Toy Review: “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Dinobot Slug

NAME: Dinobot Slug
ALLEGIANCE: Autobot
ALTERNATE MODE: Triceratops
CLASS: Deluxe
SERIES: M4: #003
CO-SELLS: Bumblebee, Crosshairs, Scorn

This fiery warrior hates taking orders, unless it means he gets to destroy something. He’ll level anything in his path with a fit of white-hot dino rage.

Ah, poor Slag — got caught in the vortex of Trademark Loss. But since this isn’t the Generation 1 character, having a new name isn’t such a bad thing. (Never mind the fact we’re getting a G1-decoed minicon Slug at some point….)

The Dinobots in the new film are unlike the Dinobots of old. No longer grey and yellow, Slug now sports a deep purple and a shade of red, with rubbery grey plastic pieces. Let’s find out what he’s like, shall we?

Slug in Package Gallery:

TRICERATOPS MODE

Slug is packaged in triceratops mode. He has lots of spikes and ridges and points, and to me it looks like the designers are trying to evoke the look of a dinosaur skeleton. The end result makes it look like Slug has a thick endoskeleton for armor, making his skin highly impervious. It’s a unique take on the dinosaur, and it makes sense in the movie universe aesthetic. This endoskeleton is mostly a dark purple with some grey, while his head has a bright red (leaning towards a shade of pink… let’s call it “rose”) frill. His eyes are green with detail in them, and his lower jaw pieces — made of a softer, almost rubbery plastic — can move, allowing you to open his mouth and chomp down on something.

His horns and tail are also made of this plastic. I’ve taken Hasbro to task for the use of soft plastic before — the knee “spikes” on Transformers Prime Starscream were notorious for not keeping their shape. It looks like this plastic won’t have the same issue, though. Maybe it’s a slightly tougher plastic; maybe the horns are thicker. Whatever the reason, the detail on these are fantastic; I love the look.

It’s definitely not G1 Slag, but the color choices and deco pattern make me not care. I’d be not at all surprised, though, if a repaint in a G1 deco comes along at some point….

Slug in Triceratops Mode Gallery:

TRANSFORMATION

First you flip and fold his tail out of the way, swing his rear legs back, pull out his feet, and then you get to the nifty bit.  Two panels unpeg from his torso, his hands rotate out, and then the torso panels combine to form his forewarms.  His triceratops head splits in half to form his shoulders, his front legs peg where those torso panels were, flip a few things out, and then you have a robot mode.  Not totally intuitive, but it’s clever.

ROBOT MODE

Wow. I love this look. The purple and grey parts really complement each other, and the bits of red provide nice contrast. His face — with an eyevisor and no other facial features — adds some mystery to the character, in direct opposition to his snarling triceratops face. I wasn’t sure I’d like the robot mode based on pictures, but it’s rather imposing. Each foot ends in a long spike which looks like it could do some damage.

Let’s look at his swords swords for a moment. They’re made out of the same rubbery plastic as the triceratops horns, which means a kid can play with these and not worry about hurting himself. The softer plastic does allow for some interesting detail on each blade as well . I like this change and hope Hasbro conetinues to do it.

Slug has neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip and knee articulation. His legs don’t allow for ankle movement, so it’s not quite as posable as his Deluxe mate Drift, but it’s pretty good. The over all segmented, exoskeleton look of the dinosaur looks great reconfigured in robot mode. I’m digging this aesthetic a lot. It reminds me a bit of Dark of the Moon Shockwave, actually. The Autobot symbol now appears on the interior of Slug’s left arm.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m loving this toy. He’s fun, a little challenging to transform, has a great color scheme, and the engineering is solid. The use of rubbery plastic that doesn’t anger me is a great plus. If the other deluxe class Dinobots are like this, we’re in for a treat.