkin about?

 

Same. I was surprised mine didn't have any issues. I'm liking him so far.

 

AOE Grimlock. He’s not a G1 Dinobot, but he is a Leader class Dinobot released in Studio Series. I figured my wish for the other three AOE guys would’ve given it away.

Just wanted to remind any Hasbro guys who may be reading the boards that even though everyone’s loving the 86 Dinobots, there are still people wanting the rest of the AOE Dinobots too.

And to keep my post on-topic, Sludge, of course, looks fantastic with the other 86 Dinobots. I adore this level of visual cohesion among members of a team, and hope that the days of inconsistently-styled teams (lookin at you, Prime Wars Insecticons) are behind us.

 

Does anyone else think his toes in dino mode should be gold?

 

In terms of toy and toon I think they’ve always been grey or silver, but I actually agree with you. Gold would look great.

 

Ok, we're at the half-way mark with Sludge, and I just got him as a super belated birthday gift from my brother.
First, the overall aesthetic is fantastic. Seeing him alongside Grimlock and Slag is appropriate since this trio was the first wave showcased in the 80s show.
The robot mode is beefy, but noticably floppier, lacking any racheting in the joints. In otherwords, he feels...softer than the other 2?
I think of how sturdy Grimlock feels in comparison and it seems like with each new entry they get less rugged in handling. Thus, posing him takes some adjustments, as his weight has trouble being supported by his loose leg joints. I may be in a state of G1 euphoria right now, because it doesnt bother me as much as it should.

I would say the highmark for me is the transformation, which feels fairly intuitive, as I didnt expect all of the unpacking you must do from dino mode, then rearranging these unpacked segments and folding back into a robot form. Such a fun experience. Of the 3 dinobots, his feels the most satisfactory, with Grimlock being simplistic and Slag being a bit fiddly.

The dino mode is dopey like his character and I am here for it. The neck/head joints lend themselves to some expressive poses, and because of his rotund shape, his legs do very little in the ppsing options. Again, the design team made an amazing match to the animation model, save for the stubby tail and the godawful undercarriage area. His blaster sticks out like Sore thumb when attached in this mode, especially when viewed on his left side where the gold barrel is on display. I love his vapid expression. I can hear his dimwitted dialogue right now.
I remember some youtube reviews expressing their dislike of his weapon, citing it was inaccurate to the toy. But he does have this in "S.O.S. Dinobots", so its slavish to the cartoon.


I cannot wait for the recently announced Snarl and I hope when Swoop comes out, they include a flight stand to compensate for the Leader Class price point, as he is nowhere close in mass as his teammates.
As a closing though, am I the only one who prefers to display them in bot mode over dino mode? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

They really do look fantastic together as a set. Makes me all the more eager for Snarl and Swoop.

 

Nice review!

I too prefer mine in bot mode over dino mode.

 

After a little time and work and fixing up, (mainly tightening up those hip and knee joints) I appreciate Sludge a bit more. Stupid as it is to say, Sludge feels like a quality toy - when it actually feels like a quality toy. It's still one of the less exciting Dinobots to me, not having big teeth or horns or spikes or wings or big personality or whatever, but in terms of toy design, I'd place Sludge slightly above Slag/Slug, more if not for the ugly dino-tummy area, and potentially dragged down by the problematic joints on many examples. Grimlock remains my gold standard.

 

Finally got my Sludge from Dorkside Toys today and mine is quite a floppy mess in robot mode sadly. But in dino mode he's fine.

Honestly, I'm just happy to have a Sludge that other than those loose joints, looks awesome. I have a real soft spot for Sludge as he and Snarl were the only Dinobots I had as a kid in the G1 days, My older brother had Slag and Swoop.

 

I'm late but finally got my Sludge from BBTS, joints all seem fine not as loose as I expected from reviews here. I'm not as concerned with bot mode anyway. One thing I was surprised I did not notice before was he has front teeth on his dino head. No idea why he got a special dispensation while Grimlock could not.

 

Grimlock came with a buddy, Sludge did not.

 

I bought the BDT foot upgrade kits off eBay, but I have no way of telling whether the ones I got are "genuine" BDT or fourth party KOs. Are there any noticable differences in quality between the TFSafari and eBay versions of the Sludge foot kit?

 

Aren't BDT themselves a knock off? Did you get it from this seller?

Replenish Missile Reflector Foot Plate Upgrade Kit For SS86 Sludge - BDT Design | eBay

I don't have it but the gold doesn't look like it matches 100% and it doesn't fill up the entire empty spot in the belly. I wanna get this but also want to wait for other kits.

 

Yeah, that's where I got it from. I was mainly concerned because I heard the alleged "fourth party" kits have shoddier finish and paint compared to the guys who first designed them.

I'm not really concerned about not filling the gap all the way because it's supposed to be his feet in the first place, they can only be so big. And the color matching is unfortunate but nothing I can't overlook.