Review: #412
Name: Soundwave
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Year of Release: 2017
Size Class: Warrior (Wave 10)
Mold Status: new
VEHICLE MODE:
Soundwave transforms into an armored truck, taking a little bit of inspiration from his War for Cybertron self.
The robot arms and hands are very visible but otherwise, this vehicle mode is pretty unique and strong.
Above is a comparison against DoTM Jolt. Soundwave is approximately Deluxe sized, but like the rest of the line, he is hollow and feels light in comparison.
The cannon can be stored inside the vehicle mode between the robot thighs. Other than the rolling wheels, there are no other play value to speak of.
Nevertheless, this is a good vehicle mode.
TRANSFORMATION:
As expected, the transformation is simple. The legs unfold from the back, the arms from the sides and the front of the vehicle collapses (somewhat confusingly the first time around) to form the robot torso.
ROBOT MODE:
The robot mode takes inspiration from both War for Cybertron and the Prime incarnations of the character.
For a bulky looking robot, you can see the cost saving measures with the various hollow areas, which can cause Soundwave to feel flimsy and insubstantial in hand.
The headsculpt is heavily inspired by the Prime version and thanks to the lightpiping, it looks awesome.
Soundwave has a bulky stature, more in line with his G1 self after the skinny Prime version.
His main weapon is a cannon/gun.
It can peg onto his shoulder for a more classic Soundwave look but means he lacks a handheld weapon.
Obviously, you can choose to let him hold it in his hand but now you're faced with the lack of a shoulder weapon, you can't really win...
Articulation is good with various balljoints and swivels. He has a large adjustable footprint which makes balancing easy.
Note that some of the blue used on his has a slightly metallic paint/tinge to it, such as his cannon. It looks nice, although the base blue plastic used isn't bad either.
A great robot mode that manages to merge various incarnations of the character into a unique take.
OVERALL:
A lot of people dislike the Robots in Disguise (2015) line for its high price and lack of meaningful quality. However, it has bought us some interesting ideas and the engineering, while simplistic, works well. Soundwave is another one of the highlights in the line. He has two great modes, and both looks fantastic and plays well.
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