Patriot Prime Reviews Transformers Legacy Skullgrin

[@windsweeper8002]

Great review as always. Skullgrin was my favourite Pretender growing up. I loved his portrayal in the comics where he wasn't entirely evil. I remember getting him for my 12th birthday. I completely agree that his G1 tank looked cooler than the Legacy version. Even just giving the new tank a visible cockpit would have improved it. I also wish the Legacy Pretenders had their G1 robot heads. I did customise a Titanmaster using the G1 head a few years back so I'll see if I can fit it to this figure when I get him.

[@mcdemuth]

I'm sorry to hear that Skullgrin doesn't meet the expectations that you were hoping for... I never liked the Pretender gimmick, so I can't properly judge a release like this. But I can agree that it is a shame that the design couldn't be more faithful to how the shell looked, for Pretender fans such as yourself... However, with that said, I do love how unique he looks and love the modern "Battle mask / armor" concept this release has. The colors look fantastic too. I am looking forward to picking this up in the near future.

[@DoctorOfSpice]

If you notice, there's a slot near the tip of the bladeguns that will notch over the tab on the lower legs if you peg the guns into the treads further. Just helps to stabilize them a bit in tank mode.

[@kevsil616]

Honestly with the size they made him they could have made him with the robot head and made the skull head a mask that fit over the robot head

[@windsweeper8002]

Exactly. Like the mutant heads on the Beast Wars figures. Given that they've released a few figures this year with two heads such as Delta Magnus and Ransack, the Pretenders would make more sense having had 2 heads.

[@TransformersTalkRAW]

Would've certainly been more of an actual Pretender homage if they did do that.

[@aualga]

Boy, imagine what it would look like if they decided to do the human Pretenders from the Autobots.

[@JROD082384]

I never had any of the beast/monster pretender shells back in the day. I only had a few that resembled humans, two of which could transform into vehicles themselves. Because of that, these issues on Skullgrin will not hold a huge sway over my future enjoyment of the figure.

[@MDestron2282]

As a huge Pretender fan. I'm just happy we're getting Pretenders. Mine should ship out tomorrow. I'm looking forward to him.

[@justinjordan7449]

The swords portion reminds me of butterfly knives

[@CptNoms]

Really just want to get him so I can attach my fossilizers.

[@mxes5938]

he is partially purple and has a cute heart as a nose, the perfect valentine's day-themed transformer

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

OH MY GOD! Now I can't unsee that! LOL.

[@ionacustoyreviews857]

Wonder if someone’s gonna do a robot head swap thing. That would be cool

[@DarrenLee73]

Just got Legacy Skullgrin today with the Xmas $ I had.I found a fan mode alt mode for him on here,also.Never had G1 Skullgrin back then,but did own G1 Iguanus and glad to finally have this Skullgrin in my collection.

[@TFfangeek]

Skullgrin, the skeletal minotaur who has been terrorizing the Autobots since 1988. :D

[@xeroxero9541]

I ended up pegging the side handle of the blade into the cannon barrel to make a scythe type weapon for mine :) Had to fold in the hand a bit to get it to sit where it should, but it seems to work pretty well. Was thinking about passing originally, but glad I picked him up since the other copy at our walmart had the head stolen :O

[@bryanweber7383]

great review as always, I got my Legacy Skullgrin in a walmart 2 pack, mine had exact same issue with the horn yours did, I actually wasn't much of a fan of the pretenders, just never got into them. I was actually trying to sell mine on Ebay, but it never sold. I watched your review and decided to open the box and keep him. LOL.. I love the fact you can configure the weapons so many ways in robot mode. Thanks for that info and Thanks again for your service to our country..

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

Thank you, I appreciate that. He is fairly decent in his own quirky way.

[@misterdarwin]

In "tank" mode if you remove the turret and rotate the canons 180 when you put the turret back it should have better elevation.

[@michaelpapp5518]

I think they made the right call using the robot’s torso. Skullgrin’s pretender shell looks too plain for my tastes. He looks great as a skeleton warrior wearing armor. That’s a cool for a monster. I just don’t know how Hasbro coulda made that big gray surface work for a robot. Maybe make look even more like armor? I dunno. I like the acknowledgment of the inner bot mode. They’re an important part of the play pattern.

[@jzachery]

I really like this one, just got him. But you have fair points. I really wish someone would do an upgrade for Bomburst to have his wings on the back.

[@KydNotorious]

I'm still very much looking forward to this guy. It would be nice if we got a decent Voyager Class bludgeon and maybe a leader class Thunder wing

[@MudSluggerBP]

Just got him today and he looks so much better in hand than he does in pictures or videos 🤟🏻

[@hgc7000]

I never had any of the Pretenders as a kid, but I really like them in Masterforce. With that I've been looknig forward to the new Skullgrin. QC issues aside, I'm not too caught up on the shell/robot decisions, but I can definitely see where you are coming from with the disappointment with the new one vs the OG. Same thing happened with the Earthrise Tracks. One of my Top 5 Autobots, loved the G1 figure, but there were so many QC issues with the latest one. Ugh!

