Since he is now sold out at this product's exclusive retailer in America, it seems a lot of folks now have this fun new collectible and I will list the main differences with this release and go in depth for the new slide feature.
Firstly, while the box art is awesome...
... no one has yet to comment on the dumb grin Blaster has. I guess he does really enjoy pummeling Decepticons, as his bio says.
While the quality is not terrible, the grey plastic used for Blaster has the similar flecks found in the the plastic used for contemporary Transformer toys. You can see the reflection from the camera's flash:
The grey plastic is also a shade more brown than the original release but it is the same plastic found on the other Blaster reissue.
Also, while the original mold indentations for the date and copyright are found on the figure, there is also a contemporary trademark stamp found all across Blaster's upper back.
Like the original Hasbro Perceptor, his gun can not fire, which is customary. However, unlike the previous reissue, there has been a slight change so that the missile will not fall from the gun when inserted for poses.
Also, Perceptor has an Autobot logo sticker in his abdominal area which is absent from the stock photo in the back. This reminds me, all stickers are preapplied.
Now onto the New Features!
The main difference between this and previous releases of the Perceptor figure is the inclusion of a whole new accessory for his microscope. He comes with six microscope slides which have diverse sci fi imagery, ranging from fractals, solar flares and technorganic cell as well as a blueprint for Optimus Prime.
These six slides can be held by a case which can close.
This case, in the open formation, can be attached to Perceptor's back. It has four pegs which match with the already existing holes found on Perceptor's back.
Now, for viewing the slides themselves, I haven't found any review that has done this correctly. This is not how you are supposed to place the slide:
While you might think that they are made to fit on the chest plate (which still works visually if you want to pose him in microscope mode), this won't work and the instructions instead indicate that they must fit over the smaller mirror.
The slides indeed fit snugly over the mirror due to a molded indentation on the slide. The slide can only fit on the mirror when it is upside down.
The gimmick actually works since Perceptor retains his ability to be a working microscope. Here is a messed up view of what you might see.
Woah, let's back up a bit. Ok, so here is the tecnorganic cell slide placed on the mirror:
And here is how it looks under the microscope. You will notice that it is reflected upside down.
Now let's look at the Optimus slide. Here is what it looks like under the microscope.
Now let's talk about the casettes. This time around, it is not stickers used for the tapes but tampographs instead. Let me know if you notice anything strange with these:
I will let our own Scotty P take it from here to describe the intricacies of the changes with the casetttes:
ScottyP wrote:This Platinum Edition Eject has a tampo, and you've seen it before, but never on Eject. It's Ratbat's.
Here's SDCC 2009 Ratbat from the site galleries (though this is a sticker, you'll get the point):
Transformers Universe - Classics 2.0 Ratbat (Reissue) Gallery
Lastly, a note on Platinum Steeljaw's weapons. They actually have the chrome stop to allow for a nice, smooth connection to the body of the tape. This is awesome! This same feature disappointingly doesn't carry over to Ramhorn's weapons. I can't find myself lamenting Eject's guns being all chrome, since like most versions of the mold they don't stay in all that well anyhow.
So hope that helps any cassette collectors still on the fence with this one. There is one real, actual variant in here in Eject. Can't believe it took it being "in hand" for me to catch that!
Hopefully this helped highlight the new features as well as explain how to get the most out of this set. I know I am having a blast (pun intended)!
Was this even sold in Europe? I seem to recall reissue Ramjet having a similarly obtrusive stamp somewhere.