Given that this toy draws from the "War Within" comic series-- i.e., pre-G1-- Grimlock doesn't have his usual tyrannosaurus rex beast mode, but instead has a futuristic tank mode. I use the term "tank" loosely, though, since the only thing this mode really shares in common with a tank is that it's somewhat bulky and has treads (well, not REAL treads-- there's little wheels on the bottoms of them to roll Grimlock along). The front part looks pretty decent, with a pseudo "head" with red lights that look like "eyes", and the mounted exhaust pipes look pretty cool, as well. Unfortunately, there's a large hole on the top of this front section of the vehicle mode, which needless to say doesn't look all that great. The rest of the vehicle mode is, quite frankly, a joke-- it's literally his robot mode laying on his stomach with his feet, legs, and hands tucked in. Still, I wouldn't even mind that so much if the back part of the tank meshed better with the front part. Instead, his upper legs barely slide into his lower legs at all, leaving a very obvious waist and upper leg section behind the front part of the tank mode. On the plus side, though, his mold and paint detailing is very good, and his two weapons-- a gun and a sword-- can store behind the front section and on the side of the left rear tread, respective.y
    Grimlock's robot mode, like many Titaniums, is the mode that definitely had priority when it came to the design. The look, while not exact, is very close to Grimlock's War Within robot mode design, and for the most part has good proportions. There are two exceptions to this, however-- most noticeably is that Grimlock's arms are downright skinny. I mean, a tough dude like Grimlock needs big, bulky arms, not ones made out of pipes. It just looks wrong and out-of-place with the rest of the toy's design-- it's definitely my biggest problem with the robot mode. Also, Grimlock's chest sticks out a bit too much, though this may also have to do with his head being a tad small. Other than those two beefs, though, this mode is quite good. The mold detailing, as mentioned before, is excellent, with lots of armor plating and designs showing through on every part of his body. I especially like the "teeth" design on his stomach, "foreshadowing" his eventual beast mode. The vehicle mode extras-- namely, the halves of the front part of his alt mode-- tuck behind his shoulders (or BECOME his shoulders) quite well, and complement the look of the mode rather than subtract from it. The only exception to this are the tread flaps hanging off his elbows, which are very obviously kibble. His head sculpt is fairly well-done, though the visor could stand to be a little smaller and the faceplate a little larger, but that's nitpicking. As mentioned previously, Grimlock has a (non-firing) gun and sword for weaponry in this mode, both of which can be held in his fists. His articulation is also quite good-- he can move at the neck, shoulders (at three points, though one is very restricted), elbows (at two points), wrists, waist, hips (at three points), knees (at two points), and both the front and back arches of his feet can move at two places each. So yeah, with the exception of somewhat restricted shoulders, no problems there. All of his joints also hold up well, particularly for a Titanium toy. His overall color scheme also works well, with the orange and red providing an excellent contrast to all the gunmetal gray and black, while still being close enough to gold to provide a definite "Grimlock-y" feel. Grimlock's diecast parts include his chest and lower legs.
    Overall, Grimlock is below-average in vehicle mode, even for a 6" Titanium-- just putting him on his stomach and covering his head with a vehicle "shell" is barely a transformation. However, his excellent robot mode makes up for this for the most part, with great detailing, colors, articulation, and proportions (in general). If you're a fan of Grimlock, this one's an easy recommendation-- otherwise, you may be turned off by the lack of a real transformation, especially considering that because of the store exclusive nature of this toy, you're dropping $5 U.S. more than if he had been mass-released.

Review by Beastbot

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