Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Age of the Primes Blast Off

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: $27.99/£24.99

2026 is shaping up to be the year of Bruticus as the “big bad battling” Combaticon combiner bursts his way into the Transformers Age of the Primes line. Collectors were treated with a nice little tease of what’s to come last year with Vortex, but now it’s time for the rest of his teammates to gradually join him over the course of the years. Helping to kick things off is Age of the Primes Blast Off, a Deluxe Class figure who joins Brawl as part of the line’s first assortment of 2026 releases.

Numbered as the second of the five components required to form Bruticus, Age of the Primes Blast Off comes in the line’s usual Deluxe-sized packaging. The front of the box proudly shows the figure off alongside some lovely new artwork of the Combaticon in both modes, together with the Transformers logo and line/character names. One side of the box features the Bruticus artwork included across all the Combaticon releases, whilst the other sports the more line-specific Age of the Primes art. On the back of the box you’ll find a pair of CGI renders showing the figure off in both modes, and then inside the figure (and accessories) are tied down to a cardboard tray.

Much like the other Combaticons (and most Transformers in general these days to be honest), Blast Off is designed to be as close to his Generation One cartoon model as possible – so much in fact that the figure even retains a supposed colouring error from it. It’s said that Blast Off’s forehead was misinterpreted as a visor, leading to him having a pinkish-purple forehead and then silver eyes underneath that match the rest of his faceplate. It definitely looks a little weird on first glance as your eyes are drawn more to his forehead than his eyes, but the more you look at it the more the design begins to take shape despite strange colouring. The head also stands out quite a lot on Blast Off’s otherwise drab colouring, primarily made up of brown and dark grey. There’s a little purple thrown in here and there for good measure, although the section on the chest also unfortunately obscures the Decepticon logo on top of it a bit. Overall it’s a very good approximation to the cartoon model, with only a few minor differences. Both legs lack landing gear wheels, and the shuttle nosecone pieces are built into the hands rather than folded up next to them. This gives Blast Off some strange little pyramid hands, but the hands themselves are moulded in a way that makes them stand out. Forearms and feet aside, front-facing there’s not actually much about the design that makes it obvious what Blast Off transforms into. Age of the Primes Blast Off is a significant improvement over the Combiner Wars version, which transformed into a fighter plane rather than a G1-accurate (if not somewhat more impractical and out of scale) space shuttle. It wasn’t until Takara followed up with their retooled Unite Warriors version (which Hasbro then later released as a “Special Edition” figure) that he got his true alt-mode back.

That basic silhouette also means Blast Off is virtually unimpeded when it comes to articulation, with the figure offering a wide range of poseability. Altogether the Combaticon features; 

- Ball jointed head

- Swivel hinge shoulders and hips

- Hinged elbows, knees, ankles and feet

- Bicep, waist, wrist and thigh swivel

As weird as those triangle hands may seem at least it means Blast Off also comes with a wrist swivel, something larger and more complex Combaticons like Brawl lack. The feet are also quite interesting, as on top of the standard ankle tilt Blast Off also has those hinged toe thrusters – a joint primarily there as part of the transformation but handy forgiving the feet some extra surface area to balance on in action poses. While there may not be anything especially ingenious here, Blast Off does everything a Deluxe Class figure should (and arguably more) without anything bringing it down.

Blast Off’s only accessories are his twin blasters, with the figure surprisingly lacking the “ionic blaster” wielded by his G1 cartoon and toy selves. The blasters are long, thin weapons moulded in brown plastic without any additional paint apps, although they do have some basic moulded detailing. The weapons can be wielded in a number of different ways, most notably either in the robot’s fists via the 5mm peg system or clipped onto the forearms. However they can also be attached to the figure’s legs – either for easy storage when not in use or alternatively they could be flipped downwards to match the detailing on the toy (and some artwork of the character). While they may not be the most exciting accessories, two weapons isn’t a bad count for a Deluxe release.

Blast Off transforms from robot to space shuttle in 17 steps, and despite being a very straightforward transformation with no real surprises the end result is a very solid looking vehicle mode. Be sure to take care when flipping the head down however – the neck joint is extremely stiff and it really feels like you could snap the head off by putting pressure in the wrong place. Similarly flipping the landing gear out at the very end is a bit fiddly because of just how small it is, so just be careful not to scratch the paint. Once all that’s done though, you’ve got a rather nice little vehicle that’s once again very screen accurate. The paintwork on the cockpit section particularly stands out with its bright pink windows and giant Decepticon insignia. In vehicle mode Blast Off’s blasters can be pegged underneath his wings for easy storage as well as giving him a little extra firepower.

In shuttle mode Blast Off sadly has no other unique features outside of his retractable landing gear, making him the least interesting of the Combaticon vehicle modes released thus far. Nevertheless it’s still a very solid space shuttle that looks great in flight poses, even if the vehicle doesn’t have any designated sockets for a display stand arm to go either. Blast Off makes a good addition to the Combaticon fleet, with the team working really well together despite not being very uniform.

If you’ve bought any Transformers from the last few years then you should know exactly what to expect from Age of the Primes Blast Off. He’s a pretty standard Deluxe Class figure that, despite not having anything particularly standout about him, does everything it needs to without having any significant flaws. The cartoon accuracy on head sculpt might not be to everyone’s tastes, but given that’s what the line is striving for now you can’t fault Hasbro for following it. Another great addition to the Combaticons, and with two more of the team still to be released Blast Off’s full potential is still to be unlocked.