Now that I have completed my collecting of wave 1 I thought I'd share my thoughts on the figures I got, from largest to to smallest:
GrimlockSure his robot mode is a bit short for a voyager, and his tail is a little strange because of the combining gimmick, but this is a great toy and a great Grimlock. While I do not intend to display him in combined mode, his combined head is brilliant as it is Grimlock's head with a crowned samurai helmet. I think calling him Volcanicus is silly. I prefer King Grimlock. I wish he had a better leg configuration than Menasor's. Oh Well.
As for the combiner feet, much improved from CW and do not need extra fists attached to the heels. As I previously mentioned these feet balance just fine.
My two disappointments:
1) The lack of sword and gun. But I do think Nonnef productions will solve this and other Dinobot weapon issues. Please don't be angry with me for mentioning this here moderators. I won't further discuss the issue in detail in this section.
2) Every sticker needs to be replaced. I wrote Reprolabels about this problem and begged them to consider selling basic sticker sets for each of the PotP Dinobots separate from whatever else they come up with so I can afford them. Hopefully they'll listen and make more money in the process.
Slag [Slug]The one Dinobot 30 years in the waiting. I never had Slag and now I do and he's really nice. I also really like his rifle. Both arm and leg modes work well, but I'll probably use him as a leg and Snarl as the left arm when I do decide to combine them.
As for the new fist, I don't like the thumbs. Yes, the extra thumb does easily fold in and out of the way and that's good. But they are so small. I much prefer the larger thumb of the CW HFG. However the fingers open fully, while the HFG fingers are blocked by the weapon knuckles. Overall I have to say the PotP Prime Armor fists do make a better looking fist, but there is a trade off.
SwoopI am very happy
went with the blue animation chest instead of the red toy chest. It makes Swoop look different. Both modes are great. Arm mode is superior to leg mode because for some reason (unless I'm doing something wrong) Swoop is a little loose in leg mode. I could just be missing a locking point. Still, he looks better as an arm than a leg anyway. I also like his sword. A big plus with Swoop is if those are stickers on his chest and not tampographs mine don't need to be replaced.
My one big problem is his beak doesn't lock onto his head so it drops down revealing the face fairly easily. This could have been easily remedied as there are two small slots on the inside of the top of his beak where it goes over his forehead and all
had to do was make a couple of very small pegs on his forehead to create a locking point. This could also have been done the other way around. I chalk this up to either oversight because the joint is designed to lock into place but doesn't or to engineering laziness. I guess I'll have to strengthen it with some floor polish.
With the individual deluxe Dinobot discussion complete I'd like to voice my complaint that each figure did not come with a gun and a sword.
only made two versions of the deluxe class gun and sword and tradition dictates including both with each Dinobot. I can't see how this would have killed
margins to get this right along with including proper weapons with Grimlock. Starscream (and Elita-1) get seeker rifles so why doesn't Grimlock get his two classic weapons? I don't mind adapting my FoC Grimlock weapons (from AoE pack) but I just saw a very cool sword from a figure that is the perfect size for standard robot mode and extends for combined mode. It looks great in both modes and that's one of the weapons that should have come with Grimlock, the other being his twin barreled blaster. At least I have a good idea of what my final solution will be, but I am disappointed in
not coming through.
SlashThis is an amazing figure for so many reasons, and just retooling her as a legends class figure could give
a lot if mileage from this mold. Both modes are great and I totally forgive
for not making her compatible as a waist piece for combined mode.
What I've noticed in particular is how close her transformation is to Beast Wars Dinobot. I can easily see this figure being upscaled and retooled to become Dinobot with the tail detaching to form his spinning weapon and the addition of his sword. The chest would have to be fake but i'm fine with that because the actual head hides so well inside the back. Also, it would be nice if the dinosaur arms were able to fold in along the back instead of just hanging out alongside the waist. There isn't room at legends class size but there is at deluxe class size to compress the dinosaur arms. I really hope
has this in mind for the near future (maybe the next toy line theme) and properly executes it. If they do it will be an easy buy for me.
Skrapnel [Shrapnel]I just started collecting the Insecticons with Kickback (whom I found by chance as the only one on the shelf during a sale at Meijer) and only did so because I knew Skrapnel was getting rereleased and am hoping Bombshell will see a re-release either with PotP or the next line. I watched a comparison video with the original Skrapnel release and this one is superior so if you missed out you should take this opportunity to grab a great figure.
Shrapnel was the only Insecticon I had as a kid so I'm glad I picked this version up. Both modes are great, though one of my Skrapnel's mandibles droops a little bellow the other. It looks like the molding is a little different rather than a mirror. It's not bad so I don't think I need to go through a return and replace process but I'll see. Maybe I can fix it. If not it's not that bad. Again, really good figure.
As always my number one complaint with Legends class figures is the lack of weapons. As I'm keeping my beast Legends class figures in beast mode anyway this isn't my primary concern at the moment.
Liege Maximo with Skullgrin decoy armorI am only planning to collect Prime Masters that can work as strange heads if I want them to. That aside
has done a wonderful job with the paint on both parts of the figure. The decoy armor looks great and turns into a claw that I am currently using with TR Megatron in homage to Cybertron Nemesis Breaker. It looks great, but I had to thicken the handle peg on Skullgrin with a piece of Scotch tape (I still need to purchase Pledge floor polish). Liege Maximo is nicely painted as well and am looking forward to using him as part of a PotP powered up combiner.
Micronus Prime with Cloudburst decoy armorAgain
has done a wonderful job with the paint. The rifle mode is nice too, and the peg is not too loose as with Skullgrin so that gives me hope I won't have that problem again. I really love the decoy armor concept and execution and they make nice weapons.
Now I have to wait for wave 2. At this time I plan to get Elita-1, Slugde and Snarl. I don't know offhand which Prime Masters are in wave 2 and what their symbols are so I don't know which ones I'll be collecting. I hope I'll be able to get these figures all at once on HTS with a good coupon but we'll see. So far I've saved a lot of money but I need to save more for stickers and weapons. To my knowledge I will be mostly done with PotP once wave 2 is released. I simply cannot afford two combiners in one year. I am interested in Optimus Prime but only at a mega sale price. I am also interested in Dreadwind and Blackwing but also only through a major sale. This series for me is about the Dinobots and because of the weapons and sticker issues I have to budget accordingly. That is a loss for
but I don't know how much they care. I'm just glad for the options available to me to perfect my collection.
I highly recommend all of the figures I have purchased and I hope everyone collecting this line (for yourselves, your kids or both) is having as much fun with it as I am (though my good feelings mostly come from the nostalgia of owning these toys rather than playing with them). I am looking forward to seeing what else
has in store for us in PotP and how Optimal Optimus turns out. I may want to get him on a mega sale too, though Optimus Prime takes priority.
Happy hunting everyone!