Transformers Generations Titans Return Deluxe Walgreens Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. B7762 No. B8408 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Tiny head robot Autobot Teslor, jet, nosecone gun, big gun Action Feature:Transforms from head to robot Retail:$17.99 Availability: October 2016 Other: A fine Blurr retool
It's rare that a new Transformers toy is an exclusive, let alone an exclusive twice. Brainstorm started life as a Comic-Con-exclusive retool of Blurr [FOTD #1,485]. That version was modeled after his recent comic book appearances, while this Walgreens-exclusive redeco is greenish and modeled more closely on the original 1987 toy's deco. It's not exact, but it's close and enough paint has been applied to this figure to make it a decent update. Heck, Hasbro even faked the foil stickers!
This 1.5-inch head robot is Autobot Teslor, and he's pretty much the same as Hyperfire with new colors and, of course, Brainstorm's faceplate on the back. The original G1 toy was given a head named Arcana, and Teslor's a great match in terms of color layout with green arms and legs, a grey chest, and an orange faceplate. He sports 5 points of articulation and has no problems being a tiny robot or mini pilot. It's a good design, everything fits.
The head mode is good, more or less bringing back a design that's a mix of the comic, toy, and original US cartoon. (In Japan's The Headmasters cartoon, Brainstorm had a mouth rather than a faceplate.) The bags under his eyes are more or less masked by the bright orange color, with the grey helmet being a good match for how this character had traditionally appeared in the comics and toys. The proportions are, of course, slightly different but the sculpt was clearly modeled after the IDW comic books - and they replicated that well.
In his spaceship mode, Brainstorm is exactly what you may want. The proportions aren't identical thanks to the obvious repurposing of Blurr legs for the back chunk of the craft. Enough new parts were tooled like the nosecone and the wings that help the car to cosplay as a Cybertronian jet of some sort. It's nice. And it has wheels, which is a little strange but hey - I'll take it. It's fine. The color match of the parts molded in green and painted green works well, although the painted bits are a little glossier. It's good. You'll like it.
Transformation is pretty easy, with the legs opening up to free the robot thighs and the head being removed from the vehicle to become the head. The arms fold up with the fists inside some kibble, and the feet roll out as ornamental elements - they don't help keep Brainstorm upright. It's an easy transformation.
The robot is about the same size as every deluxe over the last few years, giving Brainstorm a sort of a remixed appearance of his previous toys. The "label" tampos are now on big wings handing off his shoulders rather than the ornamental wings on his chest, plus there are swell faux stickers on his shins. For some reason, his fists are green - not painted, for whatever reason - and the greys on the arms are swapped compared to the original toy. A yellow window on the chest matches the original pretty nicely, with an Autobot symbol replacing a rubsign since those are out of vogue this century. One "fix" from the previous release is that the seat of the vehicle is now green - this means he doesn't have the "bare midriff" of the SDCC version. I'd say it's an improvement.
He has only one blaster rather than twin weapons, but a second weapon can be deployed if you so choose - the vehicle nosecone becomes a backpack or a handheld weapon. It even can serve as a mini ship for the tiny Titan Masters figures, were you so inclined. Well, maybe not a mini ship, so much as a sad canoe. With guns.
In the days before finding this figure, I lamented on Twitter that I almost completely forgot it was coming out - Hasbro went all radio silence on Transformers, skipping pre-orders for the most recent waves after the items shipped. It feels like the line is being lost in the shuffle, and this figure does as well. If you got the SDCC version, you don't need this one. It's there for you if you want it, but same-character variants are probably a lot less essential given the endless recolors in Combiner Wars and Unite Warriors in addition to an unusually large of new toys in the American market. I love that this figure exists and it's great that fans have a crack at Brainstorm if they missed the previous Voyager-class version a couple of years ago. Also, this one is better than that one. If you see it and don't already have a satisfactory Brainstorm, get this one - sure it's $18 but it's fun and well-engineered. Everything works, and that's a lot more than you can expect from some toys these days.
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