TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Kamen's review: Blurr

Name: Blurr
Function: Elite Recon
Subgroup: Transformers: Animated Deluxe Vehicles

“Eat my dust, Decepticons!”

Blurr never stops moving. It’s a habit he’s gained over centuries of working as an undercover agent for the Autobot Elite Guard. Constant mobility is the best way to avoid detection by Decepticon agents. He is used to remaining in vehicle mode for months or years at a time–as long as it takes to complete his mission, learn what he needs to know, and escape. Unfortunately, because he spends so much time alone, he’s not really used to talking so others can understand him.


Blurr made his debut in Transformers:The Movie as the fast-talking Autobot car voiced by John Moschitta. His role is largely forgettable, though he may be almost as annoying as Wheelie. He next appears as an utter bad ass in Armada; sadly, his toy lacks in any meaningful articulation. In Animated Blurr returns to his fast-talking roots (even with the same G1 voice actor), and somehow manages to be both less annoying and have a toy with meaningful articulation.


Alternate Mode:

Blurr transformers into a sleek, sporty race car. Some people think it looks like the Mach 5 from Speed Racer; it’s a reasonable comparison, and Blurr,the fastest car in the series (so far), did first appear in an episode about a race. But I digress. Suffice it to say that the Blue Racer sweeps from end to end in a pleasing aerodynamic arc. It also has some futuristic elements to it. The car has no rear wheels. Instead, the tires seem to be spun from a motor set in the top of each tire (the toy’s tires are actually split into three parts, with the middle portion spinning freely). The concept is interesting, and looks quite good. Also missing, and not so cool, is the rear of the car. No lie. A hole gapes between the rear wheels exposing a portion of the robot head. In person, however, the car can easily be oriented to hide the hole, and, even from behind, the hole is less irritating in person than in some of the pics circulating on the internet. It still counts as a design flaw, and should be considered before purchasing.

Despite my general dislike of ‘All-spark’ blue, Blurr manages to make it work. I consider this a side-effect of being molded almost entirely out of the stuff, so that it looks less alien than when it is stuck on an unsuspecting character of another colour. Anyway, two other shades of blue, a lighter shade used for body work and highlights and a darker blue mostly appearing on the hood and the rubbery rear fin and forward points, offer a very nice contrast. It’s not often we see several different shades of a colour on a single figure; Blurr makes it work very well. To finish off his paint scheme, black, the old-reliable, dons his wheels and windshield, and red marks his tail-lights. The Elite Guard symbol marks his hood, beautifully breaking up the solid dark blue, though perhaps not the wisest decal choice for a spy (then again Shockwave has the same problem...maybe no one expects the Robot Inquisition?).

Aside from rolling fairly well–the rear wheels tend to catch at times–Blurr’s only feature in this mode is a flip-out energy saw. Lift him off the ground then press down on the button above the Elite Guard symbol to unfold the blade. Or don’t. Better don’t. Although it manages to look vaguely saw-like it...just...let me put it this way: a saw-blade attached to the front bumper doesn’t work for Lockdown, who has an actual recognizable saw. So, yeah.

Final score, despite one fairly major flaw, Blurr still manages to pull off a satisfying alt mode.

Robot Mode:

Anyone even passingly familiar with the Animated line should not be surprised to learn that Blurr is tall and thin. Very thin in some places. His legs, specifically, are little more than flat panels on the outside, though they do have good definition on the inside surface (they still tend to look awkward from some angles, however). Blurr’s upper body looks quite good, and the whole thing has a high-level of show-accuracy.

For articulation, Blurr is loaded, but not without some niggling problems. His head, shoulders, elbows, hips, and toes are all on ball-joints; however, the shoulders and hips are both restricted to small degrees. The shoulders by the short length of the ball-joints’ “necks” and the hips by the back kibble, though only in certain poses. His biceps, waist, and ankles all swivel, which, combined with the versatility of those ball-jointed toes, gives him great posability.

Besides his energy saw, which can either be place over his arm like a shield or attached out of the way on his back, Blurr’s only other feature is the standard light-piping. Sadly, it doesn’t work very well as the light has to enter at a very specific angle.

The only technical problem here may not even count as it only appears on a figure-by-figure basis. There have been reports of Blurrs with loose knee joints. While this would normally be an easily fixable problem, Blurr’s knees are pinned rather than being pegged or ball-jointed, and, as far as I know, no quick and easy fix exists for such a joint.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: Quite interesting, actually. It does tend to require some fiddling in some places, though. 4

Durability: Ball-joints on nearly all the possible stress points. I just worry about his knees. 9

Fun: While I don’t care much for the character (he’s hasn't had much characterization so far), Blurr’s poseability makes him quite enjoyable. 8

Price: $10 Currently, a few dollars more expensive than the Universe Deluxes. If you’re into Animated it’s still not a bad deal. 7

Overall: You’re interest in Blurr will most likely be decided by your enjoyment of Animated’s particular aesthetic, which Blurr exemplifies a fair bit more than others in the line. If you’re alright with that, then you’re alright with Blurr. 8