Fall of Cyberton was one of my favorite games of the year. There, I said it. I’m sure it’s got a lot to do with me being a huge Transformers fan (duh), but I still loved it, and of course the toys were a must. When I finally found Voyager Soundwave in my area, I was shocked to say the least, but I grabbed him and and started my journey into the new abyss of Voyager FoC toys.
Firs things first, Soundwave’s got a hell of a game accurate head, and it actually looks pretty G1 to me. The head swivels, but I found mine to be extremely tight.
Soundwave’s shoulders feature a swivel and a hinge for movement, and there are a couple other other points of articulation around this area that are technically meant for part of the transformation, but can be futzed with a little bit for some extra wiggle. The elbow has a ratcheted hinge that feels very solid, as well as having a bicep swivel. A wrist swivel is also present. Soundwave’s shoulder mounted gun is also able to be turned to the side via a swivel.
As I’m sure most of you already know, this Soundwave has a pretty cool gimmick allowing him to store the “datadiscs” (new era cassetticons) inside of his chest a la Generation 1 Soundwave. The mechanism allows two datadiscs to fit to fit comfortably inside Soundwave with the front hatch closed. It’s a pretty cool feature to be honest, and I’m glad to see some extra engineering going into these toys from Hasbro. I guess everything isn’t getting infinitely more crappy after all! Soundwave comes with Lazerbeak, but Frenzy, Rumble, Rat Bat, and Ravage can be bought in two packs that come with some neat purple storage cases as well.
Soundwave’s lower body is really well done. The hips are able to be swiveled for rotation and hinged for lateral movement, as well having a rare thigh swivel. The knee is a standard ratcheted hinge joint, and the feet are also able to be moved back and forth a bit via a hinge.
Compared to a lot of the other Fall of Cybertron toys, Soundwave’s transformation was pretty fun and pain free. The instructions seemed clear enough, and everything just felt really solid when putting it all together.
The alt mode looks very nicely done, although I wish it was stretched a bit longer. Seems to be a little too short and fat. I’m digging the Cybertronian wheels, and overall, I think FoC Soundwave’s alt mode is a bit of improvement over the WfC version.
Overall, Soundwave is a very pleasant surprise from the recent Generations line. With the FoC being so painfully small and cheap, it’s very refreshing to see the Voyagers coming in strong with a big build. If you weren’t pleased with some of the Fall of Cybertron Deluxes previously released, I can say that Soundwave is nothing like them. Don’t let the shitbags like Optimus and Jazz deter you away from this figure; t’s bulky, pretty, and fun. What else you could you ask for?
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Oh man, he's my favorite toy of 2012 for sure! You should defiantly check out my site if you get the chance – I have how to get him into Boombox mode, how to fix the eject issues, and other tid-bits!
Also, his head definitely swivel's left to right, its just a SUPER tight joint at first. Play with it a bit and it will loosen up.
Holy crap! Thanks for the input. Mine was really tight!
Mine too, it took a few times before it would just freely move without force, but even now, its still very tight.
Now you have to try the "chest panel" thing, it looks so much better than just having the door hang open
Just to be "that guy"…the only thing I could have asked for was the rifle he has on his back box picture lol…
Dang it, I already have the wfc soundwave, and don't need this guy at all; but he just looks so cool. Maybe if I get Soundblaster I can justify the purchase because of the different colors.