Pictorial Review of Transformers Studio Series Brawl

Carnivius_Prime wrote:I got a DotM Voyager Optimus Prime in charity shop a couple weeks ago and he's a tiny smidge shorter than Studio Prime

NOPE



DOTM Voyager Prime is a small voyager, but not as short as SS Prime

Re: Megatron's tank mode and the wings... Basically, Josh Nizzi designed it with both a ground mode (which is what the Studio Series toy models) and a G1 Tracks-style flight mode with fold-out wings (these can be seen fairly clearly when Megatron flies to the Nemesis, and when he flies off after shooting Sam). However, careful watching of Megatron's transformation and driving after the foundry fight reveals that for whatever reason the ILM animators left the wings deployed even when rendering the tank driving on the ground. He definitely captures the look otherwise, does the best job of all of them at capturing the tank's proportions and includes the targeting sensors (the two smaller barrels) omitted by previous toys. He just doesn't have the retractable wings, which is a shame. I guess that was beyond either the price point limits or beyond the level of complexity they were willing to go for. Oh well. He's a gorgeous figure otherwise (I fall under the category of those who don't mind the torso gaps. Still want to see him photographed next to Cybertron Megatron or Galvatron, since that mold has a similar torso gap but still looks damn fine)

As for Studio Series Megs' big size... Has anyone stood him next to a Unicron Trilogy Voyager like Vector Prime? That'd be the real test.

And as for Studio Series Optimus being a small Voyager, is he smaller than Classics Voyager Optimus?

You can get a good look at Nizzi's designs and drafts for ROTF Megs here, if that helps:
http://www.joshnizzi.com/portfolio/tf2/

william-james88 wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote: And AoE Drift isn't exactly much better. Thank gods for the TLK redesigns - I suspect the artists not wanting to be murdered in their beds by the toy designers was a factor there.

I dont get it, TLK Drift is far worse than AOE Drift. At least the toy designers were able to have his robo chest detail come from the actual front of the car. For TLK, they just said **** it and used nothing of the car, leaving it as a massive loose shell sticking out his backside.

I was referring to the movie design itself with Drift, not the toy designs. His TLK design seemed to have abandoned the helicopter mode and made his car kibble more prominent. I may have been imagining it, but even after checking pictures on the wiki it still seems that way to me. A shame it hasn't actually resulted in better toys... oh well.
At least Megatron's new decidedly-less-BS design has resulted in good toys for him.

Brawl looks good! I'll definitely get him if I can. I do still want the Deluxe/Small Brawl (Smol Brol?) even if I end up making a new, female head for the mold and having her as my OC Ironsides (AKA "Asuka as a Transformer with an even worse attitude and a really bad German accent).

I will say my singular complaint with him, from what I can see, is the lack of a rotating turret, though the fact the secondary turret can rotate is cool. Still, looks awesome and I do want him. Tanks are neat and it's always good to see more.

If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Black Hat wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Hah, love those choices, and that's more the sort of thinking I had when tf x Eva was announced...then all we got was MP 10 redecoed as unit 01.

Almost picked up ss starscream yesterday in symths but I just couldn't bring myself to pay £32 for it

Well, Will, this make me want Brawl all of a sudden. I had no interests before and I meh'd at the video reviews. However, seeing clear pictures for once convinced me. As for the visible hands in tank mode, they barely count. They look more like mechanical details than anything else. It's not conspicuous like ROTF voyager Starscream or FOC Jazz.

Now, if only my local TrU would bother having new Movie stuff...

Black Hat wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:If that would be your asuka...who would be your shinji?

Probably Cybertron Shortround. Poor sap can't catch a break with women.

...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Come on now guys, I'm trying not to spend even more money going back to pick up old toys

Still not sold on Brawl, but Megatron remains very tempting. Thanks for the great review Will, I too am a big fan of pictorials over video!

ALSO! I finally grabbed Studio Series Blackout yesterday for... relatively cheap thanks to the Big W sale. He's not the best thing ever, but I can safely say I like him much more than I did Grimlock. The jury's still out on whether I like him or Starscream better, but I think it's probably still Screamer - Blackout's just giving him a run for his money right now thanks to New Toy Shine

william-james88 wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:I got a DotM Voyager Optimus Prime in charity shop a couple weeks ago and he's a tiny smidge shorter than Studio Prime

NOPE



DOTM Voyager Prime is a small voyager, but not as short as SS Prime

Weird i must have measured it wrong (or not transformed them properly) cos yeah now i do it again DotM is a tiny bit taller... either way, DotM Prime is a crappy version of him with ridiculously poor proportions with a tiny torso and overly long legs (with comically large feet from the side). People complained about Studio Prime's colour layout but I think that particular deco of that Evasion Prime mold looks much worse (even the regular version looked like a poor KO in terms of colour).


