Name: Grotusque
Series: Generation 1
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Military Strategist
Alternate Mode: Walrus Monster
MONSTER MODE
Height: 16cm Length: 18cm Width: 8cm
A magenta walrus monster with grey head, hindlegs and wings, Grotusque has twin off white tails and vestigial forelegs with maroon claws. His lower jaw is also maroon while the underside of his neck is a royal blue, along with his eyes. The disparate colours actually come together really well, with only the blue managing to be out of place at all. There's a gap on his back which is covered up quite well by his off-white handgun, and just in front of this he sports a rubsign (and indent). There are Autobot symbol stickers on the undersides of his wings.
This is the closest we've ever come to a walrus Transformer, but that's not to say that Grotusque is a walrus. The head tells us that this monster is based on a walrus, but with the twin tails and four legs, the body looks more like a dinosaur. The wings stick up and are broadly bat-like, rounding out a beast mode that's firmly rooted in fantasy. While most of this mode is robotic, the feet and much of the face have an organic sculpt, an unusual aspect for a G1 toy. The two giant front teeth are more or less organic, even if they're grey rather than white.
The hips and shoulders wing, while the knees and elbows also bend. There is some useful motion available, although the legs are only stable in a narrow range of posing, since the toy is fairly front-heavy. The lower jaw can lift up and shut, although it wont stay there on its own. There's a maroon button on top of his head, which activates the spark gimmick in his mouth. Pushing down on this button will also cause the lower jaw to close, and this will stay close as long as you hold down the button. You're meant to push down the button repeatedly for a stream of sparks - and as you do this the mouth opens and closes. The spark gimmick is quite successful - moreso than the Firecons' equivalent since the mouth opens a lot closer to the actual flint. While it's not the best gimmick we've ever seen, I'm happy that this gimmick doesn't get in the way of this monster mode - that it adds something is a bonus.
A good monster mode with a very unusual theme. The colours are surprisingly successful and the sculpt is both detailed and clever. I'm happy with the play value of this monster mode even before we consider the spark gimmick, which is as good as one could hope for. The only downside is a tendency for the toy to keel forward in some poses.
TRANSFORMATION TO ROBOT MODE
Remove the gun from his back, fold away the tips of his tails. Fold the feet into the hips, open up the plates on his back, rotate the rear of the monster's body to form boots, close the plates to form his shins. The front of his body rotates slightly, the head rotates away to reveal the robot head. Fold back the claws and fold out the robot fists. Swing back the wings and give Grotusque his gun.
ROBOT MODE
Height: 18cm Width: 8cm
While magenta is again the most prominent colour, it's only on the sides of the torso, his forearms and his boots, as white becomes more prominent. The head, upper arms and thighs are all white while the fists and groin are maroon. His chest and eyes are blue with the face itself is grey, along with the wings hanging back off his shoulders. The colour scheme isn't quite as unified as the monster mode, but the blue on his chest is meant to stand out.
For the most part this robot mode is quite generic - the wings are his most outstanding feature, and are the only monster feature that's really prominent here. The folded up beast legs hang off the outside of his boots while the colours make sure Grotusque stands out despite the lack of physically distinct features.
The shoulders swing and the elbows bend, and this is all Grotusque has in the way of movement. The gun is a rather fancy, twin barrelled affair, which adds something to the look of the robot mode. Since the beast head is tucked away in this mode, the spark gimmick is no longer accessible.
A decent robot mode, if a little uninspiring. While the waist is a little disjointed, there aren't any real flaws here. Grotusque is a tad generic, but the colours make him distinct enough. The play value is about average for G1, rounding off a decent robot mode.
VARIATIONS
None that I'm aware of.
OVERALL
Grotusque has one of the more unusual beast modes G1 gave us, contrasted with a fairly generic robot mode. The monster mode has good play value which includes an unusually successful spark mechanism, while the robot mode is fairly static. The robot mode is solid but unspectacular. The walrus monster itself is quite interesting, and on the strength of the animal mode I recommend Grotusque - 7.5/10
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