Transformed mine, unique transformation. Fairly solid toy but I had to go slow on 1 thigh swivel due to more tension than the other(might be excess mold flash). The depth on this figure is good, love the layering of the fingers over the 5mm hold for weapons and the layering for the eyes. More attention was paid to this design compared to some other movie toys from last year. The arm articulation is unique and versatile. Tank mode is compact, wish the hands would be more hidden and that the main turret could elevate and rotate. Glad many of the joints are pinned.
Enjoyable, once you get a hang of where to twist the shoulder joints. The best and most clever transformation is the head/chest/front treads. The legs and to an extent the arms are disappointingly basic, but not enough to ruin the experience.
Found one at Target this morning. First impression is that it is a good toy but would be a great toy if someone does a KO with improvements. The stationary turret that sticks down between his legs is the worst part, and I wish it was moveable or removable. The panels on the sides of his legs have what I like to call “show tabs”, meaning they are clearly meant to hold the panels in place but don’t actually work at all. Too small and shallow I think. Forearms have a lot of junk on them and the hands don’t move, but the arms do have a lot of joints and they are all tight. Transformation is engaging. Fairly involved but simple enough to see which parts go where. Configuring the arms correctly to form the turret will probably be the trickiest bit for most people. It’s not difficult, they just have to be one certain way and there are a lot of joints so it can take some trial and error. I find it to be a fun transformation overall though. Alt mode holds together nicely and makes for a mean little realistic tank. The multiple weapons are nice and I like how the tiny chain gun is removable from the Claw Thing and has a 5mm post. They should have thrown a couple grey ones in with Starscream for his arms. Overall I am very happy with it. It's just more fun and expressive than the deluxe and Leader toys. I like it enough to buy all over again in improved KO format.
Brawl is tied with Blackout for my favourite movie Decepticon, so I had this pre-ordered sight-unseen. I was kind of disappointed when I saw the images in this thread, but with him in hand all those misgivings disappeared. For me at least, he looks a lot better in person than he does in photos. Specific areas that bug me in photos like the shoulders and the hands don't bug me at all with him in hand. I'm very happy with him!
If an easy definitive fix for the tank barrel is found (a la Ratchet's roof rack mod), I might consider getting him, but for now, he's a pass.
You know, I am actually considering doing the same thing. My thought was to find a slightly larger barrel from another toy that I can hollow out to pop on over the nub of the old barrel. I've got enough junk sitting around from two decades of collecting toys that I'm sure I can find a suitable part somewhere. But yeah, even with the short barrel it looks fine to me. Short barrel in tank seems like a lesser evil than the tail in bot mode.
Okay, so I have both. This one is better, but just barely. If you have the original leader and are on the fence about this figure just stick with the original.
It's a small thing, but I really appreciate that both Brawl and Megatron have pinned casters. It's good. You know, like it used to be.
So update: Yeah, this figure REALLY is good. It is. The tilted forward turret can be remedied by simply not plugging in the front end so tightly; it gives back enough of an angle to create a flat and flush position. So that's good. (see photos) The arms are awesome once you play around with all the different joints and swivels. Lastly, in regards to paint ....I was thinking some highlights could be given to it, but once I looked at some real world photos of the M1, it really is all green. Lol even the top guns on ball joints. So I'm good with how this comes out of the box. Most importantly, the fun factor on this figure is an absolute "10". Excellent job Habsro. (Honorable mention goes to all the "pins" in the figure. Keep THAT up too please) Not pushing the front in too tightly, as seen here: creates a more flush angle for the turret, as seen here:
this guy does a lot right, but the halfassed missile pods in alt mode and the partsforming bring him down. he's a lot more fun than i was expecting, though.
Was messing around with Brawl today and noticed that you can actually tab the pieces of the tank mode that fold up onto his leg into place.
I just picked up Brawl as it turns out I live in a Transformers toy Mecca as some Walmart nerd employee was stocking the toys as I was surveying what they had. We had a brief conversation about how if I weren't taken I'd-- ya know what? That's neither here or there. My point is Brawl is cool. Of all the studio series figures that I own (Blackout, Starscream, Ratchet, Optimus), he has the most clever and intriguing transformation of them all. The way that his torso forms into an achingly screen accurate shape from an equally screen accurate M1 abrams with no kibble backpack at all is astonishing. True, the arms and legs do have kibble but it servers to make him look bulky and it works. Sticklers beware but I feel most collectors and kids will LOVE Brawl's robot mode. Finally, while I think complaining about mass produced children's toys is dumb, I have to say the tank turret sticking down in robot mode is pretty lame as it seems like it would have been an easy eyesore to fix. A simple hinge in the middle of barrel so it may fold on itself would've been perfect. Also lame is how the turret cannot spin in vehicle mode and the turret cannon cannot tilt up and down in vehicle mode. These sacrifices for the sake of a well articulated and accurate robot mode are acceptable, but not ideal. And I only say that because I understanding the studio series is all about robot mode accuracy above most other things such as vehicle mode articulation. Ugh, I feel gross complaining. So he's not my favorite studio series figure but the way he transforms and the super high accurate robot and vehicle modes make him a wonderful addition to any nerd's shelf. And... heads up, there's no CGI art of this guy with a neat pose. Weird, huh?
what about unscreweing the arm panels and just plugging them where they go in vehicle mode(on the turret) and still folding them(obviiously the smaller turret still going over them) i have a friend that hates this figures because of the arm panels, but i have seen enough reviews and the arm panels have screws not pins
