I still stand by the fact that Dinobot is one of my favorite characters of all time; he's got a sense of honor that clashes with the Predacons and would put him at odds with the Maximals he joined. He's got plenty of things that he likes about Optimus Primal, doesn't like Cheetor's behavior, and has seen eye-to-eye with Rhinox on occasion, but his initial rivalry with Rattrap eventually formed into a friendship that sadly ends with the Velociraptor sacrificing himself for the future of the human race. I also think he's the one character in Transformers associated with the word "Dinobot" to be the best, beating any other Dinobot team thanks to his character development. And it's so great to see what this guy has to offer after dying for new Beast Wars updates.
Here we have Dinobot in his raptor mode. As far as being accurate to the real beast, he manages to look faithful enough in terms of anatomy and detailing. The sculpt work on his skin textures are naturally wrinkly and lifelike, resulting in him having a much natural appearance that is somewhat ruined by the robot hips. There are other robot parts that are exposed, but for the most part, it manages to look as naturalistic as possible. His articulation consists of a jaw, arms that move front and back as well as in and out, elbows that bend, and hands that are ball-jointed. Hips don't move but the knees and ankles do.
For a comparison with his other Predacons and his Maximal allies! He's interestingly smaller than Megatron but is larger than everyone else! I mean, it makes sense since it's pretty much a Velociraptor that's able to tower over every other beast that isn't Megatron.
Let's also give the only non-Earthrise re-release some love once again as Inferno stands next to Dinobot. Yeah, he's definitely taller than the fire truck Autobot. Makes Dinobot feel like a T-Rex, then again, Inferno is a small toy in vehicle mode.
And here is Dinobot next to his old 1996 toy. It's an absolute night-and-day difference given how A) the clunkiness was for the old toy, B) the coloring is for the old toy, and C) the way the toys came out before the show. Seriously, it surprises me how different this Dinobot is compared to the original one; not 100% accurate to the cartoon but MUCH closer than the old toy if you ask me.
Transformation is very involved for this guy, giving him all the traits that the show had since his process was different from the toy and looked like it wouldn't transform. The chest itself is a fake as I didn't expect for him, but it does allow him to feel more fleshed out with matching his cartoon look much better than the normal version. The resulting robot mode is very accurate to the cartoon, though there are some design traits that aren't quite accurate. It's mainly the coloring, where some parts of the toy look inaccurate and others look underdone; the lower legs look like they could use the rib-cage detailing as paint to further make them look complete; meanwhile, his kibble placement is clean save for the backpack looking a little ugly. Some fans might find the arms too long, but I am more bothered by the gaps and pins.
Head sculpt is very accurate and undeniably Dinobot for the face, helmet shape, and coloring. I wish it was more metallic but it still captures the personality of Dinobot in the show perfectly. His articulation consists of a ball-jointed head, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, and articulated hands. There is a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. Dinobot's torso does wiggle a bit yet it isn't made for articulation purposes.
Now let's give him his weapons! His sword is nicely sculpted yet is in the same purple that the Masterpiece has, and the Cyber-Slash-Tail-Weapon does open up yet it doesn't spin and there is no paint inside it, sadly. The method of holding the weapons is unique to Dinobot, who has holes in his palms instead of the traditional 5mm hands. As for when he is next to Inferno, they're about the same size and contrast each other in terms of aesthetics.
Here's a reuse that was bound to happen: it's Maximal Grimlock, given not just an approximation of his deco but also a new head that both suits Grimlock and mimics the old toy's appearance. No mutant head gimmick, thank God. He is included with an Earth-retool of Mirage as part of an Amazon-exclusive 2-pack.
And for another reuse, here we have the toy-accurate colors released in the Buzzworthy Bumblebee subline, complete with the original head sculpt that came with Grimlock. I don't really like the way it looks, maybe it's with how the pink looks like raw chicken or how the legs look kind of cheap. Plus, it's said to yellow quickly so wow.
For a comparison with his old toy, it's another example of having two night-and-day examples of Transformers looking different from one another. Generally speaking, one is much closer to the cartoon while the other is not even like the show whatsoever. What I also like is that it allows people to have a more affordable Dinobot than ever before.
And here he is with the Maximals! The size is accurate when put next to his allies, though I think Rattrap should be taller than he currently is. Makes me want Rhinox and Tigatron ASAP!
Here he is with his former Predacon allies, which allows us to see how even Megatron remains the tallest Beast Wars character in the Kingdom line so far. I absolutely love having the Predacons together, even if we're missing more of them and Dinobot isn't a Predacon anymore. Overall, this guy is the epitome of a great update for the Kingdom line. The only things I don't really like are the lack of paint in some areas, especially considering how obvious it is with the legs in robot mode and the cyber-slash tail weapon. Either way, it blows away the Universe version and the Henkei release, too! No amount of chrome can save that version from this one!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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