I feel like as long as you move them in the obvious ways intended, and don't treat it like a ball joint, you'll never have a problem.
Okay, I got my TT MP Soundwave. It's the reissue since I missed the original release (the seller I bought all my MP's from up till Soundwave, didn't get him) and the Hasbro version isn't sold where I live. Had him on pre-order for a long time now and today he finally arrived. Incredible how quickly enthousiasm can be turned into...well, not disappointment but feeling letdown. I now finally understand all the comments about MP soundwave feeling cheap compared to Fanstoys Quakewave. Beautiful as Soundwave is, he does feel cheaper in comparison. But my biggest issue is the QC. Don't know if I was just unlucky (and I have been so lately: my Tigertrack turned out to be a backdoor figure, and both TFC falcon and Harrier had wingproblems), but the one I got has some problems. Overall I have to say I get the impression that they didn't remove the parts properly from the moldtrees. Lot of rough patches where they've cut him from the the mold. Also quite a bit of moldflash at inconvenient places: - The right shoulder didn't fit together properly. A piece of moldflash got stuck between the front and backpart of the shoulder. Managed to solve this by unscrewing the shoulder (the one screw I could reach) and moving a thin sharp knife through it. The flash was gone quickly, but locally the plastic is a bit whiter. (The fold out panel on the back of the shoulder already has a tiny stressmark around the pin.) - From the parts folding out from the right leg I suddenly noticed the lowest part sat at an angle. Turned out there was mold flash on both the pivet as the hole the pivot turns in. Managed to remove the flash and the part now sits straight, but the swivelpeg has been slightly warped and stressed. Worst issue is the bad paintjob on the chest. The goldish paint on the cassette door is scratched or wiped off in at least four places. Think I'm contacting the seller. Not expecting anything, but you never know. (Oh, and I'm absolutely in the minority here, but after seeing pics of the Hasbro version, I think I'd prefer the yellow eyes.)
Wow! Mine was not as bad but had scratched paint as well. I do understand you, i was excited for this one but once I saw the paint my excitement just dwindled and back in the box it went. I ended up swapping the chest window with my hasbro just so i could have a perfect MP-13.
The yellow eyes grew on me too. I fully intended to paint my TRU version red..but alas..I really like the yellow now. So is it safe to say the TRU version would be the "3rd" run, or is the takara "2nd" run actually the 3rd? Just wondering because my TRU is flawless...Usually the 3rd repaint or remold has that cheap feeling. But then Acid storm is real nice..I dunno
I finally got one of these (2nd run version). There's no question: this is the definitive Soundwave. His alt. mode isn't too thrilling, but it's spot-on (unless you want to nitpick about the back). His robot mode is perfect. Fortunately, my Soundwave has no flaws that I'm aware of. All the paint is where it should be and everything fits together well (unlike some previous MP purchases, such as Sideswipe). As impressed as I am with Soundwave, I think my favorite part might be Laserbeak. The fact that they can take such a tiny cassette and engineer it to transform into a perfectly accurate robot with built-in weapons is amazing. I'm a little disappointed now that the Takara version only comes with one cassette; I'd love to see how good the others are. Ultimately, though, I'm glad I went with this version instead of the Hasbro one because I prefer the red visor (I don't paint my toys, so I wouldn't just get the Hasbro one and paint it). MP-13 Soundwave is a must-buy toy and a near-perfect Masterpiece Transformer. Laserbeak is an awesome additional figure and his accessories are also neat if you're into those sort of extras. It's definitely worth what I paid for it, and I'm looking forward to getting Soundblaster as well.
