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View Full Version : Toy Review - Titans Return Brainstorm with Teslor (Exclusive single pack release)



prjkt
17th August 2016, 02:43 AM
Brainstorm with Teslor
Series – Titans Return
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - Remould/Pretool of TR Blurr
Wave - EX
Released here – Not yet, probably never
Approximate Retail Price - $35 from Premium Collectables
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode – Cybertronian Jet/Starfighter
Main Features/Gimmicks – Headmaster feature
Main Colours – Teal, Gray, Cream
Main Accessories – Shield/Twin Barrel Cannon thingy, Rifle, Titan Master Teslor

http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7161.jpg

So what we have here today is one of the three Titans Return Brainstorm releases, the so called "Walgreens Exclusive" edition. For completions sake, the other two are the Takara Tomy release, that follows the Japanese Headmasters cartoon design, with a new face and cartoon accurate colours, and an SDCC exclusive three pack bundle that appears to be similar, but not quite the same, mainly lighter colour and changes to the feet. Jump on google if you'd like to see comparison shots.

http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7168.jpg

Brainstorm is reportedly a remould of Titans Return Blurr, although I'd hazard a guess it was more developed side-by-side due to the fact that they are both available about the same time. As such the transformation is noticeably different from the Thrilling 30 Voyager Brainstorm (which I've heard is very close to the G1 transformation.)


http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7162.jpg

http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7167.jpg

Due to this, I think TR Brainstorm actually has a much more cohesive alt mode. Everything is more streamlined, no more feet poking out the back and arms just hanging off the side, which in my view is a big win over the previous release. As he shares engineering with Blurr, he's even got little wheels that actually work. My only real gripe is that the cockpit window doesn't actually cover the entire gap, there's about half a cm or so that could do with being covered.

http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7164.jpg

Colour wise, the alt-mode is pretty bland, just the three major colours, with only a couple of bits of light grey and two Autobot sigils on the wings to break things up. The window is a slightly darker yellow to the T30 release.

Bot mode colour is a slightly more diverse affair, with tampographs on the wings and shins that hearken to the G1 toyalong with an orange mouth plate and blue eyes.


http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7165.jpg


http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7166.jpg

Great articulation for a modern era deluxe, easily a match to the voyager release with the exclusion of ankle tilts, but he makes up for that with rotating wrists.


http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7169.jpg

When compared to TR/LG Hardhead, he's got a very slim frame, very sleek - I can see how it suits Blurr. Has a little bit of a backpack when the front section of the alt mode is attached there, and the guns (non-moving this time) point down, not up, so this guy is definitely not your Dead Universe obsessed Lost Light weapons engineer, but fits perfectly with the rest of the Titans Return line.

Bottom line - is this guy worth it? Maybe - depends on how happy you were with the T30 release, whether you want one that'll scale with the other original Headmasters that are being released and if you can find one of the releases at an affordable price.

As for which one to get - I specifically grabbed this release over the Takara due to the face design and colour more closely matching the IDW comics and G1 cartoon, as I've never watched the Japanese G1 cartoons, however for those that have followed that show, and already have the T30 release, the Takara might be worth it as a point of difference.

ComradeRenko
17th August 2016, 10:04 AM
I was on the fence about ordering this guy, but now very happy that I did. The paint on the nose cone has a nice gloss look to it, and I really like that the nose cone stores on the back as part of the transformation if you choose not to remove it.

I do wish that the hand gun stowed somewhere in the nose cone in vehicle mode, as having it tacked on the side does detract from the sleekness of the vehicle. As prjkt says, the cockpit gap is a nuisance, but I can overlook it given how good the rest of him is.

prjkt
17th August 2016, 10:24 AM
The gun does store in the nosecone, just faces forward - there's a post and a hole on both, check it and you'll see

EDIT: Forgot to say - As a Transformer, I much prefer TR Brainstorm, but in bot mode, T30 Brainstorm is the definition of MTMTE Brainstorm, so there's a place in my collection for both.

GoktimusPrime
17th August 2016, 12:12 PM
I agree with TFwiki's comment (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Arcana) - who the hell trademarks Arcana?! :eek: Anyway, evidently someone has leaving Hasbro unable to use the name :rolleyes:

On one hand I think that "Teslor" is a pretty cool name for Brainstorm's head - it does suit the Brainstorm character quite well. But on the other hand, it doesn't suit Arcana's character as well... although I can't think of any cool-sounding synonyms for arcana either (TakaraTOMY may simply abbreviate it as Cana... which is Latin for "dog" (re: canine) :p). I'd rather Teslor. ;)


Hardhead with Furos
^You may like to edit that. ;)

SMHFConvoy
17th August 2016, 01:19 PM
I agree with TFwiki's comment (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Arcana) - who the hell trademarks Arcana?! :eek:

A band or maybe another toy company

Paulbot
17th August 2016, 07:42 PM
I'm looking for the Walgreens but the online prices are not very attractive, and the SDCC version price is worse!

prjkt
17th August 2016, 11:01 PM
Photos added




^You may like to edit that. ;)

