General Information
Release Date: October 2024
Price Point: $79.99 USD
Retailer: Hasbro Pulse Exclusive
Official images and the text in italics below are from Hasbro Pulse:
Unite your favorite characters from across the world of Transformers robots into your collection with the Transformers Legacy United Dinobot Dinoking Multipack! Yokuryu figure converts between robot and dinosaur mode in 5 steps. Rairyu figure and Goryu figure each convert between robot and dinosaur mode in 7 steps. Doryu figure converts between robot and dinosaur mode in 10 steps. Gairyu figure converts between robot and dinosaur mode in 8 steps. Kakuryu figure converts between robot and dinosaur mode in 9 steps. Combine all 6 figures to create Dinoking action figure! They feature articulated head, arms, and legs for awesome action poses. Celebrate the last 40 years of Transformers history with Transformers Legacy action figures. Transformers Legacy opens the portal to a whole new universe of -- More Than Meets the Eye -- bringing together every Transformers generation like you’ve never seen before. Collect and combine different characters to create your ideal Legacy lineup.
Background:
In 2023 Hasbro released six Core Class Dinobot figures. Once you collected them all you could form the Combiner Volcanicus. I speculated in my Volcanicus review that given the layout of the team members and this team would likely be retooled and given a new decos as the Dinoforce from Transformers Victory. In July 2024, Hasbro officially announced the release of the Dinoforce boxed set! This piece finally shipped in October 2024.
This review will focus on the changes made to the individual figures in this set along with the new accessories. You'll definitely want to check out my Dinobot reviews in advance of this review:
Packaging:
The Dinoforce is packaged in a box that both pays homage to the past while taking influence from the present. The box is rectangular featuring six cut away windows that show off the Transformers inside in beast mode. Plastic windows have been restored with this boxed set so each window is covered with clear plastic. The cardboard quality is fantastic featuring thick cardboard like the kind used on current Leader Class figures. The graphics on the box take some design cues from G1 with a white grid set against a color gradient that goes from blue to black. Each character has individual artwork next to their figure while the combined Dinoking is on the right side. Next to that are the Generations and Transformers logos. There are small boxes with each character's name in it next to a Decepticon symbol. This too is inspired by G1.
The top and sides of the box fetaure photos of the figures in both modes. The back of the box features the gorgeous Legacy artwork with Magmatron in the middle. Below that is a G1 style tech spec. To the right are photos of each figure in beast and robot modes and the combined form of Dinoking. In another fun nod to G1 there is an "Authentic Transformers" box towards the bottom that seems to be a modern day substitute for the G1 Robot Points that you could mail in for special offers in the 80's.
This packaging is absolutely glorious and it is one of the main reasons I wanted this set so badly. My only reservation is that the inside tray is flat and the figures are just tied to it with rubber ties. That means once you take them out, you really cannot put them back into the box so that the figures can be seen through the individual windows. They could have easily stuck with a cardboard but created small compartments in the cardboard for each figure. This was a miss for sure given that this is meant to be a set aimed at collectors.
Accessories:
The Dinoking boxed set features a bunch of accessories that were not included with the Core Class Dinobots. For the most part the accessories are designed to function as the individual weapons for the Dinoforce team members. Then when you form Dinoking you can combine them together to form weapons for the Combiner. Here's the rundown in the order of the characters they are meant to go with:
Scythe
This weapon is intended for Doryu. It is not the same weapon he had in the Victory animated series where he held a spear weapon with curved blades at the end, but the "spirit" of the weapon is there at least being a curved blade weapon on a pole. The pole has both a 5mm and 3mm peg at the bottom allowing it to be held by Dinoking and Doryu. A tab on one side allows you to attach it to Doryu in beast mode. This piece is made of gunmetal grey plastic with the blade painted silver.
Tail Blaster/Left Fist
Gairyu's weapon is formed from the tail of the beast mode. This accessory replaces the one that came with Scarr though the design does have some similarities. The base section is curved til it reaches the fist. The fist has a blaster on the top of the hand (a design cue taken from the original Dinoking's fists). The top of the accessory forms part of the forearm and has a 3mm peg, allowing Gairyu to hold it as a cannon. The other side has a rectangular slot that you use to attach it to Gairyu in arm mode. The fist section has a 5mm port and the fist can rotate around and swing up. This piece is all gunmetal grey plastic with no paint applications.
