The Energon Pub

So I've had the SDCC Bruticus for about a week now. As soon as he arrived I immediately opened him up and disassembled him into the individual bots, and I have to admit they're really nice. Today I finally recombined them into Bruticus, making sure all were transformed correctly. I just can't display them this way. Bruticus looks brutal and not in a good way. Way too spindly and Blastoff's arm mode is terrible. It's too long and has terrible elbow articulation. You can improve it by transforming him a little differently, but overall it still looks bad. The game model makes Bruticus look great, like a real brawler. The toy looks like a basketball player with a jacked up arm. These guys are going back into individual mode.

Interesting, I had quite the opposite impression. I separated them into individual bots, then vehicles, then recombined them (same as you, doing things differently/properly for their limb modes) and after seeing their bot/vehicle modes, I much prefer the combined mode.

On a related note, I'm seeing stress marks popping up in many key places on the figures after transforming them just once between all of their modes. That really sucks.

El Duque wrote:So I've had the SDCC Bruticus for about a week now. As soon as he arrived I immediately opened him up and disassembled him into the individual bots, and I have to admit they're really nice. Today I finally recombined them into Bruticus, making sure all were transformed correctly. I just can't display them this way. Bruticus looks brutal and not in a good way. Way too spindly and Blastoff's arm mode is terrible. It's too long and has terrible elbow articulation. You can improve it by transforming him a little differently, but overall it still looks bad. The game model makes Bruticus look great, like a real brawler. The toy looks like a basketball player with a jacked up arm. These guys are going back into individual mode.

And there was your mistake.

orangeitis wrote:

El Duque wrote:So I've had the SDCC Bruticus for about a week now. As soon as he arrived I immediately opened him up and disassembled him into the individual bots, and I have to admit they're really nice. Today I finally recombined them into Bruticus, making sure all were transformed correctly. I just can't display them this way. Bruticus looks brutal and not in a good way. Way too spindly and Blastoff's arm mode is terrible. It's too long and has terrible elbow articulation. You can improve it by transforming him a little differently, but overall it still looks bad. The game model makes Bruticus look great, like a real brawler. The toy looks like a basketball player with a jacked up arm. These guys are going back into individual mode.

And there was your mistake.

My post also says I transformed him differently, in fact every way possible. My main issue here is I shouldn't have to. It's going to come down to personal preference for each person of course, and I know from reading many of your previous posts that you really like this set, and that great! I'm glad you like them and I hope you enjoy them. For me personally I don't like the combined mode, and I just don't see how anyone could like Blastoff's arm mode.

I agree about 85% of what El Duque is saying. I had a friend bring the SDCC version over yesterday. While I did have a better feeling of the set in person versus the pictures, but geez, gotta mistransform him to make Brutics look better! While most of them look better in individual bot modes, Vortex is too spindly and Onslaught should have been bigger. The main reason for me getting the G2 set is I think "those names in which we don't speak of" will be doing an add on kit........plus I do like the G2 color scheme a lot. Brawl looks awesome......

El Duque wrote:My post also says I transformed him differently, in fact every way possible. My main issue here is I shouldn't have to. It's going to come down to personal preference for each person of course, and I know from reading many of your previous posts that you really like this set, and that great! I'm glad you like them and I hope you enjoy them. For me personally I don't like the combined mode, and I just don't see how anyone could like Blastoff's arm mode.

*shrug* Okay then. Whatever sinks your submarine. =D

headsortails wrote:I agree about 85% of what El Duque is saying. I had a friend bring the SDCC version over yesterday. While I did have a better feeling of the set in person versus the pictures, but geez, gotta mistransform him to make Brutics look better! While most of them look better in individual bot modes, Vortex is too spindly and Onslaught should have been bigger. The main reason for me getting the G2 set is I think "those names in which we don't speak of" will be doing an add on kit........plus I do like the G2 color scheme a lot. Brawl looks awesome......

I hope we get more than one add-on kit, tbh. I'd like every version I get of this guy to look different.

I have mine set up like this. I like it, and maybe it will give you some ideas to enjoy them combined as Bruticus.

Cyberseven wrote:I have mine set up like this. I like it, and maybe it will give you some ideas to enjoy them combined as Bruticus.

Yeah, I tried that one too. I think I just prefer individually, which is cool I get to enjoy five figures rather than one

The set would have really benefited from Onslaught being a Voyager and some more advanced engineering in the arms.

El Duque wrote:

Cyberseven wrote:I have mine set up like this. I like it, and maybe it will give you some ideas to enjoy them combined as Bruticus.

Yeah, I tried that one too. I think I just prefer individually, which is cool I get to enjoy five figures rather than one

The set would have really benefited from Onslaught being a Voyager and some more advanced engineering in the arms.

I have to agree that this set does not live up to all the hype. I have hopes like others that a 3rd party will fix this for us down the road though.

Here's what it should have looked like:

fall-of-cybertron-bruticus-pic-heavy-t88372.php

Damn, your making really second guess my BBTS G2 preorder.

STngAR wrote:Damn, your making really second guess my BBTS G2 preorder.

It's still a good set if for nothing else than the individual figures. I'm sure you will enjoy it one way or another.

