AOE Dinobot Snarl

Presenting the Snarl from the Transformers Age of Extinction - AOE - toyline.

AKA the Dinobot that probably seemed least menacing in dinosaur mode that he wasn't included in the movie and was instead replaced by two raptor looking Dinobots - Scorn and Slash.

But then history has never been kind to Snarl. As we've discussed before, his name was co-opted by Slag in other toy-lines of the Transformers simply because "Slag" somehow over the years ended up being a derogatory term for women.

Probably simply because Dinobot Snarl transforms into a tranquil Stegosaurus - which is usually looked upon as prey for T-Rex's.

Which is a great injustice to the legacy of the Dinobot Snarl if you were to ask us.

TF4 AOE Scorn

Presenting the Transformers Age of Extinction TF4 AOE Deluxe Scorn.

TF4 AOE Scorn is a Bayformer Dinobot - meaning he's not based upon any G1 Dinobot and was made just for the movie.

We suppose Michael Bay found the idea of a Brontosaurus and a Stegosaurus too.... peaceful for the rampage he intended in Hongkong, and instead went for the dinosaur that killed the Tyrannosaurus Rex (Grimlock's Alt mode) in Jurassic Park 3 by snapping the T-Rex's neck: the Spinosaurus (We wonder if Bay is a fan of Jurassic Park).

A Spinosaurus supposedly rivals the size of a T-Rex so we're wondering if one day we'll see a Leader Class version of Scorn.

Transformers AOE Strafe

Presenting the Deluxe edition Dinobot Strafe from the Transformers Age of Extinction (AOE) toyline.

No he's not Swoop. Let's not pretend he is.

Let's get the great white-elephant out of the way, we hated the movie. And before some people get their panties in a bind, it's simply because the movie cannot stand as entertainment on it's own - regardless of the fact that Michael Bay likes to trample on G1 (Our opinion on that matter is that G1 and Bay are two different genres that should not be compared).

It's a long list of complaints. Anti-alien (to the point of hatred) secret government alien forms alliance with, you guessed it, an alien; Hound gives up the fight not because he's wounded, but because he's fat; Advertisements galore; no way is anybody going to believe that Marky Mark is an inventor; Marky Mark never runs out of ammo, why did Hound? his daughter - who falls for a useless coward - is the worst slut of a daughter we've ever seen. If only she was of legal agethen  we can imagine her getting the spanking she deserves;

Optimus Prime can fly? Apparently the best and fastest way to get this "seed" away from the bad guys was never considered from the guy who likes to just roll; The Dinobots are soooo mighty it takes one punch from Optimus to tame the great Grimlock; Speaking of which, what's with Prime getting his ass kicked throughout the movie? The only time he wins is when he's backed by giant Dinobots or when he stabs someone from behind. Speaking of which, a while back the new Decepticons were shrugging off anything the Autobots through at them, then when the Dinobots come a bite or a sword slash is all it takes?  And Optimus Prime is perfectly fine with his Autobots acting more like Decepticons than the Decepticons. Really? They have a fist fight in front of him and a sword is at Bumblebee's throat and he's "Meh"?

What extinction event are we looking at? At best if the seed went off HongKong would be gone. Not that it's any safer there now that Optimus Prime let four giant prehistoric semi-intelligent creatures roam the countryside.

And Strafe keeps crashing. He didn't really do anything. We went in with low expectations, just expecting a nice adventure. This was not worth what it cost to have it made, or the price of admission.

TF4 Autobot Hound

Presenting the Hasbro Voyager Class Autobot Hound from the TF4 Age of Extinction Toyline.

Hound is one of the Dungeon's most beloved characters from the Transformers series, and we have to admit to feeling a bit of anxiety after seeing his "Bayformer" version.

Yes we're quite aware that these are not the Transformers from the 80s and that they had to be rebuilt for the movies. (Kinda caught up on that on the first movie.)

But no one can deny that the "Essences" of the characters were maintained.

So how will Hound be portrayed? We shall see quite soon.

Have you ever played those medieval RPG type video games? Ever notice that there's always a warrior class weapons-smith or blacksmith? That one guy who always wears breastplate armor and carries all these weapons? That's what we have here - perfectly down to the unkempt facial hair and the skull cap. The persona seems to fit perfectly with the "knights" persona that we first saw with the AD-01 Optimus Prime - and have since seen as well with the TF4 Drift.

AOE Dinobot Slag - Slug

Presenting the Transformers Age Of Extinction (AOE's) Slag - or as they put it, Slug.

Apparently Hasbro found out that one of the most common expletives in the Transformers Universe was the word "Slag!" If you visit the wiki page you can find this jewel of a curse: "Slaggit! The slaggin' slag-faced motha-slaggin' slagger slagged the slaggers!" So to avoid parental sensitivity issues, sometime back in 2011 when the Dinobots (Grimlock, Swoop and Slag) had to be released as a part of the Transformers Animated Series Cartoon and Toy Line, a lot of people missed that Slag had been renamed Snarl - which was a slap to the face of all us Snarl lovers (Snarl has yet to be avenged).

Also "Slag" in most parts of Europe means... well... "bitch." So naturally Hasbro could not market Slag in Europe and had to change the AOE Transformer's name to Slug - which some have pointed out refers instead to the solid part of a bullet instead of a slow shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc that can be tortured to death with copious amounts of salt. But seriously? The first thing that comes to your mind when the word "Slug" is mentioned is a bullet? Where did you grow up in? Bosnia? Afghanistan? Somalia?

So honestly? Marketing problem yes. Correct solution? Er..... We don't think so.

Transformers Age of Extinction AD01 Optimus Prime Takara

Presenting the Takara AD01 Optimus Prime from the Transformers Age of Extinction Toyline.

We were one of those that severely lambasted the Transformers Age of Extinction First Edition Optimus Prime, and we have still yet to get one. We believe that it's till over-priced and an insult to Transformers collectors worldwide - that being said, we will purchase it if its price falls to between PhP 500 and PhP 1,000 (US$ 11 to US$ 22).

We almost didn't get the AD01 either given that early pictured depicted that the AD01 Takara and Habro Optimus Primes all had those blocky untransformed backs that reeked of budget cuts.

But he wasn't as bad as the First Edition AOE Optimus Prime - who looks like he has a bed attached to his back (Here in the Philippines there are actually people who walk around peddling full size wooden Beds or shelves on their backs, the First Edition AOE Prime reminded us of them).

So we got him. And because everything Takara is better (Bias), we got the AD01 Takara Optimus Prime.