Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Age of the Primes Brawl

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: $42.99/£34.99

The release of Transformers Age of the Primes Vortex midway through 2025 was a pleasant surprise, albeit a little bit odd given than none of his fellow Combaticons were anywhere to be seen around this time. But with the range continuing on through 2026 it was only a matter of time, and now Bruticus is truly beginning to take shape as Age of the Primes Brawl joins him. Released alongside Blast Off, Brawl is the first of the two Voyager Class components that make up the Combaticon combiner – something which has been stated by the designers to be required by the leg pieces to enhance stability.

Brawl comes in the standard Voyager Class-sized Age of the Primes packaging, with the front of the box showing off the figure via a window section alongside some gorgeous artwork of the Combaticon in both modes. Below these things are the Transformers logo, subline and character name. One side of the box features the same Bruticus artwork that was featured on Vortex’s box (and will in turn appear on the rest of the Combaticons’ as well), whilst the other sports Age of the Primes artwork seen across the entire line. On the back of the box you’ll find CGI renders showing the figure off in both modes, and then inside the figure and accessories are tied down to a cardboard tray.

Age of the Primes Brawl is a very close approximation to how the Combaticon appeared in the G1 cartoon, although some details have been slightly changed in order for the design to work better as a modern toy. The tank treads on the shoulders aren’t quite as prominent as they are on the cartoon model, and the arms have more olive green on them to match the tank body as opposed to being solid grey. The tank parts also have more moulded detail to them for a more modern/detailed appearance, compared to the smoother finish of the cartoon. If you’re a real stickler for cartoon accuracy then some of these might be sticking points, but overall a well-designed figure that’s immediately recognisable as Brawl. The shades of olive green and grey used are a good match to the animation model, and the head sculpt stands out well with its bright orange visor and dark red faceplate. Size-wise the figure is similar to other recent Voyager class combiner limbs in that it feels more like a glorified Deluxe figure – height-wise not standing all that much taller than Vortex. You can however see that Brawl is considerably more complex than his fellow Combaticon, with a stockier build and more heft to him in an attempt to justify that price tag.

But although Brawl may not be much bigger than a Deluxe class figure he does have a bit more going on under the hood, something which you get a sense of from the articulation. Altogether the figure has; 

- Ball jointed head

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Swivel hinge shoulders and hips

- Hinged elbows, knees and ankles

- Bicep, waist and thigh swivel

Though not a part of the robot mode articulation as such, the turret on his back also rotates so that you can pose the figure with the gun facing downwards if so desired. Even though the butterfly joints may technically be there to assist with the transformation, the arms do benefit from having that little bit of extra movement. Particularly as Hasbro decided to omit a wrist swivel – something which doesn’t greatly impact the figure but would have been easy enough to implement. As Bruticus is a frame-based combiner akin to Menasor and Superion the robot mode articulation isn’t compromised in the same way Scrapper or Mixmaster’s was either, allowing the figure to have a proper waist swivel. That said, part of Hasbro’s justification for the higher price on the figure was so that Brawl could have ratchet ankle articulation when in leg mode – something that was present on the Constructions but hasn’t actually been implemented here. Which on reflection does feel like a bit of a con, but at least Brawl has plenty of individual personality and poseability to make up for it.

It's also worth noting that there are a couple of QC concerns with this figure surrounding tight joints. Whilst I haven't experienced any on the robot mode articulation, the main cause of concern is the ankle tilt joint for the combined mode - which is located just under is left arm by the visible screw. Most copies of this figure appear to have stress marks on the joint straight out of the box (mine is no different), which is caused by the peg of the joint being too thick for the hole. There are a couple of tutorials online on how to fix this (which involves unscrewing the joint and sanding down the peg), so if the overall wear and tear of the figure is something that concerns you this is definitely something to look into.

Brawl’s accessories include his blaster pistol, as well as two mountable shoulder cannons. The handheld blaster may seem a little small for a character of his size/bulk, but is nevertheless accurate to both how it was on the cartoon and with the original toy. It can fit into either of his fists, or plug into the tank turret on his back for easy weapons storage. The twin shoulder cannons are the far more interesting accessory however, giving Brawl some real extra fire power. To attach them to the figure, simply rotate the turret so that the gun is facing downwards and then plug the cannons into it. The cannons sit at either side of his head, and are both pinned so can be raised/lowered as you see fit. The instructions also state that the cannons can be stored on the back of the legs when not in use, but it doesn’t really look all that good nor are the connection ports very obvious. But whatever weapon configuration you decide upon, Brawl looks great in all of them – it’s only natural that a tank Transformer should have this kind of firepower, and having all these options makes that Voyager price point a little easier to swallow.

Brawl transforms from robot to tank in 23 steps, and whilst the transformation isn’t especially difficult it is surprisingly intricate for a figure of this size. The way the tank treads are completely folded up into the robot mode legs and extend out is particularly impressive. The instructions aren’t especially helpful either, suggesting that the feet lift up more than they actually do – like me you might realise this whilst transforming him, but its worth noting just so you don’t accidentally break it. It’s the kind of transformation where it helps to have the instructions to hand first time around, but after that it’s easy enough to work out on your own. The end result though is a great looking tank mode, even with the rather unfortunately placed gap (revealing the back of Brawl’s robot mode head) just in front of the turret. All of the green areas on the body snap together well though, so if not for that there isn’t a trace of the robot mode in sight. In this mode Brawl also has a number of weapon storage options. The most cartoon accurate of these is plugging the twin cannons onto the back of the vehicle and the blaster on the top of the turret, however the instructions suggest clipping the latter onto the side of the turret instead. The cannons can also be plugged onto the sides of the vehicle at the back as well, rather than just the top.

Brawl’s tank mode also stands out from just how interactive it is, having considerably more features than most Transformers of this size. The base vehicle features free rolling wheels on its underside (something that’s becoming more and more of a rarity), the turret can rotate a full 360 degrees and the main gun can raise/lower independently of that. That alone is pretty good, but then you have all the extra features from the additional weapons as well. The twin cannons can also raise/lower (or swing around if you plug them onto the sides rather than the back), and if the blaster pistol is plugged onto the top of the turret that too can fully rotate around. They’re all little things, but they come together to make this a really fun alt mode – something that feels even more important on a figure that collectors are more likely to display in either robot or combined mode.

While sadly Age of the Primes Brawl is always going to have the rising cost of Transformers (as well as toys in general) stacked against him, at the very least there's no doubt that the Combaticon is doing a better job of justifying that cost than similar figures in the same price bracket. Brawl might be small, but he is dense - the body is packed with detail, the transformation is simple yet intuitive and the accessories add a lot of extra playability to an already fun figure. Even without the added bonus of him being part of Bruticus further down the line, this is just a really great tank Transformer that works great on his own. Those QC issues are are cause for concern however, particularly we won't know just how bad that combiner ankle joint stress is until Onslaught is released as well. Nevetheless, Brawl is an extremely strong start to 2026's Transformers offerings and is only going to get better when all of his teammates join him.