Combiner Wars (Gen) Bruticus

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Starscream Gaga, Dec 17, 2015.

  1. Starscream Gaga

    Starscream Gaga Protoformed This Way

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    Combiner Wars Bruticus

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    Here he is! The Combiner I've personally been looking forward to the most ever since Combiner Wars started: The big bad battlin' Bruticus himself! Unlike his brethren, Bruticus has had quite a few toys over the years and even recently received a dedicated combiner team in the recent Fall of Cybertron line, so perhaps more-so than the others the pressure to be a stand-out figure is on.

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    Bruticus is composed of the five Combaticons. Separately, they're Onslaught (an extensive retool of Hot Spot), Vortex (a redeco of Alpha Bravo, who was himself using Vortex's design), Blastoff (a redeco of Slingshot), Swindle (an extensive retool of Rook) and Brawl (the only entirely new mold). As with all Combiner Wars teams, he's also associated with a Legends class that supports the main figure, in this case Shockwave. Whether or not you hate the new Blastoff, he still has the same design cues as a limb as his G1 self, so the combined mode is easily recognizable and looks pretty great in general.

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    Rather than being a new member (like Powerglide), designed to resemble an accessory of the G1 toy (like Blackjack) or one of the original members in a place (like Groove), Shockwave's role on the team is a reference to the memorable scene in the Sunbow episode The Revenge of Bruticus. In this scene, Bruticus battles Shockwave and his army of drones, eventually grabbing Shockwave's gun mode and using it as his own weapon. As such, the logical placement would be as Bruticus' handheld blaster, especially useful as Onslaught's guns are attached to Bruticus' back rather than being wielded. Oddly enough, however, the instructions call for you to connect Shockwave to Bruticus' back.

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    It's an odd choice. Perhaps it's a reference to how Bruticus shoved Shockwave into his back cannons and shot him off into space? The entire assembly, which includes his back cannons can be swung over his head. It's not listed anywhere on the instructions, so I'm not positive that hinge is mean't for anything but transformation, but it does turn Shockwave into an over-head cannon. Could this be the reason for him connecting to his back?

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    Bruticus' main body is of course a retool of Defensor, but I feel it's been so well done it's hard to even tell they're the same... The only real telltale sign is his thighs. Of course with that being said, if you're familiar with the Defensor mold, you're familiar with Bruticus. I always liked the mold, my only real gripe is his tendency to lean forward, which is unfortunately carried over to this mold.

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    I love Bruticus. I love him as a character and as a toy... His G1 version was one of the first Transformers I ever bought and every one of his appearances in the Sunbow cartoon was memorable! I collected every single version of the FOC mold too, even though it wasn't the greatest toy in the world and I'm happy to say that this one is head and shoulders better. Certainly it is the definitive Bruticus until such a point as Unite Warriors reveals whether or not they'll be doing a shuttle version of Blastoff. If you're fan of Bruticus, this is a must-buy! Hell, if you're a fan of combiners or G1 in general this is a must-buy! I really can't recommend him enough.

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    Starscream's Brigade

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    The Revenge of Bruticus

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    B.O.T.

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    Autobots VS Bruticus

    EDIT: Seems I negelected to swing Brawl's turret forward. It's not worth retaking the photos over.
     
  2. ChErikS

    ChErikS Well-Known Member

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    Great review. Glad to see the Shockwave/back-cannon pics finally.
     
  3. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    How well do Onslaught's arms secure in place as Bruticus' shoulders? The pegging into the chest plates was p!$$ poor on Hotspot/Defensor and meant the shoulders moved everytime an arm was turned!
     
  4. TheSupernova

    TheSupernova Out there. Thataway.

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    This...this is what I sold off my FansProject/ROTF Combaticons set for a year ago, hoping I wouldn't be let down.

    I can't wait to have these guys! :D 

    Great pics, Starscream Gaga!
     
  5. Mr. Chaos

    Mr. Chaos New Holder of the Matrix of Leakership

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    Same reason i sold off my FOC Combaticons. They were good before this but now... oh boy, do I not miss them when I have the monster Bruticus.
     
  6. Knightsword

    Knightsword Fire in the North

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    The best way to fix the leaning in Hot Spot and Onslaught, is to dismantle them and take out the springs for the ratchets and the little bits with the nubs. Then add in some future polish on to the hips from the inside and reassemble. You lose the ratcheting, but the friction is strong enough to hold the combined figure up.
     
