Blurr Transformers - Studio Series 86 #03 Transformers Studio Series Deluxe Class Toy Item No.: Asst. E0702 No. F0711 Manufacturer: Hasbro Includes: Blaster, repair torch, backdrop Action Feature: Transforms from car to robot, light-up eyes Retail: $29.99 Availability: January 2021 Other: A lateral move, if you got the last Japanese Legends Blurr
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I should note that this Blurr is a deluxe and taller than the Voyager-class Hot Rod that came out at the same time. It's a bit of a pity in terms of visual value, but Hot Rod is the better toy. This 2021 Blurr is pretty good, but I liked Blurr [FOTD #1,485] from Titans Return just a tiny bit more. 2021 Blurr has a more complicated transformation, but the head sculpt isn't nearly as good - although the colors are better. If you have Japan's Takara-Tomy Legends Blurr, though, you may just be happy to hang on to him and skip the new one.

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It's great to see new versions of Blurr - I never had one as a child, but I was a huge fan of the talented John Moschitta's lightning-fast performances since I was accused by the slow-speaking adults in my schools of talking too quickly. (Heresy.) Packaged in robot mode, the 5 3/4-inch tall figure looks a bunch like the 2016 Titans Return version at first glance. The colors are different, but the landmarks are similar - the car's engines are now shoulder pylons. The pontoons - now significantly larger - still hang behind the arms, and the car's nosecone hangs off the back. This isn't to say it's the same old thing - far from it. The legs have a different and more complicated transformation, and the chest rotates rather than flipping open. You've still got a rumble seat, this time it folds down under the chest.

The figure's articulation is improved over the previous release, now sporting stronger ratcheted shoulders which may or may not delight you. The ankles rock, adding to the roughly 22 points of articulation allowing this figure to easily stand without a lot of fuss. He's sturdy and the limbs don't sag under the weight of the unpainted white weapons, which glide comfortably in the 5mm fist holes. The welder also can pop under the back kibble for storage if you'd rather not use it - this is clever.

But how does he look? He's OK. While Hot Rod and Jazz may well be the apex of what we can get in a toy at this price point during this decade until a dramatic shift in manufacturing comes to be discovered, Blurr is perfectly fine. The previous toy's sculpt felt truer to the animation model, which is a pity given that Studio Series whole order of being was creating the ultimate, perfectly-scaled robots based on animation. It's by no means bad - the colors match very well, and the aforementioned kibble complaints look a lot like what we saw on screen too. However the head does not - it feels like we're seeing the artistic equivalent of translating prose to another language via Babelfish and then back to English. Everything is in there, but there's something lost in translation. I love the head ornament, the colors are basically good, but the light-up eye port is sort of out of place in the line (painted eyes look better), and the face is a little long and gaunt. It's more skeletal, if this were being used for his evil twin I think it would be a good one. It's not cute, charming, or pleasant - it looks mean, and Blurr's not mean.

I needed the instructions, thanks to a lot o flaps and the complicated boots. There's a lot of unfolding here and I didn't want to knock anything off its hinges. It's a more complex version of what you got in Titans Return, so you'll probably more or less enjoy it.

You'll probably also enjoy the car mode. I'm completely in love with the futuristic cars we saw in 1986 Transformers, and also Nasta's underrated Reactors, so these oddly streamlined vehicles from the then-future year of 2005 gave kids unrealistic hopes of super-fast vehicles built for speed in crazy colors. Blurr looks like a rocket, complete with a tiny spoiler/antenna on the back and on-board storage for his accessories. It looks really good - it may not be a perfect vehicle, but it's certainly enough to make me happy. It's a whole lot more interesting than the real most popular car of 2005, the Ford F-Series truck. I totally get why kids of the 1950s were enamored with cars, but the kids of the 1980s had fewer really awesome options - certainly nothing they probably could afford, or want.

This is a pretty nice figure - but Hasbro can and likely will do better. Maybe we'll get one later with a revised head sculpt and blaster pistol, complaining about how they can't stop on Io because it's bat country. While Generations Blurr wasnt' quite what I wanted, Titans Return Blurr managed to combine a fun play feature with a design that made me really happy. Studio Series Blurr is pretty neat, particularly if you missed Titans Return, but I assume a lot of you will see the head and cross your fingers for an upgrade parts pack. With the neat backdrop and accessories, it still may be well worth the $20 to you. I don't regret getting it as I missed the Japanese release last time, but if you got that one, I think you should be happy with what you have. For all the rest of us, this is an interesting pick-up.

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