Allegiance: Decepticon
 

Laserbeak

Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Black and dull red
Individual Rating: 5.5

    What's a shame this time around is that Laserbeak's alternate mode isn't really a tape, just a black box. There's no detailing whatsoever that could be construed as being tape-like, though at least all the red "feather" lines everywhere look pretty cool. I mean, I understand Laserbeak is REALLY small, but still, some tape-like detailing couldn't have hurt.
    Laserbeak's bird mode is fairly good, considering the scale. Just like on the original G1 toy, his wings can move back-and-forth at the shoulders, and his head can move up and down. His legs can't move at all, however, and they're a bit small proportionally to begin with. There's also a pretty noticeable gap in the main body behind his neck, however, and his head is a bit fat proportionally. It's also a bit of a bummer he doesn't have any diecast in him-- I was looking forward to a teeny diecast Laserbeak...
 

Soundwave

Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Dark blue, gray, and some dull metallic bronze, silver, black, transparent purple, and dull red
Individual Rating: 6.2

    Soundwave's cassette player mode honestly doesn't resemble an actual cassette player as much as it should. For one, the sides of the cassette player are slightly bigger than the middle section, which Soundwave's particular model of cassette player never had. Also, the actual cassette chamber doesn't look "real" enough-- for one, the mechanical "tape player interior" details on the inside of the chamber look pretty fake and cartoony, and the actual tape chamber STICKS OUT from the main body fo the cassette player, instead of being mostly recessed in the main body like on a real tape player. Also, the side pieces of this mode should have speaker-like detailing on them, since they ARE speakers on real cassette players. Sadly, there's no such mold detailing on those parts at all. It's also way too obvious that the bottom parts of this mode are Soundwave's robot waist halves, as they don't fit with their surrounding parts either in shape or color. The back of the robot head is also pretty obvious on the top of this mode, and the batteries on the backside are completely uncovered instead of having a panel to slide over them like on the original G1 toy. (However, the + and - symbols on the batteries and on the slots you slide them into when transforming Soundwave into his cassette player mode is a pretty nice touch.) It's also pretty obvious his robot arms are on the backside of this mode, as the fists are blatantly visible. Not to mention that, even though he's compact in this mode, Soundwave is pretty small for a 6" Titanium. Really, the only positive thing I have to say about this mode besides the aforementioned battery symbols is that the blue, gray, and gold color scheme still work pretty well for ol' Soundwave, and that at least he has the play/rewind etc. buttons molded on him, though at such a scale they can't be pressed in or anything. He also has a fair number of paint apps and mold detailing, which is always good.
    Soundwave's robot mode is mostly better than his cassette player mode, with few flaws outside of one big one, which I'll get to in a moment. He has pretty good articulation, as he can move at the shoulders (at two points), the elbows (at two points), the head, the hips (at two points), and the knees. I also like that even at this smaller scale, Soundwave still has his battery-gun and shoulder missile launcher. His arms and chest are also well-proportioned, and he also has some nifty little tabs on his shoulders that Laserbeak can perch perfectly on. His head sculpt seems a little... off, though, the forehead is a bit too big. His feet actually come out of the FRONT of his lower legs, with the heels only around the center of lower leg, so Soundwave is also a bit less stable than he otherwise would be. What's really atrocious about this mode, however, is the absolutely ridiculous "diaper" pelvis. It's WAY too large proportionally, to the point that once you transform him, there's where your eyes immediately go. There's also supposed to be tabs that keep Soundwave's upper legs in a lower position on the pelvis so that his legs at least look a bit longer than they are, but the tabs are entirely too weak and don't hold up under Soundwave's weight at all. In addition, Soundwave's upper legs come off their tracks a bit too easily, though at least they're easy to pop back on, and often people have complained that Soundwave's legs collapse in on themselves too easily, though mine doesn't have this problem. Also, in case you're wondering, Soundwave's diecast parts are his chest, his lower arms, and his lower legs.]

    Titanium Soundwave and Laserbeak, quite honestly, are the worst the line has seen as of this writing (2/07). Laserbeak is decent enough for the small scale, but Soundwave has an unconvincing cassette player mode and an incredibly ridiculous-looking waist in robot mode. Honestly, the ORIGINAL Soundwave toy looks better than this, and considering that that toy is over 20 years old now, that's just sad. Unless you're a completist, I'd recommend saving up a little more and getting the G1 Reissue Soundwave instead.
 

Review by Beastbot

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