Name: Grimlock
Series: 6" Titaniums
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Dinobot Commander
Alternate Mode: Cybertronian Tank
Thanks to kup for loaning me Grimlock for this review.
TANK MODE
Height: 7cm Length: 16cm Width: 11cm
A graphite coloured tank with charcoal treads at the front and back, Grimlock has an amber die cast metal block underneath his rounded turret, which is right at the front of the vehicle. The graphite plastic has a metallic sheen, as does a similar colour paint on the rear section, which is also die cast. There are triple cannons on either side of the turret which are composed of a slightly darker, gunmetal, plastic, which also carries a metallic sheen. There are black and red highlights here and there, anchoring this toy as Grimlock quite well. There's an Autobot symbol at the front of the amber block, although it's tricky to see since it's right at the bottom and faces down slightly.
This tank is more a robot lying down than a true tank, but it still looks fairly convincing as a fantasy tank. The red robot groin and black thighs are visible between the amber block and the rear section, which gives away the robot buried here. The rear treads are part of this rear section while the front treads are on graphite pods, on either side of the amber base. Between these wide pods and the turret, this tank mode is very front heavy - visually. Despite that, Grimlock is actually very back heavy, thanks to the large metal section at the back.
There's some play value here - about what you'd expect from a 6" Titanium. Grimlock has six small wheels under his treads - two at the front and four at the back - although he's a little heavy and tends to slide instead of rolling. The triple cannons on either side of his turret can swing up and over - from forward to up to backwards. You can plug the robot mode gun into a hole at the back of his turret allowing it to point backwards or hinge upwards - Grimlock has a lot of anti-aircraft capability. The robot mode's sword can plug into the left side rear tread. While the cannons themselves are versatile, the turret itself is fixed.
Aside from the groin and thighs, which are just too visible for my liking, this is a good tank mode. It looks imposing and has a range of cannons, and despite the fixed turret Grimlock can aim his weapons to some extent. While this is his weaker mode, it does the job.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Detach and set aside the robot mode weapons. Extend the rear, split to form boots and fold out his feet and heelspurs. Fold down the amber block to form his chest and reveal his head. Split the turret, fold the halves out to form wings and plug into his back. Fold out the forearms from within the front tread pods (upper arms) and place the weapons in his hands.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 14.5cm Width: 13.5cm
Grimlock's colour layout is classic - his chest is amber while his groin is red, thighs black and the limbs a mix of graphite and charcoal. Okay, so the amber and graphite varies slightly from gold and grey, but the intent is very, very, obvious. The head is black with a gold mouthplate and red eyes, and again is classic Grimlock. The Autobot logo is now central on his chest, and looks good there. My only real complaint here is the hollow upper arms.
The bodyshape, aside from those hollow arms, is good - with a block, powerful, chest and sold looking limbs. The wings aren't really kibble, either - they're specifically designed to mimic the kibble found on the Dinobot. The die cast metal is fairly prominent here, on his chestplate and in his boots, much of it is in the boots, making Grimlock bottom heavy.
Grimlock's poseability is good although there are some restrictions. His head turns while the shoulders swing. The treads actually swing along with the attachments inside them, so he has double shoulders of sorts. The elbows also swing while his wrists rotate. Lateral movement in the arms would have been nice, but very difficult to achieve. His waist rotates while the hips swing and lift out to the sides. His knees are hinges with rotators in his thighs. The feet and heelspurs have two hinges each, and along with the heavy boots this makes Grimlock stable in a wide array of poses.
A good robot mode, which is very much Grimlock. The layout and shape work well and the colours are good. The hollow upper arms and limitations on his arm poseability are negatives, but the two weapons are nice and the strength of the tribute are clear positives.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of.
OVERALL
With a very good robot mode and a decent rank mode, Grimlock is a worthwhile 6" Titanium toy. The colours, weapons, choice of alt mode, body shape and layout in robot mode are all clearly Grimlock - and are all positives. The fixed turret in vehicle mode and hollow upper arms in robot mode are negatives, but the robot mode displays well thanks to useful leg poseability. Worth getting if you're a fan of the line - 8/10
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