CoolBecomeBrave- Fake PotP Dinobots

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

So a guy at the toy show had a few sets of Chinese knockoff combiners, a full set of the Japanese deco Protectobots, a weird 3rd party dinobot combiner with a metric ton of weapons, and a Volcanicus.

For $20 why not? I never got Sludge or Snarl from PotP, and I can resell it for $30 if I hate it. He sold the other 2 sets for $50 each.

The instructions describes them as CoolBecomeBrave.

He seems pretty much the same, but his Autobot logos were unapplied stickers and he has a giant sword accessory as well as an extra prime core, that the PotP version didn't have. PotP Swoop has a longer head crest, but CoolBecomeBrave Swoop has a little less smoky beak. PotP Slug has a little clearer tail where CoolBecomeBrave is a little smokier. CoolBecomeBrave Grimlock has less shiny stickers, with some being transparent so the gray shows through,and a more vibrant gold chest, making the PotP look dingy. Otherwise these are just Dinobots. There's not even a difference in plastic quality at all which was really quite surprising.

Somehow a better gold Grimlock chest makes him look much better than the PotP

[Zobovor]

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 6:28:13 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:

> For $20 why not? I never got Sludge or Snarl from PotP, and I can resell it for $30 if I hate it.

Does it look like this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254228841790

At first, when you were taking about Chinese knockoff Dinobots, I thought you were talking about this multi-colored monstrosity:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283283044024

I wonder why Hasbro never tried to sell us a Dinobots gift set in G2 colors. It seems like that would have been instant money in the bank for them. It would also kind of hearkened back to the toys for the movie Dinobotz, in a meta sort of way.


Zob (Grimlock would have really needed a Rambo headband and a "BIG GRIM" sticker on his shoulder, though)

[Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.]

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 7:52:15 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 6:28:13 PM UTC-6, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:
>
> > For $20 why not? I never got Sludge or Snarl from PotP, and I can resell it for $30 if I hate it.
>
> Does it look like this?
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/254228841790
>

Yup, with his FoC sword

> At first, when you were taking about Chinese knockoff Dinobots, I thought you were talking about this multi-colored monstrosity:
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/283283044024
>

Ooh, I actually like that. I haven't seen Slash as a chestplate yet.

Almost Power-Rangers at that point.

> I wonder why Hasbro never tried to sell us a Dinobots gift set in G2 colors. It seems like that would have been instant money in the bank for them. It would also kind of hearkened back to the toys for the movie Dinobotz, in a meta sort of way.
>

The G2 Stunticons went over pretty well if I recall.

>
> Zob (Grimlock would have really needed a Rambo headband and a "BIG GRIM" sticker on his shoulder, though)

You think someone wouldn't?

[Codigo Postal]

There appear to still be two sets of KO PotP Dinobots in the wild.

The first is a 1:1 KO by BPF, the one referenced by OP, which pairs Grimlock with his giant FOC sword. The BPF set is perfectly fine, and except for minor cosmetic differences, almost identical in quality to the originals.

The other set is by Black Mamba/BMB, fine purveyors of slightly upscaled knockoffs with added die-cast. They come in two flavors: original colors, and multicolored.

(The multicolored Dinos are apparently based on the Power Rangers Dino Thunder toys. Since these are largely for Chinese children, I'm assuming Dino Thunder must have been quite popular in China for them to select that color scheme over say, the original MMPR colors, or the G2 colors).

The Black Mamba set is fantastic. All of the dinos have been upscaled, which means Sludge, Slag, Snarl, and Swoop are now Voyager sized, and the same height as PotP Grimlock in robot mode. The diecast adds a little heft and stability - unnecessary, but not to the detriment of the figures. Each bot comes with a translucent red sword and a blaster, plus the Prime armor pieces necessary for Volcanicus.

Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop are greatly improved at this scale. Transformations are intuitive, both modes are solid, and only minimally compromised by the combining gimmick.

Grimlock, as has been well documented, is far from screen or toy accurate, and is perhaps the most compromised by having to form the core of Volcanicus. Despite that, he is quality. Leader-sized, thicker plastic, solid ratchets. Heftier and more solid than SS86. If Hasbro's offerings were at the same level as this Grimlock, we'd never hear about the Great Cheapening again.

Slag is by far the weakest of the Dinos. The original design was neither particularly toy nor screen accurate, and his shortcomings are even more evident at this scale.

In the final analysis, the 1:1 BPF Dinos are great for anyone who missed out on the originals, while the OS BMB Dinos are great for assembling a complete set of Voyager-scaled Dinos to match with the original Grimlock. The extra Leader Grimlock is a fun alternative to SS86, for those who can't find him.

I'm collecting SS86 almost out of a sense of obligation, but I have to admit that they haven't sparked the same level of joy that these upscaled PoTP Dinos have.

As for the Skittles-flavored Dinos, one word: "NEON"
TRDQ showcases them pretty well here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXMx7UPaxVE

[Codigo Postal]

As for Volcanicus:

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/4c24a6ae-8bdf-4d41-ae98-f0d4649e8fb3

[Gustavo Wombat]

Swoop looks amazing in white with yellow trim. I wish they did the rest of
the Skittle Squad that way.