Soundwave (WFC)/toys
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Most toys of Soundwave tend to fall into one of two camps: very Geewun, or very not.
Contents |
Toys
Generations
War for Cybertron
- Cybertronian Soundwave (Deluxe Class, 2010)
- Accessories: Handgun, missile launcher
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Part of the third wave of Generations Deluxe Class toys, War for Cybertron "Cybertronian Soundwave" transforms into a Cybertronian "communications truck", as seen in the video game.
- He comes with his classic shoulder launcher and rifle, both of which can be held in his hands, mounted on his right shoulder, or mounted on his rear vehicle sides via 5 mm posts. Both weapons can also store inside his chest compartment (once you compress the handgun's barrel into its main body), approximating the visual of cassette spools.
- Soundwave's head features a light-piping gimmick, but the effect is largely neutered by his painted visor.
- This mold was redecoed into United Soundwave Cybertron Mode and Knights of Unicron Soundwave.
Fall of Cybertron
- Soundwave (Voyager Class, 2012)
- Series / Number: 1 / #001
- TakaraTomy ID number: TG13
- Accessories: Laserbeak/Data disc, shoulder cannon
- Known designers: Aaron Archer (Hasbro), Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy), Andrew Scribner (deco artist)
- Part of the first wave of 2012 Voyager Class Generations Fall of Cybertron toys, Soundwave transforms into a Cybertronian armored vehicle, and comes with a shoulder cannon which can peg (via 5mm post) into his hands, right shoulder, and roof/back.
- He also comes with Legends Class Laserbeak, who utilizes Soundwave's main gimmick, storing and launching Laserbeak and other "data disc" minions. A button to the left of his head can be pressed to open his spring-loaded chest compartment, allowing up to three data discs to be stored inside. With discs stored, his back panel/roof now acts as a plunger, which can be moved forward in either mode to launch minions out. Launched minions should land on buttons on their undersides, thus triggering their spring-loaded transformation mechanisms and springing them into action! ...hopefully.
- As an undocumented feature, the seat on his vehicle roof holds Diaclone drivers (and by virtue of similar sizes, Star Wars Transformers pilots). Additionally, Soundwave's trigger finger is molded into his left hand, presumably so he can push his own eject button.
- For some reason, his stock photography and instructions depict him with the Generation 1 Optimus Prime toy's Ion blaster accessory, which isn't included with the final product.
- The TakaraTomy release of Soundwave, part of the fourth wave of Japanese Generations toys, features different colors, using a more purple-ish metallic shade of blue and replacing almost all of his gray parts (the exceptions being his face and "grill") with a much darker metallic shade. It also features none of the red and yellow paint details on his arms and legs, and renders the seat on his roof black. He features new paint applications in addition to those not present from the Hasbro version.
- The Hasbro deco of Soundwave was repurposed as 2005 IDW continuity Soundwave in IDW's Robots in Disguise comic series while the TakaraTomy deco of Soundwave was also repurposed as Cloud Soundwave. This mold was redecoed and retooled into Autobot Blaster.
- Soundblaster (Voyager Class, 2012)
- Series / Number: 1 / #002
- TakaraTomy ID number: TG14
- Accessories: "Buzzsaw" data disc, shoulder cannon
- Also available in the first wave of 2012 Voyager Class Generations Fall of Cybertron toys, Soundblaster is a charcoal gray, red, gold, and yellow redeco of Voyager Class Soundwave, as is the trend with Soundblasters. In fact, he uses exactly the same paint mask as Soundwave, simply changing some of the colors.
- He now comes with Buzzsaw, a redeco of Laserbeak.
- His stock photography and instructions still depict him with the ion blaster accessory which he still doesn't have.
Prime
Robots in Disguise
- Soundwave (Deluxe Class, 2012)
- Part of the first wave of Prime: Robots in Disguise toys, Soundwave transforms from a UAV not unlike the Predator B drone into an angular batlike robot mode. His transformation includes a spring-loaded head that deploys automatically when his tail and thrust bottle are folded up. His vehicle mode has a 5mm port on the top of its fuselage; the robot also has 5mm sockets passing entirely through his palms.
- He comes with Laserbeak, who can store inside Soundwave's chest in either mode, or be mounted on any of the 5 mm holes.
- In wave six of the Prime toyline, Soundwave was put into new packaging, which came with a DVD featuring the Prime episode "Loose Cannons".
- The TakaraTomy release of Soundwave, part of the second wave of Japanese Prime product, has considerable differences from the Hasbro version. Most of the Hasbro paint operations have been removed and replaced with numerous, small, customer-applied foil stickers, including ones for his tiny sculpted kneecaps, which are practically guaranteed to peel off at the sides. In addition, the instructions for applying the stickers unfortunately contain an error, with the placement of stickers 14 and 15 being swapped around.
