Picked him up this morning and I like him but had to switch some parts around to help his look a bit more in robot mode. I flipped the shoulder pieces, as well as reversed the neck panel to sit backwards so the head sits a little higher. Faceplate is missing at the moment because it's being painted. Imo, he's got an idw vibe to him. I plan on cleaning the rest of the sticker residue off and adding a g1 cartoon con reprolabel. Possibly painting the thighs, hips and forearms as well.

 

He actually does. It's very difficult to see due to the translucent plastic. I'll be adding silver to mine shortly.

 

I probably will paint the thighs and forearms silver eventually, but for now as is I feel like it's better than it was out of box.

 

Robot Mode: Soundwave has clearly been working out. His Prime incarnation was a spindly fellow, but this RID successor here has bulked up a lot and returned to his classic look, including the (non-functioning) tape deck on the chest and a general look that strongly reminds me of his Animated incarnation. Really the only thing that still bears a strong resemblance to the Prime Soundwave we knew is the head, which retains the full-face screen, but still manages to carry the G1 look as well (though not as well as the package art, which shows him with his classic mouth guard instead.

While Soundwave is clearly an RID bot by design, he is about as far away from the somewhat simplified design of his peers as he can be while still fitting into the line. Upon first look one could just as easily sort him into the Prime or Generations toyline, I think. He is very nicely articulated throughout and has no stability issues, either. Long-time readers of my reviews will not be surprised, of course, that I really like his weapon, the classic Soundwave shoulder-mounted bazooka. The bazooka can turn, tilt upwards, and be held in hand, too, if you like. Very nicely done.

So bottom line, the best robot mode the RID toyline has brought out so far bar none. He is Soundwave, clearly, he can move, he can shoot, and he can jam on Animated Soundwave’s Laserbeak guitar. So quite evidently: no room for complaint at all.

Alternate Mode: Abandoning his previous flight alternate mode, Soundwave once again transforms into a land vehicle that, while somewhat resembling Animated Soundwave again, clearly takes its inspiration from a different Soundwave this time, the War for Cybertron Generations figure. The vehicle is not so much a car as a heavily armed and armored attack vehicle.

I especially like the driver’s cabin on top, which pretty much appears from nowhere, as it is completely hidden in robot mode. Soundwave’s bazooka goes on top, left or right side, giving the vehicle ample firepower as well. The transformation from robot to vehicle is actually among the more complicated in the RID line, but still quite intuitive. The only slight downside of this mode is that you can see his robot fists on the sides, would have been nice if they could be folded in. Apart from that, though: a brilliant vehicle mode. So good that I almost forgot about the fists thing as I wrote this.

Remarks: While Soundwave did appear in the Robots in Disguise cartoon, he did so wearing his old body from the Prime cartoon series / toyline. This particular version of Soundwave has yet to make any media appearances, though one could hardly miss the resemblance to the War for Cybertron version of the character, which is (at least loosely) part of the same continuity. Maybe it’s simply intended to show Soundwave during a flashback before he got his flying alternate mode or maybe they just wanted to include a cool Soundwave figure in the toyline.

Now whether or not you are a fan of Soundwave, this figure here is, to me, the best figure from the RID toyline yet. He shows little of the simplified design aesthetics and can easily stand next to Prime or War for Cybertron / Fall of Cybertron figures. He’s got two very nice modes and, of course, that classic Soundwave look doesn’t hurt, either. So basically what I am saying is: buy Soundwave! You will not regret it.

Rating: A

Source: Transformers-Universe.com

 

I picked this up on a whim the other day and I'm totally glad that I did; I've been avoiding RiD toys after being horribly disappointed early on in the line but RiD Soundwave is excellent. I love how surprisingly menacing he looks in robot mode and I like how his alt. mode is reminiscent of WFC Soundwave, even if it's a bit boxy and simplistic. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Prime Soundwave's head/face on this more traditional body, but it works and the light piping is great. Poseability is great, on-par with Titans Return Deluxes. My only criticism is that I wish he had a hand-held gun as well as the shoulder one, but that's pretty trivial. Definitely a great toy from a line I haven't been a fan of overally. Love the paint, the look, and the great quality of the toy compared to earlier offerings like Bumblebee and Steeljaw. Soundwave superior!

