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Tuesday 6 September 2011

X is for X-Brawn

COMING SOON



The Winning Toy

"X-Brawn loves extremes and is at his best in disastrous and brutal climates such as dry deserts and snowstorms. He doesn't waste tme on long-winded speeches and can be counted on to say it all in just a few words. He's very reliable and has fearsome strength. He is a martial arts master with an especially powerful left arm. His "Southpaw Lariat" is invincible."

Toyline: Robots in Disguise US

Generation: Robots in Disguise

Size Class: Deluxe

Faction: Autobot

Function: Strong-Armed Fighter

Quote: "Strength wins!"

Strength: 10

Intelligence: 8

Speed: 8

Endurance: 9

Rank: 9

Courage: 7

Firepower: 6

Skill: 6


Robot Mode



X-Brawn's robot mode is mostly silver and green with some red detailings and has a humanoid shape, except for the large car hood on his left arm.

X-Brawn's torso is sculpted with several car detailings, like a small engine in the center. His head is able to rotate to either side and bend backwards to his ball joint/hinge connector. The head is sculpted with a moth plate, forehead decorations and two golden eyes. He features a pair of holes on his back pack that can be used to store his two weapons (I only have one pictured, as I only own the gun/blaster, the other weapons resembles a blade/sword.

His upper arms are connected to the torso by a ball joint each that gives them articulation as long as there's no obstructions. The right lower arm is connected to the upper arm by a ball joint. The end of that arm leads to a set of sculpted fingers and a projectile slot where you can slot the weapons into to act as a gun or a sword. His left arm is connected to the upper arm by a pivot/hinge joint, and the lower arm is simply his vehicle mode hood. X-Brawn's hand is connected to that by a hinge and ball joint combination that allows it to move as far as you desire. His fingers are sculpted, and his thumb is able to move on a hinge-joint, which allows you to slot the silver bars on the weapons from his back, or the silver bumper from his vehicle mode as weapons

X-Brawn's upper legs are connected to his groin area by a pair of ball joints that allow them to move as freely as needed. his lower legs are connected by a pair of hinges on both legs that give him a knee and a second lower knee in you want him to (it's really just for his transformation sequence). His feet are made of of his spare wheel being split in half. The wheel becomes his heels and the guard for the wheel becomes the front section of the foot.


Alternate Mode



X-Brawn's vehicle mode is a silver SUV with green trim and a large Autobot insignia on the tip of the hood ("Robots in Disguise" my ass...<<)

X-Brawn features a few details like headlights, front grill, a hood that covers an engine, treaded tires on working wheels with silver hubcaps, and a sculpted spare tire on the very back with a guard around it.

X-Brawn's windows are transparent and allow you to see inside his vehicle mode, which whilst being good, so it looks realistic...is also bad since you can see his robot head and right arm folded inside..yeah...so much for a good disguise there X-Brawn...although quite shockingly, this small fault was actually featured in an episode of the Robots in Disguise cartoon, where the human Kelly was driving X-Brawn and then suddenly noticed his head right next to her in the passenger's seat, prompting a swift freak out of course.

X-Brawn's two main weapons are held in his undercarriage and act as extra support struts and steps etc, and the small silver piece that can be clipped in at the front as a front bumper.


Legacy

X-Brawn was a new character created for the Robots in Disguise series and acted as the eldest of the "Autobot Brothers" sub-group, made up of Side Burn, Prowl and himself. He appeared in most of the episodes and even gained an upgraded form when Ultra Magnus accidentally gave him and his brothers a power boost (making him look like a rally race car)

X-Brawn's toy was repainted a few times as alternate versions of himself (ie a clear version in Japan, his upgraded form, and some of the light differences between him and his Car Robots counterpart Wild Ride). He was also repainted as the Autobot Ratchet from the 2003 Universe line. He also had a smaller Spychanger sized toy made for the Robots in Disguise line based on his Deluxe toy as well.

X-Brawn's name and basic characteristics (ie very strong, SUV) are references to Brawn, whom he almost shares a name with. It's likely that X-Brawn is actually meant to be an alternate version of Brawn (like with Prowl) but since there have been other Brawns made in recent years, with the name Brawn still intact, it just makes sense to treat X-Brawn as a totally separate character.

X-Brawn is the only one of the Autobot Brothers whom have not had a recent G1 style update toy. Side Burn had one from the Collector's Club, Prowl's is the Universe 2.0 toy, but none for X-Brawn so far (here's hoping!)


Is he Cool?

Honestly? Yes, he is cool, though there are many toys who are better in both terms of character, looks and features, and I did only chose him because he was the only X in my collection, but he is still cool.

The Robots in Disguise franchise altogether is one of the most popular due to it being a mostly vehicle based series after a few years of mostly beasts (with only the Predacon being beasts in this one). This of course appealed to the G1 purists as it was like they were getting their own way, but also appealed to others due to it's new mold toys having great articulation, detail and characterizations, as well as most of the characters acting as updated versions of the older characters that the masses had loved over the years, whilst also bringing in new characters.

I personally feel that if you see this toy or any of his repaints, then he's well worth getting, especially if you can also get his brothers as well (and even more so since he's the only one to not have a Classics style toy yet as well)

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