One thing I just cant get over is the fact that Swindle is upside-down. Anyone else notice that?

IMO, the set would look way better if Onslaught was bigger. It would draw attention away from the arms and legs and look more proportional. Now it looks like a kid (with monkey arms) wearing adult boots.

Is the overall quality of these guys on par with the other FOC figures? Both Jazz and Shockwave seems way cheap compared to older generations figures. Appearance wise they are fine, but I dont think they would last long in the hands of a kid.

BeastProwl wrote:One thing I just cant get over is the fact that Swindle is upside-down. Anyone else notice that?

I noticed it right away, actually.

Yeah, me too. I just find it odd that no one has even mentioned it.

Yeah that was some hardcore craftsmanship making that Bruticus look exactly the way it was meant to look...know what I mean HasTak?? I'm still waiting to possess my SDCC Bruticus which will remain a display only piece (MISB) in the really cool box it comes in. And when Hasbro releases the rest individually I'll keep them as separate soldiers cuz as stated before they look a hell of a lot meaner. FP Bruticus remains as my Neo-G1 combiner and of course that's a great thing!

BeastProwl wrote:Yeah, me too. I just find it odd that no one has even mentioned it.

I'm pretty sure it's included in the relatively common "it looks nothing like the game model" criticism.

Combaticons!

Combine and merge for disappointment!

Get your **** together Hasbro. This is some Grapefruit League effort here.

We put up with bad combiners in Energon because...we understood. Now we've seen what else is possible and we know better...

So should you.

Counterpunch wrote:Combaticons!

Combine and merge for disappointment!

Get your **** together Hasbro. This is some Grapefruit League effort here.

We put up with bad combiners in Energon because...we understood. Now we've seen what else is possible and we know better...

So should you.

You summed up my thoughts perfectly my friend. Grapefruit League

What I am getting from everyone is Onslaught is way too small.. That can be seen by looking at the photos too.. That is Hasbros main screw up, he should have been a lot bigger thus adding the necessary bulk to the combined mode.

I just changed my bots positions, I like blast off as a foot much better with brawl being an arm.

as for the grapefruit comment.....this combiner cost $60 not $600 what more do you want. is it perfect, no. but good (deity here) lose the sense of entitlement, if ya don't like the figure then vote with your bloody wallet and don't buy it.

njb902 wrote:I just changed my bots positions, I like blast off as a foot much better with brawl being an arm.

as for the grapefruit comment.....this combiner cost $60 not $600 what more do you want. is it perfect, no. but good (deity here) lose the sense of entitlement, if ya don't like the figure then vote with your bloody wallet and don't buy it.

How exactly does our desire for Hasbro to compete on a design level with their competitors lead to an "sense of entitlement" argument.

There is nothing special about the third-party combiners. The only reason they cost what they do is because of their limited production runs and retailers jacking up the prices because they know how bad we want these. The TFC Hercules figures are approximately Voyager sized, so if Hasbro was producing them they would run you about $22.00 a pop. In the case of MakeToys Giant those figures are roughly Deluxe sized, so they would cost about $12.00 if produced by Hasbro.

Are we willing to concede that the Hasbro/Takara's design staff just aren't as talented their competitors?

El Duque wrote:

njb902 wrote:I just changed my bots positions, I like blast off as a foot much better with brawl being an arm.

as for the grapefruit comment.....this combiner cost $60 not $600 what more do you want. is it perfect, no. but good (deity here) lose the sense of entitlement, if ya don't like the figure then vote with your bloody wallet and don't buy it.

How exactly does our desire for Hasbro to compete on a design level with their competitors lead to an "sense of entitlement" argument.

There is nothing special about the third-party combiners. The only reason they cost what they do is because of their limited production runs and retailers jacking up the prices because they know how bad we want these. The TFC Hercules figures are approximately Voyager sized, so if Hasbro was producing them they would run you about $22.00 a pop. In the case of MakeToys Giant those figures are roughly Deluxe sized, so they would cost about $12.00 if produced by Hasbro.

Are we will to concede that Hasbro/Takara's design staff just aren't as talented their competitors?

No sense of entitlement at all, fans just want quality. The whole point is If a small 3rd party company can crank out these quality accurate transformers, then why can't the company that produces licensed transformers do so as well?

Duque makes excellent points here too.

El Duque wrote:

njb902 wrote:I just changed my bots positions, I like blast off as a foot much better with brawl being an arm.

as for the grapefruit comment.....this combiner cost $60 not $600 what more do you want. is it perfect, no. but good (deity here) lose the sense of entitlement, if ya don't like the figure then vote with your bloody wallet and don't buy it.

How exactly does our desire for Hasbro to compete on a design level with their competitors lead to an "sense of entitlement" argument.

There is nothing special about the third-party combiners. The only reason they cost what they do is because of their limited production runs and retailers jacking up the prices because they know how bad we want these. The TFC Hercules figures are approximately Voyager sized, so if Hasbro was producing them they would run you about $22.00 a pop. In the case of MakeToys Giant those figures are roughly Deluxe sized, so they would cost about $12.00 if produced by Hasbro.

Are we willing to concede that the Hasbro/Takara's design staff just aren't as talented their competitors?

Much better (and nicer) response than I was going to make.

lol..."entitlement"