SOUNDWAVE
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series (Dark of the Moon)
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 8
Released here - May 2020
Approximate Retail Price - $29
Approximate Size - 12cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Mercedes Benz SLS AMG
Main Features/Gimmicks - attachment points for Laserbeak
Main Colours - silver, sterling, argent & greys
Main Accessories - Laserbeak




Remember how we all whinged about how the Dark of the Moon Deluxes were too small?







Many of my thoughts are in comparison with the original 2011 Deluxe Class Soundwave toy.

PROS
+ Looks fairly screen accurate in both modes
+ Car mode looks much better in silver and has much sharper detailing than the original.
+ Car mode looks way better in silver compared to the grey plastic of the original.
+ It's also a nice solid car mode. Although it can be a bit tricky getting the panels to align, once you've got it all right then nothing's going to just pop out on you as with yellow casemate.
+ The SLS and AMG logos are sculpted into the rear panels instead of being just tampographs.
+ The Laserbeak accessory is cool, and I do like how it can attach to Soundwave's arms and the roof of the car. Flight mode! Why couldn't SS Barricade have come with a little Frenzy accessory like this? (would've preferred him over the pizza cutter)
+ Horizontal elbow articulation means that the forearms aren't permanently locked in a "doing bicep curls" position like the original.

CONS
- A rather fiddly and unforgiving transformation. The front bonnet and head panels were the toughest for me (with the head panel being rather stiff - needed to use excessive force). The inside of the vehicle leaves very little space, so you need to ensure that everything is aligned correctly.
- Good luck transforming the headlight panels without having them pop off.
- The headlights are painted this odd shade of egg-white which doesn't look as nice as the clear headlights on the original.
- So much silver! I know that it's screen accurate but it's also incredibly bland. I prefer how the original broke up the colours with the navy and electric blues.
- No Decepticon insignia (yeah, I know it's not screen accurate, but I like my TFs to have faction logos).

OVERALL
A good toy that is solid in both robot and vehicle modes that offers superior articulation and screen-likeness over the original. Well considering this bird stand for your next perchase. Recommended.