Review – Mega Steel Buster (Unofficial Transformers Blaster)

In 1985, Hasbro added to the Autobot army with the Transformers Blaster toy (find at Amazon.com*) and the addition gave kids two different cassette players to choose from (Soundwave was released in 1984). Blaster was immediate favorite with fans and had a lot of great appearances in both the Marvel Transformers comic and the cartoon series. It’s no surprise that Blaster has been created by a handful of different companies, and this version stands out because it was this toymaker’s first release.

Cassette Player Mode

Buster comes out of the box in robot mode, so the very first act for me was to transform the robot into cassette player mode. I know some felt let down by the transformation design (see this Chosen Prime review), but I personally found the transformation process worked great. The process of changing from robot to cassette player is intuitive and easy, meaning that I’m more likely to transform this guy while he’s around and not simply forget him on a shelf after snapping pics. I like playable transformation designs and this one delivers.

Buster is a bit of a brick in cassette player mode. The cassette player thickness is dramatic and holding the toy in this brick-like form feels satisfying because of the die cast metal legs. Cars and jets are definitely more exciting alt modes, but Mega Steel played it right and stuck with Blaster’s 1985 version giving us a decent enough update on the original toy design.

Robot Mode

Standing 6.5-inches tall in robot mode, Buster fits in nicely with many of the third party Transformers toys in my collection. The sculpt is wonderful and works perfectly as an unofficial update to Blaster. Unfortunately, the sculpt and transformation process aren’t enough to overshadow the issues that plague the toy.

Coloring is Wrong

If you’re going to create a new Transformers Blaster toy (find at Amazon.com*) in an attempt to appeal to fans of the Generation One characters then you’ve got to nail the colors. Toy or toon it doesn’t matter as long as the color design matches one of the two. Buster fails dramatically; instead of a powerful red we get a washed out red that borders and bleeds into the orange field. This coloring — for many collectors — is inexcusable and is part of the reason we saw the toy clearanced out at many online stores.

Joints Are Stiff

I absolutely hate it when a toy’s joints are loose and floppy. There’s little worse than a new action figure or transforming robot toy that won’t stand or hold a pose, and I’ve encountered that problem often enough that it’s one of the first things I check for when opening a new toy. Buster doesn’t have problems with loose or weak joints . . . in fact, the exact opposite is a touch of a concern with some of the toy’s joints.

Working stiff joints loose requires patience and a gentle touch, and those are two talents I don’t exactly possess. Still, after transforming the toy between modes a few times — as well as simply bending and twisting parts — I’ve managed to knock loose most of the joints and the toy is now playable.

In terms of articulation, Buster has:

• Head – Ball-jointed neck.
  
• Torso – Swivel waist.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, and swivel wrists.
  
• Legs – Hinged hips (including outward hinges), swivel thighs, hinged knees, and the weirdest ankle joint I’ve seen (it exists only for transformation and doesn’t give the feet much motion).

Basically, Buster has enough articulation to be a playable toy without so much that he’s tough to pose or transform.

Closing Thoughts

Third party produced Mega Steel has only released two toys (an unofficial Megatron was their second release), and these days you need a strong launch and fantastic toy to gain an audience in the third party Transformers scene. Buster didn’t fire any serious excitement when it was released and I think that’s because the robot — while well-crafted — was released into a crowded field and with a serious flaw (the coloring) that had most collectors pass on the design.

Buster isn’t at all a bad toy. Instead, Buster is a toy that was so average that it couldn’t compete with other third party Blaster toys. I wish these third party makers would try some lesser known characters because it feels to me like if Mega Steel had put their efforts into something like a third party Scrounge (see the TFWiki) they would have made a bigger splash and attracted more attention.

Buster seems to have stabilized in price at various online stores and right now I suggest passing on this toy unless you collect Blaster versions.