The Energon Pub

Kurona wrote:

Cobotron wrote:I wonder if they went Voyager because they weren't sure if they could pull off the Head Madter gimmick at a smaller scale yet. I often wonder T30 Brainstorm was a test run for what was coming.

And Kurona, I'm surprised to hear you say that. T30 is such a dead ringer for IDW Brainstorm.

He is... but on the other hand it's not like the TR one isn't far behind. He's even got the facesculpt and everything; and at that point, I'll take a slightly less accurate appearance over a very inaccurate size - especially when the only other voyager-sized MTMTE guys are Whirl and Megatron. Having Brainstorm as big as them and towering over most of the cast - especially Chromedome and Perceptor - would just be... wrong.

Might end up getting a loose Thrilling 30 one if I can find him for cheap though. Mostly for the guns.

You should still try to hunt him down. His alt mode may be a bit panicky, but T30 Brainstorm is an absolute joy to behold. I love him so much. I would be ok with getting the TR version, but his alt mode doesn't look as Brainstormy as I'd like even if the robot mode is cool. To me, the T30 version is still really awesome and probably the best of the Brainstorms

Fellow Seibertronian Carytheone was one of the lucky guys to have scooped up a Titans Return Walgreen Exclusive Brainstorm recently, and he was kind enough to write up a review for all of us to check out! Read up and soak in this figure, which is now available at Walgreens across the United States, and let us know what you think of him in the comments section below.

Whew, that title is a mouthful. Well I was one of the lucky ones that was able to snag a Titans Return Brainstorm this weekend. I picked up TR Blurr pretty early on and was very impressed with the figure. I wasn't expecting much from Brainstorm being a redeco and all, but wowzers what a figure!



If you have Blurr or the SDCC exclusive Brainstorm then you know exactly what to expect from transformation and poseablity, but what you don't expect is the exquisite deco. Brainstorm has a premium deco that truly feels like an exclusive figure. The first thing you will probably notice is the slick use of some spot on G1 tampos. The thing you wont notice in package is the paint apps, because of just how good they are. The nose cone, forearms, half of the upper arms and the bottom torso are painted to an almost perfect color match of the molded plastics.

As you know this mold poses well, but Brainstorm really shines in flying poses.





Brainstorm's Titan Master Teslor got a small slap of paint, which is more than a few of the standard releases.



The remolding (and wings) really sets Brainstorm's alt mode apart from Blurr's. Alt mode is where you can see even more of those lovely tampos and just how well the paint matches the plastic.







The entire look and feel of Brainstorm is that of a premium figure. Spot on satin paint apps and great tampos. The transformation is smoother than that of Blurr's. This is one figure you may want to track down even if you already have Blurr and/or the SDCC Brainstorm.

This guy was so worth the wait, I got him the night he was seen in stores after work and was so hyped for him. I was begging for him to not have too many QC issues, and he did not disappoint. I'd go as far to say that out of the TR figures I own; he's the best, and my favorite by far (subject to change if I find Chromedome).

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:To me, the T30 version is still really awesome and probably the best of the Brainstorms

Eh, I don't know about that. While I don't have TR Brainstorm yet, I do have Blurr (I used to have a T30 Brainstorm, but I gave it to my cousin last month), and I find Blurr to be a lot better than T30 Brainstorm. To each his own, I guess.

Kurona wrote:The Thrilling 30 figure looks beautiful but for the life of me I'll never understand why they went Voyager.

At the time, Hasbro probably believed that they couldn't do the Headmaster concept (either correctly or at all) at the Deluxe scale with how small the average Deluxe class headsculpt was compared to the more manageable size the average Voyager class headsculpt is. Consider Voyager Brainstorm as the stepping stone experiment that led them to successfully pursuing and achieving a workable Headmaster-based concept given proper justice for the Deluxe class, as I would sincerely doubt that we'd have gotten this full Titans Return line if not for the Voyager Brainstorm figure re-opening the Headnaster concept for further exploration and experimentation.

The Snarkas Blog found some new in hand images of the upcoming wave 3 Deluxes from Titans Return. We have mirrored them below where you can get the best look yet at Titans Return Hot Rod, Triggerhappy, Breakaway (Getaway) and Twinferno (Doublecross). These give a good idea of how Hot Rod scales with his movie friends (and enemy) and they show how the handheld guns combine and how you can place the accessories on the alt modes. They also give us a look at the inner cockpits. Do any of these images change your thoughts on these figures? Will you be getting them all, none or some? Let us know!

Noideaforaname wrote:Twinferno would be perfect if he had wrist swivels. Still, he's an absolute must-buy as it is.

His crotch looks like a sad anime octopus...

I can't unsee this now!

Triggerhappy looks like he's shaping up to be my favorite of the bunch. The altmode is AMAZING.

Well I know what I'm getting

Gimme Triggerhappy and I'll be a happy Dude!

Autobot N wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:To me, the T30 version is still really awesome and probably the best of the Brainstorms

Eh, I don't know about that. While I don't have TR Brainstorm yet, I do have Blurr (I used to have a T30 Brainstorm, but I gave it to my cousin last month), and I find Blurr to be a lot better than T30 Brainstorm. To each his own, I guess.

