Customer Reviews

Transformers Universe Beast Wars- Dinobot

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4 star:		(1)
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Universe Classic's Dinobot really does the namesake justice. The figure is light years ahead of its original mold in terms of transformation, articulation, detail, and the mold itself.

The typical picture used for Dinobot's beast mode really doesn't give it enough credit. The figure in beast mode is actually very long and if not for some slight seems and a peak of robot kibble at the bottom of its chest, you would think this was a 90's Jurassic Park toy. The look of the Velociraptor is very striking to the model used in the Beast Wars show. The beast mode's colors are a bit darker however, as they're more of a greyish brown with tan stripes, but this is barely even an issue. The tail doesn't move but it's naturally molded with a sway and looks very realistic. The mouth opens and closes and the legs are very possable. There's a ball joint for both the hip and ankle as well as a set of swivels in the knee on each leg. The raptor claws however don't move much as their shoulders are connected on swivels, no ball joints, but even then you'll easily forget about it in beast mode.

The robot mode is equally possable and overall looks great. He's got quite the collar on him but it's no where near the "head" kibble that the original mold had. His head is also very show accurate. The arms which folded up to make most of the body for beast mode, arrive with a host of articulation. A ball joint and swivel for each shoulder (Though at least on my figure, the shoulder ball joints tend to come off easily though this can easily be fixed.) and an up and down swivel in the elbow. There is a lack of wrist articulation unfortunately, however, you have a choice between using normal humanoid hands or folding them back to use Dinobot's classic raptor claw hands that he used in the show which in my opinion is really cool. Dinobot can also hold onto his sword with either set of hands. On that note, the translucent orange sword also doubles for a missile which can be fired from the tail weapon which does open up but does not spin. The chest contains the entire beast mode head which seems like it sticks out slightly more than it should as even its teeth aren't hidden away. There is a neat gimmick at the top of its chest however where a square block rotates to reveal a Predacon symbol and then can rotate again to reveal a Maximal symbol. Due to the transformation, there is no waist articulation unfortunately. Dinobot's legs make up for it though. The legs that are used in beast mode are again used in robot mode. The same joints are there but the feet are reversed and unfold more humanoid feet (which they themselves are on a second set of balljoints) while the beast mode's hip kibble swivels and rotates down to form the calves to give Dinobot slightly beefier legs. Teeth actually unfold from the kibble to clasp onto the sides of his shins which look very nice. As for the beast mode's arms, they're folded away to the back and out of sight, similar to the way used in its original mold. Dinobot's back however is clean and has no giant socket where his beast mode's tail would normally connect to. The tail in this mold ingeniously connects to the shape of the robot mode's hip instead.

The transformation itself is very simple. The tail is removed first, which you may have to work at to disconnect it. Then the arms unfold from the sides of his beast mode's body which automatically fold away his beast mode arms to the rear. The raptor head comes down and automatically reveals the Dinobot's head. The hips connect for a more slender waist and finally the beast mode's hip kibble swivels and rotates down to form the calves for the robot mode while its beast mode's heals fold down to form feet which then rotate to the front. It's all fairly elementary in a fun sort of way.

My only real gripe with this figure is that the colors are off. Instead of the oranges, blues and browns that Dinobot normally sports, he gets greys, yellows, and purples. His head for instance, while the helmet is more of a yellow than an orange, his face is purple instead of a blue. The light-piping in the head, although pretty decent, is orange as well instead of being blood red.

Though it's a slight quip, I'm still satisfied with this figure. Dinobot has been waiting quite some time for a more proper mold, one that does him some honor and in my opinion, this new version of it really gets the job done. He has an arsenal of articulation in both modes and looks very menacing. If you're a fan of Dinobot at all, you owe it to yourself to get your hands on this figure.

This new Universe Dinobot is a far cry from the old beast wars version. Fortunately the differences are mostly improvements.

Beast mode:
Gone is the raptor with robot legs for a chest. This new guy has a very accurate raptor form as it conforms to our scientific knowledge of this particular dinosaur. There's some educational points for all you responsible parents out there. Buy your kids a ferocious Predacon that teaches them about the zoological history of our world! Is that a great sales pitch or what?

Robot mode:
This form is also an improvement. Dinobot now has less dinosaur parts to deal with during play making him a much more streamlined warrior. The only downside is the weapon. It is a weird missile launcher that just does not fit with the overall figure. I recommend getting the old Dinobot sword for him to use. It is all the new Dinobot is missing.

Bottom line:
If you like Dinobot, raptors and/or Beast wars transformers, get this guy.