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Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.


Top 5 Best Grimlock Transformers toys

Grimlock is one of the mot iconic and popular characters in the Transformers brand. He has been part of it since the very beginning and keeps being a mainstay with his inclusion in the soon to be released Transformers: The Last Knight. Surprisingly, for a character this popular, he hasn't had many great toys in the 30 years but there are some winners and you can find them all below!


5. Transformers Age of Extinction: Generations Grimlock

I really love how this toy is a totally new take on Grimlock and yet stays true to several cues for the transformation. The robot legs become the tail and the robot arms become the dino's legs. This reuse of parts among the different modes help make this a sleek robot with minimal extraneous kibble in either mode, unlike the lager Leader ifgure which has visible hands and feet in dino mode and quite a bit of partsforming. There is none of that here. Instead, only the dino jaw is left in the back of the robot while the rest of the dino T Rex heads splits to become imposing shoulder pads. It gives him this ancient warrior look, like he comes from a Cybertron expansion of Warcraft. That's the look Hasbro and Michael Bay were going for and it works and comes fully realized in this toy. As a bonus, he has a chomp jaw action, which is always welcomed in a T-Rex toy.










4. Transformers G1 1985 Grimlock

The Dinobots are some of the crown jewels of any G1 collection and while their poseability is nothing to brag about, they will always looks great. Grimlock especially with his massive shoulders and decorative wings, adding to his upper mass. His T-Rex tail become the legs brings equal mass to his lower area, offsetting any top heaviness. The colours are also just great, with that gold just popping. It was a smart transformation and one that keeps getting carried over through different iterations over the years, even the movie toy covered above. And that biologically incorrect T-Rex mode adds to this toy being a time capsule of the 80s era while also giving him a more stylized mechanical dinosaur look, turning something dated into a timeless design.






3. Robots in Disguise Grimlock Battle Pack

The Robots in Disguise Warrior Grimlock came out with little fanfare. It was the same size as a deluxe, so out of scale with Bumblebee and the gang, his elbows had a breakage issue and he didn't even come with any weapon. But then Hasbro fixed all that, at a smaller scale. The Battle Pack Grimlock is similar in size to a scout figure of old. He has all the complexity of the warrior but in a smaller bot which makes him have a nice high parts count for his height. Plus they fix some of the transformation from the warrior and he no longer has the breakage problem. Also, unlike the warrior, he ends up in a nice scale with the smaller Legion bots and looks good next to the battle pack prime (who is a beast on the show). And lastly, the clear plastic weapons are perfectly fine. They give him an awesome homage to the AOE Grimlock when worn as armour and they connect to become a dino head which can plug into his arm for him to have some BW Megs action going. So all the pluses of the warrior, no downside and great accessories. I call that a winner.






2. Takara Battle Grimlock and AOE Silver Knight Grimlock

Lipstick on a pig is an expression fans throw around when there is a deeply flawed Transformers toy that Hasbro or Takara tries to amerliorate with a paint job. It doesn't always work and usually the toy ends up remaining just the same, but with lipstick. However, these two are some good examples of times when it worked, especially he Takara Batle Grimlock which uses the same base mold as Fall of Cybertron Grimlock but totally refurbashes it and amelioates it by repurposing it into Robots in Disguise Grimlock. The shoulders which were once a mess are reworked and made simpler and less frustrating, and if you didn't know the mold existed before you would think this was made just for this character. They reworked a lot of pieces from the original and give it a faithful colour scheme. Here is a quick example to show how it keeps the base mold yet reworks it.








1. Transformers Masterpiece Grimlock (Grimlock (MP-08))

What can I say at this point that hasn't been said? This toy is nearly flawless. It has an imposing robot mode and a smooth Dinosaur mode that looks exactly like the show but with the extra shine of the G1 toy. The Transformation is well executed as it replicates the G1 transformation while taking modern engineering into account. Plus he is fully poseable. This is without a doubt the best Grimlock toy of all time and I don't see it being beaten anytime soon.

Interesting list.

Not really fond of Movie Grimlock but I guess its a decent figure.

I'm surprised Animated Grimlock did not even get an honorable mention. What's wrong with him?

Beyond that, yes Grimlock figures are few and far between, and good Grimlock figures are even fewer and even farther between.

FOC Grimlock gets a good looking robot mode even if it does have some flaws. And the Two Pack with Silver Knight Movie prime G1 repaint works surprisingly well with that mold.

Also 2001 R.I.D Grimlock is well not Grimlock but still he's a Grimlock so I'm surprised there was no mention of him .

Animated Grimlock needs to replace entry 3 or 2. Brilliant update of the classic toy with modern articulation and the unique Animated design aesthetic. It's still amazing to me how well the G1 Dinobot toys hold up. They all have solid transformation schemes, they look good, and they're juuuuust slightly more posable than a lot of other G1 toys. I think their awesome, bulky, tough looking proportions help with the look; they look dynamic even with just arms raised. Also the swords!

I hope the rumour that the Dinobots are set for POTP is true, because it's been a LONG time since they've really been featured in toy form (not counting the movie stuff, which I will admit were good toys but they're not the toys/characters I'm looking for). We got that lousy Swoop back in Energon but otherwise, outside of classics and FoC Grimlock, the Dinobots are persona non grata. I'd love to see deluxe Slug, Snarl, Swoop and voyager Sludge and Grimlock in CHUG.

If POTP can deliver modern Dinobots, voyager Rodimus Prime, and voyager Seekers at long last, my collection will pretty much be *complete*. AlsopleaseSpinisterAndNeedlenoseThatAren'tShittyClubToysPlease.

Honorable mention.. last year's Hallmark Keepsake figure...

Where's the love for my boy energon grimlock?

I'm almost certainly in the minority, but the rippersnapper Grimlock from AoE dollar stores is pretty decent for throwing into groupshots.

I must admit that the Transformers Age of Extinction voyager Grimlock was a good figure if you didn't mind the awful brown color scheme. As for the Silver knight version of the FOC mold, it is this version of Grimlock that I use on my G1/Classic shelf. I find it works very well

Gold Grimlock should be on there before any other rid15 grimlock. G1 looks and no exploding elbow (sounds like a wrestling move )

I would love Movie Grimlock if it wasn't for his elbows.

MagicDeath wrote:I would love Movie Grimlock if it wasn't for his elbows.

Just flip the Dino feet around and it works fine.

I'd put Animated Grimlock ahead of both the Movie and G1 figures. That movie voyager just doesn't do much for me. I'll admit the G1 is pretty timeless and fairly good for the time so it would be at #5 for me.

AOE Grimlock G1 and Masterpiece Grimlock are the only ones I agree with

Animated Grimlock is practically a masterclass in taking a classic design, updating it, and still some how making it conform to the very particular design aesthetic of the animated-verse.

I can only assume that you forgot he exists.

A fine list! Nice to see G1 Grimlock get on there, the G1 Dinobots are charming little toys (aside from Swoop and his Amazing Breakage Action). And 100% agreed on MP Grimlock- even if we got a new MP Grim, he'll probably replace that gorgeous gold chrome techno-greebling under smoky clear plastic with plain solid yellow panels.

I think I'll echo to the nth degree that TF:Animated Grimlock should've been on the list.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:I think I'll echo to the nth degree that TF:Animated Grimlock should've been on the list.

I knew that was one of the main Grimlock interpretations that this list didn't have but I didnt know how well liked he was. He never came up when I was writing this list with Scotty P, who is one of the biggest Grimlock fans on the site. I cant speak for him, but personally I feel Animated Grimlock is just so so, especially compared to the rest of the line. I dont think he was mentioned once in our discussion of best Animated toys. And I feel that unlike most others toys are designs from that line, the overaxageration of proportions and lankyness kinda go overboard on him. I am especially not fond of that tail section which gives him a teenie tiny tail at the end aong with the really loooooooooooong arms. And not a fan of the overbite either. Plus the style is the only thing diffferent from G1, he isnt innovative in his transformation so it becomes quite lackluster. I sometimes scoff at fans who hate animated for its style but when they bring out Grimlock as a posterchild to their disdain, its harder to argue. I simply say its just him but the rest look really great.

Just my opinion though, glad he gets a ton of love in the comments

Cool list WJ. I like your choices and descriptions. Each of the Grimlocks that you chose has a lot going for it. Good points about AOE Grimmy. G1 Dinobots have a nice look. Amazing designs for the time! Still look cool. I learned a few things about a few of the Grimlocks.


Here is my list of best Grimlock toys.

1. MP – Grimlock and Transformer perfection.
2. FOC . Great dino mode, great robot mode. Looks like the video game Fall of Cybertron. Looks like Grimlock, great style. Fits beautifully with a Generations/classics collection. It is unfortunately very hollow. If you can ignore that it is a great figure. I like that it stands accurately for a T-Rex. It looks and feels like Grimlock, and I love the style, coloring, and futuristic Cybertronian look.
3. Animated – Fun. Great style. Great Grimlock
4. Classics - I don’t like the legs, but the face and arms are very well done. Too small to be an awesome Grimlock, but cool figure in the colors and look of Grimlock.
5. AOE – Unique and powerful. Does not feel like a classic Grimlock in robot mode. Good T-Rex mode.

TK415 wrote:Cool list WJ. I like your choices and descriptions. Each of the Grimlocks that you chose has a lot going for it. Good points about AOE Grimmy. G1 Dinobots have a nice look. Amazing designs for the time! Still look cool. I learned a few things about a few of the Grimlocks.


Here is my list of best Grimlock toys.

1. MP – Grimlock and Transformer perfection.
2. FOC . Great dino mode, great robot mode. Looks like the video game Fall of Cybertron. Looks like Grimlock, great style. Fits beautifully with a Generations/classics collection. It is unfortunately very hollow. If you can ignore that it is a great figure. I like that it stands accurately for a T-Rex. It looks and feels like Grimlock, and I love the style, coloring, and futuristic Cybertronian look.
3. Animated – Fun. Great style. Great Grimlock
4. Classics - I don’t like the legs, but the face and arms are very well done. Too small to be an awesome Grimlock, but cool figure in the colors and look of Grimlock.
5. AOE – Unique and powerful. Does not feel like a classic Grimlock in robot mode. Good T-Rex mode.

Thanks man, that is very much appreciated.

And awesome list!

I never got Animated Grim, mainly due to my dislike of that line's aesthetic putting me off everything but a Prime/Megatron 2 pack, but when TRU somehow found a ton of animated and clogged the shelves, this was one of the few I actually considered. Looks pretty good (for animated)

AOE – Unique and powerful. Does not feel like a classic Grimlock in robot mode. Good T-Rex mode.

His robot mode reminded me more of the guy that always hung out with Rita Repulsa in MMPR than of Grimlock!

^His name was Goldar. I think it's the armor skirt + the bronze color on the toy (as opposed to the patina'd steel he has in the movies) that gives you that impression.

MP Grimlock was a shoo-in for this list, though it annoys me to no end that no version of him includes the Galaxial Rocket Launcher.

This list is gonna need a major rewrite once Cyberverse is done. Say what you want about the line but they are finding some really interesting ways to make that "g1" transformation interesting.

FYI, this list is in need of a serious update. Number 1 wont change but the landscape and range of good looking grimlocks certainly has.

I'm guessing G1 Grimlock might have a shot at staying on the basis of looks and his play fun, but between PotP, Cyberverse, and Studio Series plus your giving Animated Grimlock proper consideration.... Yeah. I know for certain that AoE Grimlock can kiss his spot on the list goodbye.

That PoTP POS has no place in the top 10, much less in the top 5.

Rodimus Prime wrote:That PoTP POS has no place in the top 10, much less in the top 5.

He's not a POS. No circuits, no ports for connecting modems or cash registers... Why would you even think he was a POS?

Joking aside, don't write off the figure as a whole just because yours doesn't want to stay tabbed (a problem I would like to help cure, if you're interested). He's got good articulation, and aside from the changes made to include the combiner gimmick and some cleanup of his transformation (by making the tailtip halves form part of his robot mode legs), he's pretty much a greeble-for-greeble update, which is something I really appreciate. The torso mode is cool too, if you've got one that stays together.

My only disappointments for Grimlock by his lonesome were the lack of weapons and that he comes with red eyes instead of cartoon-accurate blue. And the only thing I found questionable was putting the gold paint on his torso on the inside. I get doing it for his dino neck, but on the torso it should have been on the outside. Still, doesn't harm his looks overall, at least IMO.

Here's another positive for PotP Grimlock: He's not alone. He has a complete team of updated Dinobots to go with him (whether you take or leave the combined mode), all of whom have also had substantial upgrades to their articulation in both modes (and Slag actually tucks his stupid tail away!).

And that's another thing. He's out of scale with the other Dinobots in his line. Yes, I know it's for combining, but Dinobots don't **** combine! It seems Grimlock got totally sacrificed in quality for a gimmick that IMO is unappealing. I lost my G1 Dinobots a long time ago, but after getting the PoTP Dinos I got a G1 Grimlock just to go with them in their display. And thank you for offering to help, but I managed to fix the torso mode, and it improved Volcanicus slightly. The unappealing dino and bot modes can't be helped, though. I just don't like the figure, I can honestly say I don't know why I bought him.