 Outback
Brawn retool
Transformers Retro G1 Deluxe Walmart/Hasbro Pulse Exclusive
Item No.: No. G2259
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: Blaster, spare tire
Action Feature: Converts from store-brand Jeep to robot
Retail: $24.96 or $27.97
Availability: March 2026
Other: New Head and Torso Mold
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A retool of Brawn [FOTD #33,002 and others], this Outback brings us a post-movie toy/character that doesn't get a lot of love. His original toy has been reissued a couple of times, there was a BotCon exclusive redeco of Energon Strongarm in 2005, a Power of the Primes toy [FOTD #2,033] in 2018, and now this guy. And the once-valuable BotCon Outback now sells pretty cheap, so if you want to get every last version it's pretty affordable. This new one follows in the footsteps of the original as a Brawn retool, taking the Studio Series mold and giving it a new chest, head, and blaster.
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The main reason to get this toy is completism, or if you had the original as a kid. Hasbro designed him well enough to fit in with your cartoon guys, or with your toy-deco guys. The one thing he has going against him for your "toy" shelf are his eyes - he has the blue visor from the cartoon or the Takara-Tomy Encore reissues. The original Hasbro toy just had a silver visor. The blue looks better, so I'm fine with what we got here. It's a nice bot.
Articulation is exactly like Brawn, and Brawn was a good one. His elbows have deep cuts that can go more than 90 degrees, his biceps swivel, his ankles rock, and you can move his toes to help give him more support in dynamic action poses. Given he's not much bigger than a $10 Cyberworld toy, the extra articulation really matters. There are a lot more pieces here and you can see a lot more work went into assembly. The sculpting is pretty good too, with an excellent new head and chest that fit in well with the rest of the toy. The neck swivels, and can't do much more thanks to the boxy neck design. At least it looks good.
He doesn't have the door "wings" of the original cartoon or toy designs, but 3D printer people can make them. There are a few files to be had out there if you are in need... I'm just going to be OK with how it is. I don't feel I'm missing anything.
What he does have, though, is a blaster that looks like the original toy, and it can be mounted in a spare tire on his back too. They nailed this one.
It's a remarkably complex change for what was a pretty simple toy. The legs unfold with the toes tucking in the sides of the car. There's a bonnet that unfolds from behind the chest. There's a lot to explode here. Once you get everything in place, you can store the blaster on the roof - just like the original 1986 toy.
The brown "Jeep" mode looks a lot like the original, but they got rid of the trademarked grille. A lot of those old Transformers in the 1980s did not take into account that borrowing a real-world car mode may require a license, and we didn't see many licensed cars until 2001 with Robots in Disguise Side Burn. As such, Outback looks like a brown sporty vehicle you might use off-road somewhere. The colors are a close match to the original toy, and they even painted on a big "M" on the hood to match the original toy, which has it because Brawn had it. The rubsign was replaced by a big red Autobot logo, and the colors are generally close to how he always tends to look. There isn't much else they could do to improve it - it meets expectations.
A bunch of collectors reported their Walmart.com pre-orders being canceled for this one. Mine shipped (in an envelope, and got a little battered en route) but I also saw plenty in stores on late March and early April 2026. Why? Well, stores have some interesting priorities about stocking shelves versus filling existing backorders from real customers first. Hopefully you got one if you want one. $30 is a lot for a little guy, but it might be the last time you consider buying an Outback toy too. With a good recreation of most of the sticker deco on the chest and really nice paint, I'm considering selling off my Power of the Primes one as the "Legends" scale minicars have largely been rendered obsolete over the past few years. Arguably the best praise I can give any toy is "it's so good I don't need the old one," so there it is. I'm keeping my G1 reissue, though. As great as new Outback is, nothing really beats a 1980s toy that isn't trying to be better than a 1980s toy.
--Adam Pawlus
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