Bot Reviews: Transformers: Legacy Evolution Core Sludge

I always wanted a full set of Dinobots, but space and prices always kept me from taking the plunge any time a new set of them happened. Sure, those big, fancy Studio Series 86 ones look great, but that’s five Leader-class figures, too much plastic for my blood. But these new Legacy Evolution ones are Core-class, the perfect compact way to assemble a set. And the fact that they made them into a tiny combiner is a great deal-sweetener, because combiners are another thing I typically don’t have space and funds for, unless they’re small.

So, yes, Volcanicus is back, the Dinobot combiner that they invented for Power of the Primes, and re-used in Cyberverse. The members are coming out over the course of a few waves, and the first one to make his way to me is Sludge, the Brontosaurus.

A persistent problem with the Dinobots was always that, like a lot of big Transformers teams, the individual members tended to not have much in the way of personalities (especially on the cartoon, when they all just used identical caveman-speak voices). The most we ever found out about Sludge was that he was the particularly dumb one out of a team of dim bulbs (rude!). Thanks to a re-read last year, I tend to think more about the story arc in the Marvel UK comics where Sludge fell in love with a human reporter, Joy Meadows, not that she returned it.

That, and Brontosauruses are my favorite dinosaurs, so he’s got that going for him, too. And that’s about all the preamble he gets!

Robot Mode

Right, so, this is an odd one. A lot of the sculpting on him is trying to suggest animation model accuracy, like the Studio Series 86-er, but it’s something the figure can’t really do, because his proportions are all bent and warped. His whole silhouette is one that seems like it makes sense at first, and then you look a bit more closely, and recognize how odd it is.

The big elephant in the room is his bizarrely-constructed legs. Basically, his knees (which are too high up) are actually just empty space, and his legs are held together by the gigantic pods of dino leg at his hips. I will say that the whole assembly doesn’t look nearly as bad in person as in the promo images, but it ain’t pretty, particularly the way the hollow interior of those hip panels are just out there, facing forwards.

The thing that sticks out to me more are his arms, which are faaaaar away from his torso, on struts coming out of his shoulders, all so they can get around his hip panels. I’d mentioned all the sculpting and greebling on his body trying for accuracy. Outside of the proportions, it’s also competing with a litany of tabs, slots, hollow sections, and other junk needed for his alternate modes. I almost wonder if they would have done better to not try for accuracy, and do something that worked with those engineering needs, instead of against them.

At least the dinosaur head hanging off of the back doesn’t look too bad, it curves with the torso nicely. That, and his headsculpt is really nice, it’s the one part of him where it looks like they shrunk down the 86 one’s head successfully.

Every Dinobot has the same colors: Grey, red, black, gold, and silver, and they’re all here on him. I’m going to have to find some clever way of handling that in my reviews of the other five. Sludge here looks to be painted well enough, in a way that loosely replicates his animation model, but the choice to cut the red on his torso off at his waist, and make it solid gray below that, just highlights another proportional oddity, namely how high up his waist is.

One upshot of Sludge, though, is his construction: This guy is a solid brick of plastic. Like, moreso than any other Core I’ve handled. Despite the hollowness on display, he’s got density. He almost feels like a late-era G1 toy. The only fragility is his dino head can come off easily, it’s actually off in the packaging, and you need to install it.

Sludge’s articulation is a bit limited compared to other cores. He’s technically got swivel knees and balljointed hips, despite the odd construction of his legs, and his pelvis even has a “skirt flap” that can lift, to leave them unimpeded. Meanwhile, his arms are only articulated at the shoulders, albeit on ball joints. He has that extremely high waist joint, and his head’s on a swivel. He’s a little bit bendy, but I’ve seen this size class do better.

And he’s got no accessories! Most Cores have tried for something! I’d have liked a gun, a sword, anything. I will say, not only are his fists the right size to hold other Core weapons…

…but he actually has 5 millimeter ports on the sides of his wrists, a rarity amongst Cores, meaning he can swipe accessories from larger figures, too, so he’s at least got that.

He’s also got ports on his shoulders, and beneath his hip-packs.

Transformation

Sludge’s transformation is simple, fast, and actually pretty close to the G1 scheme. It’s just a waist twist, folding the legs in, closing the fists over his chest, and folding the dino head up.

Nice and easy, and fun to do, a bright spot in the whole thing.

Dino Mode

This Brontosaurus is nicer overall than the robot mode, thanks to more deliberate detailing, and less sculpting marred by transformation seams and such. Still, he can’t avoid looking a bit proportionally odd. He’s got huge back legs, punt forelegs, a nonexistent tail, and the neck feels too short. And that neck’s got a hollow gap when viewed from the front, exposing his robot head.

On the bright side, he’s got a really nice dino-mode headsculpt. It has a funny expression, halfway between a sneer and a cocky grin.

His colors also feel a nicer, thanks to the head and neck introducing more gold, along with an Autobrand on his forehead, and painted blue eyes.

Here’s a kick in the pants in this mode, and it’s something I wasn’t expecting: His articulation is absolutely zero.

That’s something you just never see on any Transformer that changes into a creature these days. His legs, his tail, his head, they’re all completely fused in place, he’s a complete statue.

You can pick him up and wiggle him, and that’s it, there’s no features to speak of.

Well, unless you do something with the 5 Millimeter ports at his hips.

At least he’s still a solid brick, built to last, construction-wise. Something about him being a solid slab is satisfying, even if you can’t do anything with it.

Combiner Mode

All of these compromises are in service of Sludge forming the pants of Volcanicus. So I guess that’s why he’s a bit pants?

It’s too bad that on his own, it’s hard to see what he becomes, because you don’t do much. You spin his legs out, and raise his arms, and that’s it. I’ll have to wait until the full combiner is assembled to see why he was built the way he is. Volcanicus does work on 5 Millimeter ports, though, and in this mode, the six ports on Sludge are perfectly placed for you to take any -Izers you’ve got, and build him a mech suit. Here’s my attempt to make him into something:

I guess I had to make my own fun.

Overall

Look, these mini-dinos were always going to be a bit compromised for the combined mode. But poor Sludge seems like he bore the brunt of it. Spoilers: I’ve already got Slug as of this writing, and can confirm he’s not nearly as compromised, which makes things look good for the rest of the dinos, but makes Sludge look a lot weaker. He’s got a robot mode that looks bad, a dino mode that looks less bad but is a statue, and has no accessories, and no real intended features, outside of some convenient accessory ports.

I will say this: His density and basic nature make him feel like a G1 toy from the late 80s, and there’s a charm that comes with that. And I love Brontosauruses, so I’m biased. Still, if you’re not getting the full combiner set, there’s no reason to get this guy, unfortunately. He’s not a complete waste, but he’s definitely too knackered to work as a standalone.

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