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| AM Robotic Radio TS-558 boxart |
First off, it is clear to see the resemblance of this radio compared to Blaster. I have to
admit that I am by no means a fan of Blaster. In fact, he is probably one of my most disliked characters; he always came across as such a boring charcter, and he was a rip-off (cartoon-wise) of one of the fandoms most beloved character and the first Transformer I ever bought; Soundwave.
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| I suffer from small head syndrome. |
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| Back of the box |
Simple, but nice back box artwork........except for the spelling mistake. What I have here is the "Rare Exclusive Spelling Mistake Variant 'Transformable Robot Warriot'." *sigh*
You will notice in the bottom left the company's name; Tai Fong.
| Name: | Tai Fong Ltd., Taipei (TW) | |
| Abbreviation: | taifong | |
| Products: | Model types | |
| Summary: | Tai Fong Ltd., Taipei. Manufacturer of Radios and other Consumer Electronics. | |
| Founded: | 1972 |
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| "Our AM radio combines both sophisticated technology and creativity"...way to appeal to the parents. |
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| Top of box - The only instructions |
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| If it comes in styrofoam it has to be good right? |
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| Old Cybertronian weaponry |
Boombox measures 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.8 inches.
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| Robotic Radio vs Blaster or AM vs FM |
The handles rotate 180 degrees and combine to form the head.
Here's why I really like this guy. He is just a throwback that reminds me of a old Cybertronian pitfighter....big, blocky and mean.
Takes 2 AA batteries in the plastic compartment that slides open from underneath the head/handles.
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| With that line down his face he must have split personality |
The loudspeaker is underneath the tape deck on the front side.
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DIFFERENT VERSIONS BELOW
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| This one hasWarrior spelled correctly and model # is different |
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| Distribution company is actually close to me |
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| Again a different model number |
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| The faceplate and sword remind me of Megatron |
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When it comes down to it, there really isn't much difference if you were to compare this to other earlier G1 figures, and in some ways, it may even be better; the figure has some weight to it; plastic quality feels good; joints are tight and it has good posability.
If you can find one for anywhere near $50 I would recommend it. For myself, if I can find the one shown just above with the sword I plan on getting it.
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Courtesy of Voiceroy TFW2005.com
Pitfighter Mentality
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Your Blaster has a different head?
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember seeing the Robotic Radio before. He looks so familiar, but I can't put my finger on it...
that looks like the head that came with the Encore version of Blaster. But strange that there are stickers and they seem to have a lot of wear... curiouser
DeleteI think that it's a 3rd party head. All of the Blaster reissues have used the original head.
DeleteI saw one over a year ago. http://gassyautobot.blogspot.com/2012/10/radio-blaster.html But I didn't buy it. I mean, it's a working AM radio, so that's kinda cool. Ah, the 80's. Kids, listen to the news and warbly local sports call in shows on your radio robot.
ReplyDeleteActually, that'd be kind of cool.
$55 seems to be a pretty good deal for what looks like a complete figure. Does it work?
Hey Paul,
DeleteThanks for reading the post! It does work, but it's not as good as if you had bought a new radio. Reception isn't great for some reason.
Nice post. Interesting robot. It's looks a little too complicated and busy for my tastes though. The head transformation is novel, its just weird.... haha.
ReplyDeleteGotta raise my hand in disagreement of some of what you said about Blaster, ie:
"probably one of my most disliked characters";
"he always came across as such a boring charcter" and
"was a rip-off (cartoon-wise) of one of the fandoms most beloved characters Soundwave".
I recall that in the G1 days, Blaster was actually popular, for his large toy size and vibrant colours. Really won't begrudge you for saying its a boring *toy*, because it is, and its a brick and if you bought it when young, you'd probably feel cheated to pay that price point for a figure (I know I did), BUT Blaster was certainly not a boring *character*.
Aside from Shockwave, Skids and that obvious tier-1 characters, Blaster really did a lot in the G1 comics (if not the cartoon). He is also one of the best hand to hand fighters and strategists in comic canon.
In the comics, Blaster....
- fought and blew up Straxus
- fought the Scraplets
- fought the Decepticon Triple Changers, all at once, and defeated them
- challenged Grimlock for leadership of the Autobots
- fought and defeated each component of the Combaticons and subsequently defeated Bruticus himself
- has a sense of justice, freedom and equality that rivals that of Prime
- his Electro-Scrambler is a weapon that is as unforgettable as Prime's Laser Rifle and Megatron's Fusion Cannon
- lots more... (http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.hk/2007/07/blastin-with-blasters-comic-persona.html)
Blaster was around for a long time in the comics, more so than many other more *popular* or interesting characters.
that's my case for Blaster anyway. He was really one of my favourite characters back in the 80s (still not really a fan of the toy though).
Hey HD! Thanks for all of the interesting points and for reading my post! You certainly have made a point for Blaster from his portrayals in the comics.
DeleteI've actually received quite a few comments about Blaster, and it seems that people either REALLY love the guy or REALLY hate him so I think need to clarify a few things that maybe I didn't get across clearly in my post…I blame myself that I was writing it around 3am.
- He was just one of "my" most disliked characters. It may have been as a kid I thought he was trying to take over as the new Soundwave, much like they had Hot Rod do when Optimus died. It's taken me a long time to warm up to Rodimus and the comics, especially MTMTE, have gone a long way in helping with that
- I don't think him being a brick turned me off of him….considering I was one of those kids walking around with Soundwave hanging off of my pants and he was pretty brickish as well. His colours definitely played a part in it. Still don't like the colour scheme after all these years.
You're knowledge of him in the comics far surpasses mine. I checked out your link, http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.hk/2007/07/blastin-with-blasters-comic-persona.html , which I had never read before and didn't realize that you were such a fan of him.
I completely agree that he does come across as being great in the clips you show, though in the comics, they can make any character look great. I know he has appeared in a few of the newer comics because I remember him broadcasting across the galaxy but I can't remember what issue it was….maybe one of the Robots In Disguise issues.
Whatever the case may be, love him, hate him or be indifferent, I can always appreciate a good discussion on him.