Dinobot Sludge (Legacy Evolution/Core Class)

It's taken me longer than intended, but today we're looking at the final member of the Core Class Dinobots. Sludge comes in forming Volcanicus's lower torso and mirroring Rairyu in the eventual Dinoking version of this set. Sludge is a likable little fellow, though his dino mode kibble is impossible to ignore. There's two rear legs just hanging to the side of his robot mode legs. There is no getting around them and that might be a turn off for a few people. Honestly, the blocky old schoolness of this set that I've mentioned before keeps me from disliking it that much. In a stand alone figure, it'd be annoying. As a small chonky little robot whose part of a combiner team... I can't help but to instantly compare it to older toys and enjoy it for that. 

Part of a combiner team is accepting that there'll be some compromises and Sludge is a big compromise. Forming the lower torso of Volcanicus means some load bearing and this (little) big boy is built for that function. Transformation to brontosaurus is easy and just works. I have no complaints about that and found the entire process likable. As a brontosaurus, Sludge is absolutely adorable. Just a cute little dinosaur. Once again simple, but simple works.

Slugde forms the lower torso and waist of the combiner. The other parts form together fairly easily into a delightfully little version of Volcanicus. Volcanicus has a decent amount of articulation for a combiner and his smaller form makes for an easier time playing around. His fists strongly resemble those of older Micromaster combiners and of course there's the obvious Dinoking resemblance. I'm really happy with how he turned out. I really like Volcanicus despite the initial idea of the Dinobots as a combiner irked me. Thanks to misinformed folks in older days spreading a rumor that the original team could combine, the idea was a bit of a thorn in my side. However, ever since Volcanicu's introduction... I've liked him quite a bit. He's a cool combiner and I'm a sucker for the Dinobots.

Dinobot Slug (Legacy Evolution/Core Class)

Around 2009, someone at Hasbro discovered Slag wasn't a friendly term everywhere in the world and started using alternates with Slug being the most often used. At this point there's more Slag toys named something completely else than Slag... but it's still an elephant in the room in some corners of the Transformers world. I'll be calling him Slag, but the name on the box says Slug for those reasons. Slag is another member of this Core Class Dinobots set and a classic Dinobot as well. As a Core Class, he is pretty small. though apparently is one of the larger toys in the class. Slag, like Snarl, could almost pass for a regular toy as his combiner limb nature isn't completely evident. If not for his dino tail weapon containing Volcanicus's head, it'd be pretty easy to hide.

Well that and the assorted pegs visible in robot mode. Slag looks fairly accurate to his classic character here with obvious omissions for size and paint. He's a good looking figure. Transformation from robot to Triceratops is fairly easy. He's another one of those toys where everything looks like where it would go. The dino tail forms a 'blaster' in robot mode. It also is storage for Volcanicu's head and forms part of the combiners abdomen. Snarl forms the main torso of Volcanicus and mirrors Kakuryu in Dinoking... which is obviously another use of the mold set coming at some point. As a Triceratops, Slag has a fair amount of articulation considering his small size. All four legs can move and his mouth can open. Opening his mouth would of course expose the robot mode head... but that was the case on his original toy as well. This is a perfectly serviceable little figure of Slag. Like the other Dinobots in this set, I like him a lot. In fact, I like this set and am honestly enjoying it more than the full size Volcanicus from Power of the Primes. Not disparaging that version at all (I like it quite a bit), but the more compact design benefits the combiner overall. Everything is just sturdier. Not to mention, I really enjoy the blocky old school nature of this set of toys. We've got one more Dinobot to go until Volcanicus awakens! 

Dinobot Snarl (Legacy Evolution/Core Class)

Halfway to Halloween is the perfect time to take a look at a Snarl toy. Long time readers know about my Snarl Halloween costume, but in this case it's time we got back to our look at the Core Class Dinobots from Transformers Legacy Evolution. Like the other Core Class Dinobots, Snarl is small and a little blocky. Small, because he's a Core Class. The blockiness obviously also comes due to his smaller size and brings a level of old school charm. It's impossible not to compare this set to Dinoking, which possibly could be coming out later made from this set of molds. I hope it does, Dinoking is pretty great. Volcanicus, the combiner this set, is also pretty great and so is this set of figures. It's really hard to complain about a dinosaur combiner robot.

Snarl, of course, transforms into a stegosaurus. Dinosaur mode is pretty faithful, though I can see others take issue with his hind legs. Those are formed from Snarl's robot mode arms and the feet are at his elbows. This leads to his forearms effectively hanging out the back of the feet and impossible to ignore. In a larger toy, these would fold up. It doesn't bother me as the size and combining nature of the toy will lead to some compromises. I can see how it would turn off some though. Transformation is pretty easily and everything goes where you'd expect too by looking at it. You do have to remove the red portion of the dino back and manually attach it to the robots back. Theirs also a little maneuvering of this piece when converting Snarl to Volcanicus's right leg. So try not to loose it.

Snarl comes with a sword. The sword can be mounted to the top of the dinosaur or beneath. It goes without saying he can hold it in robot mode, but it also can be mounted on his back as that's the same part as the dino back. In robot mode Snarl is fairly faithful to his classic design. He's not as blocky as some of the other Dinobots and probably could have been a stand alone toy. I normally favor Snarl figures, but this one really is a good little toy. Just two more Dinobots to look at until Volcanicus!

