I first featured Fans Toys Hunk in this post. FT’s version of MP Brawn is getting his 15 minutes today.

He’s packed in robot mode, so let’s start there.

Hunk in classic A-stance.

View from the side. A bit of backpack kibble, but not too bad.

Back view.

Close up of the face. That’s a great sculpt. Good job FT.

Overall I’m very happy with Hunk’s robot mode appearance. This is a robot mode that does Brawn justice. I can nitpick here and there, but I don’t think there is a figure in existence that comes closer to how Brawn look in the G1 cartoons. The face is spot on. The colors are spot on. Brawn is stockier in the animation, so you might say Hunk’s proportions are a bit too slim. But I like it.

Here we see Hunk with his trademark pistol that the G1 animators created for him. As far as I can tell, this gun resembles the cartoon weapon fairly well. Hunk only comes with three accessories: this gun, another face of Hunk yelling (not pictured in this review), and a drill bit he uses in vehicle (more on this later).

Hunk in action.

Hunk celebrating.

Hunk standing around looking cool.

The articulation in robot mode is ok, but some may find it too limiting. The arms are not bad. Shoulder, elbow, and wrist rotations are all there. The legs ain’t too shabby either. Hip swivel, knee bend, and ankle pivots are all accounted for. Head rotation is very limited. There is no up and down, and side to side is extremely limited due to the back flap behind Hunk’s head. I’ve seen pics of Hunk with waist swivel, but I could not get the waist to twist. If possible, it’s really hard to do. I didn’t try it too hard in fear of breaking the toy. All the official FT pics don’t show Hunk with any waist swivel. There’s no ab crunch of any kind.

Here is Hunk next to the famous MP-10 Optimus Prime. They scale together pretty well.

When I took this pic, I had Hunk in one hand and the MP-10 in the other. To my surprise, Hunk weighs more! This is the US Version of the MP-10, and it’s unclear to me if the Japanese version uses any die-cast. But to have Hunk weigh more than the Hasbro MP-10 is still a testament to the fact that FT uses some quality materials. Bravo.

I detect no weaknesses in Hunk’s construction. All joints are at the right tolerance, nothing too loose or too tight.

As far as the robot mode’s appearance, I have next to no gripes. At first I thought the feet looked weird, in that they’re too big and they’re the wrong shape. But then I checked the G1 animation model and the comic book model, and that’s exactly how they look (especially in the US Marvel comics). So again, props to Fans Toys for being so toon accurate, something they never fail to do. I already mentioned about the size of the backpack when viewed from the side. Yes it’s not perfect, but easily forgivable considering how well everything else looks.

Transformation to vehicle mode is more on the complex side for a figure of this size. He’s not impossible like FT Rouge, but he’s also not simple like FT’s earlier offerings (Stomp, Soar, Sever, etc).

The leg transformation deserves special mention. Each leg splits apart, and ends up forming the sides of the vehicle. It sounds hokey on paper, but seeing this transformation implemented in action is kind of cool. G1 purists will bash this for being an unfaithful transformation, but that would fall into the area of hardcore nitpicking.

Going to alt mode, getting the backpack to be formed properly as the vehicle’s top rear section can be a bit frustrating. It takes perfect alignment for the whole assembly to snap into place. There are also a bunch of small transformation pieces on both the waist and legs that, in my opinion, detract from the overall enjoyment of the transformation process.

Hunk looks good in alt mode once the transformation is complete. Check the pics below.

Super accurate alt mode to the cartoon.

Another angle. Hunk comes with rubber tires and rolls well on a flat surface.

Side view.

Front view.

Back view. They did not forget the gas canister.

Bottom view. Notice there is storage for the weapon. Nice.

Here we see Hunk using that alt mode drill that Brawn used in The Ultimate Doom. I see this more as a novelty accessory, but kudos to FT for including it.

Another shot of the drill.

Now for some alt mode size comparisons. Here he is next to MP Bumblebee.

Now next to MP Sideswipe.

Next to both of them. For a mini-bot Hunk does seem a bit big in alt mode. But seeing as he is a Jeep off-road type of vehicle, I think it works.

Hunk is definitely a worthy purchase for your Masterpiece collection. Most of my gripes are transformation related. I think he’s more complicated than he needs to be. Fan of intricate articulation may also find Hunk a bit lacking in this regard. But this figure scores high in all other areas. I recommend Hunk with no reservation. The only other Masterpiece style Brawn that I’m aware of is Bad Cube Brawny. I don’t have that figure. I’m told Brawny is good too, but comes with a very punishing transformation process that is not for the faint of heart.

