Soundwave's new vehicle mode is a reconnnaissance drone-- an incredibly apt alt mode, to the point where I'm surprised he hasn't had this alt mode already on one of his many incarnations over the years. Overall, the proportions of this mode are fantastic, and the toy achieves what few aerial Transformers toys do-- namely, wings that are completely proportional to the size of the aircraft. The broad, almost two-dimensional wings fit in well with Soundwave's sleek body; about the only quibble I have with this mode in terms of the "plane bits" are the lack of rear landing gear (he does have one small fold-out wheel under the nose, though). Soundwave's color scheme is as-- per usual-- mostly blue, but it's a bit duller, paler shade of blue than he usually gets, and combined with the black, doesn't look out-of-place on an aerial drone at all. To give this mode at least a bit more contrast/visual interest, there's a couple of really nice-looking light purple paint apps on his nose and wings (though he does have considerably more of these "energon lines" on his show model). There are a few robot mode extras in this mode, though for the most part they're minor; Soundwave's feet stick out rather obviously from below his nosecone and a small part of his lower arms stick out EVER so slightly from under the wings, but the whole robot chest/Laserbeak assembly on the back end is the biggest offender here, leaving Soundwave with enough bulk on the bottom that a landing gear back here actually wouldn't work if you wanted to keep him level.
    Soundwave's transformation is pretty straightforward-- you basically turn him around, unfold his nosecone to form his legs, move up and unfold his wings to become his arms, and then swing out his head. It leaves Soundwave with a very unique robot mode, however-- certainly the most unique he's gotten yet. He's VERY lithe and stick-like, to the point of looking fragile (even though any parts that are reakky skinny are made of bendy plastic, so no worries there). His arms are very much two-dimensional, which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it fits in with his "lithe, creepy" vibe, but on the other hand just a BIT more bulk on the lower arms-- to the point where we could see an actual "arm line" there instead of just a couple of claws on the end-- would have been preferable, from my perspective. There's also some pretty blatant kibble behind his lower legs, made up of the front part of his vehicle nosecone-- a bit of an eyesore, though at least it stays out of the way of movement. He's also got a couple of wings behind his back, but those fit in well with his general silouhette and don't "hang off" in any manner whatsoever. His headsculpt is downright awesome and creepy, having an exaggerated, pointier version of the Decepticon symbol on his forehead crests while his face is a blank, emotionless visor, fitting over the front of his chest to give him a slightly hunchbacked look. The mold detailing on Soundwave in general is fairly minimalistic, a result mostly of how skinny he is-- putting a bunch of detail on him would've made him look too busy. There are a couple of hinges and decorative patterns here and there, though, and his style of alternating between curved and pointed areas helps him fit in with the other toys in the line. His color scheme gets a bit more of a boost here, being broken up by black more often but also adding a bit of silver on his forehead and a few more light purple bits on his lower legs and waist. Again, I wish a bit MORE light purple had been used, but he still looks pretty good, especially with the addition of a nice dark purplish blue on some parts such as his inner arms and parts of his chest, which complements the blue plastic very nicely and is just a great-looking color. For articulation, Soundwave can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at two points), elbows (at three points), waist, hips (at two points), knees (at two points, due to his "chicken-walker" stance), and at one point each on his toes and heels. This means you can get some really creepy/awesome poses out of him, with hand and sideways knee movement being the only real points missing here. (That said, his skinny feet do restrict the number of poses you can balance him in slightly.)
    Soundwave's chest assembly can detach and flip around a bit to become "Laserbeak", who is definitely an alien-looking pet. Unlike previous Laserbeaks-- who were most definitely birds of some sort-- this Laserbeak has no discernable head and is just four wings attached together, more of a emotionless drone than a real extra Transformer character-- which, actually, fits this Soundwave just fine. Laserbeak can move up and down on both of his larger wings, and can also move these two wings back-and-forth some, the latter being required for his transformation. He has a peg on his bottom side so he can "perch" comfortably on Soundwave's skeletal hand.
    Prime Soundwave w/ Laserbeak is one very unique take on the character, and one that I love. His sculpt bursts with (a lack of?) personality, being both creepy and skeletal while also looking emotionless and cold with his complete lack of any real face. He's got a few minor kibble problems in both modes, but other than that this is a great toy of an interesting character in the Prime show, and his partner Laserbeak is a cool extra. Highly recommended.

Review by Beastbot

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