Owning both 3P Brainstorms, I honestly feel like Smart Robin is overrated, while Brainwave is really underrated. I know it's not the popular opinion, but Brainwave just has so much more presence on a shelf. I'm still so undecided on which company's offerings will be my definitive headmasters, so I've just been buying them all!  

 

I really, really like Brainwave, just not as Brainstrom. :/ He's just too tall and bulky. Redeco him as an OC or something and I'm in.

 

Since the first images, I wanted it. Thanks to the discount from Ages Three and Up, I got it for a better price than I could imagine.

 

Wish I'd been able to grab a $30 or $45 Brainwave.  

 

I don't have Smart Robin, but just by size and looks I can tell it's not for me. Better alt mode than Brainwave though. Maybe if the two had been equally tall it would have been a harder decision, but as things are Brainwave was an easy preference. As a robot he has a natural posture and proportions that just look effortlessly good. From pictures it seems Hardbone is the same. Really hope TW give us at least the other two Autobot HMs.

 

I can definitely see what you mean. Brainstorm is a lot of different things depending on which continuity/medium you prefer. An OC deco would be awesome!

Yep, have to agree with you on the alt mode, as Smart Robin definitely wins that round. Brainwave's is a LOT better in person than in pics imo. It kind of feels like a lego space fighter (not in build but in aesthetic), and I kind of dig that lol. To me, it's almost like Smart Robin's transformation is too good, and the lack of any kibble whatsoever just kind of leaves him feeling like a generic robot from the neck down. I do love SR's head sculpt though.

 

I find it weird that neither of them have managed to do what I consider one of Brainstorm's main visual cues, and that's the small wings on the shoulders. Both have very generic shoulders.

I picked up Brainwave in the Kapow sale. I already own Smart Robin. At the moment, I'm undecided on which is best. SR does have an amazing transformation, but I kinda agree with the above comment that he looks just a bit too generic in robot mode. The SR headmaster is a better design, but that lack of mouthplate...

I guess you could always headcanon the Brainwave body as an upgrade Brainstorm built for himself. He is a weapons engineer, after all.

 

I find the same thing with most of the FP Headmasters; the bots just don't seem to have enough visual cues to tell you who they're meant to be, they're almost interchangeable. At a time when we're being spoilt with MPs and 3rd parties actually being faithful to the source material, I'm very reluctant to buy stuff that just looks like a 3rd party generic who happens to have a slightly familiar colour scheme. Doesn't matter how great the alt mode is, if the bot just isn't there. Brainwave might not be an exact match for G1 Brainstorm, but I do recognise him as such straight away when I look at the robot.

Yeah I did notice that too. I'm almost certainly going to mod some wings onto his shoulders. No idea how yet, but it'll definitely help finish him off. In fact I'd also like to move the faux cockpit further down his torso and replace it with a G1 style Tech Spec readout panel.

 

Brainstorm was one of my childhood gems as a kid. it is the one transformer that i have alot of memories of. THIS screams Brainstorm! and so whether this is $30 or $100, im definitely getting this when opportunity presents itself. i wish this was the size of smart robin but oh well. this toy looks amazing! its just going to be weird seeing this outsize my Henkei Skyfire. and yes im aware of the new one coming out but we'll see...
btw whats this 'OC' thats being mentioned about redecoing him as?!

 

You don't see Smart Robin and immediately know it's Brainstorm? I think FP does a great job at updating the figures to make them new and modern yet immediately recognizable as the character.

It's no different than Hasbro has being doing with Classics/Universe/Generations (and this is why I starting saying CHUG).

 

Meh its okay. But if these are what fans like then cool. But im way too much of a g1 purist and thus im extremely picky on modern updates. The only recent officials im interested in is orion pax, metroplex, Scoop and Trailbreaker but go with Takara versions. Im not an idw fan either so those type designs dont catch my interest. Id get the new whirl if its head were g1 accurate. I mostly go with originals or 3rd party  

 

You're a man after my own heart   I've no objection to modern updates and reinterpretations of characters, it's just not interesting for me. I certainly appreciate when a figure captures the look of a design, even if it's an area of the franchise I'm not into. That Maketoys IDW Swerve for example looks very faithful. But there's too much '3rd party's own entirely made-up version of a character' around I'm afraid (and yes, Brainwave's alt mode is guilty of this).

As for Whirl, he's sort of fallen somewhere between IDW and G1. I know a lot of people will disagree but I think G1 Whirl still looks better. My ideal version would be a modern-tech articulated Oberon Gazette in Whirl colours  

 

man... wish I hadn't missed that sale, I would have bought two at that price

 

I got my Brainwave today. It's a pretty great figure for what I paid for it ($59. w/ free shipping) I wouldn't by any means pay much more for it than that though. It does have a few problems. I don't like the way the wings hinder the shoulders in robot mode, and how they hinder the guns if you peg them under the arms. The head is plain as hell.. I think they could've done a little better with it, and the alt mode is pretty meh... But I still really like it, as it was my favorite G1 toy as a kid (along with Hardhead) so I'll buy pretty much anything they release of the character. If you only get one, get Smart Robin, he's leaps and bounds better, but if you can afford to get both, or have any desire to, go for it. He does look pretty awesome next to Hard Bone and Orion.

 

I'm wondering if TW's Headmasters will size up well against PE's Warden figure? Can't imagine us getting another 3rd party Cerebros/Fort Max head, and I've been looking at pics of Warden and he seems to be done in a similar chunky, solid style. Anyone got comparison photos?

What would be perfect is if Warden gets a redeco in Cerebros colours with a new Headmaster  

 

5 seconds and google:

 

Thanks, that doesn't look bad at all! I went through the last dozen or so pages of Warden's thread and never thought to just Google  

I much prefer TW's size and bulk, and Warden matches that; those FP Headmasters just seem so small and spindly in comparison... Guess now I just have to hope for a Warden-as-Cerebros redeco...  

 

I know this is not the radicons section, but by putting this post here I think would get more views and hopefully more feedback. Plus it does have to do with features I'm not sure anyone knew about for this toy.

Was looking to repurpose this guy into triggerhappy now that I have hasbrows version and think it's a bit better, when I stumbled on the following.

[/url]Tw brainwave alt forms by Wingheaven7, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Tw brainwave alt forms by Wingheaven7, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Tw brainwave alt forms by Wingheaven7, on Flickr[/IMG]

I'm wondering if anyone attempted a custom using this guy as the base mold. His wings being able to come off and plug in different places is really making me like him more than the hasbrow version again. Maybe I should just use the hasbrow version for the repurpose into triggerhappy?

This feature could be old news but I didn't see any pictures in the 12 pages of this thread showing this. Figured I'd share and get some creative feedback at the same time.

 

Toyworld TW-H02 Brainwave/Brainstorm is on sale for $29.99 + shipping from Robotoybase.com
Toyworld TW-H02 Brainwave

Also if you missed picking it up on sale from BBTS, legit Ebay seller suncn2010 has it available for $42.50 shipped.
Special Offer New ToyWorld Transformers TW-H02 Brainwave Brainstorm In Stock | eBay

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but does anyone have Brainwave as well as Cuppola and Ironwill from maketoys? I’m curious to see pictures on how they scale together.