Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons: Highbrow

Here’s another piece of unique Transformers Hunt for the Decepticons collection that i have. He is an Autobot by the name of Highbrow. I guess not much people will know or familiar with him and there’s quite less information on him on the internet as well. The only piece of detailed information of him is here. Anyhow, what is so unique about him is not about his background. He is unique due to his alternate mode being a World War 2 fighter plane, the P-38 lighting which attracts me. Well, he is the 1st in my collection to be in an antique fighter plane as mentioned and that’s what attracted me to grab a piece. Besides, the details and the alternate mode does look cool as well which is quite worth the collection.

I bought the Takara Tomy version of Highbrow (which is a voyager class) as i can’t find the Hasbro version. I am not really sure what’s the different between both of the version though. But anyhow, i got the same price for the Takara Tomy version as Hasbro so i might as well grab the Takara Tomy as the QC for it is much more guaranteed.

The Packaging
Nothing special about the box here. Pretty standard for Hunt for the Decepticons Voyager class.

Alternate Mode: World War II P-38 Lighting
I am not a particular hardcore fan of antique fighter plane. But when it comes to this alternate form of Highbrow, it does spark the magic of affection towards him. Maybe due to the fact that this is a Transformer and it is always amazing to see how a 20th century World War II plane being transformed into a 21th century robot. Guess that’s why i like Transformers toys are lot: The creativity and mechanism of transforming from a normal vehicle to a robot.

The alternate mode comes in 80% green alongside with metallic gold color (at the propeller engine), dark grey/silver color for missile & Gatling guns and turquoise blue for the bottom part of the plane (which will be dominant when in robot mode) .

The alternate mode comes with two 5mm propellers which aren’t just aesthetic, they can be spun by pressing the metallic gold colored engine-button on top of them (more details in the gimmick section below).

You can see a bunch of missiles located below the wings and the Gatling guns located on top. The Gatling guns are detachable which will form the main weapon for the Highbrow.

There’s a sign “P+10” there near the cockpit. Guess there isn’t any special meaning for that.

You can see decorative vinyls on both of the rear small wings of the plane. It seems to have a shape of a bug or skeleton alike design there.

Here’s a clearer view on the details for the plane from top view.

A closer look at the cockpit and you can see the smaller details such as the pilot seat inside. You can’t see the finer details such as the control panel though :p

Another closed up view on the propeller engine, the Gatling guns and the missile.

Robot Mode: Highbrow
Here’s the robot form of Highbrow. Notice that the turquoise blue and light grey is taking the dominance over the color composition here. The 2 propellers eventually become something like a hand shield for him. You can always flip the propellers forward to replace the hand and become another form of blade weapon.

The articulations for the robot are quite standard here.

You can still spin the propeller by pressing the propeller engine button in robot mode. Kinda cool.

Here’s a closed up view of the headpiece for Highbrow. I particularly like the transparent crystal eyes he has and the light piping works exceptionally well here. You can also notice the 2 small wheel located at the chest part which is actually the landing gears for the alternate mode.

A weird point to note here though, you can’t really find the Autobots or Decepticons insignia in Highbrow which is really a rare case in all Transformers toys. I wonder is it a omission from the manufacturer or is just a plain unique gimmick of its own?

Transformation Process
The transformation for Highbrow is quite intermediate. Not much of mind boggling twist and turn.

Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks…

Conclusion
The Hunt for the Decepticons Highbrow is really quite an unique collection of mine as he is the one and only World War II fighter plane transformers that i have. Speaking of which, it is also quite seldom to see Autobots in flight alternate mode as their core still remain ground vehicle.

My personal rating for this collection of mine is 9/10. If you are interested in getting one, it is still available in the market now for both the Hasbro and Takara Tomy version. Go and grab yours today!