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Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl

Posted by william-james88 Jul 2, 2018 at 12:05am CDT 23,798 views
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.

Transformers News: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl

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.
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl
Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl

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Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Jul 2, 2018
Carnivius_Prime wrote: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

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

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Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ZeldaTheSwordsman Jul 2, 2018
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/

william-james88 wrote:
ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote: 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.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Evil Eye Jul 2, 2018
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.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ZeroWolf Jul 2, 2018
If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Evil Eye Jul 2, 2018
ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women. :-( :lol:

...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.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ZeroWolf Jul 2, 2018
Black Hat wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women. :-( :lol:

...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 :(
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by -Kanrabat- Jul 2, 2018
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...
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Qwan Jul 2, 2018
Black Hat wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women. :-( :lol:

...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 :D
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Carnivius_Prime Jul 2, 2018
william-james88 wrote:
Carnivius_Prime wrote: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

Image

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

Image


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).

DSC_0492 (1).jpg

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.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Carnivius_Prime Jul 4, 2018
i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Jul 4, 2018
Carnivius_Prime wrote:i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O

Yes. Crowbar is the only wave 1 deluxe to have painted windows.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Carnivius_Prime Jul 4, 2018
william-james88 wrote:
Carnivius_Prime wrote:i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O

Yes. Crowbar is the only wave 1 deluxe to have painted windows.



i'm an idiot :(
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ZeldaTheSwordsman Jul 4, 2018
Carnivius_Prime wrote:
DSC_0492 (1).jpg

Added Classics Voyager G1 Prime cos was mentioned above.

Thanks. So yeah, he is one short Voyager considering that Classics Prime is on the short side for a Voyager himself:
Image
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Emerje Jul 5, 2018
Black Hat wrote:...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.

Ah, see, I was thinking something completely different and Rei being movie Arcee for obvious reasons.

Image

Really just need to buy a bunch of Chromias.

Emerje
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by william-james88 Jul 7, 2018
I bought Studio Series Jazz and Lockdown the other day and seeing as how there aren’t too many photos out there (if anyone has found them in the US please let us know, we have yet to news a sighting) I wanted to give you a pictorial review of both. Especially as there are some aspects of these figures that I was unaware of until getting them and wanted to share. However, my Lockdown broke, and the store I bought it at was sold out within a day, so I will only have Jazz for you today.

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Another thing before I begin, with a house full of young kids, I could only snap these pics when the sun was almost out, but even then I find there was enough natural light for some crisp pics, hopefully you like them too.

Now onto Jazz and my main complaint: HOLY F%&K is he small. People said he was but I was just not ready. You pull him out of the packaging and there is just so much empty space. Especially compared to Lockdown, who turns out not to even be that tall a deluxe. Now you are wondering how small, well here are some pics of his Legends scaled vehicle mode (no exaggeration).

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Yup, that is him next to a Legends figure.

Here are some pics of him in robot mode where he is at least between legends and deluxe class (rather than just being as tall as a legends figure).

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So yeah, really small. And with these studio series toys selling at a markup compared to deluxe toys from the Generations line in several countries and retailers, this bites. MSRP in Canada is $29.99, while Generations deluxes are $19.99, just to give you an idea.

I know why he’s small, it’s so he can be in scale with the other toys in the line, as seen here, which does work.

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So now that I have that size issue off my chest, is the figure any good? Well, him being small does bring about some issues. Unlike an actual legends class whose design was always based to be in that class, Jazz having his movie proportions feels very light and dainty. He is not particularly easy to pose because everything is made so small with very thin joints. He does not feel solid. He has a far too generous ankle tilt that will reveal gaps in his knees. These gaps are not related to the transformation, they aren’t slots for pegs, so I don’t really know why they are there. I also have an issue with the feet. It's probably accurate but they are just nubs and look off.