Dinobot Scarr (Legacy: Evolution/Core Class

Getting back to the Core Class Dinobots I started talking about a little while back with Grimlock is Scarr, whom we'll be looking at today. In the IDW comics, Scarr (spelled Skar there) is the Tactical Medic of the Dynobots. I'd like to think this set represents another version of the team as a combiner team. Scarr transforms into an Ankylosaurus and the left arm of Volcanicus. For many of us, there was an instant comparison to Gairyu when Scarr's images first got out. It's almost impossible not to make that comparison.

Like Grimlock before... there's no ignoring the fact that Skarr is a combiner component. I can look past it seeing the larger picture, but I know others can't. He's a smaller toy at a lower price who's one part of a bigger thing. There's going to be some compromises, the Real World is more than a long running TV show. Scarr is pretty neat though, he's this chonky little fellow that's hard to dislike. Scarr's gun is one of Volcanicus's fists. That's a fun way of using the combiner parts in the individual robot modes that's been done before. I personally couldn't stop comparing it to toys like the Micromaster Combiners or Landcross. I really liked those so the comparisons made it impossible for me to dislike. Your mileage may vary. It's worth noting that Monstructor and Dinoking had the same type of weapon/parts. Hrm. Scarr is a great addition to the Dinobots and one I could see being a member of the original gang. So far this set is pretty great and the similarities to older combiner teams is awesome. 

Grimlock (Legacy Evolution/Core Class)

I really like the Dinobots, Core Class, and Volcanicus. What happenes when all three of those things are combined? You get a Core Class version of Volcanicus! Obviously this is something I'm interested in and happily found Grimlock before seeing Rise of the Beasts a little while back. There's no denying Grimlock's very blocky proportions. Make no mistake about it, this is a small combiner peice and some sacrifices were clearly made. Giving you a simple and blocky robot mode and one awkward dinosaur.. I'll admit my forgivness is heavily influenced by the smaller Pretender toy vibes I get from the toy. Not to mention, I'm used to giving combiner limbs a pass.

There's often some comprimisng done in the individual toy as part of the overall team. I know I'm not the only person to make the comparison, but there's a heavy Dinoforce vibe with this set and hopefully a remold results in an update of that team as well. Perhaps even a future Monstructor. That'd be great. I also can't help but to make mental comparisons to Pretender Grimlock as well. It's not an exact comparison, but there's some familiarity. The gun made from the tail bit contributes to that. Grimlock is a pretty decent little figure. On his own, maybe not so great, but as part of a neat looking combiner... yeah he's ok. Part of me wants to see him worked into a Pretender update as well.

Cyberverse Season 4 Trailer

Kakuryu's Victory

One of the neat things about Transformers is that it isn't cut and dry. Thirty six years of toys and cartoons has lead to restarts and reboots, but somehow there's usually a thread of connectivity in the oddest places. Powercore Combiners (PCC) was this weird offshoot line that hung around for a little while. It had the usual mix of fans and haters. 

One of the more cool aspects of PCC (or frustrating depending on your viewpoint) was that the line wasn't rooted in one singular continuity. One character might appear in a movie universe story, the other in an IDW G1 comic. They were a varied set of characters that just happened to share a play gimmick. 

Which brings us to Kakuryu.

Kakuryu was a Decepticon in Tranformers Victory. A member of Dinoforce to be exact. The group were a team of Pretenders with dinosaur shells that merged to form Dinoking. The Dinoforce served under the lead of Deathsarus who eventually abandoned them. This lead to the team helping out the Autobots. After all was said and done, Kakuryu ended up working at an amusement park. I hope it was Universal Studios.

If you didn't care about Powercore Combiners, that's a shame, because you probably didn't care about the Takara versions of the toys either. During PCC one of the more popular figures was Grimstone. Grimstone was a Dinobot who's combiner drones were other dinosaurs. He was pretty neat and generally well liked by Transformers fans. 

Unlike the Hasbro releases, Takara's version of PCC got a specific story line setting. Taking place around the same time as Operation Combination, various Autobots and Decepticons used the new Power Core Combination technology developed on Earth. 

Kakuryu by this time had joined the Autobots and became one of the Dinobots. He took part in the Power Core Combination program and became Grimmaster! Grimmaster being the Japanese version of the Grimstone toy. Grimmaster had several more adventures which lead to his part in helping the Dinobots become Volcanicus most recently. It's not a matter of G1 or Beast Wars. It's all Transformers.

Volcano Robo

Giant robots need swords, it's a rule.

It took me a while to cool to Volcanicus's lava. Initially, I was turned off by the idea of a classic Dinobot team combiner (new guys, no problem). It's been one of those long running ideas based on nothing. It used to be pretty commonplace to hear someone talking about the G1 Dinbots combined form, which didn't exist. I remember a toy dealer once swearing to me that they did, I was wrong, and he's seen it and it was a giant shogun warrior! My answer was to show me how it combined, seeing as he had a set of 'complete' (folks forget Grimlock had a gun) Dinobots that he was swearing was a combiner. It wasn't the first or last time I've had a toy dealer cross his arms, turn around, and I think hold his breath (fyi, it's best to know this stuff for your own self before getting sold one of those Family Dollar sets for 500$. Trust me, I've seen it happen.)

I think that bit of commonly passed around misinformation is the source of my initial turn off, because when I see it, I like it. It just looks cool. And hey, like Combiner Wars, everyone is a combiner in Power of the Primes, so why not finally work that out?

It's a really cool looking combiner form. There's no denying that. It's also a very cool name. Volcanicus. I don't know why the prospect of lava makes things 100% better, but I'm fond of the floor.