General Information: Images:
*Images and text below from Hasbrotoyshop.com: Join this mighty DECEPTICON defender in pursuit of the AllSpark! With detachable canisters and a jagged canister “chain” weapon, this fearless OIL SLICK figure is ready for battle. When it’s time to call in the fierce and mighty, convert the robot figure to motorcycle vehicle mode and help the DECEPTICONS win the battle against the AUTOBOT forces! Figure comes with weapon and detachable canister accessories. When Hasbro designer Eric Siebenaler was working up concepts for "Animated", one of the designs turned out to be motorcycle/robot Decepticon named Oil Slick. However, by the time any of the show runners had seen the design, it was too late to work the character into either seasons one or two. It is possible he might appear in some future episode of the program, but there are no plans at this time. The character will however appear in IDW's comic book series, firmly cementing him as part of the storyline of "Transformers Animated". Despite his not appearing on the television show, Oil Slick did get a deluxe sized figure (yay!).
Vehicle Mode: handlebars high in the front and a slope that goes down very low to a driver's seat. Mounted on either side in the back are the tops of "saddlebags" with canisters shaped like traditional wooden barrels under them. Two large exhaust pipes extend out the back, emphasizing some of the mean power Oil Slick no doubt possesses. With all the elements above, it's the details which really show that this vehicle mode was designed by someone who sat down and imagined their fantasy motorcycle. The front wheels are held together by two struts that have armor plates on either side. Each plate has a series of cross hatch patterns are flanked by rows of three spikes on either side. Mounted on the front of the motorcycle is a (presumably fake) ram head, a symbol found sometimes in the Occult (and thus was adopted by many rock bands/heavy metal bands and thus...motorcycle enthusiasts...or so the theory goes). Either way, it's a very cool detail and looks quite threatening. Behind the ram head is a headlight on the right side with horizontal lines etched in, looking like a classic light found on many motorcycles. Th emiddle section includes details such as the gas cap and two dials mounted next to each other. The seat is set at a rather extreme angle towards the back right on top of the rear wheels (that's got to get hot after a while). Each handlebar curves out to the sides and then back, with brake handles extending outward. On either side of the vehicle's rear section are the top flaps of what would appear to be saddlebags complete with straps that have locks at the end and spikes on top to complement the ones on the front. The details on the "saddlebag covers" is fantastic, down to bolts on the outer edge. Underneath those are canisters designed to look like old barrels made of wood complete with lines representing where the wood pieces connect and circles on either end holding them together. Oil Slick is cast in two different types of plastic with four different colors. The regular hard plastic is cast in dark camoflague green, a lighter olive green and black. The softer plastic is used for parts that could cause safety issues such as the ram's horns and the handlebars and that is a light tea green color. Smaller parts such as the wheels and the canisters are cast in black. His paint decos are done in black, light tea green and metallic green. Black is used for an assortment of paint applications including a wing like design on either side of the vehicle and the handlebars. The light tea green is used on the edges of the canisters, giving them the same color combination as the handlebars and ram head. The metallic green is used on the cross hatch patterns on the front and back of the vehicle as well as the tailpipes. A brighter, pear color appears on his dials and the headlight. This combination of colors may sound rather repetitive but visually all these colors work very well and contrast against each other more than you might expect. Oil Slick's vehicle mode is one of my favorites in the "Animated" line thus far. He's unique and doesn't rely on any G1 stylings. Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: Many aspects of Oil Slick's design are thin including his upper arms, his waist/hip section and most of his legs (up until about the ankles). Even the larger parts are very sleek looking such as his lower arms which are wide, but thin and his fingers which are long, but angled and sharp looking. His upper body is wide (thanks in part to the ram head on his shoulder) but then narrows severely in the middle of the body before expanding back outwards at the ankles, giving a very dynamic look to the figure. Then there's his rather unique head design. His head looks almost human, with a huge nose and bolts seemingly stuck in his helmet section. On top of his head is a plastic dome, giving him a resemblance to Batman's villain Mr. Freeze. I find it neat how his headlight winds up on his right shoulder, giving him a built in light for situations where he may be in the dark. His ankle area also looks cool with the spikes from the saddlebags on one side and tech details on the other, offering an interesting contrast on the design influences behind Oil Slick. Many of the robot bits were visible in vehicle mode, but a few new ones feature the same color palette from the vehicle mode. The main body is light olive green while the upper legs are a light green color. The three fingers at the end of his hand are made of the same light tea green color as his handlebars in vehicle mode. The thumb on each hand is a green that matches the main body. The dome over his head is translucent green plastic while the head inside is cast in black (along with the area around his unseen neck). Paint details are done in the same colors as the vehicle mode. A black Decepticon symbol appears in the center of his chest while underneath that is a stylized skull like symbol with wings extending out the sides at upward angles. Metallic green is seen more on the inner ankles/legs as well. The color combination works well in this form since there are no jarring color choices. He looks like a good, natural transition from one mode to the next. Oil Slick has nineteen points of articulation in this form including six points on each arm. Because of the way his transformation works, his lower arm can turn in and his fingers can be manipulated into different poses, something uncommon in Transformers. His robot head can turn as well, which was unexpected since I thought the dome over his head would limit such mobility. I didn't count it, but to a limited degree you can move his head forward and back due to the way he transforms. Oil Slick has two weapons. One is a canister with a flip top lid. There's nothing inside, but I can imagine buying some slime from some other toy and cramming it in there or just plain water to simulate his chemical concoctions. The other weapon is a bit more threatening looking: a chain with barbed ends, the "barbs" being the bolts/screws on the ends of the "barrels". In the original promotional images for Oil Slick, this chain appeared metal, but it was replaced in production with a cheaper plastic one. While it swings around fine and holds together great, I would recommend against pulling it too hard as it feels like it could break easily.
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