about the character/toy
Brainstorm was, at least in the US continuity, the inventor of the Headmaster process with his Nebulan partner, Arcana. In the Japanese continuity, he was a small robot that became the head to a lifeless Transtector. Technically, Brainstorm is called Cana when separated from his Transtector, but the fiction rarely made this distinction and usually called him Brainstorm regardless.
Brainstorm's toy was released as part of the 8th wave of 2012+ Transformers Generations toys and his based upon his design from the IDW comics, but since I have no real knowledge of the comics, that doesn't matter much to me.
Brainstorm's toy was released as part of the 8th wave of 2012+ Transformers Generations toys and his based upon his design from the IDW comics, but since I have no real knowledge of the comics, that doesn't matter much to me.
Vehicle Mode
Brainstorm's vehicle mode is a turquoise Cybertronian spacecraft. While it is based on the IDW design, that design itself is very much based upon the G1 design. He has a hold up landing gear in the front (not really needed, I find, but it's a nice touch), two lasers on the front of the nose that are removable and become his handheld weapons for robot mode (apologies, I forgot to take pictures of them separate), two pairs of wings; larger ones going out to the sides and smaller ones on top, and a translucent yellow cockpit in which Arcana/Cana can sit.
My one flaw with this mode is that his legs, which fold underneath the rear of the vehicle, stick out too much. It doesn't look that bad from the photos, but looking at Brainstorm from the top, it's plainly obvious.
To focus on Arcana/Cana (I'm partial to the Japanese versions of Headmasters over the American ones, but I'll refer to them by both names) for a moment, he is just a small figure, about 1 1/2 inches tall. On the box, he is actually unnamed, it simply says 'Head converts to pilot!', but the Japanese Legends release of Brainstorm is written from the perspective of The Headmasters anime refers to him as Cana. Arcana/Cana's articulation is limited to his head, which is on a balljoint; his arms, which are on limited balljoints due to them also being the sides of Brainstorm's head; and he can swing forward at the hips and knees, but since his legs are one piece, it's sort of limited.
Arcana/Cana has two flaws, his arms, since they're also the sides of the robot mode head, are very limited in posability and, just like the 1988 Headmasters, the robot mode face is plainly visible on his back. I don't think Hastak could have fixed the arm issue without entirely redesigning the head, but I think they could have made a flip-up panel like the original Brainstorm figure head on his head to cover his mouthplate.
I'm not going to cover "show-accuracy" with this figure, since it's based on the IDW design and, as I've stated, I have no real knowledge of the IDW comics beyond some vague stuff.
Brainstorm's vehicle mode measures 9 inches long and Arcana/Cana is 1.5 inches tall.
My one flaw with this mode is that his legs, which fold underneath the rear of the vehicle, stick out too much. It doesn't look that bad from the photos, but looking at Brainstorm from the top, it's plainly obvious.
To focus on Arcana/Cana (I'm partial to the Japanese versions of Headmasters over the American ones, but I'll refer to them by both names) for a moment, he is just a small figure, about 1 1/2 inches tall. On the box, he is actually unnamed, it simply says 'Head converts to pilot!', but the Japanese Legends release of Brainstorm is written from the perspective of The Headmasters anime refers to him as Cana. Arcana/Cana's articulation is limited to his head, which is on a balljoint; his arms, which are on limited balljoints due to them also being the sides of Brainstorm's head; and he can swing forward at the hips and knees, but since his legs are one piece, it's sort of limited.
Arcana/Cana has two flaws, his arms, since they're also the sides of the robot mode head, are very limited in posability and, just like the 1988 Headmasters, the robot mode face is plainly visible on his back. I don't think Hastak could have fixed the arm issue without entirely redesigning the head, but I think they could have made a flip-up panel like the original Brainstorm figure head on his head to cover his mouthplate.
I'm not going to cover "show-accuracy" with this figure, since it's based on the IDW design and, as I've stated, I have no real knowledge of the IDW comics beyond some vague stuff.
Brainstorm's vehicle mode measures 9 inches long and Arcana/Cana is 1.5 inches tall.
Robot Mode
Once again, not going to detail Brainstorm's transformation, but I will say it is basically identical to his G1 toy's transformation, from what I've seen. But I must say one thing in regards to the transformation, use caution when removing the head from the body, since his neck socket is painted and too much force could lead to Arcana/Cana's own head being separated from their body. A running change fixed this issue, which can be identified by having a rubber band holding the head in place. Luckily, I have the fixed version, so I haven't had any issues with his head, but still be careful.