Added Classics Voyager G1 Prime cos was mentioned above.


Regarding Brawl... I will get him at some point, his design just never appealed to me as much as most of the others and the forearms and hands (I hate hands that are blocked off on one side of the hole by kibble. Hated that on Evasion Prime too come to think of it) on that toy do bug me a lot in robot mode. He certainly doesn't make me want him as much as Starscream and Megatron (both of those I leapt onto the purchase button as soon as I saw them for sale). Nice pics though.

i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O

Carnivius_Prime wrote:i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O

Yes. Crowbar is the only wave 1 deluxe to have painted windows.

william-james88 wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:i am so confused. i've had Studio Ratchet for a few months now and for some reason always thought his windows were painted on and used that as a negative when comparing him to previous ratchet figures and yet today when i was slicing his roof rack so it can fold with the roof and not have to drape down behind him i see that the windows are indeed transparent (if very dark) and now my whole concept of reality is shaken. They've always been transparent, right? :O

Yes. Crowbar is the only wave 1 deluxe to have painted windows.

i'm an idiot

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

DSC_0492 (1).jpg

Added Classics Voyager G1 Prime cos was mentioned above.

Thanks. So yeah, he is one short Voyager considering that Classics Prime is on the short side for a Voyager himself:

Black Hat wrote:...And now I want to headcanon Movie Overcast as a Rei expy. Cute but completely inscrutable (and also the mono-eye ties in nicely with Unit 00). In truth only wants love.

Ah, see, I was thinking something completely different and Rei being movie Arcee for obvious reasons.



Really just need to buy a bunch of Chromias.

Emerje

I bought Studio Series Jazz and Lockdown the other day and seeing as how there aren’t too many photos out there (if anyone has found them in the US please let us know, we have yet to news a sighting) I wanted to give you a pictorial review of both. Especially as there are some aspects of these figures that I was unaware of until getting them and wanted to share. However, my Lockdown broke, and the store I bought it at was sold out within a day, so I will only have Jazz for you today.



Another thing before I begin, with a house full of young kids, I could only snap these pics when the sun was almost out, but even then I find there was enough natural light for some crisp pics, hopefully you like them too.

Now onto Jazz and my main complaint: HOLY F%&K is he small. People said he was but I was just not ready. You pull him out of the packaging and there is just so much empty space. Especially compared to Lockdown, who turns out not to even be that tall a deluxe. Now you are wondering how small, well here are some pics of his Legends scaled vehicle mode (no exaggeration).





Yup, that is him next to a Legends figure.

Here are some pics of him in robot mode where he is at least between legends and deluxe class (rather than just being as tall as a legends figure).







So yeah, really small. And with these studio series toys selling at a markup compared to deluxe toys from the Generations line in several countries and retailers, this bites. MSRP in Canada is $29.99, while Generations deluxes are $19.99, just to give you an idea.

I know why he’s small, it’s so he can be in scale with the other toys in the line, as seen here, which does work.



So now that I have that size issue off my chest, is the figure any good? Well, him being small does bring about some issues. Unlike an actual legends class whose design was always based to be in that class, Jazz having his movie proportions feels very light and dainty. He is not particularly easy to pose because everything is made so small with very thin joints. He does not feel solid. He has a far too generous ankle tilt that will reveal gaps in his knees. These gaps are not related to the transformation, they aren’t slots for pegs, so I don’t really know why they are there. I also have an issue with the feet. It's probably accurate but they are just nubs and look off.















As may have seen before, he does have a backpack and it does take away an otherwhise sleek silhouette in many action poses. I do like the accessory. It can be used as a handheld gun in one had or, like in the film, it can attach to one of his arms to give it the look that his arm transformed into the gun. That is probably my favourite aspect of the toy. Because it sure ain't the car mode.










So yeah while the car mode is small, that is not the main complaint. Instead that would be the gaps. It is very easy to make him gappy in alt mode so I highly recommend you read the instructions and look at a video just to make sure you have everything pegged in correctly. I read the instructions and still had gaps but I have fixed it since. There is lots of stuff crammed into him since half his robot mode body is not made up of car parts. And as you saw, the car is smaller than the robot, so there's lots to stuff in there.









