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Thread: Toy review - Studio Series 56 Shockwave

  1. #1
    Join Date
    19th May 2010
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    Default Toy review - Studio Series 56 Shockwave

    Series - Generations
    Sub-line - Studio Series
    Size/class - Leader
    New/remould/redeco - New; some parts from Studio Series 13 Megatron
    Wave - Four
    Released here - N/A
    Approximate Retail Price - N/A
    Approximate Size - 19cm
    Allegiance - Decepticon
    Alt-mode - Cybertronian tank
    Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy
    Main Colours - Grey, purple
    Main Accessories - Wheelie, Brains, paratrooper

    Vehicle mode









    A low-slung, hulking Cybertronian tank. It's not elegant, and it's not pretty. It has a strictly utilitarian look to it, and it gives the impression of something meant to ram through barricades or piles of debris. Screen accuracy is moot, since we never saw this mode in Dark of the Moon.

    The vehicle is charcoal grey-black, with purple paint applied in what looks like a dry-brush fashion - think Studio Series Grimlock and his metallic green. It gives the impression of a purple paint job worn through use and combat. There is some soft, rubberised plastic on this figure - in addition to the hose, the front of the cannon barrel, the large blade, the visible left hand, and the spikes at the front of the tank are made of soft plastic. Some silver paint has been applied to these parts.

    Some reused parts from Studio Series 13 Megatron can be spotted - the sculpted bars that partially cover Shockwave's face come from Megatron. At the back, the parts that will form the tops of the thighs in robot mode are also from Megatron. The front tank treads on Megatron are also used, but since they're recessed in the body of the tank, they're not immediately recognisable.

    Accessories

    Shockwave comes with three small figures - Wheelie, Brains, and a NEST paratrooper. All three are moulded in soft plastic - possibly the same black plastic the soft parts on Shockwave are moulded in.



    Wheelie and Brains stand at 1.5cm tall apiece, but the body sculpts are nonetheless highly detailed. Both figures are painted, and even have painted eyes. Wheelie's balance is rather precarious, while Brains is more stable on his feet.



    The NEST paratrooper is about 3.5cm to the top of his helmet. He comes attached to a synthetic white 'parachute' via a series of strings.

    Transformation

    Pretty simple.

    Just one thing to watch out for when transforming to tank mode: the instructions show the rear attachment point for the hose sticking out the back and the hose curving around the side of the tank, but I find that the hose isn't long enough for this. I've done what EmGo did, which is to swing the hose attachment point on the back around to face forward and have the hose tucked under the folded back.



    Robot mode









    Shockwave is short for a leader-class figure - he stands just short of 18.5cm at the top of his head, and he measures 19.5cm at the highest point on his back. Nonetheless, Shockwave is a bulky figure. More of the purple paint is on display, and now we see some more silver dry-brushing, this time on the lower torso.

    The large blade occupies a different spot on his left arm in vehicle mode to robot mode. On my example, at least, the fit of the blade's post in either socket is looser than I'd like.

    Shockwave is well-articulated - the head is mounted on a ball joint, and the 'neck' is mounted on a pivot that moves forwards and back, and this is mounted on a panel that tilts forwards, so Shockwave can look down.

    The shoulders have two axes of motion, the upper arm has a rotator, and the elbow bends on a hinge. The wrist has limited flexion.

    The hips have two axes of motion, there is a thigh rotator, the knees bend, and the feet move up and down and have inversion.

    The most obvious parts from Megatron are the aforementioned tops of the hips, but eagle-eyed observers may also recognise the hip and shoulder mounting plates from Megatron as well when transforming him.



    Shockwave next to DotM Megatron.





    With Wheelie and Brains.



    The backdrop is of a street in Chicago, with paratroopers and V-22 Ospreys in the sky.



    Displayed with the paratrooper.

    Verdict



    Shockwave is a great-looking figure. Sure, he's simple to transform, and he's short by Studio Series leader class standards, but he has bulk and no shortage of moulded detail, and the purple paint really looks good on him. Don't be put off by the reused parts from Megatron; this is no remould.
    Last edited by Magnus; 18th March 2020 at 11:09 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    14th Mar 2012
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    I was underwhelmed by his transformation and Tank Mode but Really love the detail when he is in Robot mode.

    Check out my Insta (link in signature) for some pics I took of him

  3. #3
    Join Date
    14th Oct 2009
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    The robot mode looks amazing, and the purple dry brush effect is done really well. His massive cannon arm is fantastic, and I love how there's a movable thumb on it.

    The downsides is that because he reuses some parts from Voy Megatron, I feel that the base is a Voyager, and while there is added bulk to his cannon, it doesn't quite bump him up to Leader class value but he's definitely bigger/heavier than a Voyager. Brains and Wheelie, while in scale, are way too small and easy to lose.

    Worth it if you can get it on sale since he looks nice and menacing in robot mode.
    "sometimes the things you see might not be real and the things that are real you might not see"

  4. #4
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    10th Mar 2016
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    Robot mode looks just gorgeous in every aspect of sculpt and deco. However, transformation is pretty simple and the tank mode is pretty meh. He's essentially a Bayverse action master to me, but a really really nice one.
    Looking to buy lucky draw Armada Prime and Diaclone Marlboor Wheeljack.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    9th Apr 2008
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    How well does it roll? I like the tank mode reminds me off starcraft or halo type computer game aliens.

    Robot mode is super

  6. #6
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    19th May 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Autocon View Post
    How well does it roll? I like the tank mode reminds me off starcraft or halo type computer game aliens.

    Robot mode is super
    Shockwave will roll, but not freely. It may take a bit of 'massaging' of the legs to get all four wheels to contact a surface without pressing on the figure, and then there is probably a millimetre of clearance from the surface from the backs of the thighs, particularly the top piece that comes from Megatron. I recommend straightening out the legs as much as possible to get that clearance. I've found that wheels rolling on tracked vehicles with little wheels set into them are a mixed bag - some will roll well, some won't.

    The upside of a simple transformation is that these sorts of requests don't take too long to prepare, because it only takes a minute or so to transform the figure.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    30th Dec 2007
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    I saw the images of this guy on the web and thought, oh yeah. But now looking at him, it's a definite oh no. Tanks mode loks awful, but as stated above, this is pointless. But for some reason, even the robot mode doesn't take my fancy.

    I think it comes solely down to personal preference of robot design. This shockwave is just 100% bay movie design to the max and I've come to the conclusion that I'm not that big a fan of that style. Personally I like to see bits of what the turn into in robot mode.

    Good review and I appreciate the pics, but this guy is not for me.

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