Review: #669
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Cyberverse
Year of Release: 2020
Size Class: Voyager w/ Legends (Wave 2)
Mold Status: Soundwave is a retool of Siege Soundwave, while Laserbeak and Ravage are minor redecos of their Siege version
ALTERNATE MODE (SOUNDWAVE):
Starting off with Soundwave's alternate mode and this is where it is apparent that this figure is an extremely heavy retool of the Siege figure, as it now transforms into his classic cassette player mode!
While it is basically just folding up into a box, this is still impressive and looks great from the front The back is messier though since it's not a perfect rectangular prism.
You can also see that from the side, he is very thick since the width is made up of both his robot arms and robot legs.
In terms of size, Soundwave is extremely compact here. He was already a somewhat small Voyager, and now since he folds up even more, he is roughly the length of a Deluxe. Granted, he's still bulkier and heavier than a normal Deluxe.
None of the buttons except one work, they are all molded in. There's also more than just a splash of silver paint among the unpainted grey.
The one button that does work is on top of the player. It spring opens the front so that you can load a tape in.
The robot weapons can peg onto the back, but just this makes him even thicker.
Soundwave comes with two tapes in the package, Laserbeak and Ravage.
This is an impressive remold and is a great alternate mode that still has plenty of play value, despite being an outdated cassette player that you don't see nowadays.
LASERBEAK:
The first tape is Laserbeak, which is in his customary red.
It's basically a folded up robot with a loose attempt to make it look like a tape. The back is even worse since it is gappy and the robot legs are obvious.
Originally sold in a two pack in the Legends size class, Laserbeak is small and is basically Micromaster size. Above is a comparison against Legion Barricade.
Naturally, Laserbeak interacts with Soundwave, you can place him inside the cassette tape player and as the cover is clear, looks great there.
This is what you'd come to expect of a cassette tape at this small size.
The transformation, while simple, is still fun and is pretty much a carbon copy of the original's with some improvements like having the engine block integrated into the figure.
Laserbeak transforms into a robotic bird, that's all there is to it.
The head sculpt is pretty good, and thanks to transformation, can look up and down. The wings can open and close, also due to transformation, but that's it for poseability.
Again, Laserbeak is fairly small but around the same size, including wingspan, as a Legion figure.
Despite the simplicity, this is a strong robot mode.
RAVAGE:
Next is Ravage, a black cassette tape and the front actually has paint that makes it resemble a tape with the spools.
Naturally, this means the back is more of a mess but you won't be seeing too much from this side anyway.
In terms of size, again, this is basically a folded up robot into a rectangle so Ravage isn't too big.
He interacts with Soundwave's cassette player mode but acting a tape that you can put in. Given that Soundwave only has enough space for one tape, either only Laserbeak or Ravage can be stored that at any given time.
A good looking tape mode from one side, but like Laserbeak, is flawed at the back being a gappy jumbled mess of robot parts.
Since Ravage's robot mode is based on a jaguar, the transformation is more complicated compared to Laserbeak. There's a few rotations and manipulations of panels but is quite clever in the end.
At this small size, there is no avoiding compromises but on the whole, it's recognizable and most importantly, it is a stable robot mode.
The head sculpt is okay and due to transformation, the whole head and neck assembly can lift up and down. There are also small hip rockets molded and painted silver, a nice touch even though they're a bit small.
In terms of size, just like Laserbeak, he is roughly the size of a Legion figure.
Ravage is a decent enough figure, not horrible but not amazing either.
TRANSFORMATION (SOUNDWAVE):
If you've ever transformed a Soundwave figure that turns into cassette tape player, than you'll easily figure this one out. The front unfolds to form the legs, while the back folds forward for the arms. The head flips up and you're pretty much done after manipulating a few pieces for aesthetics purposes.
ROBOT MODE (SOUNDWAVE):
Soundwave's robot mode is pretty good and is distinctly Soundwave.
He doesn't have much kibble, and this is usually the case since Soundwave transforms from a boxy rectangle to a boxy robot.
The head sculpt is great as well but he now sports a red visor. What's cool is that he is one of the rare figures nowadays to actually have lightpiping.
And now a comparison against the Siege version and you can see the extent of the remolding even in robot mode. All the remolding was done to make this version look more akin to his G1 incarnation.
He comes with three weapons, which are basically three guns.
The Gatling cannon attaches to his shoulders as his iconic shoulder cannon.
Soundwave is quite poseable. He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
He is actually flexible enough to even reach the button that releases the tape cover!
Something that's noteworthy when compared to his Siege version is that the chest is a bit wider, and once you see it, you can't unsee it and makes it feel like he is fatter...
Both Laserbeak and Ravage can store in his chest, adding some really nice splashes of color.
If you keep Laserbeak and Ravage in their tape forms, they have flip out 5mm pegs that allows them to peg onto Soundwave's forearms to act as shields. It doesn't look half bad.
You can dual purpose the peg on Laserbeak to peg him onto Soundwave's forearm, although it does mean his legs are folded away.
Soundwave also retains the sleds from the Siege version, these can flip out and act as mini-guns though. Otherwise, they're just a relic and isn't used at all on this figure.
For the remaining two guns, he can hold them in either hand. The first is his other iconic weapon.
The second is a grey gun that to be honest, doesn't look that great and is a little bit weak.
Lastly, all three weapons can combine together for form a really long gun, more akin to a sniper gun.
It's still surprising at what a bit of remolding can do to touch up a figure to be so much better than the original.
Another superior aspect of this figure is that it ditches the ugly battle damage that Siege and the other Netflix figures had.
Naturally, he pairs well with his two minions.
A fantastic robot mode that has a ton of play value.
OVERALL:
This is the update we all wanted for G1 Soundwave, so it's a shame that he is part of the Netflix line which had lower production numbers. Nevertheless, this is an impressive remold and is a great figure overall.
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