Let me just say I LOVE the mold for Classics Grimlock. The bot and alt modes are both great. The head mold actually does the character some justice. (the eyes should have been blue though)

IMHO this is the best version of Grimlock there is. It's even better than G1. The only version of Grimlock that has a chance to challenge it is TF Animated Grimlock.

So why all of the hate for Classics/ Henkei Grimlock? I think it's an all around great homage to Grimlock. The Henkei version does the toy one better with the very G1-like chrome.

So what do you think? Is there anyone out there who likes this toy as much as I do? Why? And if you dislike it please explain why.

For those of you who don't have it, I recommend getting it as soon as you can!!

 

They put him together wrong (something I hope Takara fixes).

His bot mode feet are a point of contention with a lot of people.

His shoulder assembly has been mentioned as problematic for some folks as well.

 

What shoulder problems? I've never had problems with mine. Also what do you mean he was "put together wrong"?

Please explain.

 

classics grimlock has a fantastic head but i really dont like the rest of him.

The top half works ok but its those legs, the chicken/high heel thing, I know chickens are technically dinosuars (yes, evidence suggests that birds are the only non extinct branch of the dinosaurs, dinos are not extinct therefor) but that still doesnt mean that grimlock should have chicken like feet (and im talking the robo mode here). to my mind the alt mode is a bit scrawny and rat like, the robo mode is too clumsy and fussy looking, theres a lack of coherence that the animated version (as an example) appears to have, i also didnt like the fact that a signifiant portion of the toy (the tail) became a weapon, overall i just felt the whole toy didnt gel right with itself, it looked to too hotch potch.

I did buy him initially and sort of liked it but then i ended up selling him, he'll make space for the animated version, now he looks pretty good.

 

I like the figure but I can see some good reasons such as odd proportions, poor articualtion and visable screws on the shoulders to hate on the design a little. Personally as soon as I saw the beauitfuly chromed up Henkei version I rushed over the HLJ to order myself one.

Definately the most 'accuate' version of G1 Grimlock so far but with Animated and MP Grimlock (possibly) in the pipline I dont think he'll hold that title for long, and for the record the eyes should be red, I even pulled the visor off my BT Grimlock scraped the blue of and repained it red to compensate.

Yours AK

 

I think G1 Grimlock still is the best mold in my opinion. The T-Rex robot mode of G1 looks more like a T-Rex than that of Classics Grimlock.

Henkei Grimlock has my love.

 

G1 Grimlock looks like a robot Barney. Granted its very accurate to his TV counterpart but he's still kinda dopey looking.

I like Classics Grimlock. I have no problem with the transformation and think they put just enough paint to keep me from getting nauseous. The Takara version reminds me of all those ugly gold plated KOs I see in Chinatown.

Only problem I have with him is his size. He should have been a Voyager at least, or an Ultra in 2.0

 

When he first came out, it seemed like a lot of people disliked him because he was shortpacked and didnt live up to Grimlock's own hype. They had to work hard to find him, and when they did it wasnt worth it. But now, it would seem people dislike him on his own merits.

I however do like him. The shoulders never bugged me. Yes, they dont peg in where they're meant to, but they dont flop and flail wildly like deluxe Brawl's, either. They stay in place well enough. His feet dont bother me, aesthetically. It does bother me that he cant balance on one foot like a lot of figures, but the way they look is alright with me. I dont even use the tail as a weapon, I leave it on his back as a giant piece of kibble (JUST LIKE HIS G1 HEAD!) Shoulder screws dont bother me because if they were reassembled, they'd just be visible in dino mode instead. The fact that his sword is horizontal doesnt bother me; it doesnt look inherently better this way, but a TF with a bayonet is a fairly new thing. Plus, the fact that the sword is built into a gun, it would look a bit odd vertical.

Those are the things people dont like about it (well, I didnt mention the dino mode, but that's a matter of opinion. Neither this nor his G1 form look like a real t-rex, and they're both fun to play with), and none of them bother me. Then of course we have his good points. He's very nicely detailed with a fine color scheme, he has an interesting transformation, his dino mode is nicely posable, and his bot mode is more posable than some of the other Classics (Astrotrain and Jetfire's gimpy legs). I like him much more than a lot of other $10 toys.

 

It's alright, but by far the worst of the Classics molds. Mine's pretty loose and floppy and I've never really warmed up to the canine-like dino head. From some angles it looks kind of like a crocodile but overall...I dunno. Never liked the head. The head sculpt is great though. The screws on the outside of the robot shoulders never bugged me since I was a Dino freak as a kid (hence why the Dinobots are my fav TFs ever) and would rather have them hidden in T-Rex mode than robot mode. But that's just personal preference. Overall it's still leaps and bounds over Energon Grimlock.