The colour is good. I could do with more detail though, especially in the back, which is just silver paint. Plus for a “premium” style toy, those black plastic wheels look cheap as hell. Don know why they didn’t paint some rims, it’s not like the car body needed tons of paint. You can hook the weapon in the back but it dos not hold well and the look does not work for me.







So there you go. Overall, better than the original deluxe in terms of proportions, aesthetic and transformation. But this little dude feels flimsy, especially in the legs, and by no means is this toy worth the asking price.

william-james88 wrote:Here are some pics of him in robot mode where he is at least between legends and deluxe class (rather than just being as tall as a legends figure).

So, like an old Basic/Scout class figure.

There's a trick to getting rid of the gaps in vehicle mode. Underneath the roof of the car is a clear blue peg, and in the back of the waist there is a peg hole, make sure they are tabbed together and you will get a much cleaner car mode.

No. I disagree with your Jazz review a lot. I dunno what you've done with the car mode there but there's no way it should have huge gaps like that. Even on the ones I've seen where they have some gaps it's nowhere near like that. You've either got a faulty one or you've done it wrong. and I very much disagree about the "doesn't feel solid" bit. I've had mine for a about a couple months (bought with Lockdown who is also awesome) and I've played with it loads and it feels pretty damn solid to me with a well transformed compact torso, stiff joints, poses well, can balance good (I don't even often have the rear feet stabilisers folded down but they're there when I need to pose him in a way that needs the extra support). My only real negatives about the figure are that the backpack is kinda large and the shin pieces being all attach to the ankle joint is a bit odd but I bloody love this lil shiny dude. Heck I even paid more than the RRP price for both Jazz and Lockdown by about £7 each and I still felt no regrets (unlike Grimlock, that dino mode still bugs the hell out of me, there's so many things wrong with it for the £53 I paid and gonna have to spend more money on the upgrade kit to fix some of it). Jazz has been one of my most genuinely enjoyable figures of the past year and one I even take with me out and about sometimes like to rehearsals when I'm sat there waiting for my scene and bored out of my mind. I like your photos a lot but I really find myself disagreeing a lot with your reviews.

Pic I just took of him balancing on one foot without even needing the black stabiliser bits folded out of the ankles. Put him on the edge of the desk cos I had no fear he was gonna fall over. I even stomped on the floor a bit.


Now he's going in my backpack cos I got a 7 hour rehearsal today and I'm just a nobody in some dance scenes and a footman in the ball scene so I'm gonna need lil Jazz here to keep me company in between.

Why so many people got the "gappy car"? As mentioned above, there's a tab behind Jazz's waist that tab under the roof. THAT is what will remove the gaps. My guess is the instructions are obviously unclear for this step.

I can't seem to embed the precise part of the video properly but clicky the link:

https://youtu.be/9d0QzhELPVY?t=6m45s

I think it might have caused problems with jazz being a smaller class or cheaper than his counterparts. So this might have been the best in a very bad situation. Unless there was other characters which are in the same boat who could have been in a 'scout' wave

Yeah. I'm not paying $20 for a scout class sized figure. I am fine with my old Premium Deluxe Jazz as my Jazz.

man, he sure is small, especialy with rippersnapper(who i got yesterday)

Jazz was the smallest Autobot of the first movie.

Sabrblade wrote:Jazz was the smallest Autobot of the first movie.

Then don't call him a deluxe and charge that same amount.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jazz was the smallest Autobot of the first movie.

Then don't call him a deluxe and charge that same amount.

They did that before with RiD 2001 Wedge. It's basically a repeat of... logistics issues shall we say. Figures with variable scale that weren't really designed for set price points have to fit in them anyway.

Nice argument against toys having to adhere to media scale tho.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jazz was the smallest Autobot of the first movie.

Then don't call him a deluxe and charge that same amount.

They did that before with RiD 2001 Wedge. It's basically a repeat of... logistics issues shall we say. Figures with variable scale that weren't really designed for set price points have to fit in them anyway.

Nice argument against toys having to adhere to media scale tho.

So this isn't the first time it's happened then?

ZeroWolf wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jazz was the smallest Autobot of the first movie.

Then don't call him a deluxe and charge that same amount.

They did that before with RiD 2001 Wedge. It's basically a repeat of... logistics issues shall we say. Figures with variable scale that weren't really designed for set price points have to fit in them anyway.

