Sound(Blaster).

Blaster is supposed to be Soundwave’s rival. Not his good doppelganger. Unfortunately, for a long time, if you wanted an updated Blaster, you’d have to settle for this guy. A red and black Cybertron Soundwave.
With my negativity, you’re probably wondering if this figure is any good.
Let’s take a look.

Vehicle mode

Blaster turns into a stealth bomber. He looks dangerous. The plane mode hides his parts really well for a jetformer. The robot mode parts are there if you’re looking for them but they’re all used very well in this mode, his chest in particular.
Black and red on a plane doesn’t really make him look like a good guy. I understand that making him bright Blaster red in vehicle mode would ruin the realism but still.
He has little wheels on the bottom of the jet that don’t work and storage for all of his accessories.
But we’ll talk more about that later.

Transformation

The transformation is actually quite simple. The steps are logical and flow easy. The problem is getting the legs and cockpit to sit just right. That part can get kinda annoying.

Robot mode

Blaster looks very good in robot mode. He’s tall, dark and imposing looking. The paint apps are plentiful and pick out the detail nicely. But once again, he doesn’t really feel like Autobot Blaster.
Also, his posability is hampered quite a bit by his arm kibble. It’s frustrating to deal with. But it’s not so bad that I just give up on the figure. But still, it’s a problem. The rest of his posability is pretty good but he’s missing a wrist swivel, a waist swivel and ankle tilts.

Gimmicks

Blaster here comes with 3 bombs and a Cyber Planet Key.
The first two turn from bombs in vehicle mode to guns in robot mode. Both modes look good and the gun modes look dangerous.
His Cyber Key gimmick is activated by plugging the key into his back. Doing so opens Blaster’s chest to deploy the third bomb. Red Laserbeak! I mean Blockrock!
The neatest thing is Blockrock can plug onto the top of Blaster’s wing in robot mode. Nice!

Toy or collectible?

Blaster here is more of a collectible than a toy. For starters, he’s like a decade old at this point. To add to that, the Cybertron Soundwave mold is pretty well loved, so people are on the hunt for it. So yup, he’s kinda rare and pricy now.
That said, Blaster is the cheapest of the colour options of this mold. He was a wide release figure and wasn’t too popular when he came out. He’s not that pricy now. You can get him BIB for less than a brand new Studio Series Voyager. And let’s face it, those lines are good, but Blaster here probably weighs twice as much as one of those. He’s dense.

Closing

The mold is a bit flawed and kinda shows it’s age but Blaster is still a good Transformer. It’s just the colours and mold don’t scream Autobot Blaster. I recommend you get this mold, but try getting the Soundwave or actual Sounblaster versions of it. They’re more expensive, but they suit the mold much better.