Bruticus (G2)

Review by quinncat

Combiner Wars was a line that I really wanted to buy figures from, but at the time, I didn't have the money to do so, but a few months ago I happened to be in Toronto, when, upon finding the Transformers Generations Combiner Wars G2 Bruticus box set for what I'll admit could've been a lower price, I finally completed my first, and one of my favorite Combiners.

All 6 members of G2 Bruticus are repaints from the G1 Bruticus wave of Transformers Generations and because of this, the set is definitely the best G2 Bruticus we're ever going to get, unless Takara decides to make Masterpiece ones, but until then, the 6 components; G2 Onslaught, vortex, swindle, Blast Off, Brawl and Shockwave are pretty great.

Onslaught looks very formidable in both modes, be it his long military Truck mode, or his tall, commanding presence in robot mode. This mold while being a retool of Hot Spot, succeeds in looking almost nothing like him, as the head, feet, chest, shoulders, and backpack are completely new, reinventing the mold's alt mode by turning what was the back, into the front and vice versa. The Truck mode itself looks ok, as it seems a little slapdash in spots, but the robot mode is actually amazing, as, despite the huge backpack, it captures Onslaught's authoritative nature perfectly, especially in it's head sculpt. The color scheme is also, very accurate in capturing the original's garish banana yellow with purple camouflage, something every member of the team shares, and the main draw for me, in getting this set, as those disgusting colors look dated in the best way. Accessories are necessary but nothing more, as Hotspot's guns are back, and look great in Onslaught's hands or for a more accurate approach, mounted behind his head.

Vortex skips the heavy retooling given to Onslaught and goes for a straight repainted approach, as he features no molding differences from wave 1's Alpha Bravo. Despite this, the figure looks unmistakably like vortex and, in my opinion, uses the mold better than previous versions, as the head sculpt's hidden evil potential is realized in full. He also includes a purple rifle, and the combiner hand/foot/gun from Alpha Bravo. Helicopter mode is just as good, as it's baby blue and purple color scheme actually looks pretty striking! His gun and combiner part can both mount in different spots on the helicopter mode as well.

Up next is Swindle, my favorite member of the team, and arguably the best mold in the set, as it's a heavy remold of Wave 3's Rook. The neon salmony red is so obnoxious with the purple camo I love it, and his head sculpt couldn't be anyone else. His accessories are the same as his original release, which is good, but his hand/foot/gun is a little too heavy for the figure to hold it up for long. His Jeep mode is pretty good too, but considering his fists are in the way, I don't know where a driver would sit. This is mitigated a little bit by the storage for his hand/foot/gun, as it covers up any seats the vehicle would have anyway.

Coming after Swindle, Blastoff definitely brings a divisive change to the character's typical formula, changing his alt mode from a very small space shuttle, to a more terrestrial fighter jet and in turn, uses the firefly mold. Personally, I'm totally fine with blastoff being a jet considering it makes more sense given combaticon team's theme, but I do understand how Blastoff's shuttle mode would be missed especially since it made him stand out among the more traditional military vehicles inhabiting the team. The jet mode wears his purple camo proudly, and the color scheme in this mode generally represents the shuttle he once was pretty well. Robot mode is a similar story as, other than the color scheme, Blastoff's general appearance shares little with his G2 appearance considering the new mold but that's not to say he doesn't look really cool because honestly, I almost prefer this over his original design. Like the mold itself, Blastoff includes the flamethrower and combiner part that belong to firefly, and they suit him very well.

Second from the last is Brawl. This mold was at one point the target of some criticism over it’s midsection in robot mode, but before getting into any of that, I’ll look at the vehicle mode. As a tank, Brawl is pretty serviceable and I have little to really say about it. It’s solid, an okay size, and pretty adequately painted in some questionable but nonetheless accurate neon green with purple camouflage. I love it, because he looks like a little G2 Megatron. Brawl’s hand foot gun can also be used in this mode, as a little peg can flip out of the turret to accommodate it. Brawl’s robot mode looks similarly good in my opinion, but he does have some loose hinges, particularly in the shoulders, that hinder some of the enjoyment for me considering his hand foot gun weighs his arm down because of the loose joint. That’s not really a big deal, because I really like how they updated G2 Brawl’s robot mode aesthetically. All the intricate detail looks awesome, although it does get a little lost in the neon green and purple. Finally, Brawl’s articulation is pretty standard aside from an ankle pivot, which like swindle’s is unexpected, but highly appreciated.

Last but definitely not least is Shockwave. A “Legends” class figure, (more like scout class really) Shockwave is actually in an approximation of his Action Master color scheme with some added red limbs to most likely make him look as garishly G2 as his Combaticon cohorts. I really have no negatives to say about this little Shockwave. He has a really cool color scheme, lots of articulation, and a transformation that is completely different from any other Shockwave figure. He’s also surprisingly expressive for only having a single eye for a face, and honestly Shockwave might be my favorite part of the set.

Now this set wouldn’t be called “G2 Bruticus” if they didn’t combine, so let’s get into that!

Actually combining all six components is really fun! This is my first complete Combiner Wars team (a little late, right?) so I was taken a back a little, like many people with there first complete CW team, by just how solid and perfect everything was about the combination sequence, It just felt like combiners were finally done right.

The actual combined form of G2 Bruticus is a similar story. It’s solid, adequately detailed, well proportioned, well articulated, and really tall! It’s just awesome that something so garish, something that is such a product of its time could get a modern interpretation that works so well.

Overall, Transformers Generations Combiner Wars G2 Bruticus is a great set. Each of it’s components are fully developed figures if there own, and the combined form itself is just a perfect representation of the character. That being said, be aware that this figure might not be worth anything over a hundred dollars, so don’t over pay like I did. But, if you can find the set for a price that is comfortable for you, then you won’t be disappointed.