Brawn here is a bit of a "light" homage to his G1 self, though this is more apparent in his robot mode. In vehicle mode, all he really shares with his G1 namesake is he's got a heavy-duty mode and he's an Autobot. The military SUV alt mode works really well given the "N.E.S.T. Global Alliance" subline he's in-- and, of course, he has the Global Alliance symbol emblazed on both sides of this mode. Unfortunately, there are few other paint apps in this mode-- the headlights and taillights are painted, thankfully, but that's more or less it. He's got plenty of mold detailing too, which makes it a bit more of a shame-- at least a few more silver paint apps really would've added to the contrast in this mode. And given how dark-colored it is otherwise, it could've used some. Proportionally this mode is great, however, and there's no real robot mode extras. Brawn's feet stick out just a TAD below the buttom bars, but that's getting nit-picky. (The tinted windows are too dark to let you see his robot parts inside.) Brawn's roof-mounted gun can move up-and-down for some aerial aiming. A more obscure feature on him is that nearly all of the "bars" on his vehicle mode-- the bottom bars, all the ones near the rear end, and the bars across his rear "window"-- are sized to fit the 3mm clip weapons that Recon Ironhide introduced into the Transformers line. Granted, Brawn doesn't have any of those weapons himself, but if you want to beef up this mode more, it's an option.
    The first thing I noticed about Brawn's robot mode is that it has some DARN cool-looking robot parts. The head design is extremely well-done and menacing without being outright evil like some of the Decepticon head designs-- and the dome part of the head is a bit of a nod to G1 Brawn. Brawn's got some excellent detailing on his chest and waist in particular, almost like robo-ribs. His "Mech Alive" gimmick is evident here, as well-- rotate his shoulders up and gears inside his chest will rotate with it. He's also got some beefy, stocky arms, which certainly fits his character, and he actually transforms with his guns already in-hand, which is pretty nifty. (The guns can be removed from his fists easily if you want, though.) The cannon from vehicle mode now hangs over over his head, giving him even more firepower. His legs are basically "goat legs", bending backwards a bit at the knees and having hoof-like details on the actual feet. I think it fits him pretty well, and if you don't like the whole bending-backwards bit at the knees, there are joints that let you all but eliminate it from his stance. His color scheme takes a bit of a note from G1 Brawn in this mode, with the dark green and a bit of gray. Adding in the golden-tinted green on the chest and upper arms helps to up the contrast even more-- what Brawn was lacking in color in vehicle mode, he definitely makes up for it in robot mode, both in terms of the different plastic colors and the ample amounts of paint detailing on him. However, there is the elephant in the room that I've ignored up until now, and it's pretty much what keeps Brawn from being a nigh-perfect figure-- he's got a LOT of alt mode kibble in robot mode. Huge panels hanging way off his back, bits of his front hanging off the sides of his upper arms, parts of his roof underneath his lower arms, and big panels of part of his vehicle mode's rear hanging off his shoulders. The front bumper bits sit nicely on his knees, and the bits underneath his lower arms are minor, but the rest just kinda hangs there without a place to "peg in" and really gets in the way of a lot of articluation, not to mention it doesn't look all that great (particularly from a side view). As for movement, Brawn can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at three points), elbows (at two places), his wrists and waist can rotate, and he can move at the hips (at two points), the knees, and the ankles (at two points). Lateral movement at the elbows and knees is all he's technically missing, but again, all those pieces of kibble hanging off of him can interfere, particularly at the waist.
    Brawn has a near-perfect (if dull-looking) vehicle mode, and his robot mode has a ton of nice features and some cool detailing and weapons. However, those of you who don't like kibble are really going to have difficult time getting over all of it in robot mode-- it's a shame, because otherwise he's a stellar and unique 'bot, but all those pieces hanging off him keep him from getting the "must-buy" rating of 9.0+. Still mildly recommended, though.

Review by Beastbot

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