Indeed (well I did post this at almost 3am I think)

reillyd
17th August 2016, 11:16 PM
My SDCC Brainstorm arrived today, and it's the first deluxe I've played with. The head looks nice, and it's really easy to transform. I didn't need the instructions and just figured it out, so I like that it was intuitive. Only thing I haven't figured out yet is what to do with the extra gun (don't look right on the side, but maybe with the Walgreens one I can mount one on each side?) It will probably be obvious once I have Blurr in hand that it's really a car, but it does quite an alright job as a space plane and is quite reminiscent in look to the G1 (maybe a little small though).

prjkt
17th August 2016, 11:30 PM
My SDCC Brainstorm arrived today, and it's the first deluxe I've played with. The head looks nice, and it's really easy to transform. I didn't need the instructions and just figured it out, so I like that it was intuitive. Only thing I haven't figured out yet is what to do with the extra gun (don't look right on the side, but maybe with the Walgreens one I can mount one on each side?) It will probably be obvious once I have Blurr in hand that it's really a car, but it does quite an alright job as a space plane and is quite reminiscent in look to the G1 (maybe a little small though).


http://www.prjkt.net/gallery3/var/albums/Resources/Collection-2016/IMG_7163.jpg

ComradeRenko
17th August 2016, 11:40 PM
Glad to see I wasn't the only one to miss how the gun plugged into the nose cone! Thanks to prjkt for the photos. Seems kind of obvious now...

5FDP
7th September 2016, 03:17 PM
So, do we know yet if we'll ever see him released here (locally)? Would really like to complete my Headmasters.

SharkyMcShark
7th September 2016, 04:11 PM
No mainline release confirmed yet, and no confirmation that we'll get this by way of our own retail exclusive agreement.

As of now the only way to get this mold is either the SDCC version, the Walgreens version, or the Legends version with remolded head.

Which is a shame because I've got a mad amount of love for this mold and would snap up a local release of this figure.

UltimateGalvatron
11th September 2016, 08:28 AM
I think overall this Deluxe is better then the Voyager.

*It looks better in vehicle mode
*And while I find the robot mode not QUITE as good as the Voyager, it is closer to the G1 Brainstorm rather then the IDW Brainstorm.
*I also prefer the colours on this one.

Gasaraki
17th January 2017, 12:08 PM
I have Blurr as well but I have to say I am really quite happy to get TR Brainstorm as I really like the character, and even from generic standpoint I like the nerd/scientist/wizard characters. The Voyager looks like a very good figure also, which I do not own, but given that they don't seem to be planning to do any more of that style (i.e. Voyager Headmasters with that style, size, techspec etc) I probably won't plan to get that one... for me the utility of being able pose/display next to his Headmaster companions clinches it :)

In any case, here's my newest video review of this figure (https://youtu.be/pA0PRrWCIgk) plus discussion on Autobot Headmasters in general:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/iling79/OTCA/Brainstorm.jpg (https://youtu.be/pA0PRrWCIgk)

Lord_Zed
19th January 2017, 11:43 PM
I got this guy through a friend who was visiting America for less than a local Deluxe even. He is alright but not worth the high markup online, his jet mode is passable, but the robot mode is his real strength, that and completing a full set of Autobot Headmasters.

I prefer him to the Voyager toy for reasons of scale, not just because he scales better with other toys, but also because for all it's size the Voyager toy has scout level engineering and does nothing to justify it's price point.

Overall a good retool of Blur, but I can't recommend him, unless you can get him for a reasonable price.

GoktimusPrime
20th January 2017, 10:35 AM
Overall a good retool of Blur, but I can't recommend him, unless you can get him for a reasonable price.
Especially considering that:
* Toymate sold the Voyager for $20 locally, and...
* Even at full price, the Voyager was still cheaper than the import cost of this Deluxe ;)

I've seen and fiddled with a loose Titan Force Brainstorm (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/3/32/TitansReturntoy-BrainstormTitanForce.jpg) and it personally didn't inspire me to get the Deluxe when I already have the Voyager which I actually quite like (and the size doesn't bother me). :o The TR Brainstorm mould is still a bit "too Blurry" for me, although I do appreciate that they have retooled it as best they can to make it look like Brainstorm. And I do like the more G1-accurate head (although Teslor's humanoid mode is still based on Stylor and doesn't look anything like Arcana).

griffin
30th April 2017, 11:13 PM
After getting the Walgreens Brainstorm, and borrowing the Japanese version from Justowen, a comparison of the five, to see that the
Walgreens version has the Gen1 toy colours, while the SDCC 3-pack version has the GEN-14 colours (and the JP version is supposed to have the Gen1 cartoon colours)...

Gen1 - Walgreens - GEN-14 - SDCC - JP
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d496.jpg

Walgreens - Gen1 - SDCC - GEN-14 - JP
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/d497.jpg

Of the three colour versions of the new Brainstorm, being a nostalgic collector, I prefer the aqua colours. The light blue of the SDCC version
looks too faded and blue, while the mid blue of the Japanese version, is too blue (for me).