Movie - Age of Extinction (AOE)
Deluxe Class: Dinobot Slug

Origins

Slug’s origins trace back to the G1 Dinobots, as do many of his movie-era Dinobot brethren. Slug’s name and design specifically reference the G1 Dinobot Flamethrower Slag. Slag’s name was in flux in recent years because of the use of that word in Great Britain as a pejorative term, though its original use was a reference to molten or solid waste products of the smelting process. For this incarnation of the Dinobot Triceratops, Hasbro settled on Slug, for its similarity to the original name, and as reference to the solid projectile portion of an ammunition cartridge.

Description

Slug’s dinosaurian mode is modeled after a Triceratops, but has several fictional elements. It is largely purple, resembling layered plates of banded armor, some arranged in a sort o skeletal pattern. He sports Triceratops’ distinctive frill, painted in bright red and purple. His bony-looking face is adorned by three facial horns, all cast in soft gray rubber, preventing breakage and potential safety concerns. He also has an opening jaw cast in the same rubber, the mandible of which features two fictional hooked tusk-like protrusions, as well as jagged teeth in place of the real dinosaur’s beak and blunt molars. Completing his rather predatory appearance is his dark gray bony spine, ending in a tail lined in two rows of spikes, like those of a Stegosaurus.

Slug’s transformation is unique and nuanced, while not being overcomplicated. The hind legs unfurl to form his robot legs, while the ribs and chest produce his robot arms, with the halves of the Triceratops head adorning the shoulders. The dinosaurian forelegs form the sides of his robotic body by bending inward at the elbow, where a tab connects them to his thin central torso. Another very unique trait is how half of each side of the frill folds inward to decorate the front of his shoulder area as well as the back.

The resultant robot mode is less than traditional for Transformers as a whole, or even the “Movie-verse” characters. Slug retains the detailed, complex look of the previous movie designs, but without some of the gritty mechanical details of his forerunners. The bony appearance of his design gives a “techno-organic” look. Another theme clearly visible in Slug’s robot mode is that of medieval armor. His face clearly resembles a frog’s mouth helmet, being elongated and smooth with a slit between the upper and lower halves. Its shape is much simpler than the robotic details of other Movie characters. His feet resemble medieval sabatons, with long upward-hooked tips. His overall proportions make him appear vary strong in comparison to his peers, but not altogether brutish. Slug includes two identical gray swords, molded in soft rubber. Each one ends in an asymmetrical forked tip, and features a four-pointed hilt guard. The swords do not store in his dinosaur mode, but can be plugged into its ribs, jutting straight out to his sides, as a sort of “attack mode”.

Collector Notes

Slug’s design uses soft rubber for many of the finely detailed parts, both as a safety precaution and to prevent breakage. However, his tail joints are constructed with metal pins, which could cause stressmarks or cracking if forced beyond their normal range of motion.

Variants

Slug does not yet exhibit any production variation.

Availability

Slug was available as part of the first wave of Generations/Age of Extinction Deluxe Class in 2014. He was also available in a Toys ‘R’ Us exclusive Evolution 2-pack with Dark of the Moon Knockdown.

Redecos & Retools

>Slug’s mold was created for the Age of Extinction toyline. It has not been re-used.