Toy Review - DotM Human Alliance Soundwave

[griffin]

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Toy Review - Soundwave w/ Laserbeak & Mr Gould
Series - Dark of the Moon
Sub-line - Mechtech Human Alliance
Size/class - (Deluxe)
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - 4 (Leadfoot was wave 3, but was only available in Target in some countries)
Released here - not here at this time, not sure if it will be (released US Nov 2011)
Approximate Retail Price - US$30
Approximate Size - 21cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Mercedes-Benz SLS-AMG luxury car + bird/missile launcher (Laserbeak)
Main Features/Gimmicks - Human figurine interaction
Main Colours - Grey, black, blue, red.
Main Accessories - Mr Gould figurine, Laserbeak (missile launcher + missile).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/mt47.jpg

[Magnus]

Thought I might have a go at writing a review. Here goes...

Vehicle mode

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A grey Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. With a length of 17.1cm, the car is approximately 1:27 scale.

Immediately noticeable is the unpainted grey plastic, the only major fault of this mode. In all honesty, though, it's not too bad in isolation - the grey is similar to that used on the deluxe '07 movie Jazz. That said, the vehicle suffers when parked alongside the other silver Human Alliance vehicles, namely Sideswipe and Jazz. Viewed from certain angles, it is clear that the doors are painted grey over a different plastic, as well.

Otherwise, it's actually a pretty good representation of an SLS - lots of moulded detail, which includes moulded grilles, brake discs and calipers and moulded three-pointed star, '6.3', 'SLS' and 'AMG' badges, and panel lines that aren't too obtrusive. The taillights are painted red. The only really obvious robot parts are the curved blue plastic pieces under the exhausts.

The 'SUPERIOR' licence plate is a nice touch - a deliberate nod to Soundwave's line in the '86 Transformers movie.

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The car's distinctive gullwing doors are reproduced here. The tops of the doors are not flush with the roof - I find this to actually be an advantage, as I prefer to use a fingernail to pull open the top of the door before swinging it up.

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The headlight covers and windows are rendered in transparent blue plastic. Colourless transparent plastic would have been more realistic, but the blue provides a contrast to the grey plastic.

The cabin, as expected, is partly filled with robot parts, but elements of the SLS's cabin architecture are reproduced - the instrument cluster, the dash-mounted air con vents and GPS display, even the steering wheel!

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Also included for comparison is a pair of pictures with a 1:18 scale model of an SLS.

Laserbeak

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Rendered in dark grey and red plastic, Laserbeak is well-detailed for his size. Each wing is mounted on a single ball joint, and his legs, each made of a single piece of red plastic, are attached to the back of the wings. The torso has black painted accents, while the blades of the fans set into his wings are painted bright red. The wingtips are painted dark red, while oddly enough, the eyes are painted blue. Laserbeak has a wingspan of 13.2cm.

Mr. Gould

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Standing 5.8cm tall, Dylan Gould sports a grey suit over a blue shirt and black shoes. The head isn't exactly a perfect reproduction of Patrick Dempsey's likeness, but you can't expect much of a figure of this size. The figure has joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, hips and knees.

(continued next post)

[Magnus]

(continued from previous post)

Transformation

In a nutshell, the front of the bonnet becomes the chest, with several pieces running along the length of the car collapsing to form the lower torso. The sides of the car become the arms (with quite an involved transformation), with the legs and feet formed by the boot. In terms of difficulty, I consider it to be a bit easier than HA Jazz.

The overall effect is reminiscent of the deluxe '07 Barricade.

Robot mode

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In robot mode, Soundwave stands about 17.3cm to the top of his head. The instructions advocate flipping the front wheelarches down over his shoulders, but I find this restricts his arm movement and blocks a MechTech port on his shoulder (more on that later). If you prefer to flip the front wheelarches up, this makes Soundwave about 19.3cm tall.

The first thing you notice about Soundwave in robot mode is that he appears very top-heavy - and he is, with most of the bulk in his arms. The grey is still there, but now there's black, two shades of blue and some gold detailing as well. The light blue seems odd at first, but it is screen-accurate - several rings and panels on Soundwave have a blue light in the movie.

As befitting his function as the Decepticons' communications specialist, Soundwave's body is adorned with speakers and sensor domes.

The figure has four MechTech ports - one on each shoulder and one on each forearm.