Sword
The same sword that was included with Snarl has been included with this set giving Doryu two weapons. This time the sword is entirely white plastic with no paint applications.
Club:
The club weapon is intended to go with Goryu. The character held this in the cartoon and would use it to keep his fellow Dinoforce members in line. The club features a 5mm handle and a smaller 3mm peg at the very end, allowing Goryu and Dinoking to hold it. This weapon also features a 3mm port on top and two 5mm ports on the sides. This piece is made of gunmetal grey plastic with no paint applications.
Two Barreled Blaster
The blaster originally included with Grimlock is also included in this set. Like the original the blaster features a 3mm peg for Goryu to hold it as a weapon and two larger pegs in the back so it can attach to him in beast mode. This piece is made of green plastic with metallic black paint on the bottom and part of the barrels.
Blaster (Large)
A new accessory created for this set is a large blaster. The weapon features a medium sized barrel and a smaller tube under it. Towards the back is a curved tube wrapping around the back to the top. This design is directly based off the weapon included with G1 Dinoking and it was included with G1 Kakuryu. This weapon features a 5mm peg at the bottom with a smaller 3mm peg under it. The end of the barrel features a 3mm peg allowing you to attach Blast Effects. The bottom also has a 5mm peg allowing you to attach other weapons such as the smaller, twin barreled blaster to it. You can also attach the axe blade accessory if you wish. This piece is gunmetal grey with no paint applications.
Blaster (Small)
Along with the larger blaster Kakuryu includes a smaller twin barreled weapon. This piece has a 5mm peg and a 5mm port on top.
Axe and Base
The top of Dinoking's axe weapon is formed from a base piece and a large, curved axe blade. The base piece allows you to attach the two blasters above and the axe blade to Kakuryu in beast mode. These pieces are both gunmetal grey and the axe blade is painted silver.
Tail & Blaster/Head
Kakuryu includes the same tail base piece as Slug. This piece is made of the same gold plastic found on Kakuryu. The Dinoking head is an all new design. The two antennae on the sides of Dinoking's head double as blaster barrels in this case, attaching to the tail base forming a blaster for Kakuryu to hold in robot mode. Dinoking's head is made of blue plastic (more on that later).
Missile Pods/Feet
This set includes two (relatively) giant missile pods that are intended for use by Rairyu. These double as Dinoking's feet. The pods each have small 3mm pegs on the sides that allow you to put them in his hands. They're not the tightest fit but they work. Each foot has a 5mm peg that can swing out allowing you to attach it to 5mm ports on other figures. These pieces are made of gunmetal grey plastic with the missiles at the edges painted red. It is important to note that these two feet are not interchangeable. One is meant to be on the right and the other on the left.
Blaster/Right Fist
Similar in theme to Gairyu's weapon, this piece is part of Dinoking's forearm and fist. This is intended to go with Yokuryu, replacing the Volcanicus fist that could split in two that was included with Swoop. The bottom of this piece has a 3mm peg and a 5mm port. The fist is able to move up and down and rotate for wrist articulation. This piece is made of gunmetal grey plastic with blue paint used on the forearm portion. It can attach to the undersie of Yokuryu in beast mode or it can be held in his fist as a giant blaster weapon.
Axe Weapon
Taking most of the accessories above, you can combine them to form the axe weapon for Dinoking.
- Attach the club weapon to the scythe (with the scythe on top).
- Attach the axe blade to the base, then attach this piece to the top of the scythe.
- Attach the sword to the top of the axe weapon.
This weapon is held in either of Dinoking's hands using the 5mm handle at the bottom. With the large curved axe blade in front, the smaller blade sticking out the back and its long handle this weapon really does evoke the one seen in the animated series. It looks formidable and scary which is perfect for Dinoking.
Blaster for Dinoking
The large blaster and small dual barreled blaster can connect together to form Dinoking's blaster. He can hold this in either fist using the 5mm peg.
So that's the accessories, now let's get into each individual team member and what has changed.
Doryu
Doryu is a redeco and retool of Snarl. With the beast mode of a Stegosaurus, Doryu essentially blends the dinosaur form of the G1 Pretender Shell with a robot mode that features a newly sculpted head based on his animated appearance. In a visual callback to his G1 "inner robot", Doryu's colors are mostly metallic white, blue and silver with a bit of black. The robot mode features gold on the face with red eyes and a Decepticon symbol on his chest. All the joints are nice and tight on this figure, though for some reason in beast mode his waist area tends to turn a little, an issue my Snarl does not have. This is not significant enough to mess up the figure's transformation but it is rather odd.
