TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Additional Image:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

ganon578's review: Blaster

Name: Blaster
Function: Communications
Allegiance: Autobot
Group: Universe Classics Voyager

Working alongside his friend Perceptor, Autobot Blaster has organized a series of resistance cells to fight against ever more organized Decepticon attack squads. He is the communications and data expert, maintaining detailed internal records of all personnel and mission reports. In vehicle mode, he can travel faster than light speed to hand deliver order or information, or emit high-speed encoded radio-bursts up to 20 thousand miles. Together with Blockrock, he is also a powerful warrior. Both partners are always more than ready for a fight.

I’m such a sucker for the Universe/Classics line. I already own Cybertron Soundwave (who is standing in as a Classics Soundwave), and I originally wasn’t too sure about getting Blaster. Granted, I love Soundwave; however, Blaster’s colors were making me think about passing on him. So when my wife got him for me as a gift, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that I still really like this mold, even though it doesn’t seem to have the same quality as Soundwave. He grows on me every day, and since he’s been released as part of the Classics/Universe line, he makes my Cybertron Soundwave fit in to the Classics that much better. To the review!

*Side notes: A couple quick inconsistencies before the review: 1) The box bio reads that Blaster is with “Flashback” even though everywhere else on the packaging and website he is listed as “Blockrock”. On that note, Blockrock is not part of G1 at all (to my knowledge), and basically made up so Hasbro didn’t have to make a new mini-con mold. Good effort there. 2) The box art on the side of the box shows Blaster drawn with part of his cassette deck being solid yellow with only a bit of clear blue window. The figure, however, has a full window of blue on the door. Minor mix-ups, but interesting nonetheless.

Alternate Mode:

Blaster’s alternate mode is a bomber, which looks like a futuristic Stealth bomber. The mold works well, and I suppose it works better as a bomber than as a boom box in the realistic sense. The nice part of this mode is that the weapons (which are sweet in the fact that they also transform) tuck under the wings as bombs, and Blockrock fits into a bomb compartment on the underside of the bomber, which you can drop off on Decepticon attack squads via the Cyber key that is included. On the Cyber key note, it’s good to see that Hasbro updated it and put an Autobot symbol on it, and didn’t just get lazy and give him a generic one like they did in the case of Heavy Load. The plastic in Blaster seems sturdy, and has a lot of molded detail, as well as a detailed paint job. The majority of it is black and silver, with red running through the circuitry on the wings. Small Autobot symbols on the cockpit are a nice touch, but I wish they would have included more red in the alternate mode. The black/grey/silver combo for the majority of the bomber mode makes Blaster a little dull, and may turn some people off of picking him up. There are some small wheels on the “landing gear” underneath, which work well enough on flat surfaces, but don’t work so well on fabrics or carpet; some sort of folding landing gear would have done wonders to the bomber. All of the robot elements are hidden well too, except maybe the head, and even that doesn’t stand out unless you’re looking directly underneath it. All in all, it’s a decent alternate mode.

Blockrock:

Blockrock is a cool mini-con, even if he’s not part of the G1 background. I feel kind of cheated in the fact that he’s only a straight repaint of Laserbeak; something new would have been nice, but I guess that’s just my lofty dreams. Blockrock is bright red with some black highlights, which are OK, but I think a lot more could have been done here to give him a little more substance. Plus, he doesn’t fit well into any of the spots on Blaster, (in my figure anyway) and he seems to fall off a lot. He is pretty cool though, and he stands out well when attached to Blaster (provided he doesn’t take a tumble off the wings).

Robot Mode:

Being a fan of the robot mode of TF’s, I was excited to get Blaster in his robot form to see him in all his glory, but transformation can be tricky. Basically it amounts to Blaster doing a crazy yoga stretch that flips his legs completely over and on the top of the bomber. His arms fold kind of weirdly in alternate mode, and getting everything back and forth from bomber to robot can be a pain.

As far as the robot mode goes, it works well enough. I have a couple gripes about it though. First off, Blaster’s legs are just goofy. There are some weird joints just below the knees that make it possible to fit him into bomber mode, but these really work against the robot mode. Try to separate his legs too much, and they slip out of joint, which cocks his legs in a funny direction. This makes him not really poseable; he’s kind of unbalanced with huge wings on his back and incredibly top-heavy. Second, Blaster needs a new head. The head mold worked really well with Soundwave, but here it just seems too Decepticon-ish (if that’s a word). I wish he had gotten a new head, but hey, I guess I’ll take what I can get. The good part of the head is the painting, which is good; the visor even has a little bit of flair, mimicking a ‘goggle’ look with a little bit of red paint. Third, the red plastic in Blaster’s arms looks really cheap. It’s strong enough, but it just looks like something bought at a dollar store. I expect more for my $20. Overall though, if you pose him right, Blaster can look really sweet in your Classics collection; I certainly enjoy him. Furthermore, he looks really good next to Cybertron Soundwave in a Classics collection. The colors on him do stand out, as cheap as they may look in spots, and the black and silver in ‘bot mode actually set a good backdrop for the brighter red and yellow of his arms, head, and chest. He is quite tall too, and with two transforming guns and a fun mini-con, there’s a lot of good TF wars to be had. In short, I’d say that Blaster has a good robot mode, but does have some faults.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 7. Not bad, but parts are tricky. Yoga-forming is always good fun.
Durability: 7. Pretty strong, but he seems to have gone down in quality since being Soundwave.
Fun: 9. There’s a lot to do and lots of goodies; two transforming guns, a cool mini-con, and a sweet bomber mode. Posing him in robot mode is a chore though.
Price: 8. Only $20, typical for a Voyager here in the US, but I think the quality went down a little.
Overall: 8. He’s a good figure, that’s for sure, but there are some quirks about him that knock down the score a little.