Allegiances: Autobot
Set Price: $100 (U.S.)

(NOTE: Because this set is composed of repaints, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original versions of these molds. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Dinobot Slug, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE voyager Grimlock, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Scorn, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE voyager Slog, go here. For a review on the mass-release AoE deluxe Strafe, go here.)
 

Dinobot Slug

Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Clear tinted plastic, charcoal black, silver, light flat gray, and some chrome silver, dull dark metallic purple, black, and dark red
Individual Rating: 8.2

    Whereas the other expensively-priced boxset that an AoE Slug redeco was packed in was a G1 nod, this 5-pack is more of an "ultimate screen accuracy" version, foregoing the more individual color schemes the mass-release toys of these characters had in favor of the more subdued, marked-up dirty gray decoes that the characters sported in the actual movie. For Slug, much of his plastic-- in fact, probably most-- is actually transparent (but tinted) plastic. By itself, this doesn't look that impressive-- however, Slug (and the other figures in this "Platinum Edition" boxset) are almost entirely COVERED in paint apps. The rear dino legs/robot legs, lower front dino legs, and lower midsection pieces are unfortunately unpainted, although particularly in dino mode these are "in shadow" by the pieces above them, so this isn't as much of an issue as you'd think. The upper dino arms are covered with some EXTREMELY nice silver paint weathering to make Slug look nice and battleworn. The back likewise has a dull, dark purple paint brushed across it in a weathered pattern, keeping Slug relatively screen-accurate while also giving a bit of individualistic color and pointing a tiny bit back to his mass-release toy. He also has black and silver weathering paint apps applied all over his chromed dino head and upper midsection pieces-- again, this all looks completely amazing and really makes Slug look about as realistically "worn" as you could make a brand-new toy. There's also some black weathering even on the "bendy plastic" lance weapons and dino horns, though for some weird reason the light gray plastic used for his tail has no paint apps at all on it. This is really weird, considering how much it sticks out compared to Slug's otherwise very dark, dull-and-weathered color scheme. Going into robot mode, there's some unpainted black plastic more apparent here, though only on relatively small pieces and given the dark color scheme, it doesn't stick out like the light gray tailpiece. There's also a significant amount of weathering on Slug's waist and abs, and some more dull purple along his chest. His chromed robot head is squeaky-clean, though, with a nice dark-but-still-vibrant red for his optic, which is also used on his dino eyes. Unfortunately, the lack of paint on his legs in robot mode is much more apparent, and looks odd compared to all the paint on his upper body and arms.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Slug.
 

Grimlock

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Clear tinted plastic, chrome silver, silver, and some black, light milky gray, red, and orangish yellow
Individual Rating: 8.5

    Almost all of Grimlock's entire body is made of the clear tinted plastic that is used on the other toys in this set a bit more conservatively, with chrome silver along his upper back and head. There's also a good amount of silver paint on him-- in addition to the solidly-painted silver pieces on the robot waist, robot abs, robot toes, dino legs just above the knees, and the dino arms, there's also a lot of really nice silver "weathering" brushing along the lower robot legs, the dino legs above the feet, the dino chest pieces, and along the side neck pieces. (There are a few pieces of that blah light milky gray plastic-- such as the dino heels, the body of the weapon, and the hip joints-- but these are mostly small pieces and easily overlooked.) Compared to the other Dinobots in this set, Grimlock has little black, with his weapon head being the only piece solidly black, with a little bit of black weathering on his abs. As a whole package, Grimlock still looks GOOD, just not AS good as the other Dinobots in this set, at least when it comes to the color scheme. He's got just a bit too MUCH transparent plastic-- including on bits like his robot head and his entire robot legs that really should've been solid or perhaps chromed-- which also aren't brushed with silver paint to make them look worn and more "solid". It looks a bit odd, like Grimlock's part ghost. (At least the red eyes and silver face on the robot head look pretty awesome against the transparent plastic, though.) I'm also not sure WHAT is up with the ugly Bumblebee-like yellow-orange paint brushed lightly on the top of his dino head, upper back, and along a bit of his robot chest. It's certainly not accurate to the movie, where he has more of a "rusted deep sea" feel, and it's not a throwback to his mass-release toy, as the color is too yellow and not enough brown. It just looks wildly out of place.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Grimlock.
 