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As may have seen before, he does have a backpack and it does take away an otherwhise sleek silhouette in many action poses. I do like the accessory. It can be used as a handheld gun in one had or, like in the film, it can attach to one of his arms to give it the look that his arm transformed into the gun. That is probably my favourite aspect of the toy. Because it sure ain't the car mode.

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So yeah while the car mode is small, that is not the main complaint. Instead that would be the gaps. It is very easy to make him gappy in alt mode so I highly recommend you read the instructions and look at a video just to make sure you have everything pegged in correctly. I read the instructions and still had gaps but I have fixed it since. There is lots of stuff crammed into him since half his robot mode body is not made up of car parts. And as you saw, the car is smaller than the robot, so there's lots to stuff in there.

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The colour is good. I could do with more detail though, especially in the back, which is just silver paint. Plus for a “premium” style toy, those black plastic wheels look cheap as hell. Don know why they didn’t paint some rims, it’s not like the car body needed tons of paint. You can hook the weapon in the back but it dos not hold well and the look does not work for me.

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So there you go. Overall, better than the original deluxe in terms of proportions, aesthetic and transformation. But this little dude feels flimsy, especially in the legs, and by no means is this toy worth the asking price.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Sabrblade Jul 7, 2018
william-james88 wrote:Here are some pics of him in robot mode where he is at least between legends and deluxe class (rather than just being as tall as a legends figure).
So, like an old Basic/Scout class figure.
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ToaLeePrime Jul 8, 2018
There's a trick to getting rid of the gaps in vehicle mode. Underneath the roof of the car is a clear blue peg, and in the back of the waist there is a peg hole, make sure they are tabbed together and you will get a much cleaner car mode. ;)
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by Carnivius_Prime Jul 8, 2018
No. I disagree with your Jazz review a lot. I dunno what you've done with the car mode there but there's no way it should have huge gaps like that. Even on the ones I've seen where they have some gaps it's nowhere near like that. You've either got a faulty one or you've done it wrong. and I very much disagree about the "doesn't feel solid" bit. I've had mine for a about a couple months (bought with Lockdown who is also awesome) and I've played with it loads and it feels pretty damn solid to me with a well transformed compact torso, stiff joints, poses well, can balance good (I don't even often have the rear feet stabilisers folded down but they're there when I need to pose him in a way that needs the extra support). My only real negatives about the figure are that the backpack is kinda large and the shin pieces being all attach to the ankle joint is a bit odd but I bloody love this lil shiny dude. Heck I even paid more than the RRP price for both Jazz and Lockdown by about £7 each and I still felt no regrets (unlike Grimlock, that dino mode still bugs the hell out of me, there's so many things wrong with it for the £53 I paid and gonna have to spend more money on the upgrade kit to fix some of it). Jazz has been one of my most genuinely enjoyable figures of the past year and one I even take with me out and about sometimes like to rehearsals when I'm sat there waiting for my scene and bored out of my mind. I like your photos a lot but I really find myself disagreeing a lot with your reviews.

Pic I just took of him balancing on one foot without even needing the black stabiliser bits folded out of the ankles. Put him on the edge of the desk cos I had no fear he was gonna fall over. I even stomped on the floor a bit.
DSC_0560.jpg


Now he's going in my backpack cos I got a 7 hour rehearsal today and I'm just a nobody in some dance scenes and a footman in the ball scene so I'm gonna need lil Jazz here to keep me company in between. :P
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by -Kanrabat- Jul 8, 2018
Why so many people got the "gappy car"? As mentioned above, there's a tab behind Jazz's waist that tab under the roof. THAT is what will remove the gaps. My guess is the instructions are obviously unclear for this step.

I can't seem to embed the precise part of the video properly but clicky the link:

https://youtu.be/9d0QzhELPVY?t=6m45s
Re: Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl (view post)
Comment by ZeroWolf Jul 8, 2018
I think it might have caused problems with jazz being a smaller class or cheaper than his counterparts. So this might have been the best in a very bad situation. Unless there was other characters which are in the same boat who could have been in a 'scout' wave
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