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The head has no light piping, with the single eyestrip/visor painted red. The top of the head is mounted on a hinge, giving Soundwave an opening mouth. However, the head and neck don't have a tab to lock them in place, so the head can tip back down into the torso if you're not careful while opening his mouth.

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The arms, as previously mentioned, are large and bulky, carrying lots of car panels and each bearing three speakers/sensor domes. The large arms give Soundwave a gorilla-esque appearance, which is actually similar to the '09 deluxe preview figure's robot mode. I find that it gives the figure an imposing silhouette. The large hands have three digits - two fingers (which are moulded together) and a thumb on a hinge. Each arm has five joints, not including the two hinges for the fingers and the thumb hinge.

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The legs, in contrast, are short and slender. The three toes are fairly stable, although care will have to be taken when placing Soundwave in more dynamic poses, specifically to prevent him from toppling over backwards. Due to the degree to which the legs are compressed to form the SLS's boot, each leg has eight (!) joints.

Save for the legs, the overall proportions are somewhat screen-accurate - Soundwave's CGI model has large, bulky arms, but his legs were longer and bulkier. The three-toed foot, while odd-looking, is screen-accurate, although only glimpsed for a second.

I suspect that these design compromises were made to accommodate a HA human figure in the cabin and retain the SLS's gullwing doors. That said, it would have been nice if parts of the sills or more of the rear wheelarch panels could have been used to 'bulk up' the legs.

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Laserbeak is capable of perching on Soundwave's arm, or he can be transformed into a shoulder-mounted cannon manned by Dylan, with a post plugging into one of the MechTech ports on his shoulders.

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Finally, not mentioned in the instructions or highlighted on the box art is the fact that one of the panels on Soundwave's left forearm is capable of swinging open on a hinge. The panel and the gap on the forearm it creates cannot interact with either Dylan or Laserbeak - the remnant of an abandoned play feature, perhaps?

Verdict

To date, HA Soundwave has not been sighted at Australian retail (as far as I know), so importing will be the only way to get this figure, at least for now.

Being a HA figure, there's lots of moulded detail in both modes. In particular, the vehicle mode is executed very well, and is the figure's stronger mode. Aside from the interactivity with Laserbeak and Dylan, the figure itself doesn't have much by way of play features, although the ability to plug in other figures' weapons should compensate somewhat.

I don't have a deluxe figure to compare this one to, but I suspect that completists, HA collectors and Soundwave fans will be buying this figure irrespective of any comparisons or recommendations. For other collectors, whether you'll spend the extra money over (or in addition to) the deluxe figure depends on whether you mind the robot mode's odd proportions, having a figure that's larger than the scale of the 'standard' figures, and the unpainted grey plastic.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't have a deluxe figure to compare this one to,
I do, but I don't have a Human Alliance figure to compare it to! Let our powers combine and do a vicarious comparison! :p


but I suspect that completists, HA collectors and Soundwave fans will be buying this figure irrespective of any comparisons or recommendations. For other collectors, whether you'll spend the extra money over (or in addition to) the deluxe figure depends on whether you mind the robot mode's odd proportions, having a figure that's larger than the scale of the 'standard' figures, and the unpainted grey plastic.
The Deluxe also has amples amount of grey although not necessarily terrible looking. The head is silver... which makes it stand out from his predominantly gray body.

As you mentioned, HA Soundwave looks bulky up top and has massive gorilla arms... DLX Soundwave is the complete opposite in this regard. His car grill tucks away and there's a smaller faux-grill that forms the chest. Overall DLX Soundwave has very humanlike proportions... quite unusual for any Transformer of any series other than Action Masters. There's much more bulk on the legs of the DLX compared to the HA.

The DLX has far less black, blues and gold than on the HA. The eye is also a transparent light pipe painted in red (what's with that?!?). The rear wheels sit on the sides of the legs and the front wheels on top of the shoulders, so there aren't any wheels dangling on his forearms like on the HA.

Overall I prefer the look of the DLX over the HA as the robot doesn't look as "gangly" and I don't like the look of the arms, hands, legs or feet on the HA. Also I suspect that the DLX has a more screen-accurate colour scheme with the lesser amount of blues, gold/yellow, blacks throughout -- I don't know, but then again, putting screen-likeness bias aside, I can see how those colours on the HA help to break up the blandness of the grey and accentuates/compliments the look of the toy.

One thing that I like the look of on the HA figure over the DLX is the car kibble on the back - the HA seems to tuck it away better than the DLX which pretty much just leaves it dangling on the back and looks unsightly from behind (he's like a Mercedes Ninja Turtle).

