Review: #361
Name: Highbrow
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Autobot
Line: Legends
Year of Release: 2016
Size Class: Deluxe with Vehicle
Mold Status: heavy retool of Titans Return Scourge
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:
As part of the Legends line, Highbrow comes in a small box in alternate mode.
The back shows off the stock photo as per normal along with his various gimmicks.
The front cover of the instructions foldout has a bigger piece of the artwork that adorns the front of the box.
While there is a two page comic featuring Highbrow himself in a silly scenario.
GORTER:
While not explicitly named, Gorter is the Headmaster for Highbrow and he is mainly blue with a black torso.
The back shows off Highbrow's head in full view which after all this time, still sucks a bit but it's hard to do better when these Headmasters are so small.
The headsculpt is good and he has balljointed shoulders and neck.
KARUGO:
The mini-vehicle is called Karugo and is a repaint of the one that came with Titans Return Loudmouth.
It's first mode is a hover car which doesn't look too bad but you can see right through to the table as there are no seats.
It is approximately Legion sized, above is RiD Legion Bumblebee.
Unfortunately, Karugo lacks any wheels.
You can peg Gorter, or any other Headmaster into the seat and it looks pretty good.
This is one of the better vehicle modes in the size-class, at least it is immediately evident what it is supposed to be.
The second mode is supposedly a tank. To transform it, you flip it upside down, attach Gorter as a block, flip up the guns and flip the sides to form the treads.
Unfortunately, he retains the empty gap in the middle.
Being slightly taller thanks to the treads, the tank mode is the same length as car mode.
If you wish, you can detach Gorter and instead have him man the turrets instead.
This is definitely Karugo's weaker mode as it doesn't look that great as a tank.
With a strong mode and a weaker one, Karugo isn't the weak link of the set at least.
HELICOPTER MODE:
Highbrow transforms into a dual rotor helicopter that looks pretty good, at least at an initial glance.
Unfortunately, when you start looking from behind and holding him in hand, you can tell that there the helicopter is too chunky in places, from the tail section to the body.
The robot guns peg on the underside of each wing but the clearly sculpted landing wheels are actually on sideways and there is no way you can peg the weapons such that the wheels appropriately touch the ground. This is very disappointing.
In terms of size, Highbrow is pretty big (to make up for the simplistic figure I'd suppose). Above is a comparison against Generations Kup.
There are a few places for Gorter to sit and the most obvious is that the cockpit flips up to reveal a seat.
The other place is that you can take the guns off, snap it together to form a seat and officially, you peg it to the left of the cockpit but it is an awkward place to be manning a gun...
Lastly, the rotors get in the way of each other as they're the same height so it is difficult to spin the rotors at the same time. Either way, Highbrow's helicopter mode is pretty good, if a bit chunky and simplistic.
TRANSFORMATION:
Believe it or not, Highbrow is an extensive retool of Titans Return Scourge, sharing most of the transformation but really only share the thighs. Everything else is newly sculpted. Highbrow's transformation is one of the most disappointing aspect of the figure since it is too simplistic. The helicopter mode is basically the robot lying down and this makes converting between the two modes boring. The arms are lazy since they are the sides of the helicopter, the cockpit just folds back and the legs just unfold from the back, sigh.
ROBOT MODE:
Highbrow's robot mode looks good but that's basically all he has going for him.
He has a fair big of kibble being the cockpit on his back, the wings and rotor blades on his shoulders and the tail rotors on the sides of his feet.
The headsculpt is so so. It's accurate as a G1 homage but feels boring. Unfortunately, there is a flaw in most figures being that the head socket is loose leading to the head just flopping around.
Highbrow is fairly tall in this mode but what lets it down remains the simplistic look of the figure. There's just something about it that doesn't scream interesting.
Articulation is good for the most part. Unlike most of the line, he doesn't have waist articulation.
The rotor blades can also get in the way at times, impeding arm/shoulder range.
Highbrow's main weapons are a pair of guns and being painted in silver, they look fantastic even if half of it is hollow.
He can hold the guns in his arms and can strike a few good poses.
One of the bigger flaws is that his wrist doesn't have a stopping point for the swivel, therefore when holding a gun it can flop.
He has huge feet and long heelspurs, which makes Highbrow super stable in most poses.
If you don't wish to use the guns, they can peg on his back (can also double up as a type of jetpack this way.
Lastly, Karugo can form a weapon but this is just the car upside down, handle flipped down and the tank turret up.
It looks okay for the most part but once again, the hollow middle ruins it somewhat.
Highbrow has a good looking robot mode but there are just a few niggling flaws that stop it from being fully enjoyable.
OVERALL:
Highbrow is unfortunately a flawed figure. It is too simplistic but yet in its simplicity, it manages to fail in robot mode due to the loose head socket and floppy wrist when holding something heavier like... the Karugo gun. Highbrow is not really worth the price premium for the Japanese version, you're better off buying the Hasbro version on sale if you really want the character.
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