Picked up Soundwave this afternoon; overall, I'm really happy with him, but I did wind up with a few issues on the Cassettes, that I documented in the QC thread below:

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans...bro-mp-soundwave-qc-issues-8.html#post9825481


I like the Cassettes a lot; even the much-maligned Ravage struck me as a fun little bot to tool around with. Between their small size and average sophistication, they do really seem more like accessories to Soundwave than stand-alone figures. I paid $89 for MP Sideswipe and thought him worth that price, but if I had bought a two-pack of the Takara Cassettes for $60 (or $30), I would have felt seriously ripped off.

 

Well, I got the TakaraTomy MP Soundwave and cassettes, so I'm happy. I thought the only difference between the two versions was the eye colour (and box and inserts, but whatever).

Apparently I was wrong. All that missing silver paint, the difference in the cassettes... I'm so glad I got the Japanese one now, even if it cost significantly more money.

That being said, I just noticed the chrome is already starting to scratch off my Frenzy and Rumble, so I don't know if the chrome is necessarily a bonus, even though it does look nicer.

 

I managed to get one from TRU online, and I was wondering, does he come with the papercraft? If not, I can just print them.

 

Nope. No papercraft unfortunately. Is there a place online where you can download the papercraft?

 

right here on our boards:
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/tutor...wave-papercraft-energon-cubes-schematics.html

 

All that missing silver paint? It's literally only the paint on those foot panels.

And the difference in the cassettes is some chrome on the front versus some silver or gold paint. A VERY insignificant detail.

 

Works great too. I built the Energon cube already, though I want some stiffer paper for the grid inserts.

 

Is the quality on the cassettes worth it if im only interested on the minions? I already have takara soundwave, thinking if I should buy it to complete the minions. but I think some are disappointed with them?

 

Thanks! I'll have to try these out when I get home this evening.

After handling them, the MP cassettes strike me as being worth $10-$15 at most, but ymmv. If you buy the US MP set, you could keep the minions and sell Soundwave on Ebay; I'm sure someone out there would be thrilled to buy him and you'd recoup enough money to make buying the set just for the cassettes cheaper than buying the Takara cassette 2-packs.

There are QC issues, but I don't think it's at all clear if the Hasbro versions are any better or worse than their Takara counterparts. The one downside is if you get one really bum figure, you'd have to return the whole set to get your money back. Hope this helps.

 

i kind of like the paint on the cassettes vs the chrome. sure its not as shiny but i had issues with my takara cassettes with it either coming off or not all on there.

also my frenzy(blue) and others had issues with the scars on their faces like soundwave.

plus i like the colors of frenzy(blue) on the hasbro, seems more animation colored.

 

I bought one yesterday. Words cannot describe this figure. This is in my eyes the best figure Has/Tak have ever produced. I didn't think MP Grimlock would be an easy act to top, but Soundwave did it.

The tapes, wow the engineering on these things. You put them side by side with the originals and its probably the best example of how much engineering has improved since the 80s. My only complaint is that the piledrivers don't seem to attach to Rumble/Frenzy so much as sort of balance on the arms but I'm probably doing it wrong. They can also be a jetpack? Alright I guess. Oh, and integrated weapons for the most part. Unf.

I cannot overstate how much this figure is worth every cent of that $120.

That said I am terrified to transform him because of those leg panels, but G1 Soundwave has the tape deck thing pretty much down, so I see no need for the MP to do that.

Bottom line, Soundwave has always been my favorite and its fantastic to finally have a figure that does him justice. Coming with $120 worth of free tapes isnt anything to shake a stick at either.

 

I just got mine yesterday too. I played with him and the papercarft stuff till 4 am. Here are some chest inserts as well.
Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums • View topic - MP Soundwave: chest insert & Feet Fix

I for one love the cassettes. Some quick info on my experience:

The pile drivers attach pretty good. It's kind of slotted almost and the forearm fits in there and it will grip good. The first side I tried, it did kinda hang like you had mentioned but the second one just popped right into place so I knew it was an IO error, reattached it and it went right into its home.

The holsters can be a backpack and a jet pack. What I mean by that is you can attach it to their backs in 2 different ways. The jet pack is how it is when you have the drives in the holster pointing down but you can remove the drivers, flip the holster 90 degrees and "clip" it to the waist and it will be a backpack. You can even leave the little guns attached to the back with the backpack mode as well.

My Frumbels stick in SW sometimes. If I transform them just right they won't stick. I also have to lean SW forward to get them to pop into place right but that seems to be a common issue with all of them, Has and Tak.

My Ravage is kinda loose and my Buzzsaw was super tight at first. BS is snug now, I Transformed him a few times just to loosen him up. I was very careful on where I applied my pressure. This is the first year I've ever broken a TF so I'm extra paranoid now. (A gasaphon micron, Gora micron from the Blowgun set, and Universe Dropshot's target screen 2 weeks ago.)

I don't think Ravages built ins are all that great but I love the Condor mold.

I don't want to say it but I like this guy even more than the last Hasbro MP Prime that came with the trailer. OP is awesome but I just can't seems to put SW down. Hopefully Metroplex shows up soon before SW files charges to put a restraining order against me.

That's my $.02

 

I'll have to double check the piledrivers and see. It probably was user error.

 

I can't stop fiddling with this set, its MP Grimlock all over again but with awesome little cassetticons and now that I've had him for awhile I actually prefer the yellow eyes, more memorable to the g1 toy I had as a kid. I may still go in and paint it red but it isn't as high of a priority as it was before

 

Picked him up today. Absolutely love him and his minions.

My only complaint is the ball hips. They're really not made for fiddling around with, and I feel like I could snap them easily.

That being said, he's awesome.

Yeah, I had to transform once just see how it works, but I was going to buy another just to have him in tape mode, but now I think I'll do the same and just put my TRU reissue in alt mode for that display. So thanks, a $130 saved!!!

Edit: does Lazerbeak have a pop out camera mounted in his head? It sure looks like it could pop out but I don't want to force it.

 

Got him today. He's absolutely flawless. No issues at all.

Using a 15% off coupon I ended up paying $108 for it. Holding this package in my hands, it feels like I fucking robbed somone, paying what I did.

First thing I want to comment on is the packaging. It looks nice, but that cardboard is way too thin. I love the plastic trays, they're well laid out and sturdy. they're better than the trays for my MP-09.

I transformed Soundwave once, probably won't do it again. It's just a box. Eh.

I love Soundwave. He doesn't even feel like a transformer. Everything's so damn solid on him, he feels like a high end, super articulated figure.

The tapes are all awesome. I don't understand why Ravage doesn't get more love. He's the most impressive to me. I think I like Rumble and Frenzy better without chrome. The other tapes don't have chrome, so they match better. Also don't have to worry about scratching as much.

I was tempted so many times to order the Takara Tomy versions of everything in this set, and I'm so glad I held out. These guys are absolutely worth their import prices, but getting them for just over $100 was incredible.

 

You're welcome!

Yeah, mine wasn't moving either, but I'm not going to force it. Maybe Buzzsaws will be easier to pop out but I haven't fiddled with the repaint tapes yet.

No kidding, I don't get the people saying $120 is too steep, for $120 I feel like I'm screwing them over.

 

I may be getting one tomorrow. TRU said they'll get a shipment in, but I'm taking that with a grain of salt.

 

I just look instructions and I feel hasbro left out a lot of feature on the instruction, for example I think soundwave have that multi cassette loading, because the back wall of the chest have spring loading to it....

 

There's a whole thread on this in the toy section. Plus I said the exact same thing at the beginning of this thread.