I know I'm going back almost 100 pages and 4 years on this one... but I've been researching a recent purchase, and wanted to provide an update on this exchange:

Recently a "French" Soundwave came up on EBay, and I bought it shortly after it posted. Given the seller is the same in my auction as the one listed above, I'm confident it's the same figure, unless this guy has a hidden stash of them.

I'm somewhat familiar with the various European variants (MB, Ceji, El Greco, etc) and have a few in my collection. That said, I think that I may have stumbled on something pretty special with this Soundwave. As you can see from the eBay link, its in pretty darn good shape, and it is definitely sealed. In fact, as Malach Ra suggested 4 years ago, I sent it to AFA for grading immediately after inspecting the contents of the shipping box. In total, its been in my hands for MAYBE 20 minutes.

So here's my question... has anyone seen a sealed one of these before? Other Ceji-produced G1s? Info is pretty sparse, aside from a couple of really well done articles on a blog.

And no... its not for sale. I feel like I have a neat little piece of Transformers history (which happens to be my favorite character from my childhood!) that will be permanently joining my collection soon!

 

Yeah I bought one MISB back in 1997 from a shop called Global collectables in the UK for £60 which was a bit overpriced at the time lol. I have seen about 2 more on Ebay over the last few years.
ImageBam

I sadly sold him about 8 years back to get money for my Japanese G1 MISB Transformers. He was in mint condition with no flap crease, so I reckon he'd have got a AFA 85

 

This is super interesting.

Taking a look at that picture you posted, there are two things that stand out to me:

1. Ravage and Rumble have that Chinese sticker in the upper right corner, signifying that they were the Hasbro made Chinese reissues. More on this shortly...
   
2. This is a lot harder to notice, but if you look at the "teeth" holes (for lack of a better word) of the Buzzsaw cassette, it is clearly painted. If you compare that to the picture of my figure, it is not the same. There also appear to be some alignment issues on the logo on the flap. "Trans" is significantly closer to the edge on yours than it is on my copy.

For comparison sake: a confirmed MIB (not sealed) Ceji Soundwave (from 20thcenturytoycollector.com):


Caveat: I've been getting WAY too nerdy about this variant.

My understanding is that some of the earliest Soundwave knockoffs/reissues/what you will (the ones that attempted to copy the G1 figure) used the Ceji packaging template. I'm guessing a bit, but I do wonder if you picked both Soundwave and the cassettes up at the same time, from the same seller. It appears to me that you got one of those early Soundwave knockoffs. That doesn't make yours any less interesting or rare... it is. It just appears to be different from mine. I totally agree with you that, regardless of what it actually is, they hardly ever come up.

The differences are super subtle (between the reissue and the Ceji), and I'm honestly curious how AFA handles it when this returns to me in the next few weeks. I don't generally post about my collection (or really much at all, let's be honest) but I do think that this is interesting and unique enough to share with the fandom. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

Finally picked up a pre rub Bee that I’m content with  

 

Yeah I bought Soundwave around September 1997 and Rumble & Ravage May 1998. It is interesting the inside tape is painted.

 

Alright... just got this back from AFA!

AFA 85 Hasbro (Eur) Transformers Soundwave... no mention of Ceji at all on the tag. Interesting!

 

I'm fairly certain that the quadlingual box with painted Buzzsaw is the 90's Chinese release of Soundwave. If you still had it, you could confirm by looking at the Copyright text and checking if the Takara part has been removed.

It's not a knockoff, just a release made by Hasbro in China and primarily sold in China.
More info here: Comprehensive 1990's G1 Reissue ID Guide | HIGHENDTFS.COM<br> G1 Counterfeit ID Guides

 

My latest:

 

Both are AFA 80.

 

Probably a long shot, but does anybody here have an extra AFA acrylic case for a minicar? I have a sealed red G1 bumblebee that probably won't grade well but I still want to get a case for it. If you got a case (and are willing to sell it), please send me a pm!

 

Da King Of Pre Rubs!
AFA 85 Pre Rub Megatron / AFA 85 Galvatron!

 

I'm selling several sealed G1 Dinobots, if anyone is interested.

Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Swoop - Official Hasbro - Sealed Box | eBay
Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Swoop - Official Hasbro -Sealed Bubble | eBay
Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Snarl - Official Hasbro -Sealed Bubble | eBay
Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Sludge - Official Hasbro - Sealed Box | eBay
Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Slag - Official Hasbro - Sealed Box | eBay
Transformers G1 (Generation One) Dinobot Sludge -Official Hasbro - Sealed Bubble | eBay

 

These are still for sale. Prices have been lowered significantly.

 

Highest MISB AFA 85 Series 1 Pre Rub Collection In The World! - Da King Of Pre Rubs!

 

Dang!!!! Nice !  

 

Man nothing nicer than AFA graded sealed combiners

 

Thanks, Buddy!

 

It’s been a while haven’t post anything. Fort……

 

Man, you got two and I can’t get one?  
Beautiful stuff Ling

 

Thanks buddy！