Slag's a troubled character as far as his prevalence is concerned. Firstly, his original name, while appropriate in the US because it refers to molten metal, is inappropriate in the UK because it basically refers to whores (and resulted in him being named Snarl in Animated and his Robot Heroes toy until he settled for Slug). Secondly, for as much as Grimlock gets attention in other media, it's not an immediate guarantee that the other Dinobots get toys (or even exist in subsequent fiction). Personally, it never bothered me that the Dinobots hadn't been in RID or the Unicron Trilogy, but ever since they popped up in Animated and since AOE, one would hope that they represent more than just Grimlock. Also, said merchandise may not exactly win people over; case in point, the Power of the Primes Dinobots were the first official G1 Dinobot team since G1 itself to be complete, and they were mildly satisfying at best. Studio Series 86 justifies itself by making larger Dinobots that don't combine and manage to be the best-looking options of the subline so far; Grimlock did that wonderfully, and can the same be said for Slag?
Here we have Slag in his triceratops mode, and it looks just as nice as Grimlock's dino mode did. In general, it captures the same points that his Tyrannosaurus mode checked: be cartoon-accurate, include nicely sculpted details, and use gold paint instead of yellow. Slag's proportions are accurate to the cartoon, which makes sense given how stumpy and fat the Triceratops generally are. I also like how even if he looks kind of non-threatening for his stature, the sculpted details and added paint here and there give him a bit of a tougher look that I don't think would be captured as nicely with bare yellow plastic. The gray plastic used on the figure looks nice, though the light gray used for the horns and the frill is the same shade that Grimlock's arms notably had. It's thankfully better-looking in-hand, though I do admit that painting them silver or making them in a more metallic color would reduce the cheaper look. His articulation consists of the front and hind legs moving front and back while the lower legs bend to further accentuate the naturalistic poses. His mouth also opens and closes, as expected. Also nice is that his gun is stored in the tail as a clever method of weapon storage compared to Grimlock's.
Here we have Daniel in his exosuit, put in a crouching pose much like the Wheelie that came with Grimlock. As far as the sculpted details are concerned, they're not as plentiful as the Dinobot is, but the paint apps I find are too faint to notice immediately. What I especially hate is the fact that the dome is unpainted, which is weird because you would think that the nipple eyes of the chest face would be left alone. Comparing him with the Spike that came with Buzzworthy Bumblebee shows how even if we ignore the size and functionality, the smaller guy ends up looking better thanks to the paint used on the shoulders, thighs, and shins for the teal green as well as the silver for the dome. I know Hasbro's afraid to give us a transforming Exosuit, but it looks worse than Wheelie did, who looked perfectly fine even if he was a pre-posed, nontransforming figure. Like Wheelie, he can at least ride on his back as shown in the movie. There are two pegs near the frill that the inner sides of the legs slide into.
For a size comparison, here he is next to fellow Studio Series 86 Leader Class Dinobot, Grimlock! I like the scale between the two as well as the synergy they share in terms of sculpt work and paint apps; they're equal overall and one doesn't contrast the other in an unusual fashion. Grimlock does look better than his teammate due to the fact that the only cheap gray he has to contend with coming from the arms compared to the horns and frill of Slag, but they look so great together that they make me want to wait for the other Dinobots. Hopefully, Swoop doesn't have cheap gray wings.
Transformation for Slag is very similar to how Grimlock transforms: front legs become the arms, the back becomes the lower legs, and the beast kibble goes on the back. To his credit, I like that he has a method of hiding the hind legs in the back of the robot legs, and the tail thankfully stays in place and doesn't get in the way of the waist swivel. I also like how the torso expands in width and makes him beefier. Annoyingly, the robot wings do come off compared to Grimlock since they lack pins. As for the robot mode, it's once again very accurate to the G1 cartoon yet manages to look professionally made by having a rich amount of sculpted details on the figure. The red is thankfully a nice, deep shade that not only looks better than the reddish-orange used for Grimlock's underwear-looking waist but also doesn't wash away his sculpted details. It goes well with the dark gray and I feel the light gray looks pretty fine for the thighs. The arms may look either too short or too far apart from the torso, but given the nature of the design and the modern Leader budget, it manages it fine enough. I have to admit that they'd look better when they're posed. And while the backpack may seem clunky, it more than makes up for it with a solid curve that goes from the tip of the Triceratops head to the tail.
Head sculpt is very accurate, as it's a solid red face with blue eyes breaking it up...I'm not a fan of that, as I'd prefer if he either had a toy-accurate head or at least have the face painted silver. At the very least, the few sculpted details are not washed out and I can at least see the mouth from a distance. His articulation is equal to Grimlock's, with a ball-jointed neck, shoulders that ratchet front and back and hinge in and out (the right shoulder is less wibbly yet sounds softer than the left shoulder, which has the opposite differences), biceps that swivel, elbows that bend at two points, and wrists that swivel. The waist swivels, the hips move front and back, in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend at two points (the upper part of the joints are stiffer than the lower joints, and the ankles pivot. He also has his gun, his sole weapon of choice, but at least it looks different from Grimlock's in terms of sculpt and deco.
Daniel can still perch on his shoulder as does Grimlock, though it's more him chilling out than doing anything useful like Wheelie does with his slingshot. I have a feeling every Dinobot in Studio Series 86 will come with a pre-posed figure (maybe Swoop won't because of his shorter size).
For a size comparison, here he is with Studio Series 86 Grimlock; Slag may seem taller with the dino head hood, but he's slightly shorter than Grimlock is, which is perfectly fine with me. And honestly, I'm happy with how both turned out; they each have some minor cons, such as Grimlock's red-orange waist, Slag's light gray frill, and both of them lacking swords, but these two are the best official Dinobots we've gotten. I'm looking forward to getting the other Dinobots in the line, especially since we're more likely to get them in the line than we are with the Masterpieces. I highly recommend getting Slag as well as Grimlock, but may the toy distribution gods have mercy on your soul if you find them in stores or online.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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