Images:
Tech Specs: Rank: 5 Courage: 9 Firepower: 9 Skill: 3
Packaging: Decepticon Brawl (who I will just call "Brawl" for the length of this review) is a Decepticon fans have yet to see any leaked footage of at this time. Photographs have appeared on the web of the real life tank / prop he transforms into on the set of the movie, and of course CGI concept images have leaked. Still, this Decepticon and his role in the movie is a bit of a mystery although one can guess he's probably more of brute force muscle than one of the leading robots in charge.
Vehicle Mode: The basic shape of the Abrams is intact here. The cannon turret has a bulge in the middle leading to the turret with angled lines in the front (though the exact angles are a bit different on the real life vehicle). The bottom section has plates on the side that protect the sides of the treads. Mounted on the front are two mine catchers consisting of a base piece with six blades, something found on variants of the Abrams. There are lots of details on the vehicle as well. Running along the sides and varioius sections of the turret are sculpted lines with raised circles representing bolts. The turret has two hatch doors sculpted into it as well as vertical and horizontal lines running along the sides. The main body of the tank has everything from cross hatch details to circular caps that look like the top of liquid storage tanks. The designers started with the Abrams tank as the base design for this vehicle form, but then embelished on a lot of the details. For instance, the panels on the side that partially cover the wheels on his treads are angled and jagged shaped as opposed to being straight as they are on a real life Abrams. On the back are two cylindrical tanks and perhaps the biggest addition is the extra set of dual guns on top of the main turret. In addition to those two guns are two smaller gun batteries, each with four tubes mounted on the back of the turret. The extra dual turrets are a nice touch as they hark back to G1 Brawl, who also had dual turrets in addition to his main turret. Brawl conveys a dangerous sense of firepower, perfect for a Decepticon. Brawl is mainly cast in olive green plastic, with some parts cast in silver and black such as the smaller quad-turrets. Grey camo patterns are painted onto the main body and turrets. The same color is used for a Decepticon symbol found at the base of the main cannon on the turret. It's a simple color scheme but it works since real life Abrams color schemes are generally straight forward camo or desert patterns. The treads each have two small wheels on either side on the bottom, allowing the vehicle to roll along. His main turret can turn in a circle, and the smaller turret on top can do the same. The quad-turrets are mounted on posts connected to ball joints, allowing for a good range of movement. The mine catchers are also connected to ball joints so you can manipulate them into different positions. The main turret can fire a translucent red missile by pressing the silver trigger on the barrel. There's no doubt that Brawl is one powerfully armed Transformer! Transformation to Robot Mode:
Robot Mode: Ther is no lack of finer details on this figure. The head design is interesting, being a bit more rectangular in shape than say, Barricade. The more horizontal design of his head and slit eyes give him a gritty appearance, as if he is always ready for a fight. His arms have angled details on many levels. Each hand is made of three large claws in a clutching position. Mounted on the left arm is a combination weapon. The base is a gatling gun, complete with a base, a chain of artillery and barrel. Attached to that piece are two curved blades that can fold back or forward. I love this weapon. It's a small piece on his arm, but the sculpt is so well detailed and a wicked looking weapon that you just have to love it. The colors from the vehicle mode all carry over here with some black and gold painted parts appearing on the arms and legs. The head has silver around the mouth area and translucent red eyes using light piping at the back of the head. Brawl has eighteen points of articulation in this form. The points differ than what most would expect. For isntane he doesn't have waist articulation nor can his lower legs be turned outward. However he does have positionable weapons on his back (the quad blasters) and each of his arm mounted weapons can be turned. There is only one major weakness on this figure. The arms are held against the upper body by the diamond shaped points plugging into equivalent holes. This holds fairly well when simply posing the figure. However if you manipulate the arms they pop right out. It would have been better with a different type of connection (perhaps a simple round peg in hold) or better yet, a clip to keep the parts in place.
Final Thoughts:
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