Scorn

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Chrome silver, clear tinted plastic, charcoal black, silver, and some red, black, and dull rusty red
Individual Rating: 9.6

    Scorn's got a bit less transparent plastic than is typical in the set-- only his dino head, most of his legs, and a bit of his waist connector parts are this shade, and all of them are brushed with a really nice amount of silver for that "weathered" look this set has. His entire main body is chromed up, as well as his dino arms-- all of it, again, brushed with black this time for more of the "weathered" look. In fact, with the exception of his black plastic-- which is used for such parts as his upper dino arms, right hand, knees-- is the only part of him that isn't covered with some kind of "weathering", which I assume is because the black plastic is that kind which is unpaintable. Even his lengthy tail-- which is a more "impure" shade of black because of it having to be rubbery plastic-- is covered in silver weathering detail, along with his knife weapon. In a small callback to his mass release toy, his fins have just a smidge of dull rusty red weathering on them. It's a bit of a shame, as Scorn had the most "not-silver" parts on him in the movie, and out of all the toys in this set he has the least color (though the really nice red on his dino and robot eyes/optics pops very well). That said, the amount of paint on him is absolutely PHENOMENAL. With such a large amount of paint I'm honestly surprised he's not some kind of custom, even at "Platinum Edition" pricing. He looks about as good as a gray-and-black Transformer possibly can.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Scorn.
 

Slog

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Hard
Color Scheme: Light milky gray, clear tinted plastic, silver, and some dark red and pale metallic purplish red
Individual Rating: 8.2

    Of course, Slog is the odd 'bot out in this set-- the whole point was more "movie-accurate" color schemes, and Slog's the only one in this pack that wasn't actually in the movie. He was likely included in the pack to match the whole "2 voyagers, 3 deluxes" mix in the "Autobots United" set so that the two could be at the same simple price point/budget. Anyways, Slog's mass release was already gray, but this one actually has less color than the original-- the only non-monochrome paint apps on Slog are the purplish red spikes on the shoulders and on the robot knees, and the red eyes/optics. I really wish just a tad more color had been added for a voyager-size toy. This is particularly the case since all of Slog's plastic is either the clear tinted plastic used in the other toys in this set (but in a MUCH greater quantity) or a pretty boring light milky gray plastic, the latter of which has NO weathering on it anywhere that it's used (the weapons, robot waist, and small connector pieces like the robot knees and elbows). It really stands out, given how much this set otherwise does such a great job at looking "realistic" in terms of battle damage. Everything else on Slog is clear plastic, and unfortunately relatively little of it is painted, too-- Slog looks even more ghostly than Grimlock because of this decision. The only parts of his clear tinted plastic that are painted with that nice "silver weathering" detail are his lower front beast legs/robot arms, the robot skirt piece and ends of the dino tail, the front pieces of his lower robot legs, the dino head, and robot chest. This means his entire dino neck and back is unpainted with weathering, along with his dino rear legs, shoulders, and even the robot head. Fortunately, some pieces on his main body and upper tail are painted solid silver which at least makes his main body look a bit more solid in beast mode, but overall this toy doesn't look nearly as "premium" as the other toys in this set, due to both the lack of chrome and the (relative) lack of weathering paint apps.
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Slog.
 

Strafe

Allegiance: Autobot
Size: Deluxe
Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Chrome silver, clear tinted plastic, black, and some very dark metallic blue, dark red, and silver
Individual Rating: 8.4

    The emphasis on Strafe's paint apps appear to be in his beast mode; for one, his ENTIRE wings are chrome silver, covered with a good amount of black weathering detail, and it all looks mighty good. His pterodactyl heads and his lance weapons are made from clear tinted plastic, but also covered with a pretty good amount of silver weathering detail, particularly on the heads-- there's also a nice dark blue stripe down the sides of the pterodactyl heads' beaks, which is a nice little extra detail. That said, though I like the subtle nod to his mass-release version with the blue, it's just a bit TOO dark to really come out unless it's right next to a bright color (like the silver on the beast heads). For a good example of the downside of this, look no further than Strafe's tails-- they're cast in black plastic, but they're covered in the same "weathering" type of detail, though said "weathering" is that same shade of very dark blue. And the thing is, it's very hard to make out, even under good light. In robot mode, Strafe has considerably more black plastic visible-- in fact, pretty much his entire main body is made of it, along with his upper legs, knees, upper arms, elbows, and fists. The lower legs and arms are made of the tinted clear plastic, but there is little "weathering" detail specific to this mode-- just some silver weathering on the upper legs, really. This makes the limbs and head look very "ghostlike"-- a cool effect, especially with the red optic against the transparent head, but a bit of an odd decision given the whole "movie-accuracy" point of this set. There's also some of the aforementioned very dark blue on the chest, but since the underlying plastic is black, it doesn't show up all that well. Strafe's crossbow weapon is also solid black without any weathering, another missed opportunity (albeit a minor one).
    No mold changes have been made to this version of Strafe.

    The "Dinobots Unleashed" set is pretty much a must-get for those who want movie accuracy on their figures above anything else-- which is probably most people who are looking at the more "complex" toy molds in the AoE line. All of them have an absolute TON of paint apps, with a lot of excellent weathering (though not all of it is well-placed), and the usage of many of the same colors make them look like a real team while each still retaining a bit of individualistic color. Plus, at $100 U.S., this set is just barely more expensive than buying all of the mass releases separately. Even if you have some of the mass-release versions of these molds, I feel this set is still worth getting-- they're just stellar paint jobs, even if they're not the most colorful toys on a shelf.

Reviews by Beastbot

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