Every line has its big-ticket item, and "Stomp 'n Chomp" Grimlock is Age of Extinction's. Basically, he's a super-huge (close to 2 feet long in dino mode from head to tail), super-simplified one-step changer with a bunch of electronic features. As far as t-rex mode, in general he LOOKS pretty good, except for two rather significant robot mode extras-- the robot arms and chest plate, hanging below his chest and going back below his stomach. They're pretty darned obvious, though their rounded nature at least makes them fit in with Grimlock's silhouette from certain angles. However, otherwise the proportions on this mode look pretty nice. As huge as the toy is, the mold detailing isn't super-intricate, but there's still lots of awesome bits like bone-like ridges along his tail and upper back, spikes-a-plenty along his feet, plenty of fearsome-looking teeth inside his maw, and those crazy-looking eyes and little "demon" horns that are a trademark of AoE Grimlock. The color scheme isn't a surprise if you've seen any other mass-release AoE Grimlock toys-- Stomp 'n Chomp Grimlock has the same largely bronze-and-dark-gray color scheme, though there's quite a lot of metallic bronze paint on him-- the head, the upper back, and the upper legs are all covered in it, and it looks pretty good while also being close enough in color to the brownish bronze plastic to complement it. The dark gray, medium gray, and charcoal black are largely "meh" colors, serving as an okay secondary color I guess, but I think a more "pure" black or a more metallic shade of gray-- like the metallic gunmetal paint used on the trigger-gun on his back-- would've worked much better visually. As far as articulation goes, this is where Stomp 'n Chomp Grimlock REALLY fails. I understand that certain simplifications have to made to make him a one-step changer, but not including hip, knee, and ankle articulation is absolutely inexcusable on this large and expensive of a toy. He can't even close his mouth-- so how exactly can he "chomp"?! (The halves of his lower jaw also have an annoying tendency to become unpegged and make it look like his jaw is broken-- easily fixed, but still annoying.) He also has no action features in his feet, so he can't "stomp" either! His t-rex arms are also utterly static. As far as electronic features, though, Grimlock's got plenty. For one, he comes with a miniature Optimus Prime figure (I say "figure", but it's really a plastic little statue) that can "ride" him on his back. The figure itself isn't much to talk about-- it's more of a "temporary accessory" so that the gimmicks can still function if you don't have any other one-step changers or Power Battlers. He can't move at all, and although his mold detailing is fantastic, his dark blue and red paint on him is pretty bare-bones and he looks rather crummy with all that unpainted gray plastic as a result). Back to Grimlock-- open up the painted parts of his upper back to reveal little spots for Optimus to put each leg (he doesn't fit securely there, though-- there's nothing to hold him in there). Here is Grimlock's central gimmick-- EVERY Power Battler and 1-step changer in the entire line has a magnetized "button" on one of their feet-- most Autobots have it on the bottom of their right foot, Decepticons on their left. Put an Autobot on the top of Stomp 'n Chomp Grimlock, and a gun (with an Autobot symbol behind it) will unlock from the right side behind where they stand, with some "shooting" sounds emitting from Grimlock as his eyes glow green. Once activated, Grimlock will occasionally growl and make other metallic t-rex noises, though if left alone for a while he'll turn himself off. If you use a Decepticon to ride him, a rotary gun barrel (with a Decepticon symbol in it) will unlock from the left side, and Grimlock's eyes will glow red while missile-firing sounds are emitted. If neither weapon is activated, his eyes will glow orange. The Optimus figurine that comes with Grimlock has magnets on the bottom of BOTH feet, though, so he can activate both gimmicks simultaneously. (You CAN activate either weapon with another 'bot from any allegiance, though- you just have to turn then around and magnetize the correct trigger.) If you hold down on Grimlock's main trigger and push it down slightly, Grimlock's whole body will slouch, his mouth will open up a bit, and he'll make a "fire breathing" and roaring sound while the interior of his mouth (the back of his robot head) glows red. You can also push up on a small button consisting of his front upper teeth to activate a quick "chomp" noise-- I guess THIS is what Hasbro meant by "'n Chomp", even if his mouth doesn't actually close for the noise.
    If you hold down the main trigger and pull back, Grimlock will basically auto-transform into robot mode, which basically means he stands up, his arms fold out, and his dino jaw halves split behind his shoulders. It's not the most elegant transformation, but it largely accomplishes what it's supposed to. Grimlock's proportions are nice and beefy in this mode, with nice, thick arms, a wide chest, and the aforementioned jaw-halves on his shoulders. He does have a bit of obvious kibble, though-- most egregious is the top half of the dino head sticking right up behind his robot head. There's also the dino arms sticking out of the tops of his robot shoulders, and of course his dino tail sticking out his butt. There are some nicely-detailed parts in this mode-- the head in particular is VERY nicely-detailed with AoE Grimlock's half-mask, half-tooth mouth displayed prominently, and the fake dino teeth "frame" his chest nicely-- but by and large Grimlock's mold detailing is a bit overly simplistic, particularly on the arms. Granted, he does have the appropriate armor-plating-like detailing, but I wish it was a bit more intricate. His waist and stomach also could use some paint, being all brownish bronze or dark gray plastic. For articulation, Grimlock fares SLIGHTLY better in this mode, but not by much-- you can move his arms at the elbows at two points, and his shoulders can move outward, though they spring back into their default position as soon as you let go of them. Again, having no hip/knee/ankle articulation at this scale is absolutely unacceptable, 1-step changer or no. Wrist articulation would also have been greatly appreciated. One can also more easily see all the hollowness of Grimlock's legs in this mode, which just looks... well, cheap, and like size was more of a factor in his design than a good, quality toy. Factoring into this are Grimlock's electronic sounds/lights in this mode-- he makes the classic G1 transformation noise when you transform him into this mode (or back into dino mode), but it seems like Grimlock SHOULD be able to move one more click back-- his chest and shoulders look like they need to spread apart just a bit more, but they don't stay quite in the position you think they'd be. The transformation also sounds VERY easily in this mode and is often interrupted mid-sound, strengthening my hypothesis that his upper body was meant to move back one more click. His robot eyes now glow, and he'll say random things like "GRIMLOCK!", "DESTROY!", and various other metallic growling/roaring noises. You can activate them manually by pressing in on the little button on his dino mouth mentioned earlier, or just wait a minute or so as he says a few random phrases before turning off. Unfortunately, that's it as far as gimmickry in this mode-- none of his allegiance-activated features carry over to this mode. He DOES have a transparent yellow sword that you can take out of his tail and slide into one of his hands, but it seems a bit overly stubby even considering the younger audience this toy is aimed at, and it's a bit small proportionally too-- still, it's certainly better than nothing.
    Stomp 'n Chomp Grimlock is a pretty massive disappointment, in all honesty. He's got some neat detailing and does LOOK good (for the most part) has an admittedly neat allegiance-activated action feature in beast mode, but electronic sounds aside he's far too hollow and unacceptably brick-like in his poseability for such a large toy, simplified or not. Plus, some central features-- like his transformation and accompanying sound effects-- don't even work completely correctly! This toy is absolutely not worth $80, regardless of the size. If you have a young'un who LOVES electronic features and Grimlock, at a steep discount I could see this being a purchase. Otherwise, avoid and get one of the cheaper simplfied Grimlock toys like the Flip 'n Change version if you don't want a more involved transformation.

Review by Beastbot

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