#4: Transformers - Bruticus (G2)

When it was first announced that Hasbro would be making a new Bruticus with all the individual components being deluxe sized figures, I thought it was a great idea. Then I saw it and thought it looked kind of iffy and would probably be more than I was willing to pay for it. One of the interesting things about the release is that it would be available three different ways. There was a SDCC exclusive set that featured colors based on the appearance of Bruticus in the game Fall of Cybertron. That sold out and is super expensive in the secondary market. There is a mass retail release where each of the Combaticons can be purchased individually. The other version, which I got, is a shared online exclusive with colors inspired by the G2 release. Before Christmas, this was on sale on Amazon for a very reasonable price, but I wasn't really sure if I wanted it. Then I got Fall of Cybertron for Christmas, and being able to play as Air Raid, Swindle, and finally Bruticus sold me on picking up the set. Unfortunately, after Christmas, Amazon's toy prices went back up. I thought about ordering the individual robots from Hasbrotoyshop, but decided to wait and see if the Amazon price would go back down again. My waiting paid off, and the G2 Bruticus finally did go back down to its pre-Christmas price.

As pictured here, the limbs are assembled as they are in Fall of Cybertron. Each of the limbs can function as either an arm or a leg, so if I were so inclined, I could assemble them the way they were for the G2 toy, as would befit their color scheme. Overall, it's pretty cool looking, although the proportions are a bit wonky. I was okay with either the G2 color scheme or the mass release, but I can appreciate the insanity of the G2 version, which is growing on me. I was surprised at how light Bruticus feels. Each of the robots is fairly lightweight, probably to help it hold together in the gestalt form. Even so, I think they are particularly light, especially when compared to the Devastator that I have of a similar size. If I had bought all the robots separately, I would think they weren't the best value.

Onslaught forms the torso of Bruticus, and turns into some sort of Cybertronian truck. The alt mode is not the best. You can't tell from the picture, but the back half is mostly empty space. There's a huge gap of nothing between the rear wheels, and if you look at it from the side, you can see the Bruticus head. Fortunately, robot mode is better. Due to the transformation scheme, and the need to be strong support for the gestalt arms, the shoulders are only swivels.

Blast Off forms the right arm of Bruticus. Originally he was a space shuttle, but this version turns into a Cybertronian aircraft. I like the vehicle mode, it's an interesting look and doesn't really look like anything else. Robot mode is pretty cool too. With the giant shoulder armor, it kind of looks like a football player.

Air Raid is one of two individually playable Combaticons in the game, and turns into a helicopter. Not just any helicopter, a rocket helicopter! When you need to fly faster in the game, the rotors fold back, and the jets kick in. This is one of the shorter robots in the set, and it's got a good robot mode except that the rotors are just kind of there on the arm. The hand for Bruticus is stored in the nose, so you could have that sticking out instead of the gun.

I'm not sure what Swindle's alt mode is. Some sort of off road vehicle? It's a Cybertronian design, so it doesn't really need to anything analogous to Earth vehicles. Whatever it is, it works well enough. Swindle is the other Combaticon that you can play individually during Fall of Cybertron. Although he has a wheeled alt form, like all the other ground based robots in the game, it can hover as well. Why bother having wheels at all? The mysteries of life on Cybertron may never be fully resolved.

Brawl turns into a tank. A hover tank! Brawl is also one of the smaller robots in the set, but I think it's a pretty cool looking robot. This is actually the second Brawl in my collection, I've got the big (leader class?) version from the first Transformers movie. Both tanks.

Combaticons group shot!