Gairyu
Gairyu is a redeco and retool of Scarr. His beast mode is an Ankylosaurus which calls back to the character's G1 Pretender Shell. The figure features a new head sculpt based on G1 Gairyu's animation model including the large, distinct "visor eyes" and a "V" shaped crest on his forehead. The colors of this figure are heavily based on Gairyu's animation model, mostly featuring gunmetal grey and green colors. In robot mode the new head has red eyes and a grey face. Some light grey is also used on the waist area. The joints are all nice and tight and the transformation remains unaffected.
Goryu
Goryu is a redeco and retool of Grimlock. The T-Rex beast mode acts as a callback to G1 Goryu's Pretender shell. Meanwhile the new colors on this figure call back to both the G1 Goryu inner robot and Pretender shell. This figure features green and white plastic which mostly nods to the G1 inner robot. Paint colors include silver and red which are more of a nod to the G1 Goryu Pretender Shell. I enjoy this mixture of colors as it serves as a nice homage to the original figure. The robot mode features a new head sculpt based on the character's animated appearance including a distinct helmet with ridges on the back and visor eyes. The joints on my copy of this figure are nice and tight. The end of the tail on this figure detaches to form a dual barreled blaster. Meanwhile the club weapon can be stored on his back in beast mode and held in either hand in robot mode.
Kakuryu
Kakuryu is a redeco and retool of Slug. The new colors on this figure largely use the animated series as reference, using gold and gunmetal grey. Paint colors include silver, gunmetal grey and red. The silver and red look great against the gold. In robot mode there is a Decepticon symbol on his chest. This figure features a new head sculpt based on Kakuryu's animated appearance featuring visor eyes and a mouthplate. I do wish they had modified the beast mode head as well to look more like the animation model. If you wish to attach the accessories described above, you first need to swing the panels on the back forward so they point out to the sides. Then you can attach the axe base to the port on his back. Meanwhile the tail can detach as a weapon but it kind of relies on Dinoking's head being attached to give it two weapon barrels. All the joints on my copy of this figure feel the same as my copy of Core Class Grimlock. His tail weapon can be held in robot mode as a blaster (assuming you have the Dinoking head attached to it).
Rairyu
Rairyu is a redeco and retool of Sludge. His Brontosaurus mode is a callback to G1 Rairyu's Pretender shell. The white and gunmetal grey color however reference the G1 inner robot. Paint colors on this figure include gold, silver and red. A purple Decepticon symbol is found on his chest in robot mode. The robot mode features a new head sculpt based on the character's cartoon appearance. As mentioned above, Rairyu can hold the missile pods in his fists or on his sides in beast mode.
Yokuryu
Yokuryu is a redeco and retool of Swoop. Like the other members of this team his beast mode is a callback to G1 Yokuryu's Pretender Shell. The blue and white plastic colors however are a homage to the colors of his G1 inner robot. Paint colors in this mode include silver and red. While it may not look like it at first, the robot head sculpt is different than Swoop's. Both are curved with a crest on top, but the shapes are different. All the joints on my copy of this figure are nice and tight, so no worries about tooling degradation.
Next is the grand finale - the combination of the Dinoforce members into the Combiner Dinoking! Let's start with getting each team member transformed starting in beast mode, then we'll combine them.
Doryu
- Detach the blue and white back panel and set it aside for now.
- Swing up the 5mm peg near the tail section.
- Straighten out the arms.
- Swing out the robot legs, split that section and swing in each beast mode head half, then connect the legs back together.
- Swing the leg section back and up, connecting the tabs on the legs to the corresponding slots on the robot mode's back.
- Swing the arms together and push the tabs on them into the slots on the robot torso.
- Attach the back panel to the arms.
- Attach the missile pod/foot piece to the bottom of the section in between the robot thighs.
Gairyu
- Detach the tail/weapon.
- Swing each lower leg up.
- Swing out the back of the beast mode to form the forearm.
- Rotate the upper body around.
- On the underside of the beast mode, swing out the hinged piece with a 5mm peg on it.
- Attach the weapon/fist to the forearm and rotate the fist as needed.
Goryu
- Detach the weapon/tail and set it aside for now.
- Split the chest panel and swing them out to the sides.
- Swing the beast mode head/chest section down over the robot head.
- Swing each robot arm/beast mode leg together, covering the robot chest.
