Transformers Studio Series Cogman review

Cogman is a fascinating Transformer, in that he is a Headmaster, although it was sadly never seen in the movie along with his abilities to merge with his Transtector or take over Nitro Zeus's head. Despite that, he was fairly entertaining in The Last Knight, and one of the best parts of that movie, which I feel is the weakest of the 5 main movies. As an action figure, however, Cogman was EXTREMELY hard to find. The Last Knight toyline didn't do as well as Age of Extinction's, and as a result, most of the line got very hard to find. At best, Grimlocks, Slugs, Slashes, and Berserkers would be all anyone found in some of the worst aisles. Thankfully, I was able to get the figures I wanted, but Cogman was hard to find. A day after going to TFCon and passing on a $35 TLK Cogman that I initially wanted, it was announced that the Studio Series line would give us a Cogman figure decked in a coat of silver paint, which is what the old figure lacked. Is it worth the long wait? 

Here we have Cogman's transtector in his vehicle mode. An Aston Martin DB11, this car brings back yet another silver car Transformer after MV1's Jazz, ROTF's Sideswipe, and Dark of the Moon's Soundwave. Does get a bit tiring, but at least with Cogman, he's not based on a General Motors vehicle. In fact, while I prefer the other 3 characters mentioned, Cogman's alt mode at least has the nicest silver paint of them all in my eyes. In fact, I'd say that it makes the car mode look like it's made of die-cast. It could almost fit in with a collection of die-cast cars with a similar scale. I also love how front has a nice use of the unpainted plastic for the grill

It's a nice looking altmode all around, even if the cracks from the transformation kind of ruin it. Also, it's important to take good care of the silver paint since it does look prone to chipping off. 

Unrealistically (but traditional for most Transformers), the transtector opens up to reveal seats for two in this coupe. The steering wheel is on the left because that's how it works in London. Additionally, there is another seat for an extra Titan Master (but no Sir Edmund Burton is included).

Here is the proper robot mode of Cogman, which is unpainted yet has a good amount of molded details to better capture the appearance of the diminutive appearance. Curiously, it appears torso's a different color from the limbs and the head, although it's nowhere near as inconsistent as with the original TLK figure. Given how this little guy's got the same engineering as all Titan Masters and Prime Masters, his head can move around on a ball joint, while the shoulders move front and back as well as in and out. You can move the legs and knees, though the legs don't move individually. 

Cogman's transformation is a bit more basic than I'd like. Most TLK and Studio Series figures that become cars tend to have transformations that can stand out from one another. Bumblebee's done before but adds new elements, Crosshairs and Drift do new things as retools of their AOE forms, and both Jazz and Sideswipe try not to make their transformations feel barebones compared to Cogman. I'd say that in terms of car mode transformations, this guy's close enough to Barricade's, although Barricade doesn't have the streamlined backpack that this guy has...to make things even weirder, this figure's transformation can't even be determined since he NEVER used it to make himself an even larger robot. If there was something I wish this figure did have, it'd be better heels. This toy has a bit of trouble standing up due to how the feet are designed, but it shouldn't have much problem standing up since the backpack's flat enough to not mess up the weight.

The robot mode is certainly if Cogman gained robot mode kibble and a bit of weight onto his true form. It's a pretty cool take on the character, for sure, but given how he never used this in The Last Knight, it's kind of hard to determine how accurate he really is. For now, let's say that this is what it somewhat looks like, but with a bit more refinement (i.e. less vehicle mode kibble). It looks like a good robot mode, what with the sculpted details added to make him look more history-based compared to the other Autobots, who are modern in comparison. I'm sure Cogman's the kind of robot that wouldn't have such a "fresh-off-the-assembly-line" look to their designs, given how the likes of Bumblebee and Hot Rod don't have the old-timey feel of Cogman, so the aesthetic fits this character pretty well. It's also part of how old the robot is given his history of being butlers for the Burton heritage. As for the paint itself, it's nicely applied to this figure, and I like how there's a bit of gold to break up the silver along with the darker grays. Additionally, the chest has some nice sculpted details that almost capture the C-3PO ripoff nature of this dude. The sides and backs do make the robot look like it's a car that stood up weirdly, though.

Head sculpt is nicely done, though the faceplate has more paint apps than the rest of the toy has. I'm sure a wash or a coat of silver paint would make it look nicer, but I like the way this guy's head mode turned out. I even love the gold paint and blue eyes, though he does look more related to Bumblebee than Hot Rod is.

Articulation is the norm with Deluxes like Cogman. Head is on a ball joint thanks to the Titan Master head, shoulders are on ball joints for moving forward and back as well as in and out on a hinge. The biceps swivel and the elbows bend. The hips move front and back as well as in and out, while the thighs swivel and the knees bend.

His one accessory is the sword that resembles Cade Yeager's Tailsman when it becomes the sword. It's got some nice silver paint added on it, with the base black plastic serving as the handle and crossguard. It can be held as a traditional sword, though there is no wrist swivel for either hand due to the transformation it has. You can have the hand hinged halfway while opening a car mode panel if you want it to make him hold the sword differently.

Cogman's TLK release does have plenty of differences next to the original figure. At first glance, they don't look like they're too different from one another when viewed in this image, but if one were to have the actual toy in-hand, they'll know the differences a bit better. It's got a wash applied to parts of the robot mode, has a few more gold highlights compared to the Studio Series version, and there is no silver coat of paint on either the car mode or the sword. Additionally, the car mode doesn't have a grill that matches the bumper's color while the rooftop has black paint added on it. I think the black rooftop was not in the car mode seen in the film, but it does look nice. In fact, I think you'd get a better Cogman if you combined the shiny silver of the Studio Series version with the weathering effects of the TLK figure.

And for those wondering, yes, you can switch heads. I think this version of Cogman might fit better with the KSI Boss repaint of Nitro Zeus due to its silver colors being darker than the light gray of Nitro Zeus.

Overall, TLK Cogman's a nice toy to have, though I can't help but feel slightly disappointed with some parts of it. For a toy that seemed coveted by fans due to its AWFUL distribution, it felt like any other normal Deluxe Transformer, and probably not as neat as finally getting some of the DOTM Deluxes that were canceled or the TFP First Edition figures. I love the car mode, the silver paint, the Titan Master feature, and the sculpted details of the robot mode, and the knight's sword that he comes with. Transformation and parts of the robot mode, mainly the lack of a good idea of what it should really look like due to it not having a proper CG model, do detract from this toy. Still, I do recommend him if you see him in stores, even if you got the TLK release so this one can be in car mode.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