Well, the wait was a killer, but FINALLY this afternoon I received a much anticipated package:
Animated Shockwave is here! Look out Autobots!
The box got a little dinged up and wet, but the toy is what matters!
He comes packaged in Tank mode, with a conspicuous Decepticon symbol that is likely getting removed in a bit. Tank mode is nice, very reminiscent of Armada Megatron:
The turret can rotate a full 360 degrees:
Transformation to crane is fairly simple. Rotate the treads and adjust a couple of flaps, flip the small cannons on the turret closed, reveal the crane and you're pretty much done.
The cannon/crane assembly is neat in that it's spring loaded both ways. Fold the cannon all the way underneath, and when it locks into place, the crane arm pops forward. Pull the tab back to lock the crane in place, and the cannon flips up from underneath. VERY cool.
Transformation to Longarm is not TOO involved, but has some neat little bits. I like the support struts that hold the treads in place and fold along the torso in robot mode. Again, very reminiscent of Armada Megatron, with the treads forming shoulders and legs, and the turret ending up on the back.
Standard posability, shoulder swivels, knees, elbows, hips. Head doesn't turn, but no big loss. You can see the problematic 'Con symbol there. It makes sense to have the crane assembly on his back in crane mode, or Autobots might wonder why he's carrying a giant cannon. However, doing so clearly reveals a giant Decepticon logo between his knees. Yeah, definitely getting rid of that. One thing I did incorrectly in the video review is his lower arms. You want to leave them so they can rotate forward at the elbows in Longarm mode, with the claw assemblies on the back. Gives him more articulation, as well as adding one more difference between Longarm/Shockwave mode. So I guess those playing along can take a drink now
Speaking of the lower arms, Longarm's hands are made of a softer, rubbery plastic. Not a big deal, except the screws on my forearms were too tight, not allowing the ball joint to rotate freely. I caught it in time to keep from twisting his hands right off (THANK GOD). But you'll want to check yours when you get it to avoid that horrible outcome. Loosening the two forearm screws right next to the wrist ball joint and near the elbow above his thumb takes care of the problem with little fuss. You can see what I'm talking about here:
Anyway, now that we've avoided THAT horror, let's move on to Shockwave, shall we? And let me just say WOW. Not one single part avoids changing in some way. Hips lower, legs morph and rotate, arms extend, forearms rotate and form claws, shoudlers move up, shoulder armor appears, the neck extends and automorphs the lower face up into the head to reveal Shockwave's monocular mug, antennae sprout, and his Autobot symbol rotates to reveal his true allegiance. Wow. Just WOW.
(I like the shadowy version!)
Pulling his head up also activates the light piping gimmick for his eye:
Not the best pic, but you get the idea. Yes, there are some gaps on the sides of his lower face, but within the cowl they're so shadowed that you don't notice them unless you have a light directly behind him like in that shot. And actually, I just noticed that you can pull the back of the hood up behind Shockwave's neck to block even THAT light from getting through. NICE!
The gun can be stored on his back or plugged into the hole in his forearm. What's neat is that you can, if you wish, fold his hands away before plugging the gun in. It's a GIANT gun arm, a la Energon Shockblast, but you can indeed give him a gun arm.
Also, I posted a couple of these earlier, but if you want an idea of how much size difference there is between modes, here he is with Lockdown:
And with some Autobots:
Someone asked for a shot of Shockwave with Megatron, Soundwave, and Starscream, so here you go. I call this one "Laserbeak returns, Megatron."
(Alternative title: "Unlike Some Of My Other Warriors...."
)
So there you go. In a nutshell?
This isn't one to sit on the fence about. If you don't like him already, whether it's the Animated aesthetic or not, chances are you aren't going to find any great love for the figure. But if you dig Animated Shockwave, you NEED to own this figure. I fully intend to pick up a second one at some point to display as Longarm. They really are different enough to display on the same shelf with their respective factions. A+ effort all around on this guy.
The video review for Animated Shockwave (MY 100th!) is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZSGcnWGWDM
A VERY VERY special thank you to TF08.net for making this possible, and thanks to all of you who've tolerated me through 100 videos.
Enjoy!
I soooo want this... Curse my addiction to plastic crack.... 
