Transformers Age of the Primes Bruticus Review

One robot is cool. Five robots are cooler. Five robots that combine to form one bad-ass violent robot is the best thing ever.

After months of white-knuckled waiting and some overpaying, I finally got my hands on the complete team of Combaticons from Transformers Age of the Primes! As a huge Bruticus stan, the feeling of getting one of the most definitive versions of this team in toy form is indescribable. But do they deserve the praise? Were they worth the wait? Read on for my complete review of the Transformers Age of the Primes Bruticus combiner figure!

First off, let's take a look at his component parts. As you know, Bruticus is the gestalt form of the Combaticons, five Decepticon soldiers whose alt modes are military vehicles. In the cartoons, Brawl, Swindle, Blast Off, Vortex, and Onslaught were renegades rescued by Starscream to help him usurp Megatron's leadership. Hiring mercenaries with more bullets than brains may not have been Starscream's smartest moment.

Speaking of cartoons, the Age of the Primes Combaticons are more faithful to the Generation 1 cartoon than the toys, which works for me since I never owned the Bruticus toy and only liked Bruticus from the TV show. Let's see how these celluloid designs translate to 3D figures!

Let's start with Combaticon Vortex, the first figure I got from this team. Vortex resembles his G1 cartoon look well. Articulation is adequate, and the paint job is alright. Being a Combaticon, Vortex is armed with three guns because two ain't enough.

Transforming him is straightforward as they come, but the end result is a pretty good-looking military helicopter with nice details and realistic proportions. And you can even do the spinny-spinny with his rotor blades!

Next up is Combaticon Blast-Off, who transforms into a brown and purple space shuttle for some reason. At least it's G1-accurate! Both his robot and alt mode look nice and clean and pose well, and he comes with two laser guns so he can blast off Autobots guns akimbo.

Then there's Combaticon Brawl, who transforms into a bad-ass green tank with too many gun barrels for his own good. As a big fan of tank Transformers, this was the figure I was most excited to get. Unfortunately, he has some issues that bring my excitement down a notch. 

Namely, some of his joints are so tight that it's palpitations every time I try to transform him. With three potential opportunities to break him (in robot, alt mode, and limb mode for Bruticus), transforming Brawl is more torturous than satisfying. At the very least, he looks freaking cool.

Let's move on to Combaticon Swindle, who transforms into an obnoxiously yellow and purple military jeep. The alt mode looks nice and detailed despite the garish colors, and the bot mode itself isn't too shabby. 

Swindle also suffers the same fate as his fellow Voyager-class wavemate in that some joints are too tight during transformation, even more so than Brawl. It's nerve-wracking to feel joints not budge, only to eventually squeak against its will as it turns into place.

Swindle is unique in that he comes with a ridiculous accessory: a yellow and black trailer that also transforms into a Big Freaking Gun! In trailer mode, it hooks into the back of the vehicle mode and rolls well enough, but in gun mode it's got a very large barrel—obviously compensating for something. You can either gingerly peg the gun on Swindle's shoulder or plug his longer gun into the giant barrel to turn into Bruticus' main weapon. 

Finally, there's the big boi Combaticon Onslaught himself! The Commander-class leader of the Combaticons oozes G1 cartoon accuracy, though whether it's a good or bad thing is in the eye of the collector. I miss the doohickeys and colorful feel of the Combiner Wars Onslaught (which was more faithful to the G1 toy rather than the cartoon), so the Age of the Primes version feels a bit plain. Way better presence this time around, though!

Onslaught's alt mode comes in two parts to accommodate the Bruticus gestalt form: an artillery truck and a flatbed trailer-slash-mobile weapons platform. The complete alt mode is huge, a good display of what the Commander Class price point gets you.

The truck is nothing I've ever seen in real life but looks gnarly, and the giant-ass cannons at the back can rotate and swivel upward in case some Aerialbots come calling. The bed of the truck can also accommodate one of Onslaught's fellow Combaticons for when Energon reserves are low.

The trailer can be detached and transformed into a weapons platform, much like how G1 Onslaught can also convert into one. The transformation is simple enough, and Combaticon Onslaught in robot mode can convincingly man the cannons for even more destruction.

The trailer is also what becomes the frame that builds Bruticus. It involves a lot of partsforming, which might be anathema in certain Transformer fan circles, but I don't mind it here.

The arms are separate pieces that you can peg Blast-Off and Vortex into, and turning them into Bruticus' arms involve actually "breaking" their alt-mode in half as the arm transforms to its full length. Be warned, the instructions make it look easier than it actually is. I've learned you can actually use a screwdriver or any thin and hard tool to push in a tab that's locking both halves of Vortex and Blast-Off into place, making it a much easier and stress-free process.

Meanwhile, the trailer turns into Bruticus' legs, and the lower legs are hollowed out to allow Swindle and Brawl to peg into them. Their weapons can be stored behind the leg if you so wish.

Put them all together and behold, the mighty Age of the Primes Combaticon Bruticus is now complete! Pictures don't do it justice. This thing is massive, a good deal bigger and heavier than its predecessor, the Combiner Wars Bruticus, and much more pleasing to the eye! As much as I've always adored the Combiner Wars version for giving us a good Bruticus, I'm happy to have gotten something much, much better.

For starters, the articulation is leaps and bounds improved. The Combiner Wars version suffered from loose joints that made it almost impossible to pose it anything other than standing straight up, while Age of the Primes Bruticus features beefier ratcheted joints and a sturdier base for a more stable bot and better range of movement. I'm not too keen on the "ankle" tilt being halfway up the leg, though.

Age of the Primes Bruticus is also appropriately massive, towering over most Transformers figures (as combiners should!). I love seeing the size disparity between Transformers, so to have a Bruticus that outweighs and outclasses everyone on my display is a big plus!

It also just looks hella cool. Anyone looking for a more G1 toy-accurate Bruticus are out of luck, but for me Age of the Primes Bruticus wears its G1 cartoon aesthetic very well.

Even with the issues I found, this set is more than the sum of its parts. The Transformers Age of the Primes Combaticons and Bruticus are some of the most fun I've had playing and collecting this toyline. If you have any love for the G1 cartoon, this needs to be in your collection. He's big, he's bad, he's a definitive version that won't be outclassed anytime soon.

I hope you found this review helpful. Who's your favorite Combaticon and why is it Brawl? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading and stay safe!