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Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)

Posted by william-james88 Oct 27, 2015 at 10:56pm CDT 37,234 views
Fellow Seibertronian extraordinaire Cobotron has just recieved TAV30 Battle Grimlock and has graciously made a review filled with pictures. What is most interesting is the level of changes from the previous use of the mold (for FOC Grimlock) along with the minicon ports found on the figure. Take it away Cobotron!

FANTASTIC! This TAV30 Battle Grimlock is just fantstic everybody. I mean it.

This re-shell is amazing. He's almost a whole new toy. We're talking Springer/Sandstorm good. He is bulked out in all the right places. 92% of the surfaces of this figure have all new sculpted detailing. There are paint apps everywhere.
The modified T-Rex head transformation is a little more refined than his predecessor, and really well concealed in robot mode. Everything else about his transformation is identical to FoC Grim.
The plastic is quality, and much more durable than the AOE Target exclusive version I have. (which I think is flimsier than the OG FoC release)
He does have a few of the quirks of his older bro. The little dino arms still pop off real easy, and the feet. With all the re-tooling they did, I'm really surprised they kept the feet. They're not the most stable. But hey, we can work with it.

Let's look at the box!






The back of the box has this great shot of Grimlock just turning poor Rumble and Frenzy to pure chunder.




Now the toy.





So as I was transforming him I noticed on his shoulders, were some little I-beam shaped tabs, and it dawned on me...



...I had seen those before. On the soon to be released TAV33 Optimus Prime Supreme Mode. Who is capable of equipping the minicons.
So I scooped up all my Autobot minicons. I fussed and fiddled. but couldn't quite get them to peg on. They have these little "skies' on there underside , so they slide when they're launched. They wouldn't allow the mini to peg on. So, I grabbed a Decepticon and he COULD peg on!



Ok, that's odd, but ... MINICON INTERGRATION! Woot! Woot!



There is even a tab on his belly in dino mode. Dragonus here does a great job of filling out that cavity, and covering up some kibble.



Let's see some comps!









The robot mode is a little elongated compared to the cartoon model, but I never hold too close a magnifying glass to these types of things. Grimlock is a solid toy that looks good and plays fun. He is a brilliant re-tool of an older toy, and a genius re-use of that mold. And, if scale is a thing for you, he goes SOOOO well the Warrior Class figures. Big! Like Gimlock ought to be.

Roll out Strongarm!


Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)
Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons)

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Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Oct 27, 2015
Thanks for the review! That is a marvelous retool and pretty dang impressive. :BOT:
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Oct 27, 2015
Just an idea but could it be that the reason he is geared towards interaction with decepticon minicons is because he is a decepticon?
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Cobotron Oct 27, 2015
My pleasure D! ;)^

Will, that had occured to me, but he has that blazing :BOT: on his shoulder. I wonder if Takara has "different" plans for the minicons.

Edit: Oh and BTW, there is no mention of minicons in the instructions. By mention, I mean pictures. Unfortunately I don't read Japanese. :(
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by no-one Oct 27, 2015
Image
RED ROCKET, RED ROCKET!

Awesome figure, Cobz my man, I'm super jello right now!
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by D-Maximal_Primal Oct 27, 2015
william-james88 wrote:Just an idea but could it be that the reason he is geared towards interaction with decepticon minicons is because he is a decepticon?

maybe, or maybe they didn't think about how the autobot ones were designed :BOT:
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Cobotron Oct 27, 2015
Cary, you win the prize! :lol: :lol: :lol:
I didn't even see it until I was editing the pics. I decided to run with it. :oops: :-P


The preexisting 5mm ports on the shoulders aren't helping the mini :BOT: s from tabbing in either.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by no-one Oct 27, 2015
Cobotron wrote:Cary, you win the prize! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Do I get a cookie? I really hope it's a cookie! 8)
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Sabrblade Oct 27, 2015
william-james88 wrote:Just an idea but could it be that the reason he is geared towards interaction with decepticon minicons is because he is a decepticon?
Cobotron wrote:Will, that had occured to me, but he has that blazing :BOT: on his shoulder. I wonder if Takara has "different" plans for the minicons.
He used to be a Con, though, so it could possibly be a subtle nod to his original roots. ;)

Kinda like how Universe Dinobot had both Maximal and Predcon symbols despite his being Maximal-aligned for most of the BW cartoon.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by -Kanrabat- Oct 28, 2015
That Grimlock is AWESOME!
I'm still gonna pass though. The 3 steps fill the role aplenty for me.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Carnivius_Prime Oct 28, 2015
I don't like the aesthetic much (or the horribly dorky robot face especially on the box art) but I appreciate how the work gone into retooling the really disappointing FoC Grimlock mold into this. The dino mode looks far better (despite the goofy jaw)
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Robogeek1973 Oct 28, 2015
I can't wait for mine to get here!


