TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Sir Auros' review of: Bruticus Maximus

Name: Bruticus Maximus
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Destruction
Sub-Group: Combaticon Gestalt

I'm not going to bs you. This is my favorite gestalt out of the Energon combiners. Bruticus was my favorite gestalt out of the G1 combiners. This figure has the benefit of being a stocky, sturdy gestalt with components that have great vehicle modes just like G1 Bruticus. Unlike G1 Bruticus, this gestalt's individual components also have stupendous robot modes. The individual components for B. Max. are: Barricade, Blight, Blackout, Kickback, and Stormcloud. Since we already have all of them reviewed on the site, I won't go into details about them other than saying that I think they're all good figures on their own right and that you should take a look at them even if you're not interested in the gestalt.

Robot Mode:
This is all we really have here for B. Max., and considering how much one has to spend to make this mode, it needs to be good to keep from disappointing. I'm far from disappointed with it. The figure has great articulation for a gestalt and has some nifty weaponry thanks to Blight and Kickback. The colorschemes all work together on the figure too and look excellent.

The gestalt works much the same way as the G1 gestalts (except Devastator) in that all of the limbs are interchangeable and it can use the limbs from other Energon gestalts as well. I tend to keep the robot mode with a helicopter for an arm and leg to keep it mixed, but there is a charm with having two helicopters for arms. The reason for that is because Stormcloud and Blackout are the only two combiner limbs out of all the Energon gestalts that have energon parts that actually resemble hands more than malformed claws. The "hands" have to have fingers that are extended straight out at all times, but at least they look like hands. I'm not knocking the rest of the gestalts though since I knew to expect some non-hand looking parts, but B. Max. has one up on all of them by having this option.

The articulation, like I said before, is pretty good. It's nowhere near as good as what one would find in the individual figures, but it (and the other Energon gestalts) has the best range of movement out of all the gestalts I've ever had any experience with. Unless the Beast Wars gestalts (yes, they did have some) were better, B. Max. has the best articulation you'll see in a gestalt. Would've been nice if there were more flexible members on the ends of the arms though.

Ultimately, I really, REALLY like B. Max.

Transformation: 10 - It's a gestalt, they had to put some thought into it.
Durability: 8 - The energon hands and feet could be a problem if lost and my Blight's foot is constantly falling off.
Fun: 10 - 5x the roboticity = 5x the fun.
Price: 8 - It's quite an investment if you want to go for the gestalt, but in the end you'll have five good to great figures that combine to form one really awesome figure.
Summary: 10 - Sweet.