I was amazed to find this guy this afternoon at Walmart, especially since it usually takes us about two weeks to catch up on new stuff here...

Overall it's a pretty cool toy. The bomber mode leaves much to be desired, especially with the gaudy grey wait piece sticking out like a sore thumb on top of the vehicle, but the robot mode definitely shines. The G1 Soundwave update is pretty much dead-on, with the shoulder mounted cannon and Laserbeak which is great. The key gimmick is a nice touch as well, and definitely works well in both modes. Pretty cool toy, well articulated in robot mose and cool to look at. I give it a B.

 

I have been checking out other responses in different TF boards and the general concensus is Hasbro has really done a poor job on the paint applications, especially around the face and several areas throughout. I imagine they wanted a exact copy from the GF line. What are your impressions on the paint application, espcially on the head and face? I keep mine sealed in its plastic and cardboard prison.

 

I don't know what the differences are between the GF paint apps and CYB apps...personally i think it looks just fine but I know the apps are a huge deal to some people, not so much with me.

 

This is a repost of my mini-review from the Florida Sightings section:

GOOD STUFF
An homage to one of my favorites, without a doubt. Bomber mode is innovative and not as bad as some people are making it, and even thought the hips are obvious, just use a little imagination and you can make his leg guards into airbrakes. The head is great and the light piping works to incredible effect in the right light. Weapons are original and apparently function as bombs as well, adding play value and credibility to his bomber mode. Robot mode overall is wicked, with sleek lines and an evil, intimidating look. Laserbeak is brilliant, has a great sitting post on SW's wing, and on his own would be worth $5. Love the shoulder cannon and additional weapon, as a final exclamation point on the homage and a tribute to the "batteries" of the G1 verson.

BAD STUFF
Okay, let's be honest. His complicated (but not complex) transformation is difficult to keep all snapped, pegged and locked together well. The arm kibble really restricts movement. His legs have psuedo-joints below the knee that let the leg bend laterally for bomber mode, but they don't lock in robot mode and thus he can look reverse bow-legged (imagine the cartoony "gotta pee" stance). Not very evil. His weapons stow away under his wings, but do so in a shaky, uncertain way that, even after scrutiny, don't seem to have a blatantly obvious way to do so. A mystery tab lock or something. Also, no wrist articulation hurts here almost as much as it does on Scourge.

Overall, though, I'm an optimus. I mean, optimist...heh...so I give him a B+ for his sinister robot mode, decent bomber mode and great homage features. Oh, and Laserbeak kicks ass too, even thought he can't be used on other minicon pegs...though that is understandable, given his allegiance to a character with NO allegiance.

 

Here's my review:

http://primetoystore.com/Toys%20for%20sale/reviews.htm

 

Rherk, man, you don't have to tolerate that grey neck piece. Remembering something I saw on another board earlier, there is a double hinge that connects the head "plank" to the rest of the grey piece. With a little muscle, and before you drop the wing assembly into its final robot mode spot, you can pivot the grey piece much lower, and the head section as a whole ends up looking a million times better. That's the way I transform him, so I know it works. I'll see if I can find that previous post...

EDIT: Here we go. Look about halfway down the page for pics of his head. I hope linking another TF site is okay for educational purposes! Shortneck!

 

Thanks man! I changed my review and pics! It makes all the difference! I kinda am really starting to dig him now.

 

Hey, right on! We aims to please!  

 

Can't wait to find him

 

So, is his articulation greatly hindered by the big wings behind him? and i assume the complaints about the arm kibble are related to this. Also, how big is the jet mode, im comparison to say, starscream.

 

they're about the same size. and yeah it is, but its not really that hard to work around it if you put some effort into it   I've had him in some pretty sweet poses, and I only have had the toy a few days.

 

Yeah the articulation isn't too terrible...unless you like your TF's arms to be displayed straight out backwards 

And yeah, Like Redline said the jet modes are pretty close to the same size for SS and SW

 

but we already have buzzsaw, thanks to soundblaster!   I'd like them to do ratbat, frenzy, rumble, and ravage... or what about some dinos?? THAT would be the bee's knees...

 

Found him today and he's very cool. I like the Alt mode, and I like how the guns go under the wings. Robot mode is pretty good but the legs need better posability. It took me forever to figure out how to get his head pushed down right and I kept pushing down super hard when I should have pushed around the edges of the head platform. Now it's a cinch. No hip problems whatsoever. I am pretty dissapointed with how sloppy the face is painted on my Soundwave. The gold is very sparce with spaces missing where it should have been. I tried to unscrew his head and maybe take it apart so I could touch it up easier but the head appears to be glued together? 
Love the lil' Laserbeak minicon!   And the cyber-key gimmick is pretty cool. Oh yeah and Soundwave's guns kick major ass.

 

Am I the only one left feeling a little disappointed?

I suppose the fact that its Soundwave that has me feeling a bit cold. It's cool that we finally got the homage, but just too many little things feel off.

Too much kibble in both modes, especially when you consider that Soundwave was the most kibble free figure in G1.

The design has just too much detailing. Lots and lots of bits and pieces added here and there, where to me Soundwave had always had a smooth, efficient design.

A bit too lean, where Soundwave was boxy.

The head? Close to Soundwave, but not close enough. Looks more like a SW KO.

Then the transformation. Getting the legs and cockpit together has given me Alternator-levels of frustration.

The guns are cool in concept, but mine are too lose in the hands, and at least one barrel needed a peg or tab to keep it straight. And it can be a bitch getting them to snap into the wings.

The single best thing about Soundwave is Laserbeak. The oragami-like transformation is inspired, and I wish we would have had the chance to see similar efforts with Ravage.

On its own, the toy has enough frustrations, comes JUSTSOCLOSE to being great. I'd give it a B-.

 

Mine seems defective, unfortunately--the vehicle mode won't fit together at all. The cockpit/arm piece is always off center and the arm underneath always comes up.

I think it's a shoulder bracket problem, because when I unscrew the lower arm from that piece, I can get it to fit together perfectly. I can't fix the brackets, because of all the pins.

All but one of the Soundwaves I've seen around here have this problem, and the owner won't trade his (lousy, stupid...     ).

Anyway, partly because of this, and partly because of all the ugly kibble in his robot mode, I'm going to take the minority opinion and say that I don't like him very much. I'm hugely disappointed.

C-.

 

Love everything except for the legs. Just can't get him in a pose that I like.

 

in my opinion, starscream is a bit longer if you take his missile into consideration. soundwave's taller in robot mode though if you want to count. while soundwave probably looked really good on the drawing board, when it got to production it just lost something. I feel like he definitely got shafted on his force chip/cyber key power. the power doesn't display well (if you compare to noisemaze/sideways, who displays quite well in my opinion) and really doesn't do anything. sure you can put laserbeak in there, but you can also just not put him there. then if you want to put him in there you have to shout out the obligatory "FORCE CHIP! IGNITION!" and then put him in the "tape deck/bomb holder". he's not horrible, but he doesn't live up to my expectations.

 

with the LOC in hand, at this point, the only reason i'm getting the regular version is to get the 'cassette'.