Now if only HLJ would hurry up and get their stock in so they could ship it. :lol:
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by ScottyP Oct 28, 2015
Robogeek1973 wrote:I can't wait for mine to get here!


Now if only HLJ would hurry up and get their stock in so they could ship it. :lol:
Ugh, I know. At this rate it's gonna be coming in my shipment with Tracks!
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Oct 28, 2015
ScottyP wrote:
Robogeek1973 wrote:I can't wait for mine to get here!


Now if only HLJ would hurry up and get their stock in so they could ship it. :lol:
Ugh, I know. At this rate it's gonna be coming in my shipment with Tracks!


Any reason HLJ gets their stuff later than Amiami ?
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Hellscream9999 Oct 28, 2015
I just figured they wanted to integrate the mini-cons into the main line to give them a reason for existing, like with super o/p - except that they aren't selling any of the individual mini-cons...
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Flashwave Oct 28, 2015
Can't wait. I missed the Pre-Orders, one of them due to my own stupidity, so I ordered him from Amazon. Should be here in two weeks...

Woth the remold, does he have Hips? And Or can you move his legs on the arm swivel? I hated that on the FOC mold, to get leg movement you had to utab the arm and partially transform it out to get clearence.

With the thicker body/spine and bigger head, is the chest gap and relatively small undercarraige noiceable, and is it worth it then to run out and find me a dragonus and repaint it?

What I love about this Grimmy, besides the character he represents, is he's not begging to be one of a (very expensive) set. And yes, the relative scale (Bug guys should be big, small guys not so much) IS nice.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Cobotron Oct 28, 2015
Flashwave wrote:CWoth the remold, does he have Hips? And Or can you move his legs on the arm swivel? I hated that on the FOC mold, to get leg movement you had to utab the arm and partially transform it out to get clearence.
It's similar, but works better. The hips still tab to the torso, but when untabbed it looks better. The inside of the shoulder is sculpted to kind of hide the the joints and hinges. It doesn't look like his leg is dislocated.

With the thicker body/spine and bigger head, is the chest gap and relatively small undercarraige noiceable, and is it worth it then to run out and find me a dragonus and repaint it?
It is noticeable, but because it's black inside there it kind of helps obscure it all better. You might not need to repaint Dragonus. His green is almost a dead-on match with Grim's green. Unless you want him black. The other minicons fit down there too.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Robogeek1973 Oct 28, 2015
william-james88 wrote:
ScottyP wrote:
Robogeek1973 wrote:I can't wait for mine to get here!


Now if only HLJ would hurry up and get their stock in so they could ship it. :lol:
Ugh, I know. At this rate it's gonna be coming in my shipment with Tracks!


Any reason HLJ gets their stuff later than Amiami ?


Usually they get their stuff around the same time, but this time HLJ is late with Grimmy, Rumble, and Frenzy.


No idea why.
Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Va'al Oct 29, 2015
Usual suspect and Japan resident Matt Daniele has sent along some in hand images of the latest releases in the Takara Tomy Transformers Adventure - TAV 32 Rumble and Frenzy! The two-pack also included a 'not for sale' addition of the clear campaign Sideswipe figure, and Matt was nice enough to show the cannon features in the mirrored images below. Check them out.

Found this 2 pack at my local electronics shop for ¥2,975($24.73). It even came with a free mini figure of clear Sideswipe. (marked not for sale in Japanese).
The last picture shows the spring loaded cannons you can deploy by hitting the silver button above the tank treads.


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Re: Image review of Takara Transformers TAV30 Battle Grimlock (Minicon Interaction and Comparisons) (view post)
Comment by Cobotron Oct 29, 2015
I wish we could get those awesome premiums/freebies. Love me some clear guys.

I got these guys along with Grimlock and...
A. Didn't realize the guns were detachable. Cool! (thanks Matt)
B. Did the United release not have the spring loaded pile drivers?

I'm so glad Takara gave us a second chance to get these guys. They're GREAT!
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