- Cannons with 5mm ports and posts have been added to his wings (on his shoulders in robot mode) in order to accommodate the line-wide Arms Micron gimmick. He also includes Zori, a robotic scorpion that transforms into one of Soundwave's in-show tech-tentacles.
- The Hasbro version of this mold was redecoed into the Advanced Stealth B.A.T.s duo, which were sold with Old Snake through the Transformers Collectors' Club as a "Club Crossover" exclusive toy, also available to the G.I. Joe Collectors' Club.
Cyberverse
- Soundwave (Legion Class, 2012)
- Series: 2
- Number: 007
- Accessories: "Hacking tool"
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Cyberverse Series 2 Soundwave is a dark blue and silver redeco/retool of the Dark of the Moon Cyberverse Legion Class Soundwave toy, transforming into a fully-licensed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and featuring a retooled left hand to be able to hold Cyberverse weapons. He comes with the same weapon/tool accessory as the Prime Cyberverse Legion Class Vehicon (later also used by Decepticon Flamewar, in an ever-so-slightly different color). In a bizarre instance of a quality control error, the figure's packaging has its bio printed in white instead of black ink, making it impossible to read on the white background of the card.
- The United States market release of Soundwave used the template for the Transformers: Prime-based Series 2 Cyberverse Legion Class packaging style but lacked the "Prime" moniker, thus arguably making him another Soundwave. The multilingual European market packaging, meanwhile, retained the Prime title.
- Soundwave (Legion Class, 2013)
- Series / Number: 3 / 005
- Accessories: "Sonic Saw"
- Known designers: Joe Kyde (Hasbro)
- Part of the second wave of Prime: Beast Hunters Series 3 Cyberverse Legion Class toys, Soundwave is a smaller-scale toy. He comes with a "Sonic Saw" rifle with a chainsaw bayonet, and the weapon features four 3mm posts and two ports, allowing it to peg onto any of the ports on Soundwave's hands, forearms/wings, and back/fuselage. This weapon, in varying colors, was also used by Hun-Gurrr, Smokescreen, and the Air Vehicon. A running change gave his face a slightly darker, more glossy paint job.
- In 2017, this Soundwave also saw release as a one of the 3 random free Legion Class gifts for the Walmart exclusive Blu-Ray release of the four live-action movies.
- This mold was also used to make The Last Knight Ravenspar.
Beast Hunters
- Soundwave (Deluxe Class, 2013)
- Series / Number: 2 / 002
- Accessories: "Ravage" Mini-Con, "Talon Grapple Cannon"
- Known designers: Andrew Scribner (deco artist)
- Part of the first wave of Beast Hunters Deluxe Class toys, Soundwave is a redeco and extensive retooling of the Robots in Disguise Soundwave mold, and transforms into a spiky aerial drone with a massive wingspan and three tail-fins. Aside from the usual peg-holes on his fuselage and palms, his wings have been retooled with two new peg-holes, with one on each wing. Instead of Laserbeak, Soundwave features a new partner in the form of Ravage, a robotic jaguar that transforms into a thing that fits into Soundwave's chest just as Laserbeak did.
- Soundwave also comes with the "Talon Grapple Cannon", a spring-loaded launcher that fires a missile with an opening "claw" at the end, with the missile and launcher being tied together with a length of string. The launcher itself features an additional peg on each side, and its main peg is sculpted to be able to fit in the specially-shaped socket on his chest, allowing the cannon to mount on his vehicle mode underside when Ravage is removed.
- His instructions include the second chapter of the Tales of the Beast Hunters series.
- This toy also served as the basis of the non-toy Beast Wars: Uprising incarnation of Botanica.
Go!
- Hunter Soundwave (Deluxe, 2013)
- Part of the first wave of TakaraTomy's Transformers Go! toys, Hunter Soundwave is a redeco of the Beast Hunters Deluxe Class Soundwave toy above, now featuring a different blue, white, and black color scheme with a red faceplate.
- The back of the packaging erroneously depicts the Beast Hunters version of the toy.
EZ Collection
- Soundwave (EZ Collection, 2013)
- ID number: EG-09
- Release date: October 26, 2013
- Accessories: Sonic Saw
- Part of the second wave of TakaraTomy's mixed-theme EZ Collection single packed figures that ran during Transformers Go!, Soundwave is a minimally-changed redeco of Hasbro's Legion Class Soundwave figure, using an ever-so-slightly lighter shade of metallic blue for the base plastic color, while the black paint operations on the abdomen and knees get changed to metallic gray. The paint mask is mostly identical, with the only exception being the head, which this version paints a show-accurate blue.[1]
Robots in Disguise (2015)
Virtually every toy in this list has a scannable insignia sticker on it. For every Combiner Force toys, scanning the insignia stickers with the Robots in Disguise mobile game gives the player Ultra Sparks and Tickets, which can be spent by giving them to Cryostase via the main map menu. The badges can only be scanned once per day.