 

Henkei Grimlock isn't even out yet. I've pre-ordered it, and I'll decide if it's love or hate once I have him. I like the chrome on him in photos though.

 

I'm kind of on the fence about him. if he didn't have the halves of his dino head for his feet, I'd be a super fan of him. I also feel that the dino mode looks a little bit too raptor-ish in proportion, though.

 

(yes, evidence suggests that birds are the only non extinct branch of the dinosaurs, dinos are not extinct therefor)

That's not the case at all.

Birds descended from reptiles, but not necessarily dinosaurs- Archaeopteryx existed at the same time.

Extinction occurs on a species to species basis.

 

Easily my least favorite of the first Classics set. 1) he's too small, 2) he looks like a raptor, not a t-rex, 3) his bot mode lacks the sheer power he had in G1 4) I hate the head/feet transformation, 5) I miss the bot mode wings, 6) his weapons suck.

 

I just feel that the chrome looks tacky and doesn't fit in with the rest of the design in dino mode. I don't care for G1 accuracy, I just feel it hurts the design by creating such a difference in the parts.

 

You're both oversimplifying the explanation of the process anyway, AND this is not germane to the topic in the least bit, so just give it a rest.

The only time I've owned Grimlock was when I bought him online from Wal-Mart, and the one I got was apparently a return from a physical store. The package was taped together and Grimmy was visibly damaged. Returned that bastard ASAP and never bought one since, so I've no opinion on the figure personally. :-|

 

I think he's great. People make the shoulder peg thing out to be waaaay more of a problem than it is.
My biggest problem with him is the lack of other Dinobots in Classics for him to command  

 

I think he's awesome! Only problem is I wish he had the old-style "wings" but not a massive issue  

 

Well seeing how he is more an updated version of Pretender Grimlock and not the original version I think he is a great figure my only complaints would be his shoulder clips and he should have been voyager sized!

 

As others have already pointed out, it's just a design preference. I thought that Classics Grimlock was by far the weakest new-mold of the line due his alt mode having a giant sword & "spinal peg" sticking off his back, and his bot mode being so tiny by comparison, using the alt mode head as feet, terrible articulation in the arms & legs, and the overall lack of traditional Grimlock elements such as his "wings" & split tail. Where the other Classics followed their original design templates (except for Megatron) and vastly improved upon their G1 transformations & bot mode styles, Grimlock was completely out of left field and was, imo, perhaps 'over-thought' for the sake of having a new version. Plus I hate that 1/3 of his body pops off to become a weapon. It doesn't necessarily take away a lot of mass, but definitely doesn't help retain any mass or bulk that Grimlock normally had.

Then there's the Henkei version - with all the same faults & problems but now with the additional perk of what I consider to be extremely cheesy looking gold chrome that's more of an eye sore than an enhancement.

All the power to anyone who likes the Classics Grimlock mold and/or the new Henkei colors. But it's just not anything I can personally appreciate. At this point, I feel Animated Grimlock will already be a much better homage considering how many G1 characteristics the design shares.

 

I personally really like the mold (it is my current favorite after all). I agree that people have made the shoulder issue sound a lot worse than what it actually is. As for him being a Deluxe, and not a Voyager, I'm not sure how the size upgrade would improve the toy. Yeah, it would have been nice to get a bigger Grimlock, but his design more than makes up for his size. As for the Japanese version, I personally don't like the use of the chrome (not a fan of chrome on TF's to begin with), and it could have been put to some better uses on the figure. I wouldn't mind getting the mold again, but it would have to be a US release (much easier and cheaper for me to get). I actually wouldn't mind Hasbro releasing a repaint of him in his G2 coloration (the darker of the 2 blues). Would be nice to see the rest of his teamates (would definetly make for a nice display), but it's nothing to complain about imo. Hopefully we'll one day get a set of 5 Dinobots. When that'll happen, and what line they'll be under is extremely hard to tell, but it would definetly be awesome to see Even more so if they would reverse enginear the old molds and reissue them (wouldn't be the first time they said something woudn't happen, but ended up happening anyways).

The coolest thing about him (Animated Grimlock), is taht he has his G1 counterparts transformation. There are only a couple of small details that are different, but nothing major (hands actually being dino-modes feet is the only thing I can think of at the moment). Animated Grimlock could, and there's a good chance of this, actually become my favorite TF toy once it comes out.