[@SwedishSeacon]

What's great with this figure is the possibility of repurposing. If you happen to own the Generations Skullgrin (the retool of Straxus/Darkmount), it leaves you with the option to repurpose this as Masterforce Dauros since both toys were the same, only different character in the Hasbro and Takara market, while leaving the Generations figure still as Skullgrin. Or vice versa, depending on how you want them.

[@beastmanreview009]

I still need him. I hope they do Thunderwing and Bludgeon.

[@RazyelKayneReviews]

To bad you had a warped horn, it's kinda of a key feature on this one. He does loose a bit of the organic feel but I don't really mind. The belt and shoulder pads are looking great, so does the knee spike. The tiny tail is a nice touch too. Man that wrist is a problem. Glad you're getting a replacement. The weapons are freaking amazing. Man, you got me excited all over again, I can't wait to pick this guy up. Thanks for this review, I needed it.

[@sandstormer8386]

I had a warped horn once, but the doctor soon sorted it out. Good review though, objective as ever. I'm going to take him as a fun figure with an awesome head sculpt and a fair bit of playability/fiddleability.

[@michaelpapp5518]

Mine’s is coming tomorrow. Can’t wait! Another fun review, friend. When do ya think we’re gonna get some Autobot Pretender updates?

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

I hope we don't. I hated the Autobot ones. LOL!

[@michaelpapp5518]

@@PatriotPrimeReviews ha ha! You heathen! How dare you! Cloudburst was the best! He also happened to be the only Pretender I owned as a kid. I would love a new version of him.

[@cobaltprime9467]

Hoping for a leader class Bludgeon and a commander class Thunderwing

[@paulkleman1392]

I just got Skullgrin today. Sadly, I a similar issue with my horn. I can tolerate it for now. However, my biggest disappointment is the swords/ guns. They are so rubbery that the pegs are hard to get into the ports.

[@thantrus]

We need some autobot pretenders! I hope we get Skyhammer

[@J_Lee712]

Well now we need a Circuit Breaker. Wonder if Toyhax may add some extras. Wonder if a little heat will help that. Man Hasbro you coulda snuck in a robot head under that skull. 🤔 man lost opp there to do that then possible use it as a shield. Boy now I await Bludgeon Still haven't seen any new core class figs.

[@kaylemathewcomendador6964]

So the figure’s design is a hybrid between the inner robot & shell? Neat, but at the same time most fans care about the shell more than the inner robot. Especially with the other Pretenders in Legacy being more shell faithful. And why is he a bigger size class while the others are Core sized again?

[@fatenabu1]

I want them to make Gilmer and then do Phoenix, Lander, Diver, and Metal Hawk

[@chrisvellner3922]

The "tank-mode" is just as ambiguous as the SIEGE Soundwave and Refraktor Cybertronian vehicle-modes. Is it accurate? [shrug shoulders]... "...uhinuh..."

[@jboy667]

use hot boiling water to dib head puse rubber band to hold it in right shape, The hot water will make the plastic soft So if you do it right you can use the band to rechape it in place by redoing this. Now too hot water breaks the rubber band if it's thin

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

Already got my replacement and it's head is perfect.

[@originaleddict]

When you reviewing Alpha Trion & Orion Pax?!

[@misterdarwin]

You couldn't fix the horn with the warm/cold water trick?

[@werlynakadera1944]

This should have stayed a core class

[@TransformersTalkRAW]

Excellent review my friend.

[@lagbait3076]

I've never been a fan of the Pretenders, I remember owning one but to this day never really bothered to learn it's name, yellow armored human autobot, so I'm holding my tongue to not be outright negative on this figure. My opinion of them has not changed.

[@JROD082384]

If it was yellow, it was almost certainly Bumblebee. I know this because I have that exact same one.

[@lagbait3076]

@@JROD082384 I just looked it up, it was called Landmine. First thing that popped up was an ebay listing that didn't even have the name on him. So maybe not as popular?

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

Landmine was one of the better Autobot ones.

[@thenuclearsandwich]

Though I appreciate what they are doing, I really wish they focused on doing actual pretenders and just doing them better than what we had in the 80s. Shells and inner robots with more detail and articulation. Especially inner robots that don't require that if you squint enough, you can see the alt mode was whatever they were trying to pull off. Yeah, now I see it. Looks just like a submarine. 😂

[@DotZelp-lm9xj]

Which one is better the crankcase or the skullgrin

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

Crankcase

[@SkyStarNova]

The idea was awesome but the execution on Skullgrin is just awful. The original, even without articulation, looks far better. How come Bomb Burst looks so amazing?

[@devoidoflogic556]

Great review, I still think this is the worst figure released in wave 2.

[@PatriotPrimeReviews]

Yep, a swing & a miss with this one.

[@mikef8846]

All these Pretender and Armada figures are saving me money, because I'm not buying any of them.

[@michaellombardi1620]

He looks very dissapointing

[@mikef8846]

The Pretenders should never have been made in the first place. They're terrible. And doubling down on the same mistake only make is worse with this updated version. Some things are better left to the dustbin of history.