Oil
Slick (Animated)
Oil Slick was initially
a toy-only character, but he did make a brief appearance in Season Three
of Animated, though as a Cybertronian vehicle, not a futuristic Earth motorcycle
like this toy here. Oil Slick's motorcycle mode is decent, with some nice
proportions if you factor in the Animated aesthetic. I like the slightly
oversized wheels, and I LOVE the ram-skill front. I mean, that almost sells
the alt mode right there. There's only a headlight on one side of that
front area, though, which is kinda odd. I like how the barrels attached
to the rear sides of this mode sort of look like thrusters, even though
the actual exhaust ports are in the very back. "Enclosing" the rear wheel
in the vehicle mode was an interesting design decision, and certainly makes
Oil Slick stand out from most other motorcycle TFs even if you factor out
the Animated aesthetic. The handlebars are also adjustable, and made of
bendy plastic so they aren't too fragile. I'm not fond of how thick the
wheels are, though, particularly the front wheels-- it's entirely too obvious
that they become the robot arms, especially since they attach to the main
body of the vehicle via two "bars", not just one (each "bar" forms one
of the upper arms, that's why). That's probably my biggest complaint about
this mode. The upper legs are also a little vislible in this mode, and
the sear is way too small proportionally, even factoring in the Animated
look. As for Oil Slick's color scheme, the tan/dark green/black color scheme
works fairly well for someone skilled in chemical warfare. I don't think
it's particularly exciting, but the colors certainly don't clash, either.
I also love the tattoo-esque designs on the main body of the motorcycle,
and the mostly greenish-gold and black paint apps are used enough and look
good on their surrounding colors-- no large unpainted areas of plastic
on this toy.
Oil Slick's transformation
is fairly straightforward, mostly consisting of standing up and unfolding
the toy and then rotating his head up. He certainly has a unique look in
robot mode, but for the most part it's not a BAD unique look. I love the
transparent green "tank" he's got over his face-- it adds loads of character
and is appropriate given his expertise in chemical warfare. The face sculpt
itself is decent enough, except for the nose, which is so wide it looks
dorky. The pelvis thrusts out from the chest at a slight angle, which is...
odd. Oil Slick's overall proportions are a bit exaggerated even for an
Animated toy, with long, skinny upper legs and arms while the feet and
hands are wide and large. This is particularly noticeable with the hands,
which are each made from half of the entire front tire of the vehicle mode.
The claws that unfold from the wheels look very cool, and the big hands
are a neat look-- however, they would look much better if the thumbs and
fingers on each hand were much closer to each other than they actually
are. Having them spaced almost halfway around the wheel makes them look
disjoined and really odd. His large feet I don't have a problem with, though
having the exhaust pipes as the actual feet looks a tad odd. The motorcycle
seat halves form his heels, though, giving him quite a good amount of stability
despite his lanky appearance. The only real robot mode extras are the handle
bars behind his shoulders, so he's got no problems there. He also has very
good articulation-- he can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points),
elbows (at two points), at the base of each thumb and the three claws on
each hand (as one piece for the latter), and he can also move at the hips,
knees, and ankles. And, given his stability and lack of back-heaviness,
this means he can pull off a ton of cool poses. On mine the hip joints
are bit loose, though. As far as weapons, Oil Slick's two barrels can detach.
Both can attach in his hands. One splits in half to become an uber-cool
chain weapon, while the other just has its... top... open up. Er, yeah,
not sure what that's about. But at least the chain weapon's cool!
Oil Slick has a lot
of character, but his rather simplistic, straight-forward transformation,
a few wonky proportions in robot mode, and a few minor extras in vehicle
mode keep him from being the best-of-the-best. Still, he's a fine figure
in his own right, and if you're looking for a good Transformer with a unique
look, this one will fit the bill.
Review by Beastbot