Review – Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Deep Desert Brawl

Search for Transformers toys at Past Generation Toys!

---

“Hidden deep in the direst desert on Earth, Decepticon Brawl waited for a new Decepticon leader to emerge. Though the Autobots searched for him, they never even came close to finding him. It enraged him that he was forced to hide in defeat. Now that Megatron has returned, he is ready to do battle again, and determined this time to destroy as many Autobots as he can.”

Of all the Decepticons in the 2007 Transformers flick, Brawl was my favorite on-screen. He’s relatively close to previous incarnations of the character, as a tank that turns into a war machine, and I appreciated that they were trying to honor past renditions of the character. The previous deluxe class version of this figure had some major problems that prevented me from buying him, but with second attempts come second chances, so I decided to take the jump with Brawl this time. It’s important to point out that this toy is a repaint of that same 2007 figure, with only one modification to the clips on his shoulders. And while he isn’t my favorite Transformer of the year, he is a decent figure with huge improvements, and he may be right for die-hard Transformers fans or the biggest Brawl fans.

Vehicle Mode

Brawl is modeled after an Abrams tank, with some pretty big modifications, mostly in the realm of extra weapons, which is never a bad thing. He looks good in vehicle mode, with very little evidence that he’s an actual Transformer instead of just a standard toy tank, because what gaps there are just seem to fit into the appearance of an armored tank, unlike something such as a car. He does have sculpting intricacies along his body, and they’re not overdone as you might expect, but instead add just a touch of texture and “pop” to his appearance.

It’s impossible to roll him around in this mode, as his treads are totally stationary, and actually just molded right into the body, instead of separate rubber pieces. There are wheels built in to allow him to roll, which was probably the best that could be done at this price range. Both the main turret and two smaller turrets can move side to side, but only the main turret can actually fire an included projectile (and the range on it is actually pretty good).

Brawl’s color has been significantly altered since the 2007 release, coming in this time much yellower to fit his “deep desert” theme. He has camouflaging worked into some areas, but it doesn’t look nearly as good as the product images on the package, mainly because his main turret is completely devoid of any paint apps. His mine graters are also cast in a dark gray plastic, whereas all indicators suggest they should be the same sandy yellow color.

After a surprisingly simple and quick transformation, you end up with another decent, but not great…

Robot Mode

Brawl is short and stocky, but it’s a good short and stocky – he looks ready for battle. The transformation comes out rather smooth, the only real pieces that hang unwanted are on the outsides of his calves; it’s just not as terrible as some ROTF figures. You could argue that the “backpack” he wears is problematic, though I think it’s a cool addition and looks like a great place to store his ammo, and you can even envision the two turrets on the back as a sort of jet-pack. Despite looking chunky, he does come off as fun.

His face sculpt is much less alien and organic than many other Decepticon figures, which is a welcome step forward in my book. In all reality, his entire design is more simple and blocky, and could pass for a previous generation Transformer in a lot of ways (except for his clawed hands), and I think a lot of collectors prefer that design choice to some of the other oddly shaped Decepticons showing up on screen.

There are a number of articulated points in both his arms and legs, and yet it’s pretty difficult to pose him for a couple reason. First off, because of his bulk, his body gets in the way, particularly around the legs, when trying to find a dynamic pose. And secondly, because of the lack of ankle articulation, the only pose that looks “correct” is when his legs are perfectly straight up. Of course, he can stay balanced in other stances, but his feet won’t be completely touching the ground. It seems like Hasbro added a strange sideways knee hinge to tackle this problem, but it didn’t help, and just looks funny. His arms are hard to use because of a limited shoulder joint, but you can still point his arm cannon, and make use of the claw on his hand.

The big problem that was often cited for the original 2007 Brawl was a problem with the clips that connected his arms to his torso being too loose. That has been changed here, as they click in nicely and remain there under normal play and posing conditions. So “bravo” to Hasbro for recognizing a problem and taking steps to fix it on an otherwise identically tooled figure.

Who needs a ruler?

Although scale is something hardly ever captured accurately for Transformers, it’s still worth mentioning to unsuspecting buyers. This guy is tremendously undersized compared to other deluxe class figures. You’ll notice that his tank mode is actually about the same size as a Corvette, which is obviously not the case in either real life or the movies. It’s not necessarily a shortfall (pardon the pun) of the toy itself, but don’t expect to approximate the movie lineup with this fellow in-step with other deluxe class figures.

Closing Thoughts

Brawl sticks to his roots, and it pays off. While he’s not an amazing figure, or really even that close, he is an okay one. Both his robot form and tank mode have just a few problems, and this helps him stay afloat, if not exactly swimming. Is he worth the $12 price tag? That depends on the level of fan you are. Love Transformers more than your own hand? Then you can’t go wrong here, but otherwise, proceed with sound decision-making skills, because you might be just a little disappointed with Brawl at this price range.

Corey Tincher Thinks that if all of the “Bayformer” designs were more subtly “blocky” and less organic, that both casual and big-time Transformers fans would be relieved.