MP-29 Masterpiece Laserwave (Shockwave)
Series - Masterpiece
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - n/a (MP-29)
Released here - released in Japan March 31 2015
Approximate Retail Price - 16800 yen
Approximate Size - 25cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Laser Vulcan
Main Features/Gimmicks - Light up guns
Main Colours - Purple, grey/lilac
Main Accessories - Mini Shockwave, backpack/stand, opaque fist & salute hand, clear plastic fist, salute and gun hand.
First up, the collector card has some really nice artwork on it! But it sucks that the instructions sheet isn't a stapled booklet this time. I hope that's not a sign of things to come - Optimus Primal really deserves the back of page of toy history! There's a good selection of stickers and i think for the first time, there's 2 types of Decepticon emblem. I'm yet to decide where to put mine
Laser Vulcan (gun) looks pretty average from the top, with a heap of screw holes and no real attempt to hide the arms. The back view is a little hollow, but not too bad. Front on though, it looks pretty nice. They could have done more here but probably knew most people won't be displaying in this mode. The light effects are really quite good though. 2 AAA batteries in his back power the gun, while a switch on his waist alternates the trigger function from "hold to light up" and "press once to pulsate" modes. The pulsate effect is really cool as you can see it lighting up the barrel starting from the back. It's also a nice energon pink colour which stands out well. The hose is a tightly coiled spring that bends with little effort and plugs in simply and easily. The gun stand is a nice inclusion if you ever did want to display in gun mode!
Transformation is as i expected - pretty basic at the front of the gun to form the backpack (you could see how this would work from official pictures) and MP voodoo magic at the back/handle of the gun to form his legs. From pictures, i thought the halves of his thighs might be a weak point but they're not just pieces in isolation - both halves continue to the feet to form the whole leg. The legs peg in tight and feel pretty solid, part of the foot is metal. Another piece of metal is the strut that connects the front of the gun, which is appreciated because I could see how it would be a weak point otherwise. It's a clever and fun transformation - the only mildly scary bit being his head reveal. It just pulls up but won't lock in place unless you tug it more than you think you'd need to. I guess they took this approach since it results in less seam lines and complexity, also covering up the wiring... but it feels a little unrefined.
Robot mode is great! The purple is a very nice cartoony shade, although it's unpainted. In photos next to Ironhide (in robot mode at least), i can't tell the difference - it has a glossy consistency regardless - but in hand it does feel a little cheap. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind one release being painted and the next not... but it is nice that there's no colour mismatch anywhere - so maybe it was for the best. His design matches closely with the more recent MP toys - dare i say Prime is starting to look like he could do with a more cartoon accurate version...
Screw holes are mostly hidden now, and the backpack collapses as well as you could hope for. I prefer the look with the backpack piece attached but like the idea of "perfect transformation" more, so i'll be keeping mine off. I have a few sprue marks on the hands, but haven't noticed any others. The hand pieces slide on and off easily but stay put when they're on. The transparent gun looks really great with the light up feature. 2 LR44 batteries in his arm power this feature. It only seems to have a "press once to pulsate" mode in the arm for some reason (or i overlooked how to do it). His poseability is good overall and not hindered by kibble... though i was surprised it didn't have double jointed elbows. The ankles have more tilt than i thought they would though. I think they made a good compromise between the width of the foot, bell-bottom shin guards and articulation. The head has no light up feature but a huge light pipe that works great.
Scale wise i think he's about right. He's just about Soundwave's height but is overall less bulky... but bigger than Starscream. Next to Optimus and Megatron in isolation, he looks a little small, but with a group decepticons it looks fine. A little bigger might have been better, but any smaller and it'd be wrong i think.
So... I sold my Quakewave once this was first shown off - i knew then that for me, this would fit better - mostly in the legs, but also the shade of purple which i think captures the cartoon better and is more to my taste. Comparatively, both toys have merits. Quakewave is significantly heavier with loads of diecast. I'm not sure it served much purpose other than to give an impression of "value for money" though. Actually, on mine, the back of one leg had a missing screw head, causing the hip joint to be weak - the diecast leg would fold in as a result. The MP feels hefty enough and uses diecast in smart places.
The metal ratchets on Quakewave were satifisying to hear, but I also experienced wear on the plastic around his shoulders from the joints being overly tight. MP's ratchets are solid and not too tight. To transform, i found Quakewave pretty unpleasant - his legs could probably take a finger off if you're not careful retracting them! His arms with all the twisting due to the wiring seem needlessly complicated next to the elegant MP solution. The MP's hose design is way cooler too! I liked Quakewave's backpack transformation approach, but without a stand gun mode wasn't ever going to be displayed.
Quakewave's chest extension felt more solid than the MP's, and the head was easier to get out of the chest. Quakewave's light up head was cool, but i worried i'd break the wiring when replacing the battery. The MP's wiring is much better hidden with less risk of breakage. I think the MP has Quakewave beat when it comes to enjoyment in hand as a result. I'm struggling to remember this but ... Quakewave wasn't painted either was he? The darker purple makes it less obvious i think.
I don't have any regrets switching, but could see how someone could like Quakwave more. No one should be arguing when the result is 2 great toys!
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Originally Posted by laproblematique
