(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Armada Hoist. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Armada Hoist here.)

    Like the other pre-Beast Wars figures released in this year's set, Darksyde Dinobot (the prefix is after the Predacon ship, which now has an official name, Darksyde) is spot-on with his Beast Wars form when it comes to colors-- not so much with the original Beast Wars toy as with its 10th Anniversary Edition, but the latter was more show-accurate in colors anyways. The amounts of muddy bronzish brown and dark brown have been switched, however, as giving the toy more dark brown is better for a construction vehicle, anyways. Both colors still work marvelously together, though, and if anything the bronzish brown makes a better accent color than a main color. There's also some of Dinobot's trademark light blue, though the blue could stand to be a shade or two darker to be completely show-accurate. It's not at all clashy or loud, however, I just think that at this shade, it could've been used in a few less places on the toy. A new color, light gray, has also been added to the legs, to make Dinobot look more vehicle-y in his colors than he otherwise would have. The bronzish brown "stripe" paint apps on the upper arms are my favorite of the paint apps, given that they hearken to Dinobot's Beast Wars form without being too blatantly beast-ish, though all of the paint apps are quite good. The silver paint apps on the tips of Dinobot's fingers also help to make them look more like claws, though they don't look all that great against the light blue. Transformation-wise, this mold was a fairly good choice for Dinobot as well, the giant shovel-arm aside-- the "head" of the vehicle becomes the chest, the underside becomes the legs, and the sides become the arms, just like on the Beast Wars toy.
    What's especially interesting about this toy is that, though there aren't any mold changes per se, they've kept Cybertron Longrack's mold with the Cyber Key-activated shovel-arm while switching out Longrack's head for Armada Hoist's! It's always been remarked at how similar Hoist's head looked to Dinobot's, and now that's finally come to fruition with this toy. The paint apps are spot-on Dinobot, certainly, but although it's easy to see Dinobot in the face, it IS a little chubby for the guy. Also, like all the other toys in the Botcon set, the Cyber Key used in the Cybertron version has instead been replaced with a solid gray Planet X Key bearing a Predacon symbol and a painted bit of Golden Disk detailing over the main part of the Cyber Key, hence the new name "Golden Disk Key".
    Darksyde Dinobot has an excellent, very attractive color scheme, with some quite ingenious paint applications to relate the toy further to his Beast Wars form. The blue being a shade or two too light is my only real complaint in that respect. Definitely the best color scheme this toy has had so far, though obviously it will cost you more than the other versions of the mold if you want to own it.

Review by Beastbot

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