Hey all, I've thinking of hunting down a Colossus piece by piece. Start with Barricade, then get Kickback, etc. If I go this route, one advantage is I'll be able to wait and are if the rumors are true and FP has some stock left of Munitioner and Explorer. Still, the question is for those that have colossus, is Energon Briticus Maximus worth the effort with the FP parts, and which limbs to get?
I was in the same boat a few months ago. I just took the plunge and bought them all at once from a member here. I've seen the Energon parts available a lot more in single pieces than I have the ROTF parts, so you are in luck.
ROTF Bruticus, basically more G1 colors with the FP additions is by far my favorite combiner to date. I like Herc, Superion, and Giant. Just something about Brute which light my fire as JM says.
I just got my Bruticus all together today. I picked up my stuff from ebay sellers, so it wasn't cheap at all (set me back a lil over $500). From what I've seen there are many single pieces and sets of the Energon version of the Bruticus Maximus mold. The Revenge of the Fallen version, which has the more G1 accurate look to it, can most only be bought in sets and ranges from about $170-$250. The FP X-Fire sets on ebay right now go for about $270 by themselves. You can buy a whole Bruticus for about $350-$400 used on ebay. Most everything is gone from the boards here on the site. If this ends up being the only version of Bruticus that ever comes out (Classics version, not FoC), then $500 is not a bad price to pay, cause Hercules set some people back more than $600.
As awesome as Colossus is, he's not the definitive Bruticus by a looooong shot. 3 of the 5 members are still lame Hasbro products, after all. I gave my 3 G1 heads which helps a lot, but it's still not quite as perfect an interpretation as Giant or Herc. It's still obviously an add-on set. If FP were to reissue the add on packs now, it'd still be a really expensive bot for most people if they have to track down the other 3 anyway. What I'd really like to see FP do further down the line is replacements for the other 3 to make a perfect set of combaticons. It'd certainly take less work than tackling a whole new combiner team from scratch.
Yeah, it's not realistic for me to take the plunge and buy the RotF set, or to buy a Bruticus all at once. Building him over time is a heck of a lot better for me, which means Energon colors. That isn't bad. I've got Energon Superion Maximus, and while he's not at all G1, I just enjoy him more than any of the RotF Superion pictures I've seen. While Colossus in G1 colors is awesome, the bot looks from the Hasbro figs is just different enough from G1 that I won't feel upset if I go with non G1 colors. As far as cost goes, it's looking like I'll pay about $40 or so for each Energon piece (depending on Stormcloud, who appears to be the toughest to find). They I just have to find the crossfire sets. They seem to still be available at the $200 mark, but I'm gambling that there will be left over stock at some point.... Either way, I may be able to pull this all together for $350, the price of a lose one now. So again, what's the best Energon bots to go for when it comes to overall aesthetic?
I think getting a ROTF Bruticus is the way to go. I wouldn't be surprised for FP to reissue their add ons based on past practices.
One thing I've noticed is that PCC Heavytread makes an EXCELLENT replacement for Brawl with some new paint and a PCC joint kitbashed in him. There's a few threads on how to make the modifications so he'll work with Bruticus/Colossus over in Radicons.
