That would make the effort I've been putting in to make the ones we've got more toy-accurate a waste. But honestly as long as that hypothetical set wasn't a chromed mess I'd probably go for it.

 

I would have been in for that set a year ago, but since then I've grabbed the chrome Gigapower Dinobots and I think I'm good.

 

Robot mode hips are a little loose. The wings stay on thankfully.

 

2 coats of Future on the knees directly, an injection into the screwholes with a needle, along with some injections into the hips and he stands quite solidly now, so I'll be keeping him. Easily the worst of the three and the least impressive transfomation (IMHO) of the three. Yet it's the best Sludge I own, so here I am.

Two more and I'll have my Dinobots and never need another again.

 

I must have won the QC lottery because my Sludge just arrived today and he's solid. Knees are maybe a wee bit loose but nothing that prevents posing at all. I'm digging Sludge!

 

Just got Sludge and still absorbing the experience.

Mine has loose knees. Hips seem OK but if I’m fixing the knees might as well touch up the hips. Wings after only 1 tf seem ok; we’ll see.

QC aside first thoughts are: like that the transformation scheme isn’t the same as Slag (made the PotP figures that much duller). Seems a bit fiddly. Lots of massaging to get it all lined up.

 

Anyone have reviews of the foot upgrade kit?

 

Fixed my floppy knees with a piece of folded paper jammed behind the tooth spring block. He doesn't fall over anymore.

 

I should absolutely love this figure. Great design. Phenomenal cartoon accuracy.

But I don't love it. In hand, it's so vanilla and boring. There's literally nothing special about it. It's mostly unremarkable.

 

That pretty much just sums up Sludge in a nutshell.

I mean, he's easily the best of the G1 Dinobots in terms of proportions. But he doesn't wear his colours with the glam of Snarl, and doesn't have the prestige of Grimlock's alt-mode, or his character presence, so he just kinda winds up *existing*. Also doesn't help that the grand summation of his character is "dumb as bricks".

Is it any wonder that when all the other Dinos were playable in FoC, Sludge was simply out-of-commission?

 

I like that his neck is a longer then the PotP Sludge. He looks very clean and overall nice. My main gripes are that his tail isn't long enough to balance it out, and his back legs look a little off.

 

Guess I'm a bit in the minority as I love this guy. Sludge was always one of my favourites because he is the most plain. I just gravitate to his simplicity and I love Sauropods. The tolerances on mine are good. Looser than normal but not so loose it flops, though I understand that's not common. Maybe if the QC was worse I wouldn't be so warm to him but I'm really happy. Only nitpick is the feet. It is kind of ridiculous that they hang down when there's a big empty underside gap right there, but they also aren't obvious from most downward angles.

I also love the transformation. Very creative in the way it moves the back legs to the upper body, eschewing the original scheme in favour of something that unifies both modes and replicates the quirks of his cartoon model.

So far these Dinobots are 3/3. Can't wait for Snarl and Swoop.

 

Looks like I lucked out on the QC with my copy. (Photos were taken with him straight out of the box, no fixes applied). Arrived today, and I can only echo what Split Lip said right above me; Sludge is a glorious chunk with a clunk in the foot department.

Didn't bother with Grimlock, as I'm sick of the awful outdated "tail-dragging" Rex mode, but Slag & Sludge make my inner child beam.

 

Awesome photos

 

Ha. My Sludge had a run in with Jihaxus too:



I have really warmed up to Sludge. I'm digging him much more than I thought that I would. I wish his tail was a bit longer but oh well. I got lucky with the wings - mine haven't popped off at all. The legs were a bit loose but they are fine now after adding a little paper to the joints. I'll probably get a third party kit that folds his robot feet in dino mode - I just want the colors to match though.

My Studio Series 86 Dinobot rankings:

1. Sludge
2. Slag - a very close second
3. Grimlock - can't stand his fat stubby dino tail and meth addict look (no front teeth). His robot mode is aces though.

 

Assuming this is the kit you're referring to....I got a set off Ebay. While it doesn't perfectly cover the stomach gap, I do think it improves the silhouette when in dino mode. The original feet being missile launchers are a nice added bonus and everything can be changed back to stock with very little effort.

 

Thanks man. Although the gold isn't a perfect match, it looks closer than I thought. Did you order from this seller:

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

 

Yeah, the gold color matching isn't perfect, but it's close enough that it doesn't bother me at all.

I got mine from a US seller, doesn't look like they have any more in stock though.
US stock Replenish Missile Reflector Foot Plate Upgrade Kit For SS86 Sludge | eBay

 

The paper in the knee joint thing does improve the friction quite a bit. Recommended and easy to do. Take a piece of paper and fold it until it's two or three sheets thick. If it's not that loose do two, if it's pretty loose, do three, and adjust from there.

What bugs me is that he tends to lean back even with fixed knees if you have him standing at attention. It's a combination of the back weight and the teeny tiny bit of give the leg and hip joints have. I had to put the one leg one ratchet forward at the knee and then compensate the asymmetry with the heel articulation for a decent standing pose.

I was a bit surprised that he was more long than he was portly in dino mode. Best part of dino mode is definitely the head/neck. Can get some decent poses there despite the limited articulation. Transformation into dino mode is a bit more fiddly than I'd like, but even then it didn't transform like I thought it would so that was a pleasant surprise.

He's ok and I'm liking him the more I futz with him. The previous two dinobots made better first impressions I think.