 

Soundwave – Robot Mode


Soundwave superior-ish​

Like Blurr being an amalgamation of RB and Generations Blurr figures, this Soundwave seems to be an amalgamation of the TFPrime and Fall of Cybertron Soundwave toys. The head sculpt is most definitely a carry over from TFPRime (the precursor cartoon to the current RID series) and the proportions are very in line with most of the other RID figures. However with the added shoulder cannon, distinctive chest and bulkier limbs he is certainly as shout out to the Soundwave figures of old. The light piping in the back of the head can make for some good effects and the shoulder cannon can be removed to be used as a handgun.

Soundwave – Vehicle Mode


Gun or periscope?​

This is where the toy really calls out to the Fall of Cybertron figure. Ruby translucent wheels along with a roof cannon and a bulky blue Cybertronian-armored car is the flavor here and the flavor is good! He has a more distinctive cockpit which is a definite plus, but the peg that holds the roof cannon in is way too long, it makes it look ungainly sitting on top. Despite this I couldn’t bring myself to remove it as it seems intrinsic to an otherwise odd alt-mode.

For more info and pics of RID Soundwave please see my blog HERE
​

 

Got him today, fairly impressed. My biggest gripe is he only has one gun, a pair would suit him much better.

 

I thought he was interesting, but in hand and after a few transformations I really like him. Sure he's got his quirks, but he's pretty fun too and is very "Soundwave" to me.

 

Soundwave gained some bulk....

 

soundwave looks....robust

 

If the hands had rotated into the forearms so that it looked like thrusters were pointing out the back in truck mode, it would've been amazing.

 

No pictures, but I got a Decepticon symbol keychain as a gift recently. Makes a nice pimp necklace for Soundwave right now (although I'm sure it's destined for Nitro Zeus once I get him)

 

Just picked up Soundwave today. Pretty sure this is the last Warrior class Decepticon I'm getting from this toy line unless they surprise me and make an Overlord. (Edit: I forgot, there is one other Warrior Class Decepticon I want but might be difficult to find. Paralon. Scorponok is more common and probably easier to find, plus I kinda like the color scheme more, but the mold looks kinda like the worst of the best and I'm only going to get one so I'd rather go for the Beast Wars homage because I love Beast Wars. Given it's TRU exclusive and I'm not going to go out of my way to track him down, that still means Soundwave will likely be my last.)

Anyway, I like the design. He looks nice and powerful. At least till I got to transforming him and realized how thin a lot of the plastic is. This figure pulls off this weird trick of some how feeling really solid in robot mode and then really hollow in vehicle mode. I also want to give a warning, there is a bend at the waist for transformation, the instructions were really not clear on where to bend this thing at. This is going to be really weird to say but the crotch of the robot does not move, there's a crease just behind that where the crotch pegs into the ass, unpeg that and then you can swing his ass backwards. Anyway, the plastic is so thin in places that right out of the package I can see some stress marks already. I'm probably going to keep him in robot mode cause he oddly feels sturdier that way. Also the arms have a hard time pegging in for vehicle mode. I like the look of the vehicle mode, it reminds me a cross between Animated and War for Cybertron, I just don't like how hollow and cheap it feels in this mode.

There's a ball joint on the head, ball joint shoulders plus that transformation hing that can easily be used to give his shoulders more range not that he even needs it, ball jointed elbows which the left is really overly tight on mine while the right feels fine, waist swivel, ball joint hips, thigh swivel, knees, and a little bit of forward and back ankle.

It looks like he should have a wrist swivel but that's just how his arms are molded. I kinda wish he had his hand held gun as well as the shoulder mounted one and at least ONE of his tentacles. This guy is surprising really possible for a character who doesn't actually move all that much.

Anyway this is one of the few Decepticons in the series I actually like and he's a major improvement over the skinny Prime design so I had to pick this up. Unfortunately with the QC problems, at least in my copy of the figure, this is actually easily the worst Warrior class toy I own. I really want to recommend this figure because in terms of looks I love this thing but given the problems I'm finding it hard to actually do that. I'd suggest, maybe as a collector but be very careful with the figure. If you're getting this for a child to play with, don't with how weak and cheap this thing feels I'm pretty sure a kid would break this guy five minutes after getting him out of the package.

 

these changes look cool; i flipped the head and it is a bit more stable but how did u manage to get the shoulder bits off. i tried and they seem to tight and and at too odd an angle to force off.

 

This is my largest complaint with this toy... I mean, for an RiD Warrior-class fig, him already coming with an accessory is a plus, seeing as a lot of RiD warriors don't even have accessories, but them giving Soundwave two weapon accessories so he can get his G1 homage (hand weapon + shoulder cannon based on AA batteries) down would have been golden.

jya na!