Review: #310
Name: Brawn
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Revenge of the Fallen - N.E.S.T. Global Alliance
Year of Release: 2010
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 8)
Mold Status: new
VEHICLE MODE:
Brawn transforms into a dark brown vehicle loosely based on the Hummer HX. There is a gun on top (which cannot be swivelled) with silver highlights here and there, particularly with the lights.
This is a fantastic vehicle mode with no flaws. He is held together sturdily with great sculpting and paint applications. His only play value in this mode is the ability to roll.
You can see joints in the tray but nothing too obvious as robot kibble. The bars are actually 3mm clip compatible, although Brawn himself doesn't come with any of those weapons.
In terms of size, Brawn is a Deluxe but he feels big and solid in your hands.
Brawn has a great vehicle mode that is realistic and looks amazing.
TRANSFORMATION:
Brawn is a massive shellformer. The vehicle is literally shells, and the get Brawn from vehicle to robot, you unclip all the pieces and then push them out of the way. It's messy and would have been a nightmare to design. The kibble gets in the way when you're trying to manipulate the pieces. Brawn's transformation is not his strong point.
ROBOT MODE:
Brawn's robot mode looks great at first glance, with the colors green and gold coming out now, based upon his G1 incarnation.
Upon closer inspection you realize how much of the bulk is an illusion provided by the multitude of vehicular panels attached to him. The biggest offenders is the pair of panels (the vehicle sides) attached to his back.
If you also look closely, he has a skinny waist. He does have a type of Mech Alive gimmick, although it's not shouted out in the packaging or instructions. Moving his shoulders up and down will cause the spokes on either side of his upper torso to also move. It's not impressive but at least it does not compromise anything.
The headsculpt is perfect though and has so much detail such that you feel like there is a mouth beneath the mouthpiece.
Brawn is a considerable height considering he was literally a robot encased within the vehicle. He appears bulky too and is almost as tall as Bumblebee from the first movie.
Brawn has good articulation, as long as no other parts get in the way which is entirely possible. That said, the biggest pieces are the ones behind his shoulders, but the pair of panels on Brawn's pack can be adjusted.
Given to how his feet unfolds during transformation, he has a number of joints, including a knee joints, a lower knee joint, and an ankle joint. The joints rely on friction to keep Brawn standing up.
Brawn comes with a pair of guns (these remain in his hands during transformation which is clever).
They look great with Brawn holding them and you can strike some amazing dual-wielding poses.
The pistols have grooves in them which correspond to grooves on Brawn's shoulder kibble and back kibble. They act as a place to store them when he isn't holding onto them.
The gun in vehicle mode is also jointed and able to be aimed over Brawn's shoulder.
While the kibble is bad, at least they don't get in the way that much and adds a lot to Brawn's tough look.
Despite all the flaws, Brawn has a solid robot mode that's powerful and looks cool.
OVERALL:
Brawn is a solid figure in the movie line. He doesn't have the ugliness that a lot of the other figures in ROTF did, and he is a nice updated Movie incarnation of the character. While the shellforming nature of the toy is a big negative, Brawn is a shellformer done correctly. He still looks amazing in robot mode and the hanging panels do not get in the way. Brawn is worth purchasing even at full price.
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