Set Price: $25 U.S.

(NOTE: The Activators class Bumblebee pack-in is the exact same as the regular release.)
 

Shockwave (True Colors)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium (between vehicle & robot modes); Easy (between either robot mode or either vehicle mode)
Color Scheme: Black, matte purple, and some white, transparent red, metallic red, pale metallic bronze, and metallic silvery purple
Rating: 8.2

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Animated Shockwave. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Animated Shockwave here.)

    Now that his cover "has been blown" in the TV show, Shockwave has reverted to his "true colors"-- i.e., his G1 colors. The main color change has been replacing the rather drab gray of the original release with a more visually interesting purple, which also goes well with Shockwave's other main color of black, which is pretty much on the same pieces and in the same amounts on this exclusive as on the original release. The red used as an accent color is also the same as it was on the original release-- if it wasn't for the real prevalence of purple on the figure, this would've almost seemed like a "halfway" repaint because of this, but given that his original G1 form had a fair amount of black on it as well, one can hardly blame the redeco artists for keeping it. There is another, more minor, "less G1-y" color change, though-- the teal color accents have been replaced with a metallic silver purple. They look quite good, but are a little too similar to the actual purple for me-- keeping it teal or changing it to another accent color-- like perhaps orange-- would have worked better, methinks. Other minor changes are that "Longarm Prime's" optics are now a dull bronze, and the faction symbols are now their traditional purple and red (and non-chrome), with the chest piece surrounding them being painted a nice white, which contrasts really well with the purple. As far as how much it fits the toy, it fits Shockwave VERY well-- however, when he's in Longarm Prime mode, he looks less than convincing. Of course, that's partially the point-- his cover's been blown by the time he assumes this color scheme in the show, so why hide anymore?-- but still, it being the toy's central gimmick it is worth pointing out. Purple also doesn't work quite as well for the vehicle modes.
    No mold changes have been made to "True Colors" Shockwave.
    "True Colors" Shockwave is an easy recommendation if you really like purple and just HAVE to have a purple Shockwave, no matter the incarnation. It also looks more visually interesting, in my opinion, and he comes with an Activator that is one of the better molds from the line and is roughly in scale with him, to boot! However, as far as "suiting" the character, the original paint job works better in both vehicle modes and in "Longarm Prime" mode, even though it's kinda boring. So, if you prefer looks over practicality, get this version. If it's the other way around, get the original version.

Review by Beastbot

Back to Transformers Animated Index