  7. artiepants

    artiepants Transformers '84!!!

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    my one major gripe about Bruticus is HotSpots cannons are a really poor fit for his "back guns" ~ the don't look nearly imposing/large enough, and the coils wrapping around the barrels is so distinctive to Hot Spot/Defensor.

    hopefully i third party makes a proper Rifle for Onslaught/Bruticus and replacement back cannons (but i wish they didn't have too.

    He looks pretty great otherwise, and aside from the thighs it's hard to tell it's the same mold as HotSpot in combined mode. Kinda wish they hadn't painted the cross-hatch pattern, as that really helps emphasize that it's the same.
     
  8. Mightion

    Mightion There is ALWAYS room.

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    Onslaught arrived today, so I was able to complete Bruticus, finally.

    My only real issue with him is Bruticus' crotch plate just won't stay put.

    (We will now take a fifteen second pause; in courtesy towards those with an appreciation for low humor.)

    For space reasons, I need my toys, especially combiners, to stand straight up (no room for stance poses) The crotch plate appears to fit in place tightly, but it doesn't seem to snap in. Any movement or even touching Bruticus causes it to pop out, which annoys me.

    Putting Shockwave on his back can help with the leaning forward a bit, though.... though it appears Bruticus' right thigh has the same inner-peg-too-long issue that my Hot Spot had - it's much less pronounced than on Hot Spot, but the right thigh doesn't snap in as firmly as the left thigh, so I think it's going to need a bit of shaving, too. :/
     
  9. poisoncow

    poisoncow ....

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    Just got mine. No leaning issues with him at all. Love him.

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  10. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    Since I asked mine's arrived so I'll answer ;-)

    Onslaught's arms secure in place just fine: there's new large tabs on the rear of the sides of the chest armour that fit new slots in the shoulders, just closer to the body than the combiner sockets. Absolutely secure. Much, much better.
     
  11. Smashs

    Smashs Internet: Pure Truth Moderator

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    I'm gonna have to put some paint on the chestpiece, codpiece, and back guns; and add the PE hands/feet.

    Other than that, This may end up being my second favorite CW set.
     
  12. payres

    payres Well-Known Member

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    For me the head is the part that needs some paint, either silver or grey!
     
  13. Slingshot

    Slingshot Back In the Game

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    I love this combiner! The black helmet is fantastic icing on the cake, as the grey helmet doesn't work well with a grey chest piece.
     
  14. NemesisJazz

    NemesisJazz Well-Known Member

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    Very nice! Cant wait til he hits the stores!
     
  15. Mightion

    Mightion There is ALWAYS room.

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    So, Bruticus is growing on me more - his right thigh isn't loose enough to cause issues like Defensor's was, so I won't be taking him apart, I don't think,and I've come to the conclusion the crotch-plate isn't designed to lock in place...

    ...my question is; after running Onslaught through all his modes; why do we "need" an Onslaught-accure colored variant of him?
     
  16. Slingshot

    Slingshot Back In the Game

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    I guess for people who like to display their figure individually, perhaps? I like the gray more, and the brown chest on Bruticus just does not work for me.
     
  17. Onslaught24

    Onslaught24 Ayo Fryman. That uh, that's highly illogical. Moderator News Staff

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    It's annoying me to no end that these and the UW Protectobots of all combiner sets are Christmas gifts. I don't care if the feedback reviews for all of them are up now though, I'm taking a shitload of pics and no one can stop me.
     
  18. Codeveronicaxxx

    Codeveronicaxxx Goddomasuta member

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    There's like no pictures of him in any other config than the one everyone is using. All the other combiners had pics of everything, weird. But it's looking nice even if it's all the same.
     
  19. Starscream Gaga

    Starscream Gaga Protoformed This Way

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    An oversight on my part.

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  20. Codeveronicaxxx

    Codeveronicaxxx Goddomasuta member

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    ^Not on your part. You always have great pictures and shots. It seemed everywhere there wasn't any experimenting not on just one person. However thanks for it! I do appreciate it.

    With such big arms he looks like a Brute. But seriously I do like Brawl as an arm, the cannon really looks cool up like that.