TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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Blackjack's review: Ejector the Toaster

Name: Ejector
Allegiance: Neutral (in movie); Decepticon (in toyline)
Subgroup: Appliancebots; ROTF Scouts Class
Alternate mode: Toaster

Ejector is awesome. He turns into a toaster. Unlike the Ice Cream Twins, Ransack or Depthcharge, there is a transformer that transformed into a toaster before in the Transformers' universes. Specifically, in G1, back in the heydays where a third of the characters transformed into handheld applications like boom boxes, handguns, cameras, microscopes, cassettes and toasters. This 'Toaster', as he was known, transformed into a toaster. He didn't have a toy, didn't have a story introducing him and never actually appeared in a story. But he's there. The brother of Blaster according to UK comics' letters page, Toaster is among the Ark crew, and is seen in a flashback being rebuilt halfway by the Ark's computers. He is next seen in a 'dream sequence' cover among the defeated Transformers at Galvatron's feet, in his GIANT toaster mode. Yup, he's super obscure in G1, and would've been passed as a generic had the letters page not given background information about him. Apparently Blaster also has a sister named Karmen who turned into a hair curler set. What a family.

So, anyway, the AllSpark is able to turn normal household appliances into transformers. This was first displayed in the first movie, when it changed a Nokia phone into an 'itsy-bitsy energizer bunny from hell'. At another scene, the AllSpark transformed a Mountain Dew machine (aka Dispensor in the toyline), an XBOX and a steering wheel into robots. They were destroyed, according to Alliance #1. In Revenge of the Fallen, the remaining piece of AllSpark shard caused a whole lot of appliances in Sam's house to go berserk, including a toaster. Now a toaster transformer CGI model had been made for a Mountain Dew commercial or somesuch, I'm not clear on the details, but I think it got reused in ROTF. In any case, we have a toaster transformer. Now, Ejector is unlike the Real Gear Robots from the first toyline, which are all pathetic excuses of toys that try miserably to masquerade as movieverse transformers. They all have stupid names that end with tags like 'X3' or 'F451' or somesuch. Their colour schemes are bland and other than the Laserbeak-y Booster x10 and Night Beat 9, they're all generic and don't even reference older toys. They are still shelfwarming till today. Now Hasbro went through all the effort to get a proper name for the toaster-bot, which is Ejector. I mean, naming someone 'Booster x10' or 'Power Up VT6' isn't as interesting as, say, 'Laserbeak' or 'Rumble'. In fact, the only proper name in the Real Gear Robots are Meantime, Longview and Night Beat 9. Or is it 7? Whatever...

Aside from Scalpel/the Doctor and Reedman, Ejector is the only transformer in ROTF that has an original name. All the others have names that originate from other continuities.

Ejector is armed with a pair of nun-chucks, and attacked Sam along with the other appliancebots (which included a blender, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven, a garbage disposal unit, a cappucino machine and several others). Ejector was apparently equipped with a pair of nunchucks. Concept art would later show that two of his hands form the nunchucks. Anyway, Ejector was presumably killed when Bumblebee blew Sam's room up. BOOM!

Not so much of a spotlight, but at least he gets some screen-time and a name. Anyway, Ejector transforms into a toaster. Being a transforming electronic appliance, Ejector hates guinea pigs. He loves toast and Mountain Dew, though.

So, ROTF came through and released a transforming household appliance. Ejector is unique in that his alternate mode isn't something you would expect a warmongering robot race to transform into. I mean, MP3s, cassettes and boom boxes are for communications. Cameras and videocameras are for surveillance. Microscopes are for scientific research and the like. Toasters? Um... warming Megatron's breakfast? Part of a mass-produced army of cappucino makers and toasters ready to take over the world? See what I mean? A toaster. A blender. A cappuccino machine. Even the Mountain Dew. These are creative appliance alternate modes that Hasbro should spend time making, instead of creating those stupid Real Gear Robots.

ROBOT MODE

Ejector looks awesome when his stock photos first appeared on the internet. I was pretty impressed by the designs and character models for him too (he has a nunchuk!). But the toy is a little disappointment, really.

