Generations Voyager Brainstorm In Hand Photos Of Headmaster Figure

BACKGROUND:

Overall this is a beautiful toy. I had the original G1 Brainstorm as a kid, but after about a year or so my mom made me sell it along with many other things I'd been holding on to (and preserving) at a garage sale to teach me how to let go of material attachments and make room for change and new things to enter into life.

So, I ended up selling my G1 Brainstorm complete with box and inserts for $5 at our garage sale when I was still in grade school. While I valued the lesson, I regretted the sale ever since. I vowed to repurchase a new one for myself ever since then, but the vintage collectors price of $100 or more has been a deterrent for me until this new affordable and very awesome updated release. Brainstorm was one of my favourites and one of the few TF's I actually liked after the Season1 & 2 cast was killed off in the 1986 movie (I didn't like most of the animation or toy designs after that). I always loved Brainstorm and any of the "smart guys" in most shows (like Perceptor, Skyfire, Donatello, Egon Spangler, etc...). Brainstorm certainly had the right name for the job.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:

He's the familiar 90's hyper-turquoise blue color I remember him being back when I was a kid. Comes with the headmaster pilot Arcana who actually does transform into his head. And he even has a faux techspec chest to mimic the one he had in G1. This is a total nod to my childhood and to others who had him as a kid. (Oddly the box bio makes no mention of Brainstorm being a "Headmaster," nor does it mention the Nebulon pilot's name "Arcana". Maybe they were too lazy to update their copyrights for the names "Headmaster," "Nebulon," "Nebulos," or "Arcana".) Either way, it was neat that they decided to include this key feature in Brainstorm's transformation and design. Well done! Robot mode looks a lot better in person than official release photos showing his wings fully deployed. In reality you can fold the wings back in Robot mode to make him more compact and less kibbly. His vertical stabilizers still fold down across the front of his shoulders, giving him that familiar small-winged look from G1.

ARTICULATION:

Articulation is on par with most modern transformers. Double-jointed elbows allow him to bend his elbows at a tighter angle for holding his gun in an upright position. Knees bend just past 90 degrees. Thighs rotate forward and backward on an axle as well as pivot outward on ratcheted swivel joints covered by articulated side skirts on the sides of his hips. A hinged front crotch guard can swing up to allow room for his legs to step or lunge forward for extreme action poses. Lower leg rotates at swivel joints just above knee. There is no waist articulation. No wrist articulation except for the hands being able to swing inwards for transformation. Sadly the hands are a bit loose at this hinge and tend to be floppy. Hands can hold weapons with standard 5mm posts. Rotating Shoulders also pivot 90 degrees outward. Head shares the tiny balljoint on Arcana's tiny pilot head, so be careful; it feels fragile. It is also very loose and floppy (might need to be tightened via future floor wash or cyanoacrylate gap-filling glue).

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation is basically the same as G1; Legs fold back behind his back, arms compact at his sides. Wings fold out, tailfins flip up or at an angle of your choice. Nose cone flips forward from behind his back. The dual guns become the forward wing canards for Jet mode. Brainstorm's head detaches and simply unfolds from a fetal position to become the Nebulon pilot Arcana. Arcana's arms are molded as one piece to Brainstorm's head side panels and are articulated only at the shoulder joints. The side panels give Arcana the appearance of having permanent blast shields on either arm.

GIMICKS:

Brainstorm's jet mode cockpit opens to allow the Arcana pilot to sit nicely inside where the techspec panel transforms into the pilot's chair. The chair automatically transforms back into a techspec panel (flips down via spring-loaded mechanism) when you plug Brainstorm's head into its socket for robot mode. The Twin Blasters become the jet's forward canards for jet mode. There is a single skid-style landing gear which flips out in Jet mode just under the nose cone. The aft section of the jet just rests on itself without any additional gear.

PAINT/STICKERS:

There are minimal paint apps on Arcana's face (a little sloppy). The pale blue paint on Arcana's arms and legs is very prone to scuffing just from one transformation and normal use. Flaking occurred immediately just from one transformation and one insertion of the pilot into the cockpit. Beware of this. Brainstorm's facemask/eyes are painted in pale orange and yellow respectively. Brainstorm's yellow eyes have some overspray into the inner mask. Some red paint apps on chest. There is silver on the louver vents on his chest, shoulders, and gun barrels. Tampo-printed Autobot symbols on wings. Non-working faux Inner Techspec panel is represented by a sticker only; no molded-in detail or paint apps. Some minor silver and red paint apps on knees. Translucent cockpit has a greenish yellow tint instead of the vibrant translucent orange color of the G1 toy (which would have looked nice IMO)

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Retailing at about $25, Hasbro Generations Brainstorm is a great buy. Certainly brings back the childhood memories from 3 decades ago. Highly recommend. If you want a premium paint job, go for Takara version as well. But honestly this does it for me well enough. Very Awesome! Thanks to Gerry Venteicher for the fast and friendly service. Highly recommended.