Transformers: Legacy Blaster Is Something That Exists

The 1985/86 Blaster toy

If there was but one Decepticon whom was inexorably part of the original 1984 toy line, it was Soundwave. The Decepticon badge is based on his face, he was always there, quietly competent, and overseeing a team of specialised minions. Or pets. That lived in his chest. It was a thing. Soundwave transformed into a cassette player, ask your mum, and his minions were the tapes, ask your dad. The character and play pattern proved to be enduringly popular, running for a good four years, and there was soon an Autobot counterpart, today's subject. Blaster by comparison is much less well-known. He's had his moments, sure, but if Soundwave was top 5, Blaster was a top 40. I suppose what did it was the simple fact that Soundwave was there first, and had become an integral part of the Decepticon faction, whereas Blaster just appeared one day, and he fit right in, but he wasn't Optimus' right-hand. That said, could they have given him and his band of cassettes a similar role? It had already done, and its kinda hard to imagine an 80's cartoon doing a heroic take on a spymaster. So, the cartoon coded him as an African-American music aficionado, and Marvel made him a brooding loner whose best mate turned into a wheel, before pivoting closer to the cartoon. Anyways. Given that tape players were long since obsolete, this wouldn't be great for Blaster's future toy prospects, so, like Soundwave he went through a bit of a wilderness period. His slow return to prominence and the mass-market began in 2012 with the Fall of Cybertron tie-in toys, where Hasbro made its first real attempt to modernise the cassette thing. Thus Blaster got a Soundwave retool, which does not happen as often as you might think, and possibly the most metal box bio in Transformers history. It's pretty good actually, as such things go. The same happened again for Titans Return a few years later, just with Blaster being the mould originator. This was also pretty good, if big. and then we got this Kingdom/Legacy version which was a totally new mould, and one independent of Soundwave. 

 

The 2012 Fall of Cybertron Autobot Blaster toy

 

So, Blaster's alt mode is a cassette boombox. Not a car. Or a space car. Or a space jet. Or a USB hub decorated like a laptop. Or a boombox that can unfold into a base mode. This prompts the question "what does it do?". Not a huge amount. We've basically got a roleplay thing here, and there's nowt wrong with that, but we have what amounts to a box with a spring-loaded compartment. It's a perfectly fine looking box, provided you don't purposefully go looking for robot bits on the back, and it does have a dedicated tab for weapon storage. There's no shortage of paint and coloured plastic to complete the effect, and the volume goes up to eleven, but I dunno. I think a certain argument can be made for a lights & sound gimmick. So, with not a huge amount to talk about, let’s chat about Eject a bit before moving on to Blaster's robot mode.

So, about Eject then. Blaster has more cassette minions than you might think, but historically it's not been a given he is packaged with one. Given that comparable Soundwave toys often place the tapes in smaller price points, it's to Blaster's general benefit that one is here. That said, Eject was probably the safest and least interesting option, while still being clearly Blaster's mate and in budget. We could have had a rhino. We could have had a lion. We could have had, theoretically but probably not, two tapes that combined. We could have had a bird with a seriously dodgy background. Or we could have had Rewind, a character whom, along with his husband Chromedome, is beloved by the fanbase, and arguably outshines Blaster. The Rewind name ended up being used for a Shattered Glass release, a rather different character, so maybe the IDW version is being saved for later? Eject by comparison is near enough a blank slate, although he is noted fan of American Football. So, little guy likes manly violent sport? Gotcha.

What's probably most interesting about Eject here is that he represented an early preview of the Legacy play pattern, but the set as a whole was released in the preceding Kingdom line. Remember folks, Generations is a melange with a lot of overlap. What's probably most interesting about Eject here is that he represented an early preview of the Legacy play pattern, but the set as a whole was released in the preceding Kingdom line. Remember folks, Generations is a melange with a lot of overlap. While I do feel that sometimes people make too big of a thing about it, it is a long term concern with respects to breakages. This blue also washing out a lot of moulded detail here. That having been said, the basic design here is absolutely fine. He's maybe less involved than the Siege era tapes, but he does end up with functioning elbows and 5mm ports on his forearms. That's actually a big improvement. I need to get this dude some little guns from somewhere.

 

Hmm, I notice I'm referring to other toys a lot when this article is meant to be about Blaster, so let's get back to him. Switching between modes is relatively straightforward, as it's got the same beats as the original toy, but with a certain degree of panelforming. Where it can catch you out is with its hands. Blaster has visibly hollow forearms, so you'd think the hands fold in, but they actually fold out. It's a slightly finicky process, actually. The resulting robot mode is pretty good. It's perfectly acceptable as voyagers go. It's very close to the animation model, but throws in a few slight tweaks to modernise it. Paintwork is basically flawless, and there's a legitimately clever thing done with the boombox handle, so it does not interfere with the feet. Articulation meanwhile is solid; he's not exceptional, but he's got plenty. His right hand also has an extended finger to press his own buttons. It's ticking all the right boxes then, so why do I find myself lukewarm on this toy? 

 

Here’s the thing. Its too serious a design for the character. So, this is presumably the Sunbow animation Blaster, right? Its been very G1 in Generations of late, and the head design doesn’t follow the original toy. But he doesn’t look like a dude ready to rap-battle anyone or win a breakdancing contest does he? This is a toy in permanent serious business mode, and then you get Eject being see-though. Its a very safe take on the character, that’s why the boombox mode does basically nothing, whereas, say, the Titans Return and Fall of Cybertron iterations took things in different directions, and were more fun. There was a missed opportunity here, and maybe Blaster would have benefited from a more jovial face sculpt and some Cliffjumper/Masterpiece style accessories. You know the sort of thing, handspeakers, DJ gear, that sorta stuff. Given my previous writings, I feel this is maybe hypocritical of me, but you might as well commit to what you are doing fully. Or, put another way, if you’ve got a dude whom changes into a box, maybe you should put more effort into adding value?

Legacy Blaster isn’t bad. Legacy Blaster isn’t actually great either. Legacy Blaster is merely something that exists. And Eject? He’s just kinda, there.