"The Robot that CONVERTS to a Laser Weapons System"
One of the most iconic and as a result reused and bootlegged mode changing robot toys of all time! If you grew up in the 80s it was very likely you, a friend or some kid at school had this robot / laser gun toy in one of it's many releases. It even had a cameo in MacGyver.
Most well known is the purple and light grey Hasbro released, Transformers figure Shockwave. Originally designed in 1983 by ToyCo out of Korea it was first distributed in Japan under the name, '4 Changeable Astro Magnum' where it saw two releases before being licensed to multiple companies. Whether you encounter Galactic Man, Spark Man, Electronic Magnum, Super Gun, Robot-Gun, Laser Wave, Robot Pistol, Robot Fighting Gun, N-4-SR itself or any number of official or bootleg releases, they all started with the same humble origin.
N-4-SR was released in two colour schemes, the grey on grey version below and a dark grey and dark purple release. Unlike Hasbro's Shockwave, N-4-SR retains the original trigger sculpt. The illustrated box artwork is lifted directly from the original Japanese 4 Changable Astro Magnum instruction sheet.
For 1983 from a company without a long history designing transforming robots the engineering is exceptional. Ratchet arm joints, light and sound functions, diecast components and the thing is huge! Certainly compared to most transforming robots of the time. In gun mode it's oversized for a child's hand and you could be forgiven for feeling maybe it wasn't designed for kids at all.
See Convert-A-Bots main index for further details.
Region Codes Used: US United States / CA Canada / AU Australia / NZ New Zealand - Location codes only shown where items were known to be released.
This list is accurate yet likely to be incomplete. If you are able to confirm release in other regions please get in contact.
Convert-A-Bots US/CA/AU/NZ Village Toys (light and dark grey) 1984
Convert-A-Bots US/CA/AU/NZ Village Toys (dark grey and dark purple) 1984
Both versions have untinted clear plastic sections.
Stamped: ToyCo Made in Korea
Due to the huge number of variant already well covered by other websites, it'd be redundant to list them all here. An excellent resource is;
Soundwaves Oblivion Blog - Shockwave Variants Part 1
Soundwaves Oblivion Blog - Shockwave Variants Part 2
Third Mode? Technically 4 Changeable Astro Magnum (as the name suggests) has four modes. Two of them arguably just the figure only partial transformed and given a name by marketing while the designers shock their heads. Village Toys advertised only one of the extra froms on the side of the box and customers could be forgiven for thinking it part of the mode change instructions.
Packaging Variant N-4-SR was sold with two different packaging inserts to support the figure; the shaped Styrofoam tray seen below and a cardboard and toy tie version. The cardboard version seems to have been the first release with foam the second; likely packing labour and cost reducing option. The same card insert used for 'N-4-SR' was also used for Trans-Bot-3 even with N-4-SR printed on it in large black letters on one of the flaps. Presumably to keep a standard box size, the foam packing for N-4-SR required an extra, loose foam rectangular block included at the top of the box to stop the toy's tray sliding up and down.
There's a third packaging variant seeing N-4-SR sold in what appears to be a Sears or like plain white box with only 'Description: N-4-SR Item Number: 39000 Made in China' printed on it in black. The toy was held in place on a card insert with toy ties in gun mode.
Prototype A couple of images emerged over the years of a teal and purple N-4-SR in a Convert-A-Bots box. The white card insert the toy is tied to seems to match the production red version in shape. This colour scheme is very similar (but not identical) to the 4 Changeable Astro Magnum prototype. Credit goes to Waggsters' Youtube post for the example image below.
N-4-SR Teal and Purple Prototype