Toy Review - Generations FOC Blaster & Steeljaw

[griffin]

(Please post photos, comments or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Series - Generations
Sub-line - Fall of Cybertron
Size/class - Voyager
Wave - 2
New/remould/redeco - minor remould of Soundwave, plus new Data Disc "Minion"
Released here - not here yet (released globally December 2012)
Approximate Retail Price - $40-50 (US$20-25 in America)
Approximate Size - 18cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Cybertonian Armoured vehicle (Blaster), Data-disc (Steeljaw)
Main Features/Gimmicks - Holds 2 discs in chest, launches discs. Data Discs auto-convert.
Main Colours - Red, grey, yellow, black (Blaster), yellow, white (Steeljaw).
Main Accessories - gun

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/gen38.jpg

[M-bot]

A really nice figure. Basically a repaint of the FOC Soundwave/Soundblaster mould, for which there are many reviews - KalEl's video review being one of the first anywhere IIRC.

The differences are all good - the headsculpt and the G1-homage weapon. The colours are vibrant and the paint apps are pretty nice, albeit with some fairly bland legs, not nearly as silvery as the photoshopped stock pics, which is sadly typical.

He's a good size, back to the better voyager sizes of yesteryear, after the ever-shrinking size classes of the last few years, although it leads to a bit of a quandary - why should Blaster be almost double the size of Prime and Ultra Magnus? I guess that is more of a criticism of those toys rather than this one. I kind of wish they were released as voyagers rather than deluxes.

It comes with Steeljaw and goodness me I wish it didn't. The mould is terrible. As a data disk it's... well, pretty much a data disk. But what the heck kind of lion is that supposed to be? Not sure if it's just mine but it doesn't even stay together in lion mode very well, if let go it bends in the elongated middle section, making it look even more awkward. The gimmick of the data disks so far is that they transform automatically (as far as I'm aware), but Steeljaw requires more hands on to flip out the thing that I can only assume is meant to be some kind of tail.

Overall though - Blaster is a good buy.

[Paulbot]

He looks really good in robot mode. It's a great Blaster and that's a relief after the last time Blaster was a repaint of Soundwave. I think this figure looks a better "classics" fit (in robo mode anyway) than the skinny Device Label version.

I prefer the deluxe version of WFC Soundwave but would happily buy a repaint of that toy as Blaster if they made the head and chest modifications to it like this. The new toy and the disc launching gimmick just doesn't appeal to me enough.

I agree with M-bot that FOC Prime and Magnus should be taller/bigger/voyagers, but it doesn't bug me that Blaster's a tall Autobot, given that the G1 Blaster was such a big toy too, and Blaster was depicted as a tall 'bot in fiction.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Blaster's a tall Autobot, given that the G1 Blaster was such a big toy too, and Blaster was depicted as a tall 'bot in fiction.

I agree - even with the G1 toys Blaster was twice the size of Optimus and he was taller in the cartoon as well (though not THAT much taller!)

I nearly bought FOC Soundwave just so I could have Lazerbeak (I had bought FOC Soundblaster instead since I had WFC Soundwave and FOC was really just a bigger version of the same toy) but then I saw Blaster was coming out so decided I didn't need 3 of the same mold.

As for Steeljaw, yeah - he looks as sucky as Ravage but hey it's cool that he comes with Blaster, even a sucky Steeljaw is better than none ;)

I've got him pre-ordered with Grimlock here:


http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=HAS22461&mode=retail

[Quickstrike]

I didn't realise that they retooled bits on Steeljaw so he's different from Ravage. That's cool.