MP-13 Soundwave Masterpiece Review by Gold

The following review was originally prepared by Gold on 2/5/2013 on the Robot-Japan Forum:

Hi all, here's a quick look at Transformers Masterpiece MP13 Soundwave

The box may be big and bulky, but it actually has a lot of (dead) space inside the package. The reason for this is TakaraTomy went for uniformity with the boxes of the bigger class Masterpieces.

Soundwave's box is the same size as M-11 Starscream's, Mp-09 Rodimus Prime and MP-10 Optimus prime. I didn't have time to check if they are all the same with previous MPs

Following the new packaging trend, the actual size of the figure inside is shown on the back of the box. I do wish this the same were with Sideswipe and Red Alert's packaging though.

I think Soundwave is the coolest amongst the Decepticons, the guy's got everything! This figure is really awesome and captures the look and abilities of the character almost perfectly!

Shoulder cannon is not removable but can be posed freely thanks to various joints.

Soundwave's gun, the concussion blaster.

When not in use, the concussion blaster is stored on his back