Takara Tomy Transformers Masterpieces MP-13 "Soundwave" (Japan Import)

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I know, I know. Sorry for that. It’s just that funny feeling I had while posing all those old and new Soundwave-related figures – as if it were a family clan of sorts, with the G1 grandpa, young and powerful MP warrior and a bunch of cousins and kids, including a grumpy old bat and crazy hotheaded twins. In this new role, Soundwave remained a loyal Decepticon for millennia—making one increasingly dubious compromise after the next—until after the end of the Great War, when Megatron, the 'bot who had led him down this path, saw the error of his own ways and defected to the Autobots. Grudgingly accepting cooperation with Optimus Prime yet refusing to formally join the Autobot cause, Soundwave continued to proudly wear his purple Decepticon insignia, a badge of honor that, to some, marked him as the last true Decepticon. You want the guy you saw on Netflix? That's not who's in the Netflix box. You'll pay extra for a Netflix box for a different reason. This mold was also used to make the Universe incarnation of Soundwave, and repurposed as a clone of Soundwave.

And like all Transformers Masterpiece releases, Soundwave has a Megatron gun. Not much to say other than it looks good, and he can hold it too. Palisades Toys produced a mini-statue of Laserbeak designed to interact with their 6" Soundwave statue release the previous year. Available exclusively through Action Figure Xpress and limited to only 750 pieces worldwide, Laserbeak could perch on Soundwave's outstretched arm, and came with his own small base to stand on so he could be displayed separately. Meanwhile, " Identity Politics" has a moment where Scorponok muses that a supply of fifty-four energon cubes would fuel him, an average sized Predacon, for anywhere between three orbital cycles (roughly a month in Uprising continuity) to a full stellar cycle (about a year), giving us a glimpse of the fuel economy for the Proto-races in that setting.Unlike the rest of the Core Class brethren, Soundwave does not come with a flight stand-compatible 3mm hole on his rear hip. Soundwave's instruction sheet contains an error where it says that his base mode is compatible with other Titans Return toys' base modes: it has Powermaster Optimus Prime labeled as "Autobot Blaster". Some toys have stress marks on the hatch that opens to hide his head in base and stereo mode even before opening the box. Vintage G1 "Condor Cassette: Buzzsaw", a Walmart-exclusive reissue of the Generation 1 toy, is included with Soundwave. Like most other reissues (including Hasbro's previous Universe release), Soundwave appears to be based on the running change Japanese version of the original figure, with a door that can only hold one cassette but still with the unified buttons. Soundwave was in attendance at the Decepticons' latest meeting in their war room. As Megatron discussed his latest plan to finance the construction of a Decepticon army, Soundwave noticed Bumblebee spying on them through a window. Megatron assured Soundwave that this would be used to their advantage, and they would soon both secure the sunken treasures in the waters of Alaska and capture the Autobots. In one possible scenario that followed, the Autobots returned to storm the lab shortly after. Soundwave was one of the few Decepticons too afraid of Galvatron's wrath to desert his post, and attempted to fend off the Autobot aggressors. Finding himself on the losing side, Soundwave grabbed the Brain Drain device, and attempted to flee with it.

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw come in red and yellow and this time there’s no doubt which is which as their color theme is consistent on both sides. Sadly my G1 Buzzsaw (?) doesn’t have his engines/cannons anymore as one of the former owners lost them. Now this wouldn’t happen to the new birdies as all their parts are permanently attached and neatly fold inside during transformation. The wings have one extra joint added but overall the new guys don’t stand out that much from the aerial reconnaissance veteran. The eighth release in the Collaborative line, "Energia Buzzsaw" is a redeco of his original The Transformers toy... wait, what? This set, like all the Battle Changers, originally only saw release in Canada, Australia, and Asian markets. It eventually saw release in the U.S. in late 2015 through discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Both 'bots come with the same accessories: two "thruster guns," two piledrivers, and a piece that the piledrivers plug into. The guns can be stored inside the piledrivers, and whole thing can be worn as a

Yuki]: That is right. (*laughs) I was not assigned to be in charge of it initially, but due to the circumstance within the company I was unexpectedly handed down the project. The schedule came with it and I was stunned when I realised that I was only given 12 days, about 2 weeks...To make it worse, at the time of my receiving the task, even the product size wasn't decided. (*tears) Perhaps most notably, Masterpiece inherited Yuki Ohshima's series of comics colloquially known as the "Wars" series from TakaraTomy's short-lived 2012 Generations toyline (not to be confused with the modern super-brand) beginning in 2015 with " Rodimus Wars," a Transformers: The Movie prequel advertising the then-upcoming MP-28 Hot Rodimus and MP-29 Laserwave. As of this writing, the series is concerned with an ongoing distant prequel to the primary arc of the series' Generations incarnation, " Train Wars," to advertise the Masterpiece G Series Trainbots. Coming with Soundblaster in the first wave of Legacy: Evolution Core Class toys, Buzzsaw is a redeco of the non-transforming version of Laserbeak. Buzzsaw can fit into Soundblaster's chest. If Jazz attempted to stop Soundwave, the Autobot used all of the sound equipment within his body to send a powerful sonic wave towards the fleeing Decepticon. Overwhelmed by the blast, Soundwave exploded, crushing the Brain Drain device in the process. Project Brain DrainHere are the three Masterpiece Transformers that I have. Soundwave continues the tradition of the larger MP size so he fits perfectly among Skywarp and Rodimus. I mention this because nowadays one can be no longer sure of the scale even when the MP series is considered. I’m not saying I hate the new smaller Autobots (and I plan to grab one of them if I have the chance), but seeing them in pictures next to Classics Deluxes (and almost fitting in) makes me frown. However there’s no need for that when Soundwave comes in play. Look how he towers over Classics Optimus of Voyager Class and FoC Starscream (a Deluxe). In that you can plug headphones into it, not that it will actually play music; there are no electronics in this toy --ed.] Soundwave was re-released on September 28th, 2013 and again in 2019. The minor quality control issues with the re-release were lessened or not as widespread as the initial release. The 2019 re-release features slightly darker blue plastic, and painted red eyes. And that about sums up how I feel about Masterpiece Soundwave – familiar. He is one of my three most favorite Decepticons (along with Starscream and Scorponok) and the only one of those that I managed to get a hold of in toy form in the G1 era – which means during my childhood, when I actually played with toys. So of course there’s this strong feeling of nostalgia and sentiment for me here, but I also try my best to look at this figure from a collector’s point of view.