- Soundwave (Warrior Class, 2017)
- Accessories: Shoulder cannon
- Part of the Combiner Force subline imprint of the Robots in Disguise toyline, Soundwave transforms from chunky robot into a Cybertronian armored truck. His shoulder cannon has its own swivel joint, allowing it to angle up (but not down), and can of course be rotated in any socket it's placed in. It can also be removed and placed in Soundwave's hand, albeit with some difficulty. However, without the shoulder turret in place, Soundwave's upper torso has a tendency to swing forward. Although this is undocumented, the shoulder cannon can be hidden inside the truck mode by sliding it between Soundwave's thighs and securing it with the hollows of his feet.
- Scanning the badge on his chest into the Robots in Disguise phone game unlocks 8 Ultra Sparks and 2 Tickets instead of a playable version of the character.
- His package art shows his head with the addition of a faceplate, for more of a Generation 1 look; this design is known to exist as a pretooled alternate head for the toy, thanks to a (thus far) one-off misassembled figure using it.
- Laserbeak / Soundwave (Activators, 2017)
- Accessories: Laserbeak
- Released as part of the third and final wave of Activator Combiners, this Soundwave is a larger-but-simpler-than-Warrior figure that transforms into his SUV mode. Plugging an Activator Mini-Con, such as his pack-in partner Laserbeak (in his Weapon Mode), onto his vehicle-mode roof activates "Throttle Up" mode, flipping out his side doors to reveal hidden missiles.
- Unlike most Robots in Disguise Soundwave toys, his wheels are molded in black instead of red.
- Soundwave (1-Step Changer, 2017)
- Released as part of (and the only new toy) in the twelfth wave of One-Step Changers, Soundwave transforms from an SUV into a robot in just one step, triggered by flipping up his front vehicle kibble to his back. Soundwave also features 5mm-compatible hands.
- Due to being one of the last Robots in Disguise figures released, he was never added to the mobile game and thus his insignia is rendered useless and unrecognizable by the app.
- This mold was later redecoed into Cyberverse One-Step Changer Soundwave, and had its engineering reused for Cyberverse One-Step Changer Ratchet.
- Soundwave (3-Step Changer, 2017)
- Released in the twelfth and final wave of Three-Step Changers lineup, Soundwave is functionally an upscale of the One-Step changer version, and as such changes from armored car to robot automatically when his front bumper is lifted up. He features articulation at his elbows and 5 mm compatible fists.
Merchandise
Mashems
- Transformers: Prime (2012)
- Available in a 2-pack with Optimus Prime, Soundwave is a super-deformed version of his cartoon model and is made out of a very squishy material.
- Soundwave was also available in a 6-pack with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Megatron, identical to his previous release. Yet another version was released in a blind box and has a different head sculpt.
Kinder Surprise
- Transformers: Prime (2014)
- Only available inside a blindpacked chocolate egg as part of Kinder's Transformers: Prime series, this buildable Soundwave mini-figure consists of a generic "cog" onto which his limbs and armor can be clipped to construct him. He has articulation in his shoulders and thighs.
Thrilling 30
- Soundwave (Collectible Figurine, 2014)
- Series / Number: 2 / #24
- Accessories: Collector's base
- A super-deformed Soundwave was released among the blindpacked Thrilling 30 Collectible Figurines by Goldie Marketing. He comes with a base to help him stand, a collector's card that doubles as a puzzle piece, and a checklist.
- Collectible Figurines (5-pack, 2014)
- Series: 2
- Accessories: 5 collector's bases
- The same Soundwave figurine was also available in a 5-pack alongside Bumblebee, Shockwave, Wheeljack and an Insecticon.
Notes
Arms Up Modes
In the Japanese Prime toyline, Soundwave has named powered-up modes when given various Arms Microns in certain configurations:
- Night Attack Mode (ナイトアタックモード Naito Atakku Mōdo)
- Arms Microns: Balo, Jida, Zori
- In this mode, shown on his box-back photo, Soundwave uses the two-Micron weapon Spike Hammer Rod, while Jida in "Defense Shield" mode hangs on his left shoulder. What exactly makes all this ideal for nighttime attacks is anyone's guess.
- Jet Mode (ジェットモード Jetto Mōdo)
- Arms Microns: Gora (x2), Zori
- Meant simply for flying in fast and blowing crap up, this heavily modified version of Soundwave requires some real work. Because of all the recycled non-Transformers parts in this mode, TakaraTomy designer Takashi Nakase has nicknamed this version "Recycle Mode". Two jet thruster/fuel tanks are created using bottles from a Japanese "common yogurt drink" and a pair of Goras painted up silver, with snipped Arms Micron sprues added on for detail. Soundwave also carries a large weapon made from Zori, a plastic fork, and more sprues. Yes, a plastic fork. You read that correctly.
- There is also a vehicle mode configuration for this Arms Up Mode, with the massive turbines on the end of Soundwave's wings and the weapon on top of the main body. The whole shebang can be seen in this TakaraTomy developer video on YouTube.
