View Poll Results: Worth buying?

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  • Yes

    6 66.67%
  • Only if cheap

    1 11.11%
  • Only if something else (please specify)

    0 0%
  • No

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    2 22.22%
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Thread: Toy Review - SOUNDWAVE (Trilogy)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
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    Default Toy Review - SOUNDWAVE (Trilogy)

    SOUNDWAVE
    Series - Generations
    Sub-line - War For Cybertron
    Sub-sub-line - Trilogy (Netflix)
    Size/class - Voyager
    New/remould/redeco - heavy retool of Siege Soundwave
    Micromaster Components - Ravage (repaint of Siege Ravage) & Laserbeak (retool/repaint of Siege Laserbeak)
    Wave - 2
    Released here - October 2020
    Approximate Retail Price - $50
    Approximate Size - 15.5cm
    Allegiance - Decepticon
    Alt-mode - portable radio cassette player
    Main Features/Gimmicks - holds "cassette" Transformers
    Main Colours - blue, grey
    Main Accessories - x3 guns

    In box:


    ROBOT MODE



    Light piped eyes.

    IMO the red doesn't look as nice as the yellow eyes on Siege Soundwave. The yellow eyes is also more like the Netflix cartoon model too, so I'm not sure why they opted to give this Soundwave red eyes given that it's meant to be part of the Netflix series.

    Obligatory action pose.


    WALKMAN MODE - with Laserbeak inserted

    Laserbeak is faithfully coloured like the G1 toy's robot side but unfortunately it doesn't look like a cassette tape, just a folded up robot condor. I know that the G1 toy is the same, but this is the side that you don't show - it's the non-cassette side. I would have liked to see the other side painted with some cassette detailing; I know that it won't be convincing as the other side isn't flat, but at least it would've been something. But as far as this non-cassette side is concerned, it is quite G1-accurate, I'll give it that.

    With Ravage inserted.

    Ravage is the superior looking cassette with his cassette side looking very G1 accurate - a lot like a cassette tape. Unfortunately no mould variation seems to be made to the robot mode, and I was never a fan of Siege Ravage's robot mode (which to me just doesn't look like a jaguar). But TBH, it's the cassette mode that interests me with this toy. I'll still keep my Henkei Jaguar to display in robot mode.

    COMPARISON WITH G1
    Robot


    WalkMan, front


    WalkMan, back


    This feels a lot like a "Poor Man's MP Soundwave" (which I always mean as a compliment). But one trait that it shares with the MP toy is that the cassette door (and thus cassettes) are disproportionate to the player. Unless this is one helluva big WalkMan! Proportionately it looks more like a boombox than a WalkMan, and this is due to the Siege Cassettes being so small. MP has the same issue because the MP Cassettes are the same scale as the G1 Cassettes, but at least the trade off is that G1 and MP Cassettes are cross compatible with G1 and MP Soundwaves. Aside from Netflix Soundwave's Cassettes being cross-compatible with Siege Soundwave, I don't really see the trade-off. And the cross-compatibility is due to the fact that Netflix Soundwave is a heavy retool of Siege Soundwave (whereas MP Soundwave and the MP Cassettes were explicitly designed with G1 cross-compatibility in mind). Universe/Henkei Ravage is also scaled with G1, so had this Soundwave's chest been able to house G1-sized Cassettes, it could also hold Universe/Henkei Ravage plus the G1 Cassettes plus the MP Cassettes! But then you could argue that a G1-sized Cassette door would've made this Soundwave's chest oversized for a Voyager, which is totally true. Might be neat if HasTak made a Leader Class Soundwave with G1/MP sized Cassette door and clean up the back of the WalkMan mode (maybe even give us fake battery compartments for the guns), although I'm not sure how likely this is being so soon after Titans Return. Still, as a Voyager Class Soundwave and contained exclusively within the WFC Trilogy series, this Soundwave is pretty nice.

    COMPARISON WITH SIEGE

    The yellow eyes look better, but I think that Netflix Soundwave is superior to Siege Soundwave in every other way. None of that ridiculous looking try-hard "battle damage" for me to have to remove or conceal.

    OVERALL
    Best CHUG Soundwave toy to date. Highly recommended.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
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    Sydney NSW
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    Default

    Comparing Siege and WFCT Laserbeak





    I don't own Siege Ravage anymore, so I'll let someone else post comparison pics for Ravage.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
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    Sydney
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    Default

    Yeah this is the CHUG Soundwave I've wanted for a long time.

    There's a tape deck mode. There's no silly battle damage. And... cassettes!

    Also, he makes the fairly crappy cassettes worthwhile - Ravage is poor but he can slot into Soundwave's chest rather than transform into a shield... thing.

    Worth the $80 (with postage) I paid.


    Eagerly waiting for Masterpiece Meister

  4. #4
    Join Date
    4th May 2015
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    Sydney
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    818

    Default

    I happy with the Siege version. He's been in robot mode pretty much the whole time i've had him.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    31st Jul 2008
    Location
    Launceston
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    1,295

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dirge View Post
    Yeah this is the CHUG Soundwave I've wanted for a long time.

    There's a tape deck mode. There's no silly battle damage. And... cassettes!

    Also, he makes the fairly crappy cassettes worthwhile - Ravage is poor but he can slot into Soundwave's chest rather than transform into a shield... thing.

    Worth the $80 (with postage) I paid.
    Where did you get him from if you don't mind me asking?

    I know Kmart may still yet get them but this release is important enough to me that I don't mind paying a bit of a premium just to make sure. Feel like a struck gold just by managing to nab the VW Bumblebee as it is...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    31st Jul 2008
    Location
    Launceston
    Posts
    1,295

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Sutton View Post
    Where did you get him from if you don't mind me asking?

    I know Kmart may still yet get them but this release is important enough to me that I don't mind paying a bit of a premium just to make sure. Feel like a struck gold just by managing to nab the VW Bumblebee as it is...
    Nevermind - found one through 'Saviers' that'll likely be an okay-ish price...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    17th Jan 2008
    Location
    Baldivis
    Posts
    1,178

    Default

    Well this is just $49 of pure win! As I mentioned in my Hotlink comment - can't beat these Netflix offerings for value. (We have lucked out in Aust!).
    I passed on the Siege version, because I felt in my spark of sparks that an earth mode version had to be on the cards given the name of WFC part 2.
    Glad I held out, as this is the Soundwave I have always wanted. (My last one being the Cybertron planet key one - which is awesome, but not really Soundwave).
    I'm lucky enough to have a nice looking (albeit very floppy) complete G1 version, and I have to say that its alt mode is better than this new offering. Although obviously the Netflix 'Wave is the superior toy.
    Poor old Ravage drew the short straw, but he does look good in tape mode. Laserbeak is the better of the two and I dig him.

    Must buy, especially if (like me) you don't own either Siege or MP versions.
    TF Figs of 2023:
    1) WnR Springer
    2) Legacy Bludgeon
    3) Legacy Leo Prime/Nemesis Leo Prime.

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