Cyberverse Spark Armor Shockwave

Discussion in 'Transformers Feedback & Reviews' started by Shark Jumper, Aug 27, 2019.

  1. Shark Jumper

    Shark Jumper さあ、お前の罪を数えろ

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    Hasbro sure loves equipping Shockwave with silly armor while giving him abstract alt modes lately.

    The Cyberverse one turns into a robot tektite from Zelda I guess. The transformation at least blessed him with arm and thigh swivels at least.

    The pink parts on the satellite are the same soft plastic as the blaster wire. So very soft and will probably warp in the future. Not sure about degradation...

    Combined mode Shockwave becomes a fabulous butterfly windmill princess of destruction. Too bad you can barely see his monoeye under the "helmet".

    Silly gimmick, odd alt mode,good legends-y Shockwave (even if CW wave exists...).
     

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  2. Sponge

    Sponge Herald of Unicron

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    518F61F2-4E2E-4F5B-A95D-EB8BAF60C0A7.jpeg 11DDC343-5341-49F2-8D8C-F5E2BAE79FD9.jpeg F67CF062-88E7-4924-BC28-EED097CA1FA9.jpeg 8406DABA-53C1-4FEC-A5DC-26F6169A38B7.jpeg
     
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  3. Dachande

    Dachande MULTI-QUOTE- USE IT. Super Mod

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    Alternate transformation:
    20190918_185855.jpg 20190918_185914.jpg 20190918_185934.jpg
    Holds together with friction and stays pretty nicely. Besides, a hover tank looks much nicer than whatever that crab tank is supposed to be.
     
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  4. Dachande

    Dachande MULTI-QUOTE- USE IT. Super Mod

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    Bonus: Siege effects work with the cannon...
    20190919_075641.jpg 20190919_075628.jpg 20190919_075613.jpg
     
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  5. Dirge121

    Dirge121 I'll be your end of days

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    That alternate transformation is excellent, much better than the crab tank. Only real bummer with this one is the soft plastic parts are extremely soft. Other than that, he’s another really nice little figure from the Spark Armor subline.
     
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  6. Chainlink

    Chainlink No real than you are

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    It almost looks like it's supposed to turn into that hover-tank. It's way too clean as far as alternate transformations go.
     
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  7. pluto

    pluto Banned

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  8. Shark Jumper

    Shark Jumper さあ、お前の罪を数えろ

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    I made him a buddy.
     

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  9. Dachande

    Dachande MULTI-QUOTE- USE IT. Super Mod

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    Number Five is alive!
     
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  10. RazorclawX

    RazorclawX Campaign Oracle

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    Bought this guy on a whim on Amazon since it was a price I could agree with (not horribly inflated).

    I'm just surprised at how well articulated this guy is. He is so flexible compared to the other Spark Armor figures its almost ridiculous.

    Mainly got it because of the satellite accessory which is going to accessorize the Siege version. The bot itself can be a Shockwave drone and it's about the right size for that compared to the Siege one.

    Double Plus he can transform into a reasonable approximation of Megatron's WfC alt mode (the game, not Siege)

    Combined it's actually pretty neat. The helmet and the mono eye gives it a more Principality of Zeon motiff (surprisingly you can see the eye through the helmet's shadow). The Spark Armor actually looks like it's powering him up (better than the Siege version, even) and if it wasn't for his size he looked like he could Mega Man** his way through bots.

    Sure, it's a couple years late, but he's still a good figure.


    ** Speaking of which, beside the fact he's a little too short in scale to them, he's actually favorably comparable to my Figurarts X, Zero, and Vile figures. If he were 150% taller he'd be a good match with Vile.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2021
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  11. Racer_J

    Racer_J Permanently logged out . . .

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    My not-mint copy arrived from Entertainment Earth earlier yesterday (11.14.2021).

    Accessory wise, Shockwave got the short end of the stick since all the pink/magenta parts are weak AF rubber plastic because of the hose. That was a huge let down (shame on me for not performing due diligence) because, the satellite is neat looking and you can plug the solar panel piece into Shockwave's robot back (in the lower screw hole near the pelvis).


    Engineering flaws:

    The pink/magenta pieces of the accessories are rubbery plastic.

    The shoulders really need to be able to move further back for the alt mode so that the front crab/tank legs aren't right by the chest panel (since the chest panel is supposed to extend out further). Spark Armor Shockwave has the best looking alt mode out of any of the Cyberverse Shockwave toys so, it's a shame that just this one area is holding it back.


    Aesthetic Flaws:

    You can't really plug the hose into the backpack anywhere other than the location for the screw near the pelvis. You can place it in the gaps on the back though as there is enough tension/friction to keep it in there.

    The robot head is exposed in the "alt mode" but, I don't collapse the backpack onto the robot back since it looks better laying down so that the cannon is at the back where it should be and there isn't a huge chunk of plastic t the front where there shouldn't be.


    What it did well:

    The Spark Armor robot mode looks better than the deluxe BaF Shockwave robot mode. I will die on this hill. I like the robot of the deluxe BaF Shockwave, I really do but, it's a borderline G1 interpretation of Cyberverse Shockwave. The proportions on Spark Armor Shockwave are just flat out better including the smaller scowling head sculpt and the forearms have a more screen accurate shape. Both of the toys look great but, Spark Armor Shockwave immediately makes me think of the portrayal in the Cyberverse animation while deluxe BaF Shockwave makes me think of something from the multiverse.

    You can plug the hose into so many different places. It can go on the inside or the outside of either forearm and, it can go into the weapon like it should. You can plug the other end into either shoulder, either of the Spark Armor ports near the head, in the lower screw hole on the robot back near the pelvis, and you can even put it in either gap on the robot back (though it will only be held in place by friction tension).

    The posability is wild for this size class in Cyberverse and, the only ball joints are at the hips. All it really needs is ankle articulation and a waist swivel.

    I love how "muted" the energon/lighting is. It's just bright enough to break up the sculpt while not being too bright in a failed attempt to mimic the CGI.

    It has the best looking "alt mode" of any of the Cyberverse Shockwave toys and it's also the most screen accurate one.

    It has just enough wiggle room to make a really clever fan mode like Dachande did. Fun fact, if you turn that fan mode over, the pincers/mandibles look like rear stabilizer fins and the gap where the head is (as well as the recessed area for the hinge) can pass as a cockpit. You can plug the other end of the hose in on the new "top" and it should hold the cannon in the same place via tension (it's finicky though) or, you might be able to get it to hold between the knees (via friction) to make a nosecone (there will be a sizable gap between it and the perineum on the pelvis though). Being able to flip it over sort of makes it a quadruple changer since it can be the hover tank or a car/jet or the official "alt mode" and a robot.


    Closing thoughts (purchase):

    I initially had some buyer's remorse since the official "alt mode" isn't CGI accurate. Then I came into this tread to start typing up a review and saw Dachande 's fan mode and I now have no buyer's remorse at all. Now the only regret I have is that I didn't purchase 2 of them. Even without that though, it's a neat sculpt. It would be illogical to not like it . . .