Aside from that, Brainstorm's robot mode is excellent. Again, while I have no real knowledge of the comics, this design is great, even if it is basically a streamlined G1 design. It's well proportioned and, other than the nosecone sticking behind his head, has no kibble to speak of. It must be stated that his large wings are on hinges, so if you don't like them sticking out to the sides, you can fold them down.
One of my favorite features of Brainstorm is that when you plug in his head, it folds down his seat to reveal reveal tech specs, like the original toy. Unfortunately, this gimmick never worked on my toy, so I have to manually do it, but I actually prefer to leave them folded up, so it doesn't bother me. In a neat touch, the tech specs on his chest are based upon the ones of the original toy (Speed: 9, Strength: 5, Intelligence: 8), instead of the ones on the box (Speed: 7, Strength: 8, Intelligence: 10).
Articulation-wise, Brainstorm has lots of it. He has a ball-jointed head (it can sometimes be blocked by the legs forming the back of the head, but you can lift them up slightly if you need to, you won't really notice it) ; his arms are on "quiet ratchets" going out and can rotate forward and back; double-hinged elbows; his wrists have no real articulation, they can hinge for transformation; no waist articulation, due to design; but his hips can ratchet out to the sides and swing forward and back (and the panels on the sides of his hips and his crotch can flip up too); he has a thigh swivel; hinge knees; a little forward and back movement on the foot, mainly because of transformation; and a small amount of ankle tilt, not much, but still enough that he can get flat footing.
Brainstorm's two weapons can be held in his hands or kept in their vehicle mode positions (they have to be removed for transformation).
Once again, I'm not going to cover show accuracy, since I'm not familiar with the IDW designs and what-not.
Brainstorm measures 8.25 inches tall.
Aside from that, Brainstorm's robot mode is excellent. Again, while I have no real knowledge of the comics, this design is great, even if it is basically a streamlined G1 design. It's well proportioned and, other than the nosecone sticking behind his head, has no kibble to speak of. It must be stated that his large wings are on hinges, so if you don't like them sticking out to the sides, you can fold them down.
One of my favorite features of Brainstorm is that when you plug in his head, it folds down his seat to reveal reveal tech specs, like the original toy. Unfortunately, this gimmick never worked on my toy, so I have to manually do it, but I actually prefer to leave them folded up, so it doesn't bother me. In a neat touch, the tech specs on his chest are based upon the ones of the original toy (Speed: 9, Strength: 5, Intelligence: 8), instead of the ones on the box (Speed: 7, Strength: 8, Intelligence: 10).
Articulation-wise, Brainstorm has lots of it. He has a ball-jointed head (it can sometimes be blocked by the legs forming the back of the head, but you can lift them up slightly if you need to, you won't really notice it) ; his arms are on "quiet ratchets" going out and can rotate forward and back; double-hinged elbows; his wrists have no real articulation, they can hinge for transformation; no waist articulation, due to design; but his hips can ratchet out to the sides and swing forward and back (and the panels on the sides of his hips and his crotch can flip up too); he has a thigh swivel; hinge knees; a little forward and back movement on the foot, mainly because of transformation; and a small amount of ankle tilt, not much, but still enough that he can get flat footing.
Brainstorm's two weapons can be held in his hands or kept in their vehicle mode positions (they have to be removed for transformation).
Once again, I'm not going to cover show accuracy, since I'm not familiar with the IDW designs and what-not.
Brainstorm measures 8.25 inches tall.
Final thoughts
[Disclaimer regarding bias towards Headmasters, Targetmasters, Godmasters, etc. goes here]
Brainstorm is a character I have no real attachment to, I hated The Rebirth and thought Transformers: The Headmasters was an utter chore to sit through, so that's the extent of my view of Brainstorm as a character.
As a toy, however, Brainstorm is excellent. He has a great vehicle mode and an excellent and very poseable robot mode. Brainstorm is definitely one to add to your collection, but just be aware of the head issue I detailed above.
Viola rates Brainstorm:
8.5/10
Brainstorm is a character I have no real attachment to, I hated The Rebirth and thought Transformers: The Headmasters was an utter chore to sit through, so that's the extent of my view of Brainstorm as a character.
As a toy, however, Brainstorm is excellent. He has a great vehicle mode and an excellent and very poseable robot mode. Brainstorm is definitely one to add to your collection, but just be aware of the head issue I detailed above.
Viola rates Brainstorm:
8.5/10