Hasbro's Transformers Alternators: Ravage and Grimlock
by Mr. Stinkhead

So these aren't the newest toys on the shelf. I picked up Ravage while in NY for Toy Fair. These things have been sitting and staring at me, because I really wasn't psyched about writing this review.

In all honesty, I think these two specific Alternators pale to Smokescreen and Meister (check out their review). Just to get the ball rolling, they were pretty difficult to transform, and I was more disappointed by the poseability/implied durability of their robot forms.

No, no, my biggest complaint is that these two figures were only given the heads of their namesake. Why on earth is it Grimlock and Ravage? Grimlock was a T-Rex, and Ravage was a Jaguar... I keep feeling these are more novelties on the names just to lure in G1 enthusiasts.

Ravage
I think I would have been embarrassingly more excited if Ravage had been a Jaguar (car), but I guess the license for that is too expensive. I think I'm more upset that this is what we're going to get as far as Ravage goes. After Meister and 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, this one seems needlessly complicated to transform. The directions were about as clear as the foggy window in the girls' dorm showers (if you squint, you can kinda see what you're looking for, but in the end, you just end up more confused). I know, it's not fair to compare this to the Masterpiece Prime, that is a pretty tough act to follow. But I had this guy lying on my basement couch in half-transformed position for five months because I didn't feel like dealing with those directions again.

I'm kind of torn when it comes to considering his robot mode. It looks pretty cool up top with the missile launchers over his head, and robot jaguars are pretty sweet. But his feet are pretty skinny (I like Japanese robots that get bigger as you go down), and between the legs and arms, I really couldn't get too many sweet action poses. That's the biggest disappointment. The original G1 Ravage was more poseable than most of his kind. I really feel they did such a good job with the other Alternators, they cranked this out, like a sequel.

Grimlock
Grimlock is a Ford Mustang in this life. A T-Rex can shit bigger than a mustang. They would use mustangs for toothpicks. Don't get me wrong, this is a smooth looking car. And, I do dig how he looks in robot form, but this too felt like an obligatory transformer. And his stinkin' arms popped off multiple times.

I do like his sword. The center, "blade" is clear, and the flames coming off of it are painted. Nice. I liked how this, and his gun, plugged into his auto-mode. His gun, like Ravage's folded and plug in under the hood as the engine block.

I also liked his legs and feet. The feet are the flattened out bucket seats, and this gave him a few more stances than ravage. Infact, Grimlock stood more easily than most of the Alternators.

Final Verdict
You'll notice that I was a little more harsh than usual in this review, it's rare I know. Typically we do some research before making a purchase, so we're rarely stuck with something we don't like. These aren't awful, I don't regret buying them, but let me lay it out. They were a bit pricey for something I'm not going to play with at all. They were a little tough to find at first too. (Now they're abundant) They were hard to transform and not very poseable once transformed. And on top of that... they don't really resemble their original counter parts.

Their vehicle modes look nice, and they have all the usual perks such as rack and pinion front wheels, opening doors and hood, realistic styling and rubber tires. They do come off a nice looking model cars.

I think they look sharp posed with my other Alternators, but if I'm going to demonstrate one to a non-toy-collector, I'll pick Meister or Smokescreen. (And to be fair, it would take a few minutes to transform em). If you're digging the Alternators line on the whole, or really dig Corvettes or Mustangs, this isn't a horrible purchase, but don't expect to lay belly down on the carpet making chi-che-chi-che-choh noises.

You really should check out our look at earlier Alternators Hound, Meister, and Smokescreen, and of course the Masterpiece Optimus Prime. Also check out the Transformers themed desktop wallpaper I made.

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