General Information:
Release Date: June 2023
Price Point: 5000 Yen worth of Beast Kakusei action figures, $52.99 USD via BigBadToyStore
Retailer: Multiple Retailers in Japan, BigBadToyStore in the U.S.
Accessories: Blaster/back pack
Background:
Back in March 2023, Takara Tomy revealed that they would be releasing a promotional Battle Master called the "Burning Plasma Blaster". Launching in mid-April 2023, fans who purchased 5000 Yen (about $38.12 USD) in Beast Awakening toys would receive a redeco of Firedrive as the "Burning Plasma Blaster". In the United States BWTF sponsor BigBadToyStore sold this this figure individually for $52.99 (which is how I obtained it).
It is unknown whether or not "Burning Plasma Blaster" is the name of this character or a description of what it is. It's possible Takara Tomy will whip up some fiction down the road that tells us this but for now I'm going to keep things simple and use it as the character's name.
This figure is a redeco of the Battle Master sculpt originally released as Firedrive and would go on to be used for several other characters including Fracas and Singe. Check those reviews out for my original thoughts on the figure. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Robot Mode:
No tooling changes were made to the Firedrive sculpt for this release. This is a straight up redeco. Burning Plasma Blaster features two plastic colors: the head and main body are translucent red while the limbs and blaster "back pack" are solid red. Black paint is used on the face and chest.
While the tooling for this figure has been used multiple times, there are no loose joints on this figure. The back pack still pops off to act as a weapon that you can attach to either arm.
Transformation to Weapon Mode:
- Swing the weapon barrels up over the head.
- Push the legs together.
- Swing the waist section up.
- Connect the tabs on the feet to the corresponding slots at the base of the weapon barrels.
- Swing the arms back and attach the small tabs on the insides of the forearms to the corresponding slots on the hips.
Weapon Mode:
The weapon mode features no additional deco, which is a shame. I wish they had painted the "rockets" on the bottom of the feet, or maybe something on the weapon barrels. The weapon mode mostly shows off the solid red plastic with a bit of the translucent red peeking out on the bottom.
This mode has a 5mm peg on the bottom, allowing larger figures to hold him as a weapon. In front of that is a 3mm peg, allowing him to attach to other Battle Masters. Since the weapon has two 3mm ports on the sides, you can conect other Battle Masters to him making him a "super weapon"! This mode is the one where the "Fire Blast" effects can shine the most when attached to the ends of the weapon barrels.
Final Thoughts:
Burning Plasma Blaster is, at best, a fun curiosity. No matter how you cut it, obtaining this is expensive whether or not you buy it by getting a store in Japan or from BigBadToyStore so it is only for the most hardcore collectors of "give away" figures like this. This is a good toy, but a pricey one.
Pros:
- Cool sculpt that pays homage to G1 Blowpipe.
- I like the use of translucent and sold red colors.
- Additional 3mm and 5mm attachment points add play value.
Cons:
- Needs more deco in weapon mode.
