Brimstone
(BotCon 2014 Attendee-Only Exclusive)
(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Generations FoC Shockwave. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Generations FoC Shockwave here.)
Brimstone was one of
the names listed among the Star Seeker crew in the Prime-universe novels,
so it only makes sense that with the theme of this convention being "Pirates
vs. Knights", the Star Seekers get Brimstone-- who is an homage (though
not a direct update) to Cybertron Brimstone!
The fact that Cybertron Brimstone transformed into a pterodactyl is emphasized
a bit in Brimstone's bio where he's treated like a parrot. THIS version
of Brimstone is a flying railgun, though-- but man, FunPub went to great
lengths to make this toy look like the Cybertron toy in terms of colors,
particularly in robot mode. Brimstone's main colors are a light greenish
yellow (a bit lighter than on the Cybertron toy, but still mostly the same
shade) and a charcoal black. Needless to say, but colors contrast against
each other very well. The gray on Cybertron Brimstone has been de-emphasized
on this version, with the only gray plastic being on Brimstone's main body--
and even then, it's a semi-metallic shade of the color with some glitter
in it, so it doesn't look half bad. There's also plenty of metallic gunmetal
gray on the toy, from the robot chest to the blade to the sword to parts
of the legs. This is a really nice shade of paint, and serves as an excellent
"neutral" color for the other colors to go against. Speaking of other colors,
there's also some dark purple on the wings, forehead, and on part of the
main gun in vehicle mode (in the same area where the pterodactyl crest
was colored this shade on the Cybertron toy), which is a REALLY nice shade--
the best color contrast on the figure, in my opinion, in between this and
the greenish yellow. There's also some orange, both in terms of light paint
on the sides of the legs and also as a dull trnasparent shade used for
the chest, sword, and blade. The bits on the legs again mirror roughly
the color's placement on the Cybertron figure, and look great. The transparent
orange I wish was a bit lighter for better contrast, but it still looks
good (especially as the light piping for Brimstone's eyes). The black facemask,
orange eyes, and purple headcrest really help bring out the features of
the head that hearken back to Cybertron Brimstone's head, and look quite
nice.
No mold changes have
been made specifically to Brimstone, but he has the same mold changes as
FoC
Air Raid.
BotCon 2014 Brimstone
is my favorite type of BotCon exclusive-- those where the budget wasn't
there to change any molding, but nevertheless with the right color palette,
the toy goes from one character to a COMPLETELY different, pre-existing,
relatively obscure character that I totally never would have seen the mold
as were it not for the color changes. Well done, FunPub, and-- as far as
the concept goes-- this is my favorite BotCon 2014 exclusive.
Review by Beastbot