Review: #680
Name: Soundwave
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Decepticon
Line: Cyberverse
Year of Release: 2020
Size Class: Deluxe (Wave 5)
Mold Status: new
VEHICLE MODE:
Soundwave transforms into a blue armored car, similar to his Animated incarnation. He is very bulky in this mode and has a radar dish on the roof.
The back is not great since it has his exposed robot feet. Soundwave is able to roll on a flat surface, but he doesn't actually have that much clearance.
In terms of size, above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee. Soundwave is of a similar size, albeit feeling a bit light since there are hollowed out parts wherever possible.
The robot weapon can peg onto the roof as well, next to the radar dish.
Instead of coming with a piece of Maccadam, he comes with an effects part (and another thing that we'll get to shortly). This is a weirdly looking part truth be told, since it ends on a flat surface... nevertheless, it can attach to the cannon.
The hood can open up to reveal a version of Laserbeak! This is actually quite a decent bonus.
Despite Soundwave now transforming into a car, Laserbeak still transforms into a rectangular prism reminiscent of a cassette tape.
Laserbeak has a simple transformation, the sides fold out to form the wings, flip the head up and then fold down the legs. It's very static in this mode but you have to consider that it is also very small so there's not much more that the designer could have done.
This is a fairly decent vehicle mode. It's a tad bit too bulky, especially the awkwardly shaped hood (given it's the robot's chest) but it has a fair few gimmicks.
TRANSFORMATION:
Soundwave doesn't have an amazing transformation and is fiddly at parts, but isn't too hard on the whole. The hood forms the robot chest, so what this means that the arms come forward from the sides, and the legs from the back. It's not very interesting overall and the long-ish pieces that the limbs are attached to can make it seem inelegant.
ROBOT MODE:
Soundwave's robot mode is quite stylized, he isn't that blocky looking and he has noticeably long shins.
He carries a huge chunk of kibble on his back, which is disappointing and this pieces gets in the way a lot.
The head sculpt is not too bad, once again quite stylized. It's nicely painted though with the silver face and red visor.
In terms of size, Soundwave is on par with other regular Deluxes, but note that the Cyberverse line likes to hollow out limbs and other parts much more than usual, and Soundwave is no exception.
Soundwave retains the gimmick of his chest opening to reveal a compartment.
Naturally, as we already know from the alternate mode, the compartment is for Laserbeak.
One of the great things about Laserbeak is that the feet has a peg hole that corresponds to the pegs on Soundwave's arms, allowing it to perch on there without fear of falling off.
There are also pegs on the shoulders, so there's quite a number of options.
In terms of poseability, Soundwave has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
Unfortunately, that gigantic backpack kibble gets in the way of the leg articulation, restricting how far back the legs can go.
Soundwave comes with a gun, that he can hold in either hand.
You can also use the effects part here in tandem with the gun.
Alternatively, you can use it on the radar dish, it really comes down to preferences.
Finally, the gun can also attach to his shoulders for that classic look (although he'll still be missing his handgun). This is a solid robot mode, but nothing stellar.
OVERALL:
Soundwave is not an amazing figure but he is fairly solid. Unfortunately, he does not try anything new so can feel a bit underwhelming as a result. However, he has quite a bit of value for money given his multiple weaponry options and the inclusion of Laserbeak, and of course, he's the best toy version we have of the Cyberverse figure.
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