When I started this custom I decided to choose style distinct from the one we used to see on Grimlock. The main idea was inspired by Age of extinction dinobot knights. However I gave my Grimlock slightly different spin than Michael Bay did. Armor of the figure was inspired by plate armor that was worn by knights. That's why one of the main colours used in this custom was silver. Thanks to special painting technique black primer gives paint brushed metal look. Grimlock also got a lot of small hand-painted details.

Dino head was modified so now its jaws can easily open or close and stay in chosen position, unlike the stock one. Dino mode also got a lot of LEDs. You can find them inside head, elbows, back and thighs. LEDs look great both in faint light and pitch black. My custom Grimlock was based on figure from Silver Knight set (accident? I don't think so).

The most dominant colurs of this custom robot mode are silver, black and golden chrome. I like my figures glossy, so I decided not to cover stock chrome. Instead I overhauled it with a lot of paint. I also added a lot of panel lines - red ones on black paint and black one everywhere else. Of course there are many hand painted details all over the figure as well. Because insights of Grimlocks' chest are full of electronics I modified the way Dino head transforms. Now it looks more like in the Masterpiece version. While I was already filling up empty spaces all around the Grimlock I have decided to add new panels on dino chest and robot's back. This also helped the dino mode. The part on robot mode doubles as electronics cover that can be easily removed for battery swap.

When I was working on this figure I also upgraded another flaw of the mold - hollow arms. I added some extra panels which cover LEDs. I also filled up biceps and thighs with some green stuff. I haven't forgotten about Grimlock's accessories. Both sword and shield were heavily painted with a lot of details. After painting was complete I applied a few layers of gloss clearcoat. It gave both slight gloss and better durability of the paintjob which is really important on transformers figure.

All the parts that had net structure were drilled so they became the real net. This way light can shine through it, which was intended for electronics. Electrical circuit consists on a lot of LEDs, wires, switches and batteries. With all this light Grimlock looks impressive, even in pitch black. Grimlock has sixteen LEDs inside the figure. All those LEDs were split into four separate electrical circuits. Two of them were hidden inside the knees, which demanded careful planning and finding the most suitable place to hide batteries and switches.

I am really satisfied with the result of my work and how Grimlock turned out. I was thinking about this custom for a long time and I am glad I could finally take care of this figure and do it justice. In my opinion FOC Grimlock is great figure that needed better paintjob and some modding to be perfect classic representation of the character which hopefully I have achieved. Hope you like this custom. If you have any questions or would like to share your opinion, please feel free to do it with your comments.