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Nov 21, 2009, 10:38am

Cybertron Philippines :: REVIEW FORUMS :: Transformers Toy Reviews :: Universe 2.0: Bruticus Maximus

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Topic: Universe 2.0: Bruticus Maximus (Read 473 times)

zephon
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Universe 2.0: Bruticus Maximus
« Thread Started on Nov 14, 2008, 3:40pm »

Transformers Universe' Bruticus Maximus is a direct repaint of Energon's Bruticus Maximus. Being a part of the Universe line, he comes packaged in the TF Universe box motif:
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The great thing about the Universe version is that they meant this Bruticus Maximus to be a "remake" the G1 Combaticon's Bruticus. This intent begins right off the bat starting with the box itself.
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The back of the box shows Bruticus along with the individual Decepticons that make up the combiner. It's noteworthy to say that for this classic remake, all the Combaticons retain their G1 names!
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To add to this item's selling strategy, the box designers continuously emphasize the G1 roots of this toy:
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I guess the box designers realize that there's a significant market they can target if they keep on flashing the words "Generation 1" on a box packaging:
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Anyway, out of the box, the toy comes in a plastic tray reinforced by a cardboard box. All the 'cons are held in place by about a dozen twist ties all over. I find this type of packaging very good as the toy can be returned to MIB status.
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The only other paperwork included is the HUGE back-to-back instruction sheet.
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Well, so much for the packaging and stuff. Let's see what these toys have to offer:

Onslaught retains his position as the Combaticons' leader. His alt mode takes the form of an LRM launcher.
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The mode isn't without its kibble. The Onslaught's head can be seen from the sides of the vehicle.
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The missile battery can also turn around -- thanks to the fact that there are joints there used for his transformation.
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This is Onslaught's robot mode. As it is, he doesn't have any hand-held weapons. No problem since his fists accommodate any weapon with the 5mm pegs.
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Here's a close-up of Onslaught's features. I find it quite fitting that his head looks like that of a tank commander's wearing a helmet.
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As with the "modern" line of toys, this 'con's articulation is quite decent -- he's got knees, elbows, hips, waist, shoulder and neck articulation. All in all, he's a pretty decent 'con that delivers the basic requisites for a "modern" toy.
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Just like the original G1 Bruticus, the limbs of Bruticus Maximus can be mixed and matched as well. Although it is quite a pity that Bruticus Maximus only has 3 unique molds (the other 2 being recolors) as compared to the 5 unique molds the G1 version had. With that said, let's start off with the limbs:

Vortex manages to carry over this G1 alt mode to his classics version -- he's still a helicopter....and his colors aren't too far from his G1 version too.
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Being a recolor from the Energon line, his weapons retain their translucent coloring.
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Note that I intentionally left out those "Energon Stars" for this review.

Despite being made up of ball joints and hinge joints, Vortex comes out nice and tight. There are different locks and latches all over to make sure he stays in the mode he's supposed to be in. No QC issues for me here -- he can even support the weight of this weapon on a ball jointed arm.
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If Onslaught's head resembles a tank commander's, then Vortex's head resembles the helmed head of a helicopter pilot:
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Vortex shares the same mold with the other Combat icon Swindle (Yep, that's right -- Swindle).

Another Combat icon who managed to retain his G1 alt mode is Brawl. Brawl retains his green tank look in this reissue. Just like all the other limbs, Brawl also gets extra "Energon" weapons.
[image]

Even without the add-on guns, Brawl's tank mode is a force to reckon with -- there are 2 guns mounted on a rotating turret. Add to that those small 3-barreled guns on each side of the turret and a couple more on the front hull and you have a total of about 5 weapons on 3 areas of each side of the tank.
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In robot mode, almost nothing gets wasted as well. The main guns go to Brawl's forearms and the 3-barreled guns go to his shoulders. Just like Vortex, Brawl is also made up of hinges and ball-joints that peg into place.
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I'm also quite pleased with how tight the joints are for Brawl out of the box. As with Vortex, he's also able to hold his Energon weapon with a single ball-jointed arm.
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Brawl also shares this mold with the other Combat icon Blast Off.

I won't bother go into detail with the other 2 Combaticons since they're just recolors of the previous two. Somehow, I can't help but snicker at the thought that Swindle must have conned Blast Off into exchanging alt modes.
[image]

Swindle is the helicopter and Blast Off is the tank.

Grab all 5 Combaticons and combine them to form Bruticus Maximus! No need to open a tackle box full of extra hands, feet and head for this combiner. The pieces needed to form this Gestalt can all be found in the component parts themselves.
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Just like the Scramble City Gestalts, the limbs of these "modern" combiners can also be mixed and matched. I'm assembling Bruticus using the configuration in the instruction sheet:
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Behold the combined form of the Combaticons!
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"I am recolor-ous Bruticus Maximus...." That "maximus" thing in his name sounds sooo Roman....like he's a character out of an Asterix comic
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Bruticus Maximus' head features closely resemble his G1 version.
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There is one major point on Bruticus that one won't find in vintage Gestalts -- it's additional articulation. This Bruticus can bend his knees and twist at the waist.
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Unfortunately though, with his default configuration, he still doesn't have any elbows.
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I don't really mind that this Bruticus doesn't have proper hands -- he is supposed to be an alien after all. Though amongst the 3 Energon combiners, Bruticus has the appendages that best resemble hands. No need for a hand-held weapon form his either. The "fingers" of those hands resemble cannons on their own.
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I have always been a fan of Gestalts. Transformer combiners are unique in that every part of the Gestalt are Transformers themselves (example: Voltron Lions don't transform, Voltes 5 Volt Machines don't transform.... its either the components of the big bot stay as vehicles or as robots prior to combining.). Universe' Bruticus Maximus is a recolor I very much prefer over the original Energon version. This box set does not disappoint -- No QC problems out of the box, great packaging, great recolors. If you're a fan of combiners like me, then this is a MUST buy!
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*****

Addenda:

I'd like to add some requested pictures:

On the left we have a pic of Bruticus with "ears" folded. On the right is a pic with Bruticus' "ears" unfolded.
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Due to popular request, here we have pictures of the other two limbs of Bruticus Maximus in detail:

Here is Swindle in helicopter mode:
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Here is the helicopter without the add-on "Energon" weapon:
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Swindle in robot mode -- the color resembles desert camo more than poop.
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Here's a close-up of Swindle's features. It's no different from Vortex's face.
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Here's Blast Off in tank mode. It's a mean-looking tank with something like 4 main guns.
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Removing the "Energon" weapon makes the tank look more like an anti-aircraft tank than a ground pounder.
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Here is Blast Off in robot mode. He's very well-armed in this mode with those forearm cannons.
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A close-up of Blast Off's features. Just like Brawl, he also has those guns at the side of his head.
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Due to popular demand, I'm also including some mix-and-match limb variations for Bruticus.

This one has the 2 helicopters forming the feet and the 2 tanks being used as arms. Unlatching the tank treads will allow the knees of Brawl and Blast Off function as Bruticus' elbows.
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My issue with this mode is that the 2 helicopters don't make very stable lower appendages for Bruticus. He would either lean back of forward and you would need his knees and waist to balance him.
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A personal favorite would be using the 2 tanks as legs and the helicopters as the arms.
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The tanks, being bigger, provide a more stable platform for the rest of the torso of Bruticus.
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After everything has been said, done and tried, I have to admit that the assymetry of Bruticus has a beauty of its own. With that, I'm sticking to his default configuration.
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*****

« Last Edit: Nov 18, 2008, 6:29pm by zephon »