Nice argument against toys having to adhere to media scale tho.

So this isn't the first time it's happened then?

Similar circumstance. Starting with Beast Wars, toy sizes have been strictly regulated by Hasbro. Takara tried to follow suit with BW Neo, but for Car Robots, they went their own way with sizes and prizes. Upon import as RiD 2001, some problems occured:

- Wedge was significantly smaller than his Deluxe-sized team mates, and originally priced as such.
- Team Bullet Train was in-between Size Classes, between Deluxe and Mega to be exact.
- The G1/G2 Molds had no real size class when initially designed.

Took some juggling, especially with paint and pairing them with others. Universe 2003 had similar problems.

I see, thanks jelze

Animated was also largely inconsistent.


Lugnut on the right is a Voyager while Lockdown on the left is a Deluxe, as are the two in front.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:Animated was also largely inconsistent.


Lugnut on the right is a Voyager while Lockdown on the left is a Deluxe, as are the two in front.

Emerje

What they lack in height they make up for it in bulk, and vice versa.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Nice argument against toys having to adhere to media scale tho.

Thats not relevant and it was never what was being discussed. I do not mind a toy being smaller to fit a scale. What I mind is pricing. This toy clearly has less going on than the other deluxes in the line so charging as much sucks. They could have given him some extra stuff if they wanted to sell it at that price (maybe some mini figures of Sam and Megan Fox?). Like what they did with Sqweaks. That is a small deluxe, but the whole package comes with enough stuff that I didnt feel like I was cheated.

Also, thanks guys for pointing out what is responsible for the gaps, I will amend my review.

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Nice argument against toys having to adhere to media scale tho.

Thats not relevant and it was never what was being discussed.

Talking in a general sense there in case it ever popped up. Feel free to ignore it, everyone.

I do not mind a toy being smaller to fit a scale. What I mind is pricing. This toy clearly has less going on than the other deluxes in the line so charging as much sucks. They could have given him some extra stuff if they wanted to sell it at that price (maybe some mini figures of Sam and Megan Fox?). Like what they did with Sqweaks. That is a small deluxe, but the whole package comes with enough stuff that I didnt feel like I was cheated.

Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

They would sell at least as much as a dread. And we could also get the bikes in that size class.

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

They would sell at least as much as a dread. And we could also get the bikes in that size class.

I was thinking about Arcee, Chromia and a (new-mold) Elita-1, but they'd be tiny, wouldn't they? Was the RotF size chart ever made public?

The other thing Hasbro is really anal retentive about is packaging, and they've been that for years, even back in G1 (Look what happened to the Seacons - the Hasbro giftset was short a member because they weren't going to adjust the standardized box size for one group). We might be having a case of that here, where Jazz is packaged and sold as a Deluxe because they're not adding a smaller package size and price point to the mix for just one guy. But that doesn't make it not a ripoff. There are three things they could have done to make it better: Charge less despite the same package size (and marvel that their heads didn't explode from it), add some human character figures or one of the Arcee trio or something to add value (which has precedent), or delay Jazz until Skids and Mudflap were also ready because then with three smaller guys they'd be able to justify adding another price-point and box size.

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

They would sell at least as much as a dread. And we could also get the bikes in that size class.

Sideswipe is the same height as Jazz if I remember right. Not sure how they scale in vehicle mode, though. I think they could do all three Arcee bikes at the deluxe price point, maybe make them combine like that deluxe minicon combiner we got a ways back.

Edit: I may have mentioned this before, but this does make me wonder how the SS VW Bumblebee is going to work, because it looks like he’s shorter than even Jazz in the footage we’ve seen so far.

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

They would sell at least as much as a dread. And we could also get the bikes in that size class.

Sideswipe is the same height as Jazz if I remember right. Not sure how they scale in vehicle mode, though. I think they could do all three Arcee bikes at the deluxe price point, maybe make them combine like that deluxe minicon combiner we got a ways back.

Jazz and Sideswipe were never onscreen together.

Sabrblade wrote:

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Jazz' size vs. price, I agree with you there. A smaller Size Class would have been a good idea, but... were there characters similar in size? I'd imagine... no, no, not those two!

They would sell at least as much as a dread. And we could also get the bikes in that size class.

Sideswipe is the same height as Jazz if I remember right. Not sure how they scale in vehicle mode, though. I think they could do all three Arcee bikes at the deluxe price point, maybe make them combine like that deluxe minicon combiner we got a ways back.

