This is the Peruvian Transformers release of Brawn, coloured mostly in cream and green. This would be one of six available colour schemes for this mould released in Peru by Lynsa. At this point only one other colour variation is known about with any degree of certainty and that is the green/cream Brawn, inverse of the one pictured in this article, and much closer to the original Transformers Brawn colours.

The above is what remains of this Peruvian Brawn's original packaging. This cutting from the original card, as small as it is, is so much more significant and historic than it first appears. The card exhibits many charactaeristics common to US Transformers cards like the red grid, the yellow and black name/function bar, the picture of the toy, the card art, the layout of the techspec etc. The card is in Spanish and there are some font and size differences of course. There was no techspec graph originally which is why the spec is clipped in the way that it is. You can find more detail on this subject in the Peruvian overview article here.

The real gem on the cutting, however, is this:

Undeniable proof that these variant Peruvian minibots were distributed by a company called Lynsa at some stage. These items were obviously marketed as Transformers, and as the main Peru article states, the toys are Hasbro and Takara stamped despite the fact that they are not of the quality of US Transformers and definitely appear to have been manufactured outside of Japan/China etc.

These Peruvian minibots are near impossible to track down, so having this one show up with part of the packaging is something not far from momentous.

While the vehicle mode may seem a little plain, there are many things to notice that are of considerable significance. The above thumbnail picture of the rear of the vehicle mode shows the Hasbro/Takara copyright.

The main colour of the vehicle is cream, like the original release of the Microman pre-Brawn and not too far from Transformers Outback colours or Brazilian Jipe and Mexican "Outback". However, the grill of the vehicle mode reveals that all is not normal with this release, and it's far from a clone of any other version of Brawn. For starters, it's green...

...and it's not chrome. In fact there is no chrome to be found anywhere on this or any other Peruvian minibot. It's one of the main distinguishing factors. You can see from the above that the hood does not appear to have been attached that well to the grill section but the feel of the toy is not that of a low-quality item.

The side-on pictures show yet another significant variation, the wheel-hubs:

Compare the above with the wheel-hubs on a regular US Transformers Brawn:

The US TF's hubs appear more detailed with slightly more aesthetic moulding features. This type of variation appears on the Peruvian Gears as well which has a simpler wheel-hub mould than the Transformers Gears. The lack of chrome and the simpler moulding indicates a number of cost-cutting measures were employed in the construction of these Lynsa minibots.

I really like the figure mode for this Peruvian cream/green Brawn. It's the only Brawn variant I am aware of where the torso is green and it works really nicely with the cream to give a camouflage-like appearance. You can further see the absence of the chrome on the robot arms which are now a solid green like the torso, and that gives this particular variant a welcomed unique character.

Another feature that seems to be common across all the currently-surfaced Peruvian minibots is that none of them come with a faction insignia, or factory stickers of any kind whatsoever. That can make it sound as if they minis will appear bland, but the simple fact that many of them are so very different from the original colours counteracts that, and they are in all reality, absolutely fascinating. Truly alien.

It is of course a shame that the right arm has got some damage, but the fact that this toy has surfaced at all in mostly good shape (certainly displayable) and with the original techspec, well it's hardly cause for dissatisfaction is it?

There are some more interesting things to be seen from comparison pictures, and here is the Peruvian cream/green Brawn next to a standard US Transformers Brawn:

These kind of pictures bring the differences into very sharp focus. The difference chrome makes, the difference stickers make, the differing quality of paint application...and yet despite these apparently inferior qualities of the Peruvian toy, it holds its own alongside this well-manufactured Transformer and they compliment each other beautifully.

Comparison pictures with a Mexican Brawn coloured by IGA as Outback:

Now these two are a lot closer in origin, nature and appearance. Both are unfamiliar colours for these moulds, manufactured outside the US, and unique to their region. You can see the Mexican toy has the same wheel-hubs as the US TF and also sports chrome. The sparkly maroon of the Mexican toy is absolutely divine in the flesh, a wonderful touch.

Here is the Peruvian Brawn alongside the Brazilian tan/cream Jipe:

These two are probably not as close in outer colour as the Mexican Outback is to Peruvian Brawn, but the above are both South American and look similar in vehicle mode. The list of minibot variants just grows and grows. I pity the completists.

One thing that emerges from all these comparisons is how unique the Peruvian Brawn, and Peruvian minibots in general, are. Unique colour schemes, unique moulding features like the wheel-hubs, unique features like coloured plastic and no chrome effect etc. And I think they are better for it, it's awesome that they have such a distinct identity and offer such variety within a realm of collecting that some may not have believed COULD offer such scope for variety.

A colossally rare piece unfortunately, but very valuable and significant. An insight into another world of possibilities only recently discovered, a revealing piece in a jigsaw puzzle, full of unique traits and distinguishing features. How much more special do you want a Transformer to be?

As always, gracious thanks to David Buenano and Jose Suarez, whose contributions can never be overstated.

All the best
Maz