This is wicked, and it's one of my favorite TF ever. It's my dream car in alt mode, and the robot mode does not disappoint.


The Deluxe version, however...skip it. Unless you want the gun. Do what I did and turn it into Rumble.

 

Just got him today! $55 which isn't bad at all, especially for such a great figure! Car mode is freaking flawless, and robot mode is MUCH better in person! What I really love about this figure is the transformation, especially the arms!

 

Bought mine from overseas retail when I was traveling a week ago. I'm impressed how everything pegs together that doesn't detract from the car mode, it reminds me of the Alt/BT Ford GT and Chevy Corvette. Much better than the HA Nascar.

Transformation seems very much like HA Barricade. Not HA Jazz kind of amazing but nice and clean. I haven't played with the "Human Alliance" interactions yet but having Laserbeak totally completes Soundwave. That said, Soundwave doesn't seem to come with gimmicks like other HAs, visor, mask, etc.

BTW the doors are painted. But it doesn't look much different from the rest of the car, which is unpainted plastic.

 

He has the same mouth feature as HA Barricade  

 

I much prefer the Deluxe. far better proportions and the best Mechtech weapon released.

 

More "normal" proportions, maybe, but not necessarily "better". Deluxe Soundwave is tall and lean-ish, whereas Soundwave's design is quite thick and brutish. He's proportioned more like a movie Autobot, than a monstrous Decepticon.

I feel that the HA better captures the overall feel of the character, even in its own inaccuracies.

Neither match the onscreen design all that well.

 

I still want this one so bad it hurts...Gotta pull the trigger on it and quit whinning about not having it..

 

Go ahead man, it's pretty available nowadays. You'll enjoy it.

 

2nd-ed!

 

Definitely, he'll look good going toe to toe with your Highbrow Snakeeyes.

Oh, and gimmicks are as follows:

Laserbeak has a C Clip on his feet for other figures that have C Clips, or you can use the C Clip on the sides of Soundwaves arms to give him that perched look.
The left arm discs pop up allowing Soundwave to have a sound weapon.
Soundwave's mouth can move up and down.
Laserbeak's gun mode has the added benefit of being the same mounting as G1 soundwave on his shoulder, just pivot the gun on top, and either tilt the wings down in his back, or spread them out. It's part of the directions, but some people miss that.

 

Just got this figure for my birthday, and WOW, what a fantastic piece of engineering! It's a real shame this didn't get released stateside. His looks and proportions are great in person. His articulation hinders his pose-ability, but his menacing look more than makes up for it. This is my first human alliance figure, and I regret now not getting any others. His alt mode has such great detail and the inclusion of Laserbeak is icing on the cake. I'm so glad I added HA Soundwave to my relatively small collection.

 

My favorite movie Transformer and best Human Alliance toy.

 

I really love this guy. I think my only issue is that his legs. Not that I can't deal with their size, but that it's such a shame that he has so much kibble on his arms at the same time that could have been easily transferred to the legs to make them bigger and/or bulkier.

Other than that, he's really cool. Neat claws, cool chest, awesome head, great alt mode (would have loved a HA Jazz-level paint job though). Laserbeak is forgettable, but I use him as a shoulder cannon sometimes. I also really get a kick out of the human being called "Mr. Gould" for some reason.

 

I'm not so sure about that...

 

Yeah, it's a common argument but it isn't that easy. The arm kibble is mostly the door assembly, which has to house functional gullwing-type doors. That's already complex enough and couldn't be easily moved into the legs, and it was unlikely to be folded much better than it already is. I maintain that this figure, even while it isn't perfect, is an incredible feat of engineering. To top it all off it's one of the best transformers in terms of actually pegging together flawlessly in altmode; everything fits together like a glove. While the legs could have been bulkier, seeing how they unfold while you transform him is still incredible.

And yeah Gould rocks. Laserbeak is pretty cool too.

 

Still in the top list of best alt-modes ever, even without the paint job it deserved.

This and HA Barricade are really amazing and fit together so well in both modes.

 

There's something I really just don't like about deluxe Soundwave. I think it's that he looks sort of "messy". He has car parts in the wrong places, he has back kibble, he has obvious plastic saving cavities, he has gimpy arms, and he has that fake chest, which has been moulded to look like a deformed version of his car front, but it looks a bit small.

As far as Human Alliance Soundwave goes, he is absolutely awsome. I'd say he's probably one of the nicest Transformers toys ever, and hands down the best one that I have.
In robot mode he looks incredible, and his vehicle mode naturally looks pretty nice.
And his proportions are fine. It really does depend on how you pose him. Most of the stock photography depicts him squatting.

Human Alliance Soundwave almost looks like one of Michael Bay's robots that were actually in the film blowing each other up.
Deluxe soundwave just looks like what it is... a toy.

 

Sorry about the quality of these photographs, but I think they do justice to soundwave's awsomeness.

by the way, the mechtech weapons are Starscream's.

 

My major beef with the deluxe is that its proportions are all wrong. He's tall and skinny looking.

While the HA version has plenty of inaccuracies of its own, it does a better job of capturing his hulking and imposing stature. He looks like the intimidating monster that he should be.

 

I finally caved and bought this guy off Ebay last week.

Damn. This is one hell of an awesome figure. I could quibble about the lack of silver paint and arm kibble (neither of which are major detractors for me) but it would be pointless in the face of everything that is just downright perfect about this figure. He's a solid A in my book and money that was extremely well spent.