huh seems the camera picked up more detail on the FRumble mold than i noticed before, nevermind, my eyes just suck after writing for hours end.

 

Just got this set from a friend today and I do really like Doubledealer getting his two buddies here and of course blue Frenzy to add to Soundwave's team.

I do have to wonder though why Buzzsaw was omitted for Wingthing. It kinda makes things feel incomplete given when I think of Soundwave's casettes...it's Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, and Ratbat.

I suppose they could include him in another Spy Patrol set that included some of the later cassettes, or maybe Blaster's cassettes?

 

It's just a gang-molding thing. They can't make Buzzsaw without a Ravage repaint. That's why the Ratbat mold is paired with the Frumble mold.

 

This is it folks, the third (but hopefully not last) Spy Patrol set. This one contains four tapes, but only two are actual tapes and you probably care about one of the two a lot more than the other. I know I did. Still, I greatly enjoyed this set, and this may be what finally convinces me to get Earthrise Doubledealer as well. Let's take a look at each. We'll look at the two tapes first, then the two not-Powermasters.

(NOTE: I'm calling blue guy Frenzy because the instructions say so. Not getting into the FIRRIB debate here.)




Frenzy is actually the sole reason why I bought the entire set. I had previously ordered the Rumble & Ratbat set, and I knew I couldn't have Rumble without his twin Frenzy. My opinion on Frenzy is the same as Rumble, he's a fun toy that goes well with Soundwave. I did notice that his colors were darker 'G1 toy' blue instead of the lighter 'G1 animation' blue, which was an unexpected but understandable and aesthetically pleasing choice. He also fits perfectly in Soundwave's chest. He complements Rumble perfectly, and I am happy to have him.



Wingthing is a nice reference to Soundwave's old Action Master partner. I actually don't know or care much about the character, hence my excluding him in the group shot on the Soundwave thread, but on his own he shares all of Ratbat's cool points. Sadly he also shares Ratbat's size issues, meaning that he doesn't fit well in Soundwave's chest. You can force him, but I feel that wouldn't be good for poor Soundwave. Unlike Ratbat, Wingthing sometimes jammed the eject button meaning I had to manually open the chest.



Now onto the Powermasters. Knok is a head retool of the Rumble/Frenzy mold, but just looking at him you'd never realize the only part that's new is the head. The paintwork does an awesome job of transforming him into a completely different design from Rumble and Frenzy. Perhaps for the same reason, I felt Knok's 'back' side looked a little better in cassette mode compared to the 'front', so that is how he's been photographed. I'm looking forward to putting him in Doubledealer's chest where he belongs, but like Frenzy he is a good fit in Soundwave's chest too.

(Yes, he's Naruto running in the first picture.)



Lastly, Skar is a head retool of the Ratbat/Wingthing mold. The new head is a lot less 'bat' and a lot more 'nightmare monster dragon', which is a pretty unique look that sets him apart from Ratbat and Wingthing despite their bodies being identical (and without much paintwork to disguise it, unlike Knok). Sadly the retool did not fix his tightness issues in Soundwave's chest, and only future experience will tell if it's the same with Doubledealer.



In conclusion, this set is quite fun and interactive... but really, it's been misnamed. If Hastak was truly intending this to be a 'Soundwave Spy Patrol', I feel they could have done better by giving us a Buzzsaw and Glit (or Howlback) from the Netflix Laserbeak and Ravage molds instead of the two Powermasters. Still, Knok and Skar will presumably complement Doubledealer well, and Frenzy and Wingthing are more than worthy additions to Soundwave's cassette troops. If you have Soundwave, Soundblaster, or Doubledealer, you won't regret getting this set.

 

Found a way to keep Skar from falling off Doubledealer in bird mode. Basically insert him with the head on the pivot side. Then, press his head so that it will wedge itself on the container wall. Basically, that’s it! I guess the idea here is Skar’s head hinge should be strong enough to keep him wedged in.

Lemme know if it’ll work for you guys.

 

Got this set to accent my Doubledealer and Netflix Soundwave. They're my first samples of this mold, I knew they'd be not my thing as Transformers but still wanted to build out the universe for their large friends.

All of the bots have inappropriately-located manufacture/copyright silver paint, but it's way worse for the humanoid bots who have huge paint on the outside of each leg lower leg, while the bat bots only have item numbers on their wings. All the silver paint sits atop nude plastic so alcohol rubbing will take it off safely, but they are really on there so it'll take some effort to get it off - I got most off of Frenzy and Wingthing after a few mins each.

On Skar and Knok, the color match to Doubledealer's accents work well, although Knok is redundant from a color perspective since the chest itself is already in those colors. Each of them has nice paint accenting that their Soundwave minion doubles don't enjoy, which helps differentiate them since sculpt-wise they're the same dudes aside from the new heads. Both of them look fine with the added exhaust manifold accessory loaded from Doubledealer but not amazing.

Frenzy and Wingthing go very different routes, Frenzy being very traditional to his G1 look aside from missing his accessories. Wingthing is the odd duck here, as he's very orange all over with not nearly enough black for my tastes, a very plain beast mode. Unlike the Doubledealer pals, these guys have tiny faction logo tampos which look awesome. My copy of Wingthing also has a very tight upper neck joint so he's really hard to transform fully, I have to push the back of his neck down with a tool and then bend his head forward.

Overall, this is a set that's an acquired taste, on its own it's a bit repetitive and bland with two of the same mold, and the set has just one star character. Had these been two mass-retail sets instead of a box it might have been an easier pill to swallow, but probably would have led to pegwarming on Knok & Skar.

 

My set arrived yesterday afternoon (1.13.2021) after I caved and payed the $13 late tax (because the Double Dealer I got for 30% off at Best Buy will be ruined forever without Knok & Skar). I don't have Siege Soundwave because I didn't want it and, I don't have Netflix Soundwave because I didn't know about it.

These are clunky and silly (the tape modes are fire) but, I adore them. I do not however adore Rumble's (#GetRekt) glossy blue paint nor the black plastic (what even is this?). I wish they had just molded all of Rumble in that dark purple colour of paint they used on the chest and then painted the shoulders/thighs in a matte blue paint rather than it being black plastic and painted like Frenzy was. Knok & Skar steal the show and, that would be true even if they weren't the main selling point for me.

I really wish the 3rd party and/or aftermarket crowd would tackle this specific size class and make some killer looking tapes with a ton of articulation. I don't see that happening though so, I hedged my bets and picked up this set. I have no regrets as I knew exactly what I was going to get.

Mine is the same way but, I can hook my thumbnail under the lower jaw (no this doesn't feel good) and swing the head out as I lower the hinge assembly down. I didn't even realize Skar and Wingthing's heads were on on a hinge system until I read your post (ain't nobody got time for instructions). Everything on Wingfinger is a lot tighter though (other than the hinged tab to plug into 5mm ports as that is looser on Wingthing) so, I feel like it's mold degradation rather than RNG. It's the same thing with Knock and Rumble but, those have a lot of pins/rivets/ball-joints involved and the discrepancy in tightness isn't as large (other than the hinged tab to plug into 5mm ports).

 

Interesting. If it's both of us, then it's more likely a materials issue than mold degradation. A friend of mine is a toolmaker by trade, we discuss this stuff a lot given my hobby. Different materials used in plastics, which in this case would be the dye, affect how the plastic shrinks as it cools.