- Rotate the forearms so the claws point forward.
- Swing the right side chest panel forward, partially covering the beast mode head.
- Behind the beast mode head swing up the 5mm peg.
- Attach the tail/blaster to the back of the leg (this helps keep it stable).
Kakuryu
- Detach the Dinoking head in the back and set it aside for now.
- Swing the panels right behind the head out to the sides.
- Swing the front beast mode legs back and tab them into the sides.
- Swing the rear beast mode legs back.
- Attach the Dinoking head to the port behind the beast mode head.
Rairyu
- Split the rear of the beast mode and rotate each half out to the sides.
- Split the arms apart and swing them out to the sides.
- Rotate the forearms so they point up.
- SWing the waist panel down.
- Swing the beast mode head/neck down.
Yokuryu
- Detach the forearm/fist piece if attached and set it aside for now.
- Swing the robot legs down (keep them connected).
- Swing the outer wings in.
- Rotate the lower body around to position the forearm.
- Swing the connector peg down.
- Attach the forearm/fist piece.
- Rotate the fist as needed.
Combination:
- Connect Kakuryu and Rairyu together by connecting the 5mm pegs on the bottom of Kakuryu to the ports on either side of Rairyu's head.
- Connect the 5mm ports on Rairyu's arms to the pegs on Kakuryu's beast mode legs.
- Swing Kakuryu's lower jaw down.
- Attach Goryu to Rairyu's left leg.
- Attach Doryu to Rairyu's right leg.
- Attach Gairyu to Rairyu's left arm.
- Attach Yokuryu to Rairyu's right arm.
- The weapons can attach to either hand.
Dinoking
Back when I reviewed Volcanicus I went on quite a bit about how the figure looked like it was meant to be a pretool for Dinoking - and now here we are! It is cool to see the various fan theories online coming true to create the first representation of this character in years.
In this form, the basic forms of the body and limbs are very similar to Volcanicus. However, thanks to the deco and all the new parts in this set he looks very different than his predecessor. The head does a lot of work here. Based off the design of G1 Dinoking's head, this head features a flat panel on either side with a central crest and a face with two eyes, a nose and mouth (as opposed to a mouthplate). He also gains some height thanks to the foot pieces and the fists are new pieces complete with wrist articulation. As much as I've gotten used to seeing Volcanicus (he sits on my desk as I work) Dinoking really looks "complete" now with the foot pieces.
The decos of the various team members come together beautifully here to pay homage to the original Dinoking. It largely matches up on the top half of the Combiner but on the bottom half the green and blue colors on the legs are switched, but the spirit of the deco is there. There is no real "new" deco being revealed here but I love the way the various colors come together in this form.
There are twenty two points of articulation on this figure. This is four more than Volcanicus thanks to the new fist and foot pieces. The fists have wrist articulation and the feet have ankle tilts. The rest of the articulation comes from the joints on the individual figures doubling as joints for the Combiner (such as knee articluation on the arms becoming "elbows"). I was probably the most impressed by this figure having waist articulation, something you do not see in Combiners very often. Other articulation points rely on the 5mm peg/port connections such as the shoulders. Be careful though, moving these joints too much could lead to a limb popping off (but you can just plug it right back in). You can really pose out Dinoking in some fantastic poses adding to the play value of the figure. My only criticism is that the left fist piece tends to fall of fairly easily compared to the right. I'm not sure why that is. It attaches just fine, but as I was posing the figure out it fell off a couple of times.
One of my criticisms of Volcanicus was only having Snarl's tiny sword as his melee weapon. This time out, all the new weapons included with this set can be assembled into Dinoking's axe weapon. The G1 Dinoking figure did not have this axe weapon but he used it in the Victory cartoon. The blaster discussed above is a direct callback to the G1 toy and I'm very happy they included it!
Final Thoughts:
The Dinoking set is excellent but not without its flaws. The new decos all look great and the new parts really add a lot to the figure. This set also remains a fun group of toys whether they're separated or combined. The new weapons are also very cool but I do wish some of the retooling had gone further (like a new beast mode head for Kakuryu). The packaging looks great, but they dropped the ball on the design of the inside tray. Recommended!
Pros:
- Excellent redecos of each figure.
- Good retooling.
- The new parts are cool and add a lot to the set.
Cons:
- I would have liked a bit more retooling.
- The new left hand wrist/hand pieces on my copy doesn't attach as tightly as I would like.
