Toy Review - JP Masterpiece Soundwave

[Robzy]

They're little storage facilities for Rumble/Frenzy's chrome guns for when they're in Alt mode & within Soundwave's chest.

Oh, brilliant! Thanks Hursti I thought I was missing something. Clever design!!

[Hursticon]

Oh, brilliant! Thanks Hursti I thought I was missing something. Clever design!!

No probs dude, that's exactly what I 1st thought when I saw the leak that provided that info; there's more too but I'll leave that for now.

It really goes to show that when Takara was designing Soundwave & the Cassettes that they really had both in mind & how each would work with each other, such wise & broad level thinking in my opinion.

[Robzy]

there's more too but I'll leave that for now.

You TEASE!! Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me...

[Deceptic_Optic]

So did some comparison shots and poseability, articulation and balance test on MP Soundwave. All I can say is "let the photo do the talking". Im not bias or anything but he is probably the best MP that I own atm... enjoy guys, il probably do the actual proper shots when i get a chance.

[Omega Metro]

Great pics Deceptic Optic! .....so who won?

[Deceptic_Optic]

Great pics Deceptic Optic! .....so who won?

hahaha cant decide yet im still thinking how to start and end the battle scene...but most likely Optimus prime hehehe.

but damn Soundwave's got the move, groove and the swag i love this fugure so much i want to get another one MISB.

[TFan1234]

Got mine this week, overall pretty impressed with the awesome design, smooth transformation and aesthetics, really loving it.

So much positive comments, thought I should balance them with a few negative ones too (some nitpicking).

Just to say upfront I m not bagging the figure, I m in love with it.

- When in hand it feels lighter than expected. MPs these days tend to be this way (Same with MP 12/14), probably to cut material cost.

- The paint apps on mine is imperfect at a few places, eg shoulder cannon, laserbeak silver engine. I expected it to be better given its price.

- Some of the factory finishing isn't perfect, eg some gaps between parts at the back of the knee

- Fingertip problem really annoys me - the left finger that can touch the eject button pops off so easily! Right finger is ok though. My MP10 has the same problem on both hands.

- I feel in general Hasbro versions seem to less QC problems but Takara versions look better (Many of my Takara toys have problems).

Wish list for (even) better design (OK this is really nitpicking), but cost will probably be prohibitive:
- My dream mp SW would work as a MP3 player as well, and would come with a recording of its voice as in the show, and of the 1984 Transformers theme song. A slot for a real SD card is great (although technology gets outdated and in 20 years time may be out of fashion). Not the miniSD card as in music label SW. The hole at the top in alt mode should function for head phones.

- All the buttons can be depressed, not just fast-forward and rewind

- ATM in alt mode the back looks like the G1 toy. For me it would be better if it looks more like the back of a real casette player - especially for the bottom bit at the back where it's just a gap and the cannons/ guns bits are exposed when looking from the underside. May be a casette player battery cover over that space?

- In the cartoon the alt mode is very small but the robot somehow becomes very big. To show that "up-scaling effect" it should come with a mini SW in alt mode, 2 medium SWs that are mid-transformations but one a bit bigger than the other, with progressive transformations. Each of these accessories don't need to be transformable but we can put all 4 SWs together to show transformation from small cassette player to large robot. Just like the following pic from Planet Iacon:

[GoktimusPrime]

...and don't forget that the faceplate should be removable (or it should come with an alternate faceplateless head). Or better yet, TakTOM should make a limited exclusive purple repaint with that alternate head (similar to what they did with their limited exclusive MP Grimlock).

- I feel in general Hasbro versions seem to less QC problems but Takara versions look better (Many of my Takara toys have problems).

I find this is more of an issue with TakaraTOMY, rather than Takara. Before their merger with Tomy, I found Takara toys were usually superior to Hasbro's, not just in form, but also function. Absolutely better value for money. But since the merger I've noticed an increase in QC issues and now this downsizing thing (which Hasbro is doing too, not only TakTOM). But yeah... once upon a time Takara used to give us better value for money.

[Hursticon]

So did some comparison shots and poseability, articulation and balance test on MP Soundwave. All I can say is "let the photo do the talking". Im not bias or anything but he is probably the best MP that I own atm... enjoy guys, il probably do the actual proper shots when i get a chance.

*snip*

Absolutely bloody amazing photos Deceptic, they really show just how agile & dynamic this figure can be!

[Iriorne]

Finally got mine yesterday. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say this is the transformer I've been waiting for since I first saw the G1 cartoon.

Very happy with him in most respects, however I'm after sitting on a shelf overnight the paint on his feet is already showing signs of wear with some small scratches and chips. Hopefully some clear coat and a felt pad will be sufficient to prevent further degradation, but it's a shame the paint work wasn't more robust right out of the box.

I wonder if there would have been a way to engineer him so that the soles of his feet didn't form part of his sides? Maybe fold-away panels to cover over the feet in alt mode, or moving them to his back so they could be molded in unpainted plastic?

If I could change anything:

• Reduce the size of his feet a little. The proportions just seem slightly off.
• Add another ridge for Laserbeak to the top side of his forearm so that he doesn't have to hold his arm out at shoulder height for Laserbeak to perch properly.

On a side note: I've been following some of the threads on the US forums the last couple of weeks and it's been pretty entertaining watching people complain about "QC issues" - missing dots of paint on the forehead, a little mould flash or barely visible swirl marks. A little disappointing? Sure, but the outrage that some people seem to feel over this is astonishing.