Toy Review: Generations Brainstorm

[prjkt]

Mine arrived yesterday, first thoughts: he's big.

Really big for a voyager, taller than Classics Prime, Jetfire and Universe Inferno. Towers over the two fembots that arrived at the same time

Simplistic transformation, probably why they could make him so large, but an awesome bot mode, really close to his comic form which is why I bought him.

Colour me satisfied.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Great review M-bot! There is nothing really I can add because I agree with everything you said

Really glad to have this figure as I don't have the G1 version of him and always wanted to represent the character, especially since his starring role in the MTMTE comics. He looks great and a great size too! For some reason I also really like his landing gear in that it looks more like the strut off a spaceship rather than the landing wheel of a jet.

I've found Arcana pretty easy to attach and detach - don't know why mine is so easy to do when other folks are having trouble with theirs. Probably a factory glitch that worked in my favor I do however have trouble getting him to sit right in the cockpit so that you can close it.

Overall really good! Very pleased to have this figure

[prjkt]

Trev, I guess I must be even luckier than you, as I e got no problem detaching Arcana or having him sit in the cockpit. You just have to remember to flip the tech specs back up.

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm expecting mine to arrive in 1987.

[prjkt]

now I've placed him in my collection, he's almost too big. Tallest voyager figure I have

[DELTAprime]

I got the TT version in the mail today. I'd love to have a look at a Hasbro version to compare the Headmaster port. I have no issue inserting Arcanna's head all the way into the port on Brainstorm and then removing him by pulling up and forwards.

[i_amtrunks]

He is as others have said; massive! Simple too, but not too much. Lots of fun and looks nice in both modes (if a little chunky on the undersides).

Reminds me of Cybertron Vector Prime, which was a great (albeit simplistic) figure.

Certainly worth picking up, especially with the latest MtMtE story revolving around the crazy genius.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Picked up mine from the shops the other day. Glad it was the Takara one, as he seems to have a few extra paint apps that Hasbros is missing (shoudler wings).

I really love it! The Headmasters were my favourite gimmick line of G1 and I want some more!Great size, decent posing, ankle tilts, light but not cheap feeling. This is a great toy. Sure Transformation is pretty much the same as his G1 self, but to keep the look of Brainstorm in robot and vehicle mode te same, it's probably a necessary evil. Unless you want to pay ridiculaous prices for him.

I really like it. No head joining issues with mine either.

Oh and the instructions name the pilot as "Kana"
WIN!

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Opened my TT version today, here's my 2 cents...

Before I start, the TT version has fixed the issues with the Headmaster not coming out, as have recent Hasbro releases. No issues with floppy wrists on mine either. The extra paint apps also really add a lot to him IMO. So yeah, if you're a Brainstorm fan (which I am), it's worth getting the TT version.

Anyway, thoughts on the toy in general.

He's big. As in, he towers over other Voyager figures, including older- and taller- Voyagers (eg. Classics Optimus Prime or Springer). In a way he's almost too big - he looks kind of out-of-place amongst most other Classics-type bots. This is the size that Cyclonus and/or Lugnut should have been, especially in bot-mode.
It also really makes you miss the older, larger Transformers we used to get. *sniff*

He's also very, very simple. If you need interesting/clever transformations, then skip this guy. Being a Transformer is kind of tangential to his main charm/selling point.

His Alt-mode is, well, kind of rubbish, albeit kind of reminiscent of a Star Fox Arwing, which I rather liked from a nostalgia point of view. Even so, the way HasTakTom just sort of left his arms and legs as great big chunks of kibble really lets down the alt-mode. The Headmaster, while a nice idea, is also, well, crap.
None of which really matters to me, because...

...the robot mode is just beautiful. This is IDW Brainstorm, looking like he just stepped right off the pages of the comics in the same way as Springer, only more so. As a Transformer he's kind of a let-down, but as MTMTE Brainstorm in toy form he's beautiful. Nicely poseable, solid construction, able to loom over and look down on other Autobots, perfect looks...all he needs is a briefcase. He really is less a Transformer, and more an action figure that happens to transform, with a neat little gimmick that pays homage to his original toy/character to boot.

If you're an MTMTE fan, or a Brainstorm fan (for me he's my favourite MTMTE character from what I've been able to read, and I like a lot of the characterisations in MTMTE), then he's a must-have. If you like HTT doing homages to old toy concepts and want to encourage them to do more, then he's worth picking up. If you like big TFs with nice robot-modes and don't care about the alt-mode all that much, then he's a nice addition to a collection. Otherwise, he's either a Pass or an Only-If-Cheap.

[prjkt]

He's big. As in, he towers over other Voyager figures, including older- and taller- Voyagers (eg. Classics Optimus Prime or Springer). In a way he's almost too big - he looks kind of out-of-place amongst most other Classics-type bots.

definitely. he is almost out of place here, especially standing next to Trailcutter & Whirl. He's almost (but not quite) taller than ROTF Lockdown, and FP City Commander.. but as you said, excellent posability, no desire to git rid of him.

I didn't go for the Takara release, instead just got the Reprolabels set which makes him even more MTMTE Brainstorm