Soundwave

For the first movie, rumors were abound about a Soundwave appearance. Would he be a helicopter? Nope, that was Blackout's job. How about a pickup? That slot got taken by Dropkick. Alas, no Soundwave for the first movie. No fear, though, as Soundwave makes his appearance for Revenge of the Fallen; as a triplechanger even.

Bio

Stationed in orbit above Earth, Soundwave swiftly taps into every satellite in range. Within minutes, communications, data traffic, weather information and high-resolution spy photography flood his sensor net. The spill of data fills him with pleasure, and one by one, the humans' systems come under his complete control. From his seat on high, he is in a position to control the destiny of mankind without their knowledge... or to run their civilization into the ground.

Strength     

Intelligence 

Speed        

Endurance    

Rank         

Courage      

Fireblast    

Skill        

Robot Mode

He certainly is a stocky brute. Primarily light gray in color, Soundwave has many other colors adorning him. The thighs and elbows are done in his familiar dark blue. You can also catch glimpses of red, light translucent blue, gold and translucent red around him. The head sculpt is a perfect balance of traditional Soundwave mixed with movie aesthetics. Unfortunately, the red visor offers no light piping. Overall, the level of detail is above grade for a Deluxe mold. The detailing on the flaps is just amazing.

Soundwave is indeed very impressive looking, but he's also very busy looking. The various flaps on his shoulders and backside do tend to get in the way and require adjustment for any little move you make to his limbs. That could get a bit tedious, especially for younger folk. Also, the Ravage projectile that fits on his back doesn't like to stay in place. It's best left out in this mode.

Articulation

Feet:Pin hinge, Negligible adjustments
Knees:Screw hinge, 150 degree bend. Pin above knee for unlimited shin rotation
Hips:Ball joint, 180 degree bend and 90 degree spread
Waist:Stationary
Shoulders:Ball joint w/pin hinge, 90 degree spread, unlimited rotation and 90 degrees flex
Elbows:3 pin hinges, 180 degree bend with unlimited forearm rotation
Head:Ball joint, unlimited horizontal rotation and 30 degree tilt

While the foot joints have good movement, they don't work in unison. As you can tell from the figure, kibble gets in the way constantly when trying to pose and constant adjustments to the armor are needed.

Robot Mode Specs

Height:5.12in/130mm
Width:5.5in/139.7mm
Depth:2in/50.8mm
Supplied accessories:(1)Launchable Ravage projectile

Transformation to Satellite Mode

This can get a bit tricky. Start by aligning the panels on his shoulders to be parallel. There is a very small blue tab just below the orb on his chest. Pull the head up as far as you can, tilt the head down, then flip up that blue tab to cover his head. Fold the foot flaps flush with each other. Pull the flap on his back all the way down so it extends below the feet. Spread the shoulders out 45 degrees then fold the fists in to his armpits, but leave the blue spikes aligned with the shoulders.

Adjust the flaps on the side so they are aligned with the shoulders and pointing down. Now, spread out the flaps so they point out. Do the same for the legs. Rotate the legs so that the blue orb halves face his backside. Fold the legs in together. The orb on the right leg is positioned in the back, with the orb on the left leg covering it. Finally, adjust the side flaps so the flaps face to the sides and point down.

Satellite Mode

The satellite mode is pretty creative, as well as menacing looking. Dare I say it has a resemblance to certain Vehicons. Most of the coloration is gone, but the standouts are the three blue orbs. Above the top of the satellite is where the Ravage projectile locks in place. This projectile also fires like a missile, but make no mistake. The detailing on the missile warhead will tell you it's Ravage.

It's a small nag, but it's too bad there's no way to prop the satellite so it can stand up on it's own. Even propping it up against a wall will take a little work, as the bottom flap isn't very tight and might sag, as it's only connection point is a ball joint.

Satellite Mode Specs

Height: 6.5in/165.1mm
Width:8in/203.2mm
Depth:2.25in/57.1mm
Scale Ratio:N/A

Transformation to Cruiser Mode

Very minor adjustments are needed to convert from satellite to cruiser mode. Rotate the flaps so that they face the satellite, while keeping the blue orbs in position. Then, fold out the flaps so that they create a Y pattern. Fold in the blue spikes so they face the nose of the cruiser. Fold the end of the rear flaps inward.

Cruiser Mode

Unlike the alien jet mode of Megatron, this jet mode is done pretty well. I can't help it, but it does bring back images of Cybertron Megatron's jet mode.

The only thing missing here are landing gear. Of course, with this being an alien jet it probably just hovers in for a landing.

Cruiser Mode Specs

Length: 8in/203.2mm
Width:8in/203.2mm
Height:1.87in/47.5mm
Scale Ratio:N/A
Detailed cockpit: None

Verdict

Robot Mode: Great detail, but a little busy and kibbled.
Satellite Mode:Very inventive.
Cruiser Mode:Way to sneak in a third mode, Hasbro!
Overall:A great figure with lots of versatility and, with a little patience, lots of posing ability.

Class:Deluxe

MSRP:$13

Reviewer	Blitzwing
Date	May 26th 2009
Score	(9 out of 10)
Reads	15201

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