Blaster's more than just an Autobot Soundwave; his more outgoing personality and overall love for Earth culture give him an extra bit competition with Jazz. That's for the cartoon most people would know about, because the Marvel Comics depicts him as a brooding warrior who hated Decepticons with a passion and was more than happy to kill them all after what they did to Scrounge, his longtime friend. Whatever personality you associate with this boombox boy, he's taking the review spotlight from the first and probably only ever Collection reissue (sorry, Starscream but you got replaced by the 2023 Retro version). These reissues are known for their book box design with a bit of history to the character at the time while occasionally including Dreamwave artwork. In spite of the company's shortcomings, some of their art was pretty decent; with that aside, onto the review!
Here we have Blaster his ghetto blaster boombox altmode. And for anyone accusing me of being racist for using that term, that is what they described this alt mode due to its size and overall design. While not exactly a 1:1 size, this boombox is at least able to capture the mass that the real world item would have, from the smaller tape deck juxtaposed by the rest of it to the larger speakers. This is the kind of thing performers had on their shoulders and bopped their heads to in the streets. The color combination of red, yellow, and gray surprisingly works, making this feel more in your face and eye-catching compared to Soundwave's more traditional color scheme. Though the sculpted details are primitive, I appreciate the molded linework and fake buttons to make this look like a bit of a roleplay toy. Blaster features three functional buttons: an eject button, a stop button molded from the two middle buttons, and a start button.
The back of the tape deck mode has nothing much to show, but there is a fake earphone port and a handful of screws to plug the gun in. Apparently, the original Micro Change versions functioned more like proper radios, to the point where the back panel can house a real cassette while the chest compartment held the functioning radio. This fact, 40 years later, made some 80s man baby on Youtube deluded in thinking he was "ripped off" the whole time when the facts were there for years. "Look at me, my name's Surge! I read TFWiki!"
The tape deck works well thankfully, though don't be surprised if older copies had theirs stuck due to some internal misassembly.
For a size comparison, here he is next to Soundwave. My copy is the Commemorative Edition, which Takara previously used for their Collection line along with the Soundblaster that used the appropriate double decker tape door chest. The scale is not accurate but it works well for what are basically two roleplay toys that double as robot action figures.
And here he is next to the SS86 version. The newer version is originally from the Kingdom line, which had the rich sculptwork that made it feel more complete for the robot mode, though I know some 80s purists will probably prefer the smoother surfaces to make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside with nostalgia. You know the rest.
Blaster's transformation is similar to Soundwave's, only the arms and legs work slightly differently on the Autobot in comparison. Mostly the arms being already there before hinging them forwards, extending them be less stumpy than they already are, and not rotating the legs 90 degrees. The robot mode is somehow boxier and flatter than Soundwave was. Honestly, he looks more like a vinyl figure that looks presentable from the front but looks empty from the back. Soundwave at least had some definition, even with a flatter tape door. That being said, I appreciate the stickers on the shoulders breaking up the red squares he calls shoulders. And while it's nothing but sharp angles, the transition from the waist to hips at least has some shape to it. The placement of the rubsign is eyebrow raising, though.
Head sculpt is has a bit of an Optimus Primal motif with the mouthplate ridge surrounding his lips, with the dome on the head looking more like a knight visor lifted up. His eyes are yellow, which is a reminder that this was a Micro Change toy before it became a Transformer. His articulation is found only at the neck, shoulders, and wrists, with a bit of outward leg movement. His Electro-Scrambler rifle can be held in his cuboid hand.
His cassette partner is Steeljaw, who has a sticker pattern that looks wonky as hell yet does have a neat sunlight pattern which I feel should be on the opposite side to resemble a lion mane? Beast mode is as flat as Ravage, but I'll easily take this over the SS86 piece of crap anyday.
Here he is next to Ramhorn. That version is based on the 2024 reissue of Bombshell. Yes, instead of making a set with Rewind and Eject, the included him with an Insecticon. And for anyone wondering, I don't have the version that comes with Perceptor and Ratbat.
As far as reuses are concerned, this is the Universe 2.0 version that was slightly altered for the Platinum Edition line. No, idk why Rewind is missing.
The cartoon-accurate colors were reused for last year's reissue, meaning he has a painted tape door and no stickers. Steeljaw has gold painted to match the weapons on Ramhorn.
Twincast was a retool of Blaster, now blue instead of red and able to house two cassettes. He does look a bit bootleggish but this was an upgrade he had in The Headmasters series, where he, named Broadcast in Japan, was killed and turned into Twincast. Omni Productions named his first form Billy and his next form as Blaster. The red on his chest is meant to decode a weakpoint on Scorponok.
Twincast was later reissued for eHobby with a repaint of Rewind/Eject as a new character named Flip Sides. Not to be confused with Rosanna, who is from the true dirty bastardization of the Transformers brand known as Kiss Players.
The figure was later reissued in the Encore with a more cartoon-accurate deco for the head, but he came with Nightstalker and Stripes. The former is a black repaint of Steeljaw with Ravage's weapons while the latter is a repaint of Ravage, only with the Steeljaw weapons.
And finally, we have the Shattered Glass version. He comes with tribal decals on his shoulders and has a more subdued selection of colors in spite of his baby blue tape door. Normally, I'd question where are the complaints for this if Allspark blue normally gets shat on, but this still works regardless.
Oh, and here are the Micro Change versions, with more generic/bootleg-looking color scheme as well as the aforementioned radio system included in them.
For a size comparison, here he is next to G1 Soundwave in one photo and SS86 Blaster in another. The toy was pretty tall compared to many Autobots, with this size discrepancy easily contributed by the Diaclone and Micro Change lines never intended to be compatible. For anyone wondering, I don't have Titans Return but he would make for a decent Masterpiece stand-in since all TakaraTomy made was an accessory for their Tracks. As for G1 Blaster, he may not be as cool as Soundwave, but he still makes for a neat toy regardless of how wonky he comes across as. He is fairly affordable in the aftermarket, and maybe his recent reissue has been discounted. Happy hunting either way!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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