only thing i dont like about my Hasbro SW is the fact that there seem to be air bubbles behind the visor, making it look like he has eyeballs -.-
TT Rumble, Ravage, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw have been sitting on my shelf without their unchrasamatic leader since this past summer, but I finally got my TT reissue Tuesday evening. He's absolutely perfect. Or nearly so. He has that piece from the mold tree on the left side of his faceplate. That's the only flaw I can find. Unlike my HA reissue MP Grimlock, SW's joints are perfect. And unlike Max Rawhide's reissue, mine has zero paint issues. Lazerbeak transformed beautifully and did not have the overly tight fin issue like my TT Buzzsaw. I'm in love with the red visor. I can't stand the yellow screen-inaccurate Hasbro visor but thought about picking one up and just painting it red or putting the Reprolabels sticker on it, but the translucent red on the TT release is absolutely amazing. Worth the extra TT price. Really has to be seen in person to be appreciated. Based on pictures I'd seen online, I thought the legs and feet were a bit of a disappointment, but as is often the case, it turns out that was only due to derpy posing. SW is super articulate and is capable of a great many dynamic poses. Perhaps the most solid MP I have, even more solid and well-balanced than MP-10. Love all the accessories, especially the Megatron gun and Energon cube. I posed Ravage on topy of the cube (looks great) and I love displaying SW with the Megatron gun so that Megs is present in my MP display to some degree. Also love how SW's gun and scanner can be stored in 'bot mode. I love that Hazui's MP v2 designs store all of their accessories to one degree or another (my favorite being Prime's gun folding into his back). If you can't tell, I am one happy camper right now (not to mention that I got Prowl with SW - just as impressive). Switching to MPs was the best hobby related decision I've ever made.
As awesome as Soundwave is I understand where Max Rawhide is coming from. SW just doesn't have the same quality feel all my other MPs have. Flash, spruce cuts, etc bring down the experience considerably.
My SW does have a couple of cuts, but he feels so solid, unlike my TT Rodimus Prime v1 and HA Grimlock reissue. My SW also has a great paintjob.
Question: What is going on with MP Soundwave's Chrome play/eject buttons? I never touch them and they're fading
That's a damn good question. I did a trade a few weeks ago for TRU Soundwave and the trader bought 3 different versions that all had chrome wear. 1. MiSB TRU - had slight chrome on the button edges out of box, got worse as we handled it during our trade inspections! (and we were being so careful!) 2. Takara - slight wear on corners and edges 3. Custom TRU - wear was slight but not as good as the Takara Oddly, the eject button was perfect on all of them. And the chrome behind the play/stop/pause/ffw/reverse buttons was perfect as well. I wonder if the top part of the pastic packaging on the TRU version rubs off the chrome during transport. But still, it sucks that even with MP Soundwave in a display case I can see the chrome slowly chipping/flaking off without really being touched. I never had this problem with MP-10 or my G1 Soundwave (both had perfect chrome and were handled carefully though the years). I'd suggest giving the chrome a light wipe down with a damp cloth to get any oils from your hands off the part. Just be extremely careful not to add anymore damage to the chome!
I ended up coating all the chrome buttons on my Takara Soundwave with Future Floor Polish right away. So far the chrome looks great, and beacuse it's really shiny you can't really tell that it's coated.
Got my Takara 2nd run today. Other than a silver paint splotch on the back (and it came right off with one of my wife's medical grade alcohol wipes) pretty flawless. Laserbeak has some very stiff joints though.
That will vary from person to person as we all have different oils on our skin. Some may only touch them a few times but show a lot of wear, others will handle them a lot and show little wear. Kinda like some people can't wear fake gold. Thicker chroming could have helped immensely. Mine shows very little loss around the edges, but I have a habit of polishing my finger prints off after messing with him. (Yeah, I can be a bit anal at times )
Got the Takara second run along with MP-15 Ravage and Frenzy (RIBFIR ). Soundwave is awesome and some paint splotches aside I have no prob with him. But Laserbeak broke at the left wing hinge (DOH!). Nothing I can't fix but it's a big design flaw to make those hinges so tight!
Yup. A lot of it is due to nearly every part of him having hollow reseses. Chest, legs, back and arms. Literally every part on him outside of the smaller parts is hollow due to design. Sprew marks are present on all the newer mp releases so that really isn't a bummer to me, it's just expected at this point. Soundwave being all dark plastic doesn't help hiding them from the eye either. The chrome buttons on my hasbro version have wear on them and I haven't even touched them.
