Review – Bootleg Grind Rod

I took a chance and ordered this bootleg version of ToyWorld’s Grind Rod toy from the sirtoys.com site and can report I am happy with what arrived. This is far, far cooler than I was expecting, and the toy’s plastic is a much higher quality than we usually see used for bootleg toys. Overall I can sum up my experience with the toy (and the site) with: Excellent.

Packaging?

Not gonna happen, folks. This bootleg Grind Rod was packed in a ziplock bag and there were no instructions included. I already own the ToyWorld Grind Rod so transforming the toy wasn’t a problem — the transformation design is quite nice — but I felt I should warn you that the toy comes with zero packaging or info.

Vehicle Mode

This was designed as an unofficial Transformers Rollbar (see the TFWiki) and even in this over-sized form it’s a nice little toy jeep. The wheels don’t roll as well on this bootleg as they do on Toyworld’s original release of the design, but that’s less important to me since I’ll be displaying Grind Rod in his robot mode and not his vehicle mode.

Robot Mode

Transformed the bootleg Grind Rod stands over 6-inches tall (vs the 5-inch height of ToyWorld’s version of the mold) and is mostly fantastic. The arms tend to pop off, but they do snap right into place and nothing’s broken. I suppose with a bootleg toy I should be happy that the only problem seems to be that the arms don’t quite stay in place perfectly.

Closing Thoughts

The toy’s definitely a bootleg, but it’s not the typical bootleg quality and my entire experience with sirtoys.com was painless and easy. I’ll order from the site again in the future, and I may even order more bootlegs if they catch my eye.

I’ve got some other odd bootlegs from my sirtoys.com order to play with, but this Grind Rod was so surprisingly nice that I wanted to share pics and quick thoughts on the toy right away. Recommended if you’re a Transformers fan looking for something a little unusual for your collection.