The Energon Pub

[Cyrano]

Thanks for putting in the effort to do this, I always get a lot more out of photo reviews than video. This guy seems pretty competently done overall and is certainly a better film likeness than the previous efforts, but for once I don't think that's an advantage. I find the old green crabtank voyager a lot more interesting and satisfying, almost charming. The face on that one is pretty hard to beat. All the same, I'm really glad that this exists for those that have pined for a film accurate version.

[-Kanrabat-]

Now if only my Laval TrU would bother getting new stock....

[Bucky]

Don’t know how long they’ll last, but SS Brawl and Megatron are both on Amazon for regular retail price of $29.99 each, with release dates for July 3rd and 5th respectively.

[Carnivius_Prime]

Had Megatron for weeks now and I really enjoy it. Heck, I barely even notice the hollowness anymore (I sometimes have the guns positioned downwards under the arms anyways and there's many other TF figures that are somewhat hollow from the sides... many movie Bumblebees tend to be) and never even noticed any issue with the neck or feet that you point out. The only thing that does bug me about the feet is the little grey wheels used for rolling in tank mode. I'll probably paint them black sometime soon so they ain't as noticable. The rear knee pieces had come off a couple times when I first got him but they were easily fixed. I really like the tank mode too. Definitely one of my fave non-realistic tank forms of any TF. Overall I found this figure to be a lot of fun. Would have been nice to have the metallic paintjob but I guess it couldn't fit in the figure's allocated budget like it did for little Jazz.

(that Hun-grr looks kinda bad... though I had the old G1 figure and suppose that's what an update would probably look like but he was never a particularly good looking design in either mode. The Terrorcons in general were ugly things so I never bothered to get the rest of the team at the time. That Drift reminds me how random and bizarre making him a triple changer was cos no toy can seemingly reproduce it all in one)

Studio Series Optimus, who is the smallest voyager Optimus Prime figure we have ever gotten so far (for any line).

I got a DotM Voyager Optimus Prime in charity shop a couple weeks ago and he's a tiny smidge shorter than Studio Prime and noticablly smaller in the torso (really odd proportions...I don't know what they were thinking with that one).

[CobraKai]

Great pictorial review. I agree this is much better than a 30-40 minute video of you tubers listening to themselves talk. More please.

[Hip-Hoptimus Rime]

I just got SS Brawl from a fellow collector. I wasn't going to buy him, but he was cheap. Glad I did, because he's really pretty cool.

Blows away the Deluxe, for sure. Some say he's better than the Leader. I have to disagree, but the SS is pretty cool all around.

[william-james88]

Thanks for putting in the effort to do this, I always get a lot more out of photo reviews than video.

Great pictorial review. I agree this is much better than a 30-40 minute video of you tubers listening to themselves talk. More please.

This is very kind of you. I do these because I myself much preffer pictorial reviews. And I dont see them around much anymore. I ony do them when I have something to say for a new product and this year Canada hasnt gotten stuff first so I am usually too late to the party. Wasnt sure if Megatron was too late or not. Would you guys like me to do Brawl?

[Hellscream9999]

Would you guys like me to do Brawl?

Yes

I will read any figure you review

[william-james88]

Would you guys like me to do Brawl?

Yes

I will read any figure you review

That is most kind, thank you.

[galvatron00]

@Carnivus Prime: Those videos you posted were awesome!! Subscribed to that channel now, thanks!

@WJ88: Excellent write up!! I suggest creating a thread of your own just for that. Go through all the bots ever, I'll read all of them!!

[william-james88]

@Carnivus Prime: Those videos you posted were awesome!! Subscribed to that channel now, thanks!

@WJ88: Excellent write up!! I suggest creating a thread of your own just for that. Go through all the bots ever, I'll read all of them!!

Thanks but its quite a bit of work and I dont have the time with my babies to take care of. So it will only be the one off here and there. Thanks for the encouragement though, I culd do more when I have the time.

[galvatron00]

@Carnivus Prime: Those videos you posted were awesome!! Subscribed to that channel now, thanks!

@WJ88: Excellent write up!! I suggest creating a thread of your own just for that. Go through all the bots ever, I'll read all of them!!

Thanks but its quite a bit of work and I dont have the time with my babies to take care of. So it will only be the one off here and there. Thanks for the encouragement though, I culd do more when I have the time.

Oh I totally get it, I'm just mentioning the audience is definitely there!

