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Movie Brawl Toy Review

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 3:02 am
by Dyn@mo
Deluxe Brawl

Brawl Tank

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Brawl Robot

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Brawl Head 01

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Brawl Head 02

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Brawl Upper 01

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Brawl Upper 02

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Brawl Pose 01

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Brawl Pose 02

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Brawl Pose 03

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Brawl Movie Comparison

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Review -

Brawl Vehicle Mode:

Positives:

Lots of detail. Authentic green and grey colour scheme.

LOTS of weapons: Rotating turret with smaller rotating gun turret on top, twin missile launchers on either side. Missile-firing action.

Seams blend in nicely with the tank’s chunky design.

Very little kibble – legs fold up at the back.

Wheels underneath allow the tank to roll.

Negatives:

Plastic is very lightweight – doesn’t feel very substantial.

Red ‘light piping’ on the back of Brawl’s head is clearly visible just under the turret.

Main turret pivots from the front, which makes the vehicle look unbalanced.


Brawl Transformation:

Very neat and very nifty. Lots of nicely engineered twists and turns.

Intricate, but quick and easy to remember.

Poseable weapons allow you to transform the toy in different ways.

Automorph is incorporated so neatly that you barely notice it work (it pops the head into place and rotates portions of the tank tracks onto Brawls shoulders). Brilliant execution!



Brawl Robot Mode:

Positives:

Excellently proportioned figure. Looks muscular and mean.

Very poseable. Legs pivot at the knees and arms have joints at the shoulders and elbows. Head rotates 360 degrees.

Armed to the teeth. Weapons are all poseable – he even has a retractable claw on his arm!

Weight distribution is very good.

Light-piping in head gives the eyes a really cool and menacing red glow…the way a Decepticon’s eyes SHOULD be!




Negatives:

No rotation in the torso.

The pegs that clip the arms to the body pop out of place VERY easily, especially on the right arm (which holds the tank cannon). This will be the cause of much frustration.

Hands cannot be posed.


Final word :

Like the Deluxe Jazz toy, Brawl feels very much like a Transformer. His design is chunky and angular in both modes and his simple (but surprisingly elegant) transformation harkens back to the golden years of Generation One.
Posing him is great fun, and his huge arsenal of weaponry gives him lots of play value. From early photographs I had already decided that I wasn’t going to like this toy. But now that I’ve had a chance to examine him myself he’s become my personal favourite – even better than Jazz!
If it wasn’t for the flimsy shoulder pins, this guy’d be perfect.
Here’s hoping for a Japanese diecast version!

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 3:25 am
by Saya
Yeah, I love him too, but was never going to get him til I saw him in a shop. One vehicle mode negative you forgot to mention though: his gun can't move vertically... though the entire turret can :lol:

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 7:03 am
by Mulla
Sheogorath wrote:Yeah, I love him too, but was never going to get him til I saw him in a shop. One vehicle mode negative you forgot to mention though: his gun can't move vertically... though the entire turret can :lol:


How am I meant to blow a gaping hole in Optimus Prime's chest if the turret doesn't even move vertically? Want to know how I have him posed?

He's protecting Scorponok, by taking a shot out of Ratchet's ankle.................. :P

One thing that works well. The piece of 'fire' that came with Protoform Optimus fits nicely into Brawl's barrel. And the piece that came with Starscream works well as an explosion effect coming out of Ratchet's ankle. Still waiting on a camera. Photos soon :grin:

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:17 am
by Tigertrack
Just got mine yesterday. He's the first movie Tf that I own.

I like him a lot. The design is really cool, I just am not a fan of his head, but I made peace with that awhile ago.

Nice pics, and thanks for sharing. I just picked up movie Blackout, Jazz, and Wreckage, hopefully I will be as equally impressed by them, as I was by Brawl's cool playability, weapons, colors, and transformation.

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 8:38 am
by Lord Grimlock
Brawl is awesome

PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2007 2:29 pm
by SnapTrap
That is the first of the movie figures that I really like.
Great review Crimson Dynamo, thanks.

PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2007 11:44 am
by Danish-Liokaiser
Awesome review, but i heard from a guy on the forum that you can fix the shoulder problem with some glue ... never mind :-P

PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2007 7:19 pm
by i_amtrunks
I was going to pick this guy up on Friday, I was not going to get him at all, but seeing him in person... I liked him more, and would have chosen him over Barricade if it wasnt for the Real Gear figures.

Thanks for the review, makes me want him more.