TR Blurr is better than T30 Brainstorm but that doesnt mean that every toy should be a retool of it. Because we are ignoring the awesomeoness to have dedicated molds. By the logic presented, they could redeco MP Soundwave into Blaster colours, and release that as MP Blaster and because the original mold is better than the TR leader one that would automatically make it a better Blaster figure. But thats not how it works. TR Blurr is a phenominal figure when its Blurr. It has that super smart asymetric engineering in he legs to give you that single tail fin and it has these great wheels that roll super well and the accompnaying excellent transformation to hide that middle wheel way in robot mode. Its all genius... for Blurr.

For Brainstorm, they replicate that smart transforamtion but it falls on deaf ears. Brainstorm had 2 tail fins, like most aircraft do, but now its just one sicne its a retool of Blurr. And I am sure it can still roll quite well, but its an aircaft so what is needed is some reracatble landing gear instead. Thrilling 30 Bainstorm had that. Plus, it wasnt a parts former (Brainstorm never was) and the weapons at the end of the nosecons became his own weapons in robot mode.

That thrilling 30 brainstorm is still one of the best looking TF toys I have ever owned. I love how sleek and dynamic he looks in both modes, along with his great wingspan. Plus the cockpit fully closes and is located at the back of the spacecraft.

I am sure TR Brainstorm is a good toy, but for a representation of Brainstorm, there is none better than thrilling 30







Unless of course, nobody cares about what he looked like originally.

NovamusPrime3 wrote:Well I know what I'm getting

what are you getting?

This is going to be such an awesome wave

Is it just me, or are Hot Rod's arms really long...

Cobotron wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:Twinferno would be perfect if he had wrist swivels. Still, he's an absolute must-buy as it is.

His crotch looks like a sad anime octopus...

I can't unsee this now!

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! It's Chromia's Conehead knees all over again...

I really like Triggerhappy, but I'm mostly excited to see him redone into Misfire. It's also awesome to see that Hot Rod is slightly taller than most of the other deluxes in this line, which just goes to show that sometimes Hasbro does care about scale.

william-james88 wrote:Unless of course, nobody cares about what he looked like originally.

That's my mentality. Of course, it needs to resemble the original design (looking at you Movie Hot Rod) slightly. Here's my guidelines for buying a figure:
1. Does it resemble the original design? Yes for Brainstorm
2. Is the mold good (unlike CW Breakdown)? Yes for Brainstorm
3. Does the figure look good? Yes for Brainstorm

william-james88 wrote:I am sure TR Brainstorm is a good toy, but for a representation of Brainstorm, there is none better than thrilling 30

TR BS is a great figure because Blurr is a great figure. They did an outstanding job of making BS out of Blurr. Surely they could have put a tail fin that would have worked in each leg. I do like the faux fins on his upper arms.

The question that keeps coming up is: "which Brainstorm is better?" There really isn't a good way to answer that question. Each excels in ways and has it's own downfalls; one's a Voyager, one's a deluxe; one is IDW, one is G1.

Personally I'm very happy with both and will be displaying them on different shelves. I will say this; TR BS didn't get a spot on my Lost Light shelf because I feel the TR figure is a better representation of G1 BS.

all that bs is just for you Cobo

Love love love Brainstorm. One of my favorite bots of all time. Not for the shows or the comic, but for the G1 toy which was its own brand of awesomeness and easily the coolest headmaster mold (in my opinion). This version looks the most like the g1 toy to me and I can't wait to snag one. I love the thrilling 30 toy, but its just a little too IDW for my tastes. I already have the G1, thrilling 30 and SDCC versions, but I would probably buy any Brainstorm figure they release.

carytheone wrote:

william-james88 wrote:I am sure TR Brainstorm is a good toy, but for a representation of Brainstorm, there is none better than thrilling 30

TR BS is a great figure because Blurr is a great figure. They did an outstanding job of making BS out of Blurr. Surely they could have put a tail fin that would have worked in each leg. I do like the faux fins on his upper arms.

The question that keeps coming up is: "which Brainstorm is better?" There really isn't a good way to answer that question. Each excels in ways and has it's own downfalls; one's a Voyager, one's a deluxe; one is IDW, one is G1.

Personally I'm very happy with both and will be displaying them on different shelves. I will say this; TR BS didn't get a spot on my Lost Light shelf because I feel the TR figure is a better representation of G1 BS.

My mentality is that if I get one of the Autobot Headmasters, I gotta catch em all. TR BrSt is great to me because of his scale, and not necessarily his superiority over the T30 mold.

Here's hoping Takara will make versions of all of these and i will gladly buy them all.

DMSL wrote:Here's hoping Takara will make versions of all of these and i will gladly buy them all.

I wouldn't be so sure about a Takara version of Breakaway aka Lightfoot. As an excluisve perhaps?

DMSL wrote:Here's hoping Takara will make versions of all of these and i will gladly buy them all.

Me too in regards to Hot Rod.

Honestly, while Takara may do their regular awesome job, Trigger, Rod, and Twinsy are all really good to me and I consider them both looks wise to be great representations. Their Hasbro counterparts are a really good effort

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Honestly, while Takara may do their regular awesome job, Trigger, Rod, and Twinsy are all really good to me and I consider them both looks wise to be great representations. Their Hasbro counterparts are a really good effort

Agreed. In fact that's been the case with most of the Hasbro figures in this line besides Galvatron, Megatron, and PM OP's colors.

I found a BR Brainstorm too - filming the reviews even now

Love and hugs, Death