Also, Studio Series Starscream is my new favorite not Walmart MP Starscream Starscream figure. If that makes sense.

[Carnivius_Prime]

@Carnivus Prime: Those videos you posted were awesome!! Subscribed to that channel now, thanks!

They really are. I wish there were more but of course that kind of thing is extremely time-consuming and I'm amazed at the skill and patience of those that make them.

[galvatron00]

@Carnivus Prime: Those videos you posted were awesome!! Subscribed to that channel now, thanks!

They really are. I wish there were more but of course that kind of thing is extremely time-consuming and I'm amazed at the skill and patience of those that make them.

It’s pretty wild. Stop motion is always awesome to me

[Autobot Roadburn]

BBTS just put up preorders for Studio Series Jazz and Lockdown for $22 apiece if anyone's interested! They've also had Brawl and Megatron up for a bit now.

[william-james88]

As with the previously reviewed Studio Series Megatron figure, this toy has been found for a little while in the US and other parts of the world. However, these wave 2 voyagers are seldom discussed and have yet to reach saturation. It seems people are on the fence, especially due to them being a heftier price tag in certain areas. I personally think Brawl is a great figure and thanks to some encouraging comments, I took some images to show you more of the figure in detail in this new pictorial review.







Brawl comes with two accessories that he can either hold in his hands or have tabbed to his sides.







While Megatron was one of the biggest voyagers we have ever gotten from Hasbro, Brawl is more average. This is by no means a negative, and below are several comparisons to show you where he would fit on a size chart for this line.







While Megatron did have a previous voyager class toy to compare him to, Brawl had a deluxe and a leader, but no voyager. While the deluxe was not a bad figure at the time, this feels like a completely different character almost. The backpack of the original deluxe is almost gone. It is a very impressive transformation especially since a the alt mode and robot mode do not share a lot o common detailing and yet we still get minimal kibble in either mode. I do prefer the head sculpt of the previous deluxe. While the new one may be more accurate, I did like the deluxe looked more streamlined, almost like what you would expect from a "classics" rendition of Brawl. Taking the transformation into effect, the deluxe basically becomes that in general by comparison.





He has great sculpting as well, in areas that probably would not need it regularly. It's like you can see the inner mechanical workings of the robot. The paint is well distributed as well and brings out some cool details. As with Megatron, some of the plastic used here does feel cheaper than the rest and with it being coloured green it really reminds me of that cheap army man plastic. We see it on the tank cannons and launchers.













Since a lot of the tank panels "disappear" in robot mode, a big struggle with Brawl in the past has been to collapse them somewhat. The leader went a little overboard with many panels overlaying themselves to the point of it looking a little ridiculous.



But this new voyager does it so efficiently, it feels like it is crazy for them to have ever been envisioned any other way.







His transformation may be the my favourite new Transformation from the Studio Series line. He is intuitive but has some fun tricks like the previously mentioned legs. It's impressive that the lean mean killing machine robot becomes such a brickish tank. I love how there is less of a visible head syndrome than the previous leader and deluxe. My only issue with the tank mode is that the hands are visible, but it seems more of a problem of execution than design since they part they create should not be elevated. Great looking tank though, especially thanks to the great paint job on the camo deco.











Comparisons to the deluxe.









And you can stick the accessories on the tank too.



My only issue is how odd the shoulders look when compared to the massive forearms, but I don't have that many issues, especially since that specific issue fades away when you start posing him. So, good looking tank, nice robot mode, fun and original transformation for a realistic tanks Transformers. I call this one a winner.

[william-james88]

I got a DotM Voyager Optimus Prime in charity shop a couple weeks ago and he's a tiny smidge shorter than Studio Prime

NOPE



DOTM Voyager Prime is a small voyager, but not as short as SS Prime

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Re: Megatron's tank mode and the wings... Basically, Josh Nizzi designed it with both a ground mode (which is what the Studio Series toy models) and a G1 Tracks-style flight mode with fold-out wings (these can be seen fairly clearly when Megatron flies to the Nemesis, and when he flies off after shooting Sam). However, careful watching of Megatron's transformation and driving after the foundry fight reveals that for whatever reason the ILM animators left the wings deployed even when rendering the tank driving on the ground. He definitely captures the look otherwise, does the best job of all of them at capturing the tank's proportions and includes the targeting sensors (the two smaller barrels) omitted by previous toys. He just doesn't have the retractable wings, which is a shame. I guess that was beyond either the price point limits or beyond the level of complexity they were willing to go for. Oh well. He's a gorgeous figure otherwise (I fall under the category of those who don't mind the torso gaps. Still want to see him photographed next to Cybertron Megatron or Galvatron, since that mold has a similar torso gap but still looks damn fine)

As for Studio Series Megs' big size... Has anyone stood him next to a Unicron Trilogy Voyager like Vector Prime? That'd be the real test.

And as for Studio Series Optimus being a small Voyager, is he smaller than Classics Voyager Optimus?

You can get a good look at Nizzi's designs and drafts for ROTF Megs here, if that helps:
http://www.joshnizzi.com/portfolio/tf2/

And AoE Drift isn't exactly much better. Thank gods for the TLK redesigns - I suspect the artists not wanting to be murdered in their beds by the toy designers was a factor there.

I dont get it, TLK Drift is far worse than AOE Drift. At least the toy designers were able to have his robo chest detail come from the actual front of the car. For TLK, they just said **** it and used nothing of the car, leaving it as a massive loose shell sticking out his backside.

I was referring to the movie design itself with Drift, not the toy designs. His TLK design seemed to have abandoned the helicopter mode and made his car kibble more prominent. I may have been imagining it, but even after checking pictures on the wiki it still seems that way to me. A shame it hasn't actually resulted in better toys... oh well.
At least Megatron's new decidedly-less-BS design has resulted in good toys for him.

[Evil Eye]

Brawl looks good! I'll definitely get him if I can. I do still want the Deluxe/Small Brawl (Smol Brol?) even if I end up making a new, female head for the mold and having her as my OC Ironsides (AKA "Asuka as a Transformer with an even worse attitude and a really bad German accent).

I will say my singular complaint with him, from what I can see, is the lack of a rotating turret, though the fact the secondary turret can rotate is cool. Still, looks awesome and I do want him. Tanks are neat and it's always good to see more.

[ZeroWolf]

If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

[Evil Eye]

If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

[ZeroWolf]

If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Hah, love those choices, and that's more the sort of thinking I had when tf x Eva was announced...then all we got was MP 10 redecoed as unit 01.

Almost picked up ss starscream yesterday in symths but I just couldn't bring myself to pay £32 for it

[-Kanrabat-]

Well, Will, this make me want Brawl all of a sudden. I had no interests before and I meh'd at the video reviews. However, seeing clear pictures for once convinced me. As for the visible hands in tank mode, they barely count. They look more like mechanical details than anything else. It's not conspicuous like ROTF voyager Starscream or FOC Jazz.

Now, if only my local TrU would bother having new Movie stuff...

[Qwan]

If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Come on now guys, I'm trying not to spend even more money going back to pick up old toys

Still not sold on Brawl, but Megatron remains very tempting. Thanks for the great review Will, I too am a big fan of pictorials over video!

ALSO! I finally grabbed Studio Series Blackout yesterday for... relatively cheap thanks to the Big W sale. He's not the best thing ever, but I can safely say I like him much more than I did Grimlock. The jury's still out on whether I like him or Starscream better, but I think it's probably still Screamer - Blackout's just giving him a run for his money right now thanks to New Toy Shine

[Carnivius_Prime]

I got a DotM Voyager Optimus Prime in charity shop a couple weeks ago and he's a tiny smidge shorter than Studio Prime

NOPE



DOTM Voyager Prime is a small voyager, but not as short as SS Prime

Weird i must have measured it wrong (or not transformed them properly) cos yeah now i do it again DotM is a tiny bit taller... either way, DotM Prime is a crappy version of him with ridiculously poor proportions with a tiny torso and overly long legs (with comically large feet from the side). People complained about Studio Prime's colour layout but I think that particular deco of that Evasion Prime mold looks much worse (even the regular version looked like a poor KO in terms of colour).

Added Classics Voyager G1 Prime cos was mentioned above.


Regarding Brawl... I will get him at some point, his design just never appealed to me as much as most of the others and the forearms and hands (I hate hands that are blocked off on one side of the hole by kibble. Hated that on Evasion Prime too come to think of it) on that toy do bug me a lot in robot mode. He certainly doesn't make me want him as much as Starscream and Megatron (both of those I leapt onto the purchase button as soon as I saw them for sale). Nice pics though.