On a completely separate but related note, this marks my third review of a Brawn figure. The other two are my reviews for Revenge of the Fallen Brawn and Titans Return Brawn. Why am I reviewing so many Brawns? Is he subconsciously my favorite character? Probably not. I hope not.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

Only 2 figures were purchased for Nov of 2018. Both figures are from the Power of the Primes Evolution series.

• Power of the Primes Evolution Optimal Optimus, Target, $44.99

• Power of the Primes Evolution Nemesis Prime, amazon.com, $32.99

Both these figures were presented in this special Black Friday post. There are some minor details that’s worth repeating here. Being that they are both from the Evolution series in Power of the Primes, they each have 4 modes.

Optimal Optimus

When I found this figure at Target, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted him. I enjoyed Beast Wars, but I’m a G1 guy at heart. Figures that come from other TF lines are a lower priority for me. But Optimal Optimus does look cool in the box. And I’ve been mostly impressed with the Evolution series thus far. “Just buy it!”, said my wife, as she got sick of waiting for me to make up my mind while in the store. That was all the nudging I needed. And that was smart, since I never saw this figure in store again.

Optimal Optimus is an entertaining and fun figure. He represents all 3 forms of Optimus that we see in Beast Wars. First we have the base Optimus Primal figure, which is the smaller black and white component in this toy. That’s the first mode. This component transforms into a flying hoverboard (yes you read that right) used by the next form of Optimus Primal, the larger transmetal gorilla figure. Alternatively, the smaller component can transform into a backpack with weapons for the gorilla. This is the 2nd mode. The two components then come together to form Optimal Optimus, the final evolution of this character in Beast Wars. This is the 3rd mode. In this mode, Optimal Optimus can transform into a Cybertronian jet. And that’s the 4th mode. Yes I know on paper this all sounds very hokey and gimmicky. And yes this figure is a bit guilty of all those qualities. But I’m gonna guess that BW fans love this. This is the first time in TF history that we got a single figure who can decently represent Optimus Primal in all his forms in the show. Hasbro should be applauded for even attempting this. The end result is not perfect, but each mode is decent enough on its own.

BW fans should definitely not pass up on this figure. And I do recommend this for all other TransFans that want something different and original. If you don’t fall into either of these 2 groups, then this purchase would be optional. Optional Optimus. Yes, bad puns at their best.

Nemesis Prime

Evolution Nemesis Prime is an Amazon-exclusive repaint of Evolution Optimus Prime, with some minor mold differences and the inclusion of some additional weapons. Checking my TF List, this is only my 3rd Nemesis Prime figure. The other 2 I have is Alternator Nemesis Prime, and the Thrilling 30 legend class Nemesis Prime.

The only mold difference I’m aware of is in the heads. Nemesis Prime’s head is designed to look like that of Optimus, but everything is more triangular. The mouth piece, eyes, crown, and overall shape of the face, all more extremely triangular and angled. Looking directly from the front, the face kind of resembles the Decepticon symbol. I love it! To me this makes sense too, since Nemesis is supposed to be a different character from Optimus. The smaller base figure gets a new head mold too, though I’m not sure what this is supposed to be. I have no idea who “evolves” into Nemesis Prime, or if that even makes sense.

Nemesis Prime gets quite a bit of additional weapons. The first are two large grey twin-cannons, that can be used in the large robot mode and the truck mode. Next is the inclusion of a red sword. Finally, we have a grey sword that can transform into a bird! All the new weapons alone make this set worthy of purchase on its own, even if you already have Optimus.

I need to mention that construction of this figure is not as good as Evolution Optimus Prime. It’s not terrible, and nowhere near as bad as Evolution Rodimus Prime. But I just wanted to point out that there are some joints that feel a tad too loose, and I don’t remember Evolution Optimus Prime having those issues.

I bought this figure for $32.99 on a Cyber Monday sale, from Amazon. Checking the site now, this figure goes for more than $250! Wow. TFs are like stocks. You never know how they’re gonna go. If I can go back in time, I buy a few more of these. Heck, I’ll buy more Amazon stock. Then come back to my own time and retire.

That’s it for this month. One more purchase post left for 2018, and then it’s on to 2019! Yay. Better late than never I always say.

Transform and Roll Out.