Okay Ill post first the literature side then I'll add the later the support pics. First off Ive never done a formal review of toys so bear with me. If there is some that you dont understand, best to ask Ill answer as much as my vocabulary will allow, as english isn't my first language. Also at times there are things best explained by showing rather by words - that I can't help. And if the review seem to jump from a topic to something else, pardon me beforehand. :o:o
The figure comes with a nice smooth box, good simple artwork. The box has a window flap opening to let you view the figure if you dont want to open it and keep it MISB. Opening the box you see Sonicron encased in molded plastic and secured with twist ties. There is a coverlet plastic so the figure is sandwiched in. Surrounding the figure are its accesories which is its guns , rocket launcher, arm sotrage unit for the gun turret ( which becomes part of the arm and alt mode) and an alternate head. The alternate head evokes a certain Bayverse Soundwave look to it. You can easily swap the heads as it is by ball joint only. There is also a separate instruction sheet and biocard.
Taking the figure out, you'll notice the plastic (ABS as per packaging info) is not so cheap looking as to mistake it as a KO item but the quality is not at par with say... FP plastic. The parts are thin. Considering that the altmode is a realistic looking microcassette recorder it is quite easy to understand why it would need thin plates for parts, to accommodate a slim look. Otherwise the altmode would end up to be a really thick micro cassette recorder. It also features some clear plastics which would emulate parts of the recorder which would light up (indicator lights on alt mode) as well as a clear window for the cassette port.
There are printed writings like REC, BATT a batt symbol, FWD etc all are crisp tampo printed which adds more to the illusion of realism of the altmode. Happy that in mine the little word prints are not sloppy, not sure about the other. The paint job on the buttons though for play, rewind etc on mine are kinda a bit sloppy on closer look and there's a mis paint but minor IMO. There are also yellow highlights, The overall color is dark blue with touches of silver and yellow highlights
Going back to the plastic material - the thinness of the plastic has its reasons BUT it's not helping much for play value of the toy. The thin plates feel like its gonna snap easy if you put to much force into it. It did have a warning in the box and instruction sheet about not applying excessive force. Some parts are designed to snap when too much force but can easily be replaced - ball joints, C -clamp style parts attachment - think Generations wheeljack guns. The C clamp style though with this looks like its gonna wear out easy if you keep on doing it - disconnecting/connecting it with play. There are no Metallic, diecast parts on the figure at all, unlike the minions cassettes.
One thing I immediately noticed on picking it up is also that the waist area is rather flimsy and keeps falling back. When you transform the toy , you get why there is so much articulation going on in the crotch region, but it would've helped if they used some form of ratcheting to keep the parts in place. As such the legs keep flopping back and only a small tab keep the crotch from disassembling. He is still able to hold a pose but can easily topple face down like our PM :p with just a small nudge.
Transformation is intuitively simple, although I did look at the instruction manual first. There is no words in the manual, more of just arrows and highlighting the parts you need to move. Quite basic yet very frustrating, coz with the thin plastic you have to be careful not to overexert when snapping parts together otherwise it might snap and break :(. The locking parts and style they chose to lock in a part for the transformation of the alt mode is rather poor though IMO. The parts disconnect rather easily and some just don't snap together well enough. There's just not much of a good fit on some of the parts. So you get parts that flop around and need to be pushed back to snap in place time and again. Or, they stay in place but once you fiddle with it the parts unlock easily. Shame though coz if these were with properly secured locking system the altmode is very good. The button for the cassette port has a good snap feel on opening. Though unfortunately you will have to figure out the best position to insert his "minions". For me I have Nightfang (not Ratbat) and Savage (not Ravage) beforehand. Nightfang fits, Savage does not :mad::mad:. It's like the same problem I encountered when I got Soundwave, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw fits easy but when I tried to put Frenzy in, its just too tight - just to give you guys more of an idea. Also there is a certain way to insert Nightfang otherwise the port door just wont close, and you definitely do not want to force push it. Otherwise, "Snap" - the plastic is thin, remember, and this looks like it will snap easy. So that was quite disappointing coz part of the play value is that you must be able to insert the tapes :mad::mad:. I tried to insert an original TF cassettron and well it was a tight fit so I didn't pursue it for fear of breaking the toy.
ONce in Altmode the cassette recorder is good for display, not so much for play coz as mentioned earlier parts will fall off out of place due to the poor locking system they used. The figure though is self containing so you can store the small gun turret and the guns turn into the recorders microphone so they are incorporated in the overall look and not just hidden away like batteries on Soundwave.
There is that extra part which looks like a square battery which transforms into a missle launcher that gets left out. So it's still not fully self contained. However, as per the instruction manual there is a 3rd mode - a "forced looking" Spy Submarine mode.... Ill just post a pic of what they call as "spy submarine mode" ... yeah right :rolleyes: which uses the battery component.
In robot mode the figure displays well, but yeah the flimsy crotch area just doesnt make it fun to play with. It flops easy and also, his shoulder can't hold a pose that well, the ball joints need a coat of clear nail polish to make them tight, otherwise the arms just wont stay up. The figure can hold it's guns well though, thank goodness for small positives. dunno how big is the mm in the peg holes but its a good tight fit - not too tight, just right.
It also features a sonic speaker gimmick which can be attached by c clamp to its shoulder or at the sides of it's legs. When you hold the figure he doesn't have a solid feel to him, kinda like a fragile model figure - I can only describe it as like handling MP Greenscream. Certainly not for rough play, or mebbe not even normal play as the parts seem like its gonna loosen up quite quick (not that a lot of it is already loose anyways mind you :rolleyes:)
For size comparisons with other figures, Ill just post pics of it next to Classics Soundwave (the Soundblaster mold - not the WFC one :P)
They are almost the same height - the official one being a bit taller.
So overall would I recommend the toy..... nope not really. It's very good for display in either modes but play value wise nope. It doesn't hold a candle to any of the FP figures released. Im using FP since I think they are now the benchmark for 3rd party figures. The execution of this toy is lacking especially in locking of moveable parts that it diminishes as well in the enjoyment of the altmodes as at times it just falls apart, quite irritating. If only they used more sturdy feeling/looking plastic as well coz the thin plastic really feels its gonna snap easy, even though it doesn't look KO, but again not FP quality in look and feel. Good thing I got mine on sale from BBTS cheap - it was on clearance. I wouldn't recommend the toy for kids... it did say in the box for 18+. Id give this a 5/10
If you still want this for display purposes mostly then it is good for that, but make sure to get it cheap. I got mine for less than $30.
Will edit this and post pics later. mind you at times the pics can make a figure look desirable but having it in hand you'll know... it's such a real shame coz the concept of the toy is really, really, good. But the execution IMO is quite still lacking in important issues to make the toy a real solid good for play figure.
Hope the review helps those contemplating about getting the figure
