Toy review - MPM-15 Movie Masterpiece Brawl

Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - Masterpiece Movie series
Size/class - N/A
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - August 2024
Approximate Retail Price - $299
Approximate Size - 28cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - M1A1 Abrams main battle tank
Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy, Masterpiece detail and engineering
Main Colours - green, blue
Main Accessories - Quad-barrelled gun, forearm blades with rotary gun, effect parts, forearm stump

Vehicle mode

https://i.imgur.com/zu9BYIV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mBqBqyR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ad5NPOK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/amW4vjz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1m0drFo.jpg

A customised M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. Brawl appears with a three-tone green and blue camouflage scheme. The main body of the tank is 21cm long, not including the external fuel tanks or forked appendages at the front. The total length is 29cm from the muzzle of the main barrel to the end of the external fuel tanks.

Both turrets can rotate through a full 360 degrees. All three barrels can be elevated.

Transformation

As with most Masterpiece Movie figures, there is an involved transformation, although Brawl's doesn't seem quite as long or involved as Blackout or Bonecrusher.

There are a couple of steps not documented in the instructions. The first is that there is a small panel on the upper arm that is meant to flip down after the arms are put in their final position. The second is as identified by EmGo in his video - there is a strut with a clip that folds out from inside the arm holding the secondary turret, which is meant to clip into a socket on the back.

Robot mode

https://i.imgur.com/HFzyfhj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/83X47fJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/31q0DQB.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eNazzNa.jpg

Brawl is a hulking brute in robot mode. I typed the same thing about Bonecrusher, who is a wider figure, but Brawl is less gangly than Bonecrusher and appears more solid. He is 22cm to the top of his head, and 28cm to the top of the cannon barrels.

In addition to the blue, there are applications of silver paint to simulate wear and tear, as well as two printed dents and scratches, one each on the chest and forehead.

Once again, there is a small amount of die-cast metal in Brawl's construction. Here, it is in the grey painted panels on the shins, and on the external fuel tanks that end up near his heels. I've only transformed Brawl three times - once to robot mode, once to tank mode, and once to robot mode - but I've noticed tiny chips on the shins, which is unfortunate.

Brawl has nearly all the articulating joints one could want, but the head has limited up-down movement and lateral flexion because of its shape. There is a limited area to grip the hands in order to rotate the wrists, because of the shape of the armour around the hands. The only area that is really lacking in movement is the ankles, which lack up and down flexion.

https://i.imgur.com/gidn6Ab.jpg

The robot mode weapons really add to his silhouette.

https://i.imgur.com/yr7SsK5.jpg

They can be attached in vehicle mode.

https://i.imgur.com/Mfr2VKW.jpg

Brawl comes with a total of six effect parts. Four are for the muzzles of his various guns (two identical pairs of large and small muzzle flashes), one is for one of the rocket batteries, and one is an explosion for Brawl's chest.

https://i.imgur.com/wF0tQcX.jpg

Brawl also comes with a forearm stump.

While Brawl is a little smaller than I would like, the only real negative I can point at is the fact that the cannon barrels are hollow on the undersides, and this is exposed in robot mode, where the secondary barrels are visible above and behind Brawl's head.

https://i.imgur.com/GjFvTYX.jpg

All the Movie Masterpiece Decepticons together.

Verdict

https://i.imgur.com/fsnnY6H.jpg

The Masterpiece Movie figures have been hits, but Brawl might be the best Decepticon since Starscream, in spite of the visibly hollow cannon barrels and the lack of flexion in the ankles. Definitely recommended.