I'm part of the 'flawed but I really like it anyway" crowd. (Sl(a)g is my favorite of the POTP wave, but I'm chalking much of that up to nostalgia bias) I gotta fall in on the side of POTP Sl(u)g here. As much as I like G1 Slag (Spent a bit too much youth trying to convince myself it was a better toy than Grimlock), the G1 toy is a bit of a train wreck. Dino mode looks as much or more like a doorstop than the POTP, and the front and back halves look perpetually misaligned. Robot mode is nicer, but has those 'half-sphere on a stick' legs and a backpack that's awkward and kibbly even by G1 Dinobot standards, with that tail just ... there. People love to harp on hollowness nowadays, but the back of G1 Slag's legs is practically a cavern. I won't go into the 'fit and finish' aspect much, as that's loaded with subjectivity and twenty years of toy manufacturing differences, but to me, POTP Slag's biggest detriments are a lack of robot wings and weaponry, the need for more paint detail especially in dino mode, and dino mode front legs that are a bit long, for a 'bulldog peering over a hedge' stance. On the upside, it has the articulation, the combining aspect I will probably rarely ever use, and the tail actually hides in (and fills out) the robot legs. It's a tight race fraught with personal preference and priorities, but I give the 'superior' tag to POTP Slag (Slug), myself.
I think years of Marvel UK artwork and working in the Anime industry has desensitised me to odd proportions! Unless it's really stubby (like Alternity Prime's arms) or stupidly long (let's say the legs on the Ready Player One poster) I'm quite flexible in this area
I wanted this toy quite a bit after warming up to it because of the dark and grotesque descriptions on the cards of what he does with certain Prime Master figures akin to something from a metal album. Yeah, there are some pretty endearing things in this toy and a lot which are not. I was expecting to be completely thrilled by this toy and truth be told, I am for the most part, but there is one huge error that I don't think it can go back from... the lower jaw flap. It's a clever way to aid in concealing his Combiner port and get that G1 flavor in don't get me wrong, but it takes a massive amount of force to move and is such thin plastic that it is certain to break. And because it is on full display, I can't take out a nail file, sandpaper or what have you and fix it without diminishing the toy's look. There are a few more quibbles like the claws on his forearms that prevent very much use of weapons and the guaranteed to break clear plastic prominently displayed on the toy. Also, those weird heel spurs that I didn't even notice earlier. They're rather hard to manage and get in the way. That being said, I am a fan of the transformation. Simple, Combiner Wars reminiscent while with some distinguishing features to let you know that beast Combiners are on their way. Alas, the tail had to have put frail clear plastic on armatures that will always be getting used. Triceratops mode isn't quite right and I can't tell why but there's something about the proportions that make him look like a guy doing push-ups. Maybe if he were squatter? Still a pretty endearing little Triceratops. I find raising the neck just makes him look like he is doing push-ups more. Leg mode looks like the Triceratops is trying to pull a ROTF Wheelie, but I quite adore the arm mode — which is what I am going to probably keep him as when combined with Galvatronus (me going the three bot Volcanicus route.) The hands, sans the weird thumbs, do look better overall than the CW ones (likely on account of the fingers actually moving all the way out) so I am sure they contribute, but there is something about how everything fits and flows together that is just cool to look at. It is lucky to be the one mode where the hand looks good plugged in. To conclude, it's a fun toy concealed by the sheer knowledge that I will break it if I try to do anything other than pose it in robot mode.
My Slug toy is surviving pretty well. I must be doing something wrong. I do understand about the jaw though. I took an X-acto knife and whittled down the back set of raised ridges (the ones that hold the jaw closed in dino mode). I think the only visual indication that it was modified is my own knowledge that I did it. Then again, I also gave mine a chromed frill. Power of the Primes Slug
So, how did you manage to whittle it down? Got any images indicating the suspect parts and lack of visual indication?
I'll see what I can do, but the bits in question are, when the jaw is flat against the chest for robot mode, the two little ridges on the jaw hinge that stick straight up (toward the head). I just carefully shaved them down until the jaw stopped making a snap noise when moved back and forth.
Though left out of his instructions, POTP Slug has some forearm slots to secure his arms to his sides in limb mode, plus flipping around his forearms/legs thusly stops them hindering arm mode posability...
Might follow what feralstorm did with his Slag’s frills. Such a simple but effective and efficient mod. I also went ahead and shaved off that square tab. One very thin slice is all it required so the back end of Slag stays securely tabbed in.
Best G1 version of Slaug I own. Okay only G1 version, as I've got Animated Snarl and AOE Slug, but hey. Do wish the Dino Frill was a little larger, and the Dino head could rotate, make it look a little nicer in limb mode. I got the Prima card, and it's a little boring. "Charges into battle with a blinding white light". That better set things on fire or something. Is there anywhere that lists what all the cards say for power ups?
Mine was "lowers the melting point of any element" ohh good, he can melt your bones while you freeze to death
I like how the PotP dinobots look, just wish they were bigger to scale with the mock-up combiner mode in the g1 cartoon (at least match with devastator in size). I really wish they made Grimlock a leader class and the other 4 dinobots voyager class. Maybe weijiang can do what they did with brainstorm/highbrow and give us a better scaled PotP dinobot combiner.
I thought Swoop would be my favorite wave 1 Deluxe. Nope Slug is great. So far he is the only dinobot that’s combiner gimmick doesn’t feels like an intrusion.
to each their own i guess but im glad they arent any bigger. for one i dont have room on my shelf for a combiner like devastator(which is why i dont own it) and also i refuse to spend that kind of money on a combiner. deluxes and a voyager makes this way more affordable for more people to enjoy.
Do you think a chrome pen on the dino frill would make it look better? *whoops thought I had read the whole thread but nope, saw someone did it. looks good! Hopefully this shows up in Oz for decent prices soon :/
I had the same problem with mine. I noticed that the tab near the combiner port wasn't lined up correctly. Make sure it tabs in at that point and you should be fine.
