“That’s correct, Henry… Onslaught has won” (Onslaught)
Size: Deluxe (Giftset)
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“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
One of the best things about Fall of Cybertron has been the return of a classic G1 combiner, Bruticus. The version I am reviewing is a limited edition, and its color scheme tries to be faithful to the videogame characters. Back in 2012 Hasbro decided to release the FoC Combaticons in “neon” colors, probably aimed at children, leaving TFans with a bitter surprise when they found out that proper colors were confined to a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. Fast-forward one year, and Platinum Edition Bruticus was released to a larger audience for less than 99$, this time with proper colors. This is great news, as the price of the SDCC set was beyond 200$. In case you were wondering, this version of Bruticus comes in a giftset which also includes Platinum Edition Grimlock.
We start our reviews of FoC Bruticus with the Combaticons’ leader, the cunning Onslaught.
The Combaticons’ Dear Leader has always been represented as a master strategist, ready to join the fray only when the time was right. Well, for its new reincarnation maybe Onslaught could have thought of a better strategy: its robot mode is not the greatest. Legs have no ankles, but decent articulation, but hip joints are so stiff that it’s a pain to attempt any pose other than “split legs standing”. This stiffness works against the presence of a useful waist joint… but again, the upper body is so badly designed that posing in general is just wishful thinking.
Each of Onslaught’s shoulders is as wide and as long as its chest, ending with tiny, insignificant forearms that would have looked tiny and significant on a Scout class TF. Elbow joints have stiff, ratcheted joints which are attached to shoulders via loose ball joints, resulting in arms popping out every time you attempt to pose arms. The only accessory is a chunk of plastic which should resemble… nothing, really, it’s just a chunk of plastic. Overall, this is a terrible robot mode, unworthy of 30 years of evolution in TF design.
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
G1 Onslaught’s vehicle mode was a random truck with a pair of huge cannons on top. Fall of Cybertron Onslaught’s alternate mode is… something with four wheels and two sawed-off cannons on top, permanently aiming at the ground. Nonetheless, this retarded weapon is fundamental to Onslaught’s vehicle mode, as removign it would expose the robot mode’s arms.
And the less said about how the overall look, the better. There is no back side of the alternate mode, just random robot parts required for Bruticus, including the gestalt’s antennas disguised as exhaust pipes. Onslaught’s vehicle mode is a nonentity.
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”
To create a good combiner TF, sacrifices and compromises are always required. However, Fall of Cybetron Onslaught sacrificed too much, giving up all its potential in both robot and alternate mode. While necessary for assembling Bruticus, I recommend AGAINST purchasing Onslaught on its own, in any color scheme: FoC Onslaught is several steps below Beast Machines Deployers.
Until next time,
Rikkomba