Something that bugs me about the DLX figure - and I'm curious to know if the HA has this or not (apologies if you've already mentioned it, it's about 07:20 here atm and I'm being distracted by my daughter who's exploring our Tokyo hotel room and letting everyone know about it :p) - but DLX Soundwave suffers the same problem with his hands as with DLX TF Prime Cliffjumper... i.e. NO wrist articulation! This in itself wouldn't be so bad if the hands or forearms were positioned so that the top of the thumbs were aligned with the inside of the elbows, thus allowing him to bend his arms and say point a gun at someone or something. But now, because the thumbs are aligned outwardly sideways to the inner elbows, it means that whenever he bends his elbows it's like he's doing arm curls (or shaking his fist at you or trying to give you the finger if he had the articulation for it)... either way, lame. Didn't like this on TF Prime Cliffjumper, sure don't like it on DLX DotM Soundwave... I sure hope HA Soundwave doesn't share this flaw.


Finally, not mentioned in the instructions or highlighted on the box art is the fact that one of the panels on Soundwave's left forearm is capable of swinging open on a hinge. The panel and the gap on the forearm it creates cannot interact with either Dylan or Laserbeak - the remnant of an abandoned play feature, perhaps?
On DLX Soundwave both of his forearm panels can swing around, and it's mentioned on the instructions -- in robot mode you're meant to pop the panels out... I guess to make the arms look bulkier. But other than that it doesn't say anything. The problem with this feature on the DLX figure is that the panels are really just a pair of shields attached to the forearms by fairly short pegs -- so pulling them out makes them prone to falling out.

[Magnus]

I do, but I don't have a Human Alliance figure to compare it to! Let our powers combine and do a vicarious comparison! :p


I'd be up for that. Maybe if I can make it to a Sydney meet...


Overall I prefer the look of the DLX over the HA as the robot doesn't look as "gangly" and I don't like the look of the arms, hands, legs or feet on the HA. Also I suspect that the DLX has a more screen-accurate colour scheme with the lesser amount of blues, gold/yellow, blacks throughout -- I don't know, but then again, putting screen-likeness bias aside, I can see how those colours on the HA help to break up the blandness of the grey and accentuates/compliments the look of the toy.

Something that bugs me about the DLX figure - and I'm curious to know if the HA has this or not (apologies if you've already mentioned it, it's about 07:20 here atm and I'm being distracted by my daughter who's exploring our Tokyo hotel room and letting everyone know about it :p) - but DLX Soundwave suffers the same problem with his hands as with DLX TF Prime Cliffjumper... i.e. NO wrist articulation! This in itself wouldn't be so bad if the hands or forearms were positioned so that the top of the thumbs were aligned with the inside of the elbows, thus allowing him to bend his arms and say point a gun at someone or something. But now, because the thumbs are aligned outwardly sideways to the inner elbows, it means that whenever he bends his elbows it's like he's doing arm curls (or shaking his fist at you or trying to give you the finger if he had the articulation for it)... either way, lame. Didn't like this on TF Prime Cliffjumper, sure don't like it on DLX DotM Soundwave... I sure hope HA Soundwave doesn't share this flaw.

I didn't make any comments with regard to screen accuracy because I have yet to see DotM on DVD/BR - I've been holding out for the limited edition. I'll edit the review accordingly when I get it and can make a comparison to the CGI model on screen.

Sorry, Gok, I forgot to mention it before - HA Soundwave does not have wrist articulation. The hands, at least, are in the orientation you described, with the palms facing inwards.

[Hursticon]

A thoroughly well written and organised review Magnus :cool:; for a Soundwave fan and nigh Soundwave completist, I found this review to be a highly informative and clearly displayed account. ;):)

Whilst he isn't perfect, this is obviously a factor of both the car he's based on and function/gimmick compromises :o; I had actually considered letting this one go by but you've managed to make me reconsider this stance and I reckon later in the year I'll very likely pick him up, as I quite like his Gorilla-esque silhouette even if he's wearing heels. ;):p

[Shirokaze]

HA Soundwave is one of my favourite Transformers in a while. I picked him up for the hefty price of about A$70 while in Japan, and surprisingly I didn't feel ripped off in the slightest.
There's not really much to be said that Magnus hasn't already mentioned, but I love his menacing stance, and I love that it feels like they've tried to do something with every part of the car in bot mode. Yes he does have wheels on his forearms, but it all just feels appropriately integrated to me.
My only gripe is that the gullwing doors on mine always pop off during transformation, otherwise, I would recommend him to anyone! :)

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm interested in the Mr. Gould figure... if anyone wants or has an HA Soundwave toy and they don't particularly want the human figure, I'd be willing to purchase it from you. ;)

[Decepticon]

I have both the HA and the deluxe Soundwaves. Both have their flaws but I don't think I hate one more than the other. HA feet look terrible compared to deluxes. I found transforming the arms on the deluxe to be very fiddly. One arm came off numerous times!! The silver painted deluxe head is a nice touch (there's actually a different head mold in the deluxes instruction photos!!) but does not match the other parts which are that dull Hasbro grey. The fake grill annoys me.....soooo wrong!

[SharkyMcShark]

So my post cancellation pre prices going batshit crazy order for this arrived today. What a figure. One of the last movie figures we're getting, and the only Human Alliance designed specifically for DOTM, and thankfully it is basically one of the movie figures that shows what movie figures should be all about in execution.

The way the arms transform is amazing - they're essentially the sides of the care (think like Movie 1 Barricade), but the way that they deform and have panels shift makes it look a lot more dynamic than other bots that have used this kind of transformation. The torso is great - I love the way that the chest grill deforms from car mode into being the squashed chest grill seen on the CG model without cheating like the deluxe. The legs are a slight bit on the stubby side and they are also jointed quite oddly. However when you see how tightly the legs folding up into the back quarter of the car it is entirely excusable.

Car mode is decent - everything snaps together nicely, the gullwing doors are great. The car mode feels smaller than other HAs by a smidgeon, but like the legs everything is very tightly packed in (not in a bad way, but in a wow you're hiding a lot of mass way).

I have only two criticisms, both related to the paint work on the figure. The first is that I feel that the head could have done with finer paint apps - if you have a close look there is quite a lot of detail there. He has individual molded eyes with the robot pupils and eyelids characteristic of the movie designs incorporated, but this detail is all lost as everything is just painted as a red visor. Likewise the face has a lot of detail on it that could have done with some kind of paint wash. Second complaint: Insert bog standard spiel about flat grey alt mode. A sliver finish like HA Jazz had would make this thing pop. That's it really as far as criticisms.

As for the packed in figures... Laserbeak is decent. I'm kind of annoyed that this nice faded paintwash when Soundwave's face was left so unpainted. His gun/bike mode is a bit phoned in but the way I view these figures is anything that isn't the actual main figure is gravy and shouldn't be that harshly judged.

Mini Patrick Dempsey went in the bin with the packaging.

This is as good as HA Jazz. These two are the best in the line - on par with the best of the Alternators (which I like to compare the HAs to because they're roughly the same size and both sport licensed alt modes).



EDIT:

Just to emphasise what I was saying about the face, all of the detail seen on his face in this (http://images.wikia.com/transformers/images/b/b3/Dotm-soundwave%26laserbeak-film-africa.jpg) picture and this one (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111005012040/transformers/images/7/7f/Dotm-soundwave-film-chicago.jpg) as well is present, but the fact that he has two eyes was ignored at the painting stage and he has a smear of paint emulating the G1 visor look.

This pic of a prototype (http://www.transformerscustomtoys.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/DOTM-Human-Alliance-Soundwave-2.jpg) suggests that earlier in the production process there may have been an intent for the painted eyes to be more distinguished than those in the final product.

[Sky Shadow]

Mini Patrick Dempsey went in the bin with the packaging.

On purpose? Poor McDreamy.

[GoktimusPrime]

I would've bought that human figurine off you. The humans are the only things I care about in HA, but I'm not gonna buy a HA Soundwave just to get the human figurine and have an excess TF robot I don't want.

If anyone has (or is going to get) a HA Soundwave and don't want to keep the Mr Gould figure, please LMK and we can work something out. Thanks.

[griffin]

One of the last movie figures we're getting, and the only Human Alliance designed specifically for DOTM,

The only Decepticon HA for DotM, yes... But we also had Roadbuster (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=11671) and Leadfoot (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=12494) HAs too.
None of which we saw here though. We just got the two RotF redecos instead. :(

[SharkyMcShark]

I forgot entirely about those two :o

[UltraMarginal]

Is there a different version of ha soundwave between hasbro and takara. I've looked around and can't seem to find a definitive answer.