>>9092302>why make the character Grimlock in the first place if the alt form is not at all reminiscent of him?Because the robot mode was. Dinobot's head looked much more like Grimlock's on the original toy, the shape of the hands kinda looked like Grimlock's Rex feet, and he had a sword. If they'd done him in red, silver and gold and only showed the bot mode, people hardly would have questioned it. Also keep in mind that this toy was released around the time of Jurassic Park: The Lost World - Raptors were the coolest thing at the time, and EVERYONE was doing them; making the most memorable Dinobot and giving him a cool new Raptor mode was a no-brainer for selling the mold again at the time.
