Ever since the first pictures were seen in Toyfare, Shockblast has been highly anticipated by fandom and suffice to say he does not disappoint. I got mine in from Action-HQ's preorders so it is the final sealed product
Tank Mode: Just like the pics, it does look half assed but if you try and forget about the RM parts its not too bad and its pretty functional. Still, the head is very visable so its not that great a mode.5/10
Satelite Mode: This is very bad. Its downright pitiful. The fold out solar panels are nice as they are gold chrome and there are some good molded details to be found such as missle bays but its basically Shockblast extending his legs and arms out. Very sad mode 4/10
Robot Mode:
Shockblast is clearly homage to G1 Shockwave and is one very well done as virtually every part of him is reminencent of the orginal and in many ways improved and updated
First thought I had looking at this figure was "Uh, that is one HUGE arm!" Not just in length but width, I was shocked at first but I've gotten used to it now. Its really not that bad at all and kinda cool as it just screams engine of destruction. Only bad part is that he cannot rest his arm completely at his side but considering all the poses he's capable of, that's not a big issue.
Speaking of poses, the posability is EXCELLENT in this figure as he has all the essentials (swivels, waist, knees, elbows, head, etc). Of special note are his antenna can move up and down, the head has a neck joint and his feet have swivels. The gun arm does not rotate or bend tho :( He also does have a minicon port hidden in his right hand, the double missile launcher has to be lifted to see it but its there
On the down side, his upper body doesn't lock in to the lower body, kinda like how Scoponok's arms don't lock into his body but stay up. Its no big deal, but worth noting. The arm is also a bit heavy so there are a few poses where he can tip over, but not many
Overall excellent robot mode and well worth the sacrifice of the other two modes 9/10
Hyper Mode: First his solar panels on his back are flipped up from under his tank treads on his back. Then on his gunarm, there is a level which when pushed down,pops the solar panels on his arm up and fire the missle. Nice little hypermode that doesn't comprimise anything 9/10 :)
Fan made gun mode: This is not an official mode but since the orginal Shockwave transformed into a gun, its approprate a homage such as Shockblast is capable of doing so, even if it is unofficial. It looks MUCH better than satelite mode ande possibily even the tank mode. Looks really good, its basically done in tank mode by rotating the body around so the legs are on the other side. Then the legs are slanted down and its done 7/10
Overall: Paid $35 w/shipping to get this guy ahead of time and I am not dissapointed at all. This is a standout of the Energon line and the fact that even without great alt modes it manages to shine is proof of its greatness. A must own 9/10
| Reviewer | Behold, Galvatron! |
| Date | May 26th 2004 |
| Score |  (9 out of 10) |
| Reads | 14706 |
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