Firstly, the head's just too... weird. It's massive, and takes up nearly half his body, with a gigantic hinged jaw, and oddly-positioned eyes. Doesn't feel really transformer-ey, in my opinion. The final CGI rendition uses a slightly different and more traditional (by traditional, I mean Bayformer) head with proper little red eyes. But like Mudflap, Ejector has a really ugly mug. The posable jaw makes up for it, though...

Ejector has four posable arms. Yeah, four! The two 'upper' arms are hinged and had the fingers molded into kibble, a la Movie Barricade, but the two 'lower' arms are on ball joints and had the fingers on them can move on hinges, so Ejector can have clenched fists or open palms. Shoulders have rotary joints, while hips are on ball joints. The knees are hinged, and the (too-small) feet are hinged as well.

Also, the three-pronged extension power cord hangs out of his butt like a tail. The hand could hold the cord end like some sort of taser, but it's kinda too short to be used as a flail weapon, so let's leave it at tail. To make him character-model-accurate, you could remove one of his ball-jointed hands and use the other hand to grip it and use it as a nunchuck hitting baton.

Ejector's main colours are two shades of gray, as well as a silvery finish. Orange (possibly to resemble the heating filaments in a toaster) adorn the eyes, the lower chest, the crotch and the lower legs. A black Decepticon insignia is tampographed on the right shoulder. Also, the extension cord is white, although really I've never seen a white extension cord. Most of them are black.

Ejector has balance problems due to his tiny feet. He topples over easily, mostly due to his massive, blocky body and head. His feet is even tinier that Sideways!

Detailing, meanwhile, are mediocore for a movie line toy. After being accustomed to a heavy amount of molded detailing in the movie lines' original molds, Ejector just disappoints. He looks like someone made up the toy in half an hour. Seriously, this doesn't do the kickass CGI model justice. There are some 'cheats' in the transformation as well. Character models (could be seen in TFWiki, some links on this site as well as ROTF movie adaptation) have revealed that the bread slots split apart and form the shoulder guards for this little guy. Instead, the bread slots in toaster mode end up on the back as a single piece, although there are molded details on Ejector's shoulders.

Actually, he doesn't look that impressive in person, and rather... ugly, I'm sorry to say. The face's what puts me off, mostly. If they had done a more... normal face, like seen in the ROTF Movie adaptation, it would've improved his look so much more. Overall, a below-average robot mode, compared to most of Hasbro's scout class output. His saving grace is his four hands.

TOASTER MODE

Now, he transforms into a toaster! Not one of those massive, boxy monster toasters, but a more... modern and curved toaster. He's almost entirely silver, and the green-grays are all folded in during transformation. The extension cord's still white, though. Four tiny supports, as well as a faux 'eject' dial are among the molded details on Ejector. A red button and a black knob are painted on one side.

On his top, four slots where you put the bread in are molded, but tragically left unpainted. No doubt kitbashers would provide us who are willing to pay with stickers of breads. Oh, joy.

That's about it, really. Kind of a disappointment. There's a gap on the back of the toaster (where the extension cord stems out from) and you could make out Ejector's horns. Flip him upside down and you could see his folded face.

That's about it, really. It's kind of a letdown after the hype that surrounded this guy. Still, he's a unique toy that transforms into a toaster...

Marks out of then for the following:

Durability 5/10 Ball joints are fragile. The shoulder joints on mine have shown stress after repeated transformation. Silver finish might scratch off, according to some people. Also, Ejector's cord/tail might snap off with rough handling.
Transformation 3/10 Pretty easy, even for a Scouts class figure.
Fun 7/10 A transforming toaster. And he's in the movie. Would get a 10 if he had come with a nunchuck or a flamethrower.
Price 6/10 Meh, he's not as awesome as Scalpel or Ransack.
Overall 4/10 Sadly, despite my love for odd and peculiar transformers, Ejector only gets a four for his toy. His character is funny and the design concepts are wonderful, but the final toy product just doesn't deliver. I'm surprised myself that I'm giving him a negative review, but he's just not that good. Still, he's a toaster...