Susp's Review: UNIVERSE DINOBOT
Perhaps the most complex character in TF history, the ferocious Dinobot was a warrior first and foremost, and unlike the overwhelming majority of 'cons, lived by a firm code of honour. It was his devotion to that honour that caused him to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve the human race.
Beast Mode: From snout to tail tip, this dromaeosaurid measures an impressive 24 cm(9.5") long and stands 13.5 cm(5.3") tall. Main colours are muddy brown with tan stripes, white eyes, and bone white claws and teeth. Also some purple and goldenrod robotic bits visible around the legs, feet, and belly. Dinobot is obviously supposed to be a Velociraptor, but his proportions are really more in line with a Tyrannosaurus rex. And he entirely lacks feathers, which we now know Velociraptor possessed. Nevertheless, he's still a good-looking dinosaur, far superior to the original Dinobot toy.
Dinobot's puny forearms and tail tip are made out of rubberised plastic. His lower jaw opens, his shoulders rotate, his hips and ankles are ball-jointed, and his knees bend slightly. He can attain a nice walking stance, but you're not about to get any "leaping onto the back of helpless prey" poses out of him.
Transformation: Pop off Dinobot's tail at the hips, unfold his robot feet, and rotate his ankles around. Swing out his haunches, flip out the ribs (this can be the most annoying step if you have large fingers!), then rotate the haunches to the rear and snap them onto the back of the shins. Wrap the ribs around the shins. Open up the flank panels, unfold and swing out the arms, the fold down the raptor head to reveal the robot head. Close the flanks again and slide the robot hips together.
Robot Mode: Dinobot stands 14 cm(5.5") tall, shorter but stockier than Cheetor. He's mainly brown with goldenrod fists, hips, thighs, and parts of his feet, purple at his knees and ankles, metallic silver on his thighs, and bone white ribs on his abs and shins. His goldenrod head is a wonderful rendition of the Mainframe character model, only with purple instead of blue for his face. He also has a metallic silver crest and translucent orange lightpiping. His fists can be rotated around to give him claw hands like the original toy's. Unlike poor, humpbacked Cheetor, Dinobot is quite kibble-free and looks remarkably like his Mainframe model. The ribbed shins are an especially clever and attractive touch. The tiny panel on his chest rotates to reveal either a purple Predacon symbol or a red Maximal symbol. Rattrap would surely scoff.
Dinobot has the same leg articulation of his beast mode. His head can turn from side to side, his shoulders are ball-jointed, his upper arms rotate, and his elbows and claws are hinged. His tail opens up to become a cyber-slash tail weapon with veins and robotic bits running along the inside. The weapon attaches to either of Dinobot's fists, but unlike the original, it cannot spin. However, it can launch its translucent orange missile a distance of two metres. If the missile looks familiar, that's because it's sculpted to resemble Dinobot's sword! Granted, it's a rather short-bladed, long-handled sword, but it's a sword nonetheless. Dinobot can wield it heroically in his fist.
Overall, Susp Sez: Dinobot is a prime example of a homage done right. The dinosaur mode looks good, the transformation is clever but not frustrating, and the robot mode is quite unmistakeable as the greatest hero of the Beast Wars. The colours aren't exactly accurate and the articulation isn't as good as other Deluxes, but in the end, it's a small price to pay. 8.5/10
"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence."
Beast Mode: From snout to tail tip, this dromaeosaurid measures an impressive 24 cm(9.5") long and stands 13.5 cm(5.3") tall. Main colours are muddy brown with tan stripes, white eyes, and bone white claws and teeth. Also some purple and goldenrod robotic bits visible around the legs, feet, and belly. Dinobot is obviously supposed to be a Velociraptor, but his proportions are really more in line with a Tyrannosaurus rex. And he entirely lacks feathers, which we now know Velociraptor possessed. Nevertheless, he's still a good-looking dinosaur, far superior to the original Dinobot toy.
Dinobot's puny forearms and tail tip are made out of rubberised plastic. His lower jaw opens, his shoulders rotate, his hips and ankles are ball-jointed, and his knees bend slightly. He can attain a nice walking stance, but you're not about to get any "leaping onto the back of helpless prey" poses out of him.
Transformation: Pop off Dinobot's tail at the hips, unfold his robot feet, and rotate his ankles around. Swing out his haunches, flip out the ribs (this can be the most annoying step if you have large fingers!), then rotate the haunches to the rear and snap them onto the back of the shins. Wrap the ribs around the shins. Open up the flank panels, unfold and swing out the arms, the fold down the raptor head to reveal the robot head. Close the flanks again and slide the robot hips together.
Robot Mode: Dinobot stands 14 cm(5.5") tall, shorter but stockier than Cheetor. He's mainly brown with goldenrod fists, hips, thighs, and parts of his feet, purple at his knees and ankles, metallic silver on his thighs, and bone white ribs on his abs and shins. His goldenrod head is a wonderful rendition of the Mainframe character model, only with purple instead of blue for his face. He also has a metallic silver crest and translucent orange lightpiping. His fists can be rotated around to give him claw hands like the original toy's. Unlike poor, humpbacked Cheetor, Dinobot is quite kibble-free and looks remarkably like his Mainframe model. The ribbed shins are an especially clever and attractive touch. The tiny panel on his chest rotates to reveal either a purple Predacon symbol or a red Maximal symbol. Rattrap would surely scoff.
Dinobot has the same leg articulation of his beast mode. His head can turn from side to side, his shoulders are ball-jointed, his upper arms rotate, and his elbows and claws are hinged. His tail opens up to become a cyber-slash tail weapon with veins and robotic bits running along the inside. The weapon attaches to either of Dinobot's fists, but unlike the original, it cannot spin. However, it can launch its translucent orange missile a distance of two metres. If the missile looks familiar, that's because it's sculpted to resemble Dinobot's sword! Granted, it's a rather short-bladed, long-handled sword, but it's a sword nonetheless. Dinobot can wield it heroically in his fist.
Overall, Susp Sez: Dinobot is a prime example of a homage done right. The dinosaur mode looks good, the transformation is clever but not frustrating, and the robot mode is quite unmistakeable as the greatest hero of the Beast Wars. The colours aren't exactly accurate and the articulation isn't as good as other Deluxes, but in the end, it's a small price to pay. 8.5/10
"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence."