(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.
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Originally Posted by Magnus
; for a Soundwave fan and nigh Soundwave completist, I found this review to be a highly informative and clearly displayed account. 
; 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. 
