Cyberworld Grimlock

Prelude: A decade ago, when Age of Extinction came out, endless rows of Chomp & Stomp Grimlock toys warmed the shelves. Fast forward to today and Hasbro has finally figured out how to properly turn the Dinobot commander into a fun, interactive toy for a kid-oriented line. Cyberworld Chomp & Battle Grimlock is here, Russian accent and all, so let’s say go!

Robot Mode: Let us start by saying that Grimlock here is the largest Cyberworld figure this side of Scorponok, easily dwarfing most of the other figures. I’d say he’s the size of a modern-day Leader-class figure easily. He is clearly a simplified figure, though, as the entire back of his legs is completely open, his feet are hollow, and overall he seems rougher than a Generations-style figure. Still, he’s a big guy, as befits Grimlock.

In terms of Articulation Grimlock is actually doing better than the smaller Cyberworld figures. Legs have knees and bendable feet, he can twist his hips and move his arms at the shoulders. I’d have liked some head movement and he could use some elbows, too, but he can move well enough for some cool action poses, which is all you really need from an action toy.

Look-wise he is clearly Grimlock, but with some unusual design elements. Chief among them the big T-Rex head he has for a right hand. That’s usually more Beast Wars Megatron’s thing, but it looks pretty good here, too. The other arm ends in a big tri-barreled cannon, which can be made to spin by pushing in the lever on the side. Nice, I was just lamenting the lack of such action gimmicks in recent figures. We need more spinning cannons and flip-out guns, just saying. There is a sculpted fist behind the cannon (which can be taken off), so technically Grimlock does have an actual hand, though it’s hard to see.

Much like Scorponok, though, Grimlock’s main attraction is less as a stand-alone figure (though he is a fun one), and more as an interactive toy together with other Cyberworld figures. First off, you can take off both of Grimlock’s arms, the T-Rex head and the cannon, and recombine them into a sort of Dino Bike (see pictures 7 through 9). A smaller Cyberworld figure can sit here, firing the cannon. You can also combine either the head or the cannon with Scorponok’s tail bike into yet more configurations. Have I mentioned I love Scorponok’s tail bike?

Finally, Grimlock can also become a sort of mech-suit for a smaller Cyberverse figure. His chest flips open, forming a cockpit of sorts with a raised central yoke or joystick and two “armrests” flipping out, too. The upper part of the T-Rex head detaches and is pegged into the shoulders, thus becoming the “roof” of the cockpit. Now you simply place a Cyberworld figure into the seat and, if you want, you can also peg in an additional weapon in the central yoke (see picture 21). It’s pretty simple, yes, but so much fun. 

Bottom line for the robot mode (plus mech suit mode): so much fun. Yes, it’s a simplified toy for kids, but it does such a great job as one. Very nice.

Alternate Mode: Grimlock’s transformation into T-Rex mode was never the most complicated in the world, but Cyberworld Grimlock simplifies it to the extreme. He basically turns his upper body sideways, folds in his head, and extends his arms as head and tail, done. Okay, you need to bend the legs a bit, too, but at the end you still have a T-Rex that, when looked at from the side, has a difficult time hiding the fact that he’s a robot.

If you manage to ignore that, though, you have a pretty fun T-Rex that can do some running poses, open his mouth (doesn’t stay open, though), lower and twist his head, and even has some movement in his tiny T-Rex arms. The mouth can be opened far enough to chomp on a normal-sized Cyberworld figure and you can pull out something like a back rest on top, so other Cyberworld figures can sit on Grimlock. There is a peg that slots into the 5mm hole most Cyberworld figures have on their back, so the rider is firm in the saddle, so to speak. It’s height-adjustable, so pretty much every Cyberworld figure can easily sit here. Other figures can ride on top, too, of course. See picture 18, for example.

Side note: there is a bit of an auto-transformation here when you transform the T-Rex back into robot mode. Flipping back the panel that hides the head causes the hip to swing back around into its robot mode position. Only just noticed that as I was writing the review to be honest.

Second side note: when my buddy James first got a look at the picture with Snarl riding Grimlock, he thought it was a knock-off Allicon with a Mad Max variety Wheelie on him. I can sort of see that, to be honest. Just wanted to share that rather hilarious comment with you.

So bottom line for the T-Rex mode: it’s clearly not the most organic-looking robot T-Rex ever and from certain angles it does look more like a slightly contorted robot than a dinosaur, but overall: still a lot of fun!

Remarks: In the beginning of the Cyberworld series, Grimlock – along with Snarl – is doing his own thing in the jungle area of Cyberworld, having agreed to a non-aggression pact with Megatron. Reluctantly, he joins forces with Optimus and the other Autobots in their plan to get past Scorponok to find a shuttle so they can leave this world. He also speaks with a Russian accent, likes to call Optimus “Little Prime” (to be fair, he is much bigger than Optimus), and has displayed almost every single play feature this toy has in the cartoon, too. Only thing we’ve yet to see is the Dino Bike.

My verdict here is much the same as for Scorponok. No one will ever confuse Cyberworld Grimlock for a high-end collector figure. He’s a toy, a fun toy meant for kids. Which does not preclude, of course, a 40+ year adult Transformers collector like myself having fun with him, too. The Cyberworld line continues to impress me with its sheer play value and fun figures and Grimlock is no exception. Like with Scorponok, though, you should get at least one or two of the smaller Cyberworld figures to make the most out of it.

Rating: B+