(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 DotM Legion class Soundwave. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original DotM Legion class Soundwave here.)
Even though he's in Prime
Cyberverse packaging, this version of Soundwave is most definitely of his
Dark
of the Moon-universe version, and not meant to be his Prime-universe
version. (The packaging notably leaves off the "Prime" subtitle, and this
is the only Cyberverse figure from the line to have no bio... I guess Hasbro
didn't feel like trying to justify Prime-universe Soundwave getting a Mercedes
alt mode temporarily or something.) Given that the Dark of the Moon line
was cut short, though, I can't really blame Hasbro for wanting to get more
out of this mold from the tail-end of the line. This time around, Soundwave
is painted in "Soundblaster-esque" colors-- i.e., mostly black. This redeco
in particular is a bit more interesting than that, however-- there's actually
an EVER-so-slight purplish tint to most of his black plastic, which makes
him look a bit more interesting and Decepticon-y in both modes. His robot
body is another purpley shade, though a (relatively) lighter one that's
more bluish. The two colors complement each other nicely, and the silver--
used for Soundwave's windows, headlights, and face-- does a fairly decent
job of providing a lighter contrast color to make his scheme a bit more
dynamic, since otherwise it would be too dark. There's also a bit of red
on his robot eyes and taillights, and some light blue used on the "sound
orb weapons" on his lower arms, but neither of these are really used enough
to affect his overall scheme (though of course, they provide some nice
detailing).
Soundwave has had some
mold changes made, though they are VERY minor-- namely, holes for Cyberverse-sized
weapons have been added to the top and sides of his vehicle mode, and now
BOTH of his hands are molded to hold Cyberverse weapons, compared to the
DotM release of this mold which just had one hand molded that way. He comes
with a translucent purple "Vehicon blaster" weapon, which fits him pretty
well.
Despite the packaging,
if you want a Prime Soundwave toy, this is NOT the toy you want to pick
up-- this is more for movieverse fans. Since the DotM release of this mold
was a fairly uncommon find, though, and I think the color scheme on this
version is more interesting AND comes with a weapon, I'd track this down
over the DotM release if color accuracy doesn't much matter to you-- it's
a pretty nice little mold.
Review by Beastbot