Jazz and Sideswipe were never onscreen together.

Well yeah, but the height guides put them both at 15 feet, so their figures (at least in robot mode) should be the same size.

Found this and Lockdown today in Springfield, VA, although I did not pick up the latter.

I really like Jazz. He's small, but he's got the heft of a full-size Deluxe. I found that poseability was good overall for the size, and the deco is certainly nicer than the other Deluxes in this series so far.

MrBlack wrote:Found this and Lockdown today in Springfield, VA, although I did not pick up the latter.

I really like Jazz. He's small, but he's got the heft of a full-size Deluxe. I found that poseability was good overall for the size, and the deco is certainly nicer than the other Deluxes in this series so far.

Which store did you find those at?

Well if they were really concerned about keeping all figures 'in scale', then most of the figures from all their lines wouldn't exist. A to-scale Trypticon or Metroplex, for example, should be at least the size of a real-life semi truck. And don't even get me started on Broadside...

Still, poor movie Jazz just can't seem to catch a break with his figures can he? Maybe if they made a Masterpiece version...

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Here are some pics of him in robot mode where he is at least between legends and deluxe class (rather than just being as tall as a legends figure).

So, like an old Basic/Scout class figure.

No, I dont know why this myth persists but the basic/scout size class has been relatively consistent since inception.

That Jazz still have way more paint than usual. That may be where the "compensation" come from. However, I would have loved to see an added action feature:

Mod Jazz so he can separate in two from the waist. On both ends of the halves, standard 5mm ports can then pop out. The SS Megs can hold both Jazz halves by reproducing that iconic scene. Despite being the ROTF version of Megs.

Jazz looks nice!

About the size things,I've always assumed the plastic that the figures like Bumblebee or Jazz went to the leader class toys like Blackout or Grimlock.

The latest wave of Studio Series deluxes is slowly appearing in the US. While a few have said to have seen them, Cprime18 is the first to contact us with photographic evidence. These two were found at a Target in San Antonio Texas. This wave is particularly infamous for the size discrepency between the two toys with Lockdown being the same height as a Generations deluxe and Jazz being far smaller than that. For more size comparisons, feel free to check out our pictorial review of Jazz to see if this is a toy you find worth the money.

If you already have these toys, please let us know your thoughts on them and if you find them, be sure to let the community know through your local sightings threads or the sightings section.

Jazz is ridiculously small, but he does look good. The paint is especially nice.

Lockdown looks great but I just can't get behind a Lockdown figure that isn't absurdly tall in robot mode. Good looking figure though, not gonna deny.

Via regular source of news Loopaza Megastore on Facebook, we have some new listings for Takara Tomy Transformers figures due out in September to December, including the Studio Series line, the Movie Masterpiece one and some Bumblebee Movie figures thrown into the mix, as we knew already from previous news coverage. Some of the names and numbers showing up below are recognisable, but the rest are very much up to speculation and rumour-mongering. So join the discussion and let us know what you think!

Takaratomy Transformers

We've received new details of the coming up Takaratomy Transformers line-up. The most interesting is the coming of MPM-6 & MPM-7, both still named "unknown character" on the listing but fans should noticed that MPM-6 is Ironhide. So what is actually MPM-7? Rumor from the US that will possible be Jazz but Nothing in this point just yet.

There are also new code MV6 on the list will two characters, one is Optimus Prime and one is Bumblebee. looks like they will be the toys figures from the New Bumblebee Movie! and both will scheduled to release in October is Japanese side.

There are also some others Transformers characters in number 13 - 18, they should be the Studio Series, 13 & 17 are unknown characters, 14 is Ratchet ( DOTM ver.?), 15 is Ironhide, 16 is Bumblebee (2007 ver.?), 18 is Starscream (ROTF ver. ?)

#takaratomy #transformers

Yay, lots of new Studio figures look forward to even if we are getting more into repaint territory.

We always knew repaints were coming sooner or later. Still hopefully they'll be coming with new backdrops as well

ZeroWolf wrote:We always knew repaints were coming sooner or later. Still hopefully they'll be coming with new backdrops as well

I expect RotF Starscream to come with the same backdrop pic as Megatron and Prime have done already but that kinda makes sense since they were all involved in that forest battle and I'm still gonna buy that Screamer anyways cos I love the mold and want that toy with the tattoos I like a lot too and the buzzsaw.