Slag!

I previously discussed the G1 Dinobot Slag that I found at a flea market...for a dime!

I also previously talked about the new Transformers Animated line of toys, which includes Grimlock, the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinobot transformer of G1 fame.

Well yesterday I had some time to kill in the late morning, and I decided to go to a nearby Walmart.

I was lucky to find the newest dinobot from the Transformers Animated line: Snarl *coughcough SLAG coughcough*




First off, for some reason they have christened this guy Snarl in the new cartoon and action figure series. They can call him Sally for all I care, the fact of the matter is that in G1 lore the Triceratops is Slag and the Stegosaurus is named Snarl.

DUH! Everyone knows THAT!

So anyways this guy is pretty darn cool, no matter what his name is. Like the other Transformer Animated figures I have so far, both modes are solid and look really nice. He makes an excellent Triceratops and an excellent robot...the same can't always be said about most G1 Transformers, which are usually lacking in one mode or another.




Another great thing about Slag is that he's almost exactly the same size as his G1 predecessor in both dinosaur and robot modes.




This guy is a lot of fun. He's part of the "Deluxe Class" of Transformer toys, which means he retails for about ten bucks. Not a bad price at all for such a groovy dinobot!

I know that a toy of Swoop (the Pterodactyl) is planned in the near future. I'm pretty sure the cartoon has yet to introduce the Stegosaurus (the REAL Snarl) or the Brontosaurus Sludge (yeah I know, a "Brontosaurus" never really existed) so they may never be seen in this series. That's a darn shame, becase the dinobots are always cool, and these Animated homages to G1 are extremely well designed characters and toys.

Everything Old Is New Again...

I have seen a few episodes of the new Transformers Animated series. It's pretty good. As good, if not better, than the original. Which in all seriousness, isn't saying much (hey, I love it too, but it ain't high art.)






The best part about the new cartoon is the re-imaginings and re-introductions of all the G1 characters. The show features pretty much all the characters we've grown to love, true to their original incarnations, with a modern twist. They've done very good to continue to introduce fan favorite characters throughout the series, like Ultra Magnus, Wreck-Gar, Blitzwing, and three of the Dinobots.



The only character I don't like is Prowl, as he is too far removed in his robot/vehicle mode from the G1 Prowl to even be recognizable as Prowl.

But back to the topic at hand. The toys!


"The Eighties were not good to you."


The toys are way too cool! For Father's day I received the Cybertronian Megatron from my oldest daughter. I like this one a lot, for a couple reasons. First, it's his Cybertronian version, so he pretty much can transform into anything and I'm okay with that, because we all know there are no Walther P-38s on Cybertron.

Second, he looks so much like his G1 version (but with Cybertronian attributes) that I can accept in my cartoon addled mind that this is the definitive version of a pre-Earth Megatron.



There is an Earth Megatron coming soon, and his robot version is even more in step with that of the G1 Megatron. He converts into a Helicopter, which is acceptable, and I will probably buy him.


"Touche."


Next up is Grimlock. I only found out that this guy was available in toy form recently, when folks at other toy blogs started finding him. I usually know about upcoming toys years in advance, and as Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part.

So I was glad to only hunt for this guy for about a week or two before finding him. I waited longer for a G1 Grimlock, which I first acquired only a couple years ago.


"Me Grimlock coolest Autobot EVER!"


Let me just say this new Grimlock is un-freaking-believable. He is everything the original version is and more. He's the perfect melding of old and new. He's cool in both modes, and a solid figure in each version too (as opposed to the G1 which is kind of cumbersome in robot mode.)


"Me Grimlock STILL coolest Autobot EVER! Me should be king of Autobots!"

He transforms in almost the exact same fashion as his G1 counterpart too. Groovy.

There are a bunch of new figures out now, and tons more in the works. And coming soon is another Dinobot, the Triceratops Slag (now known as Snarl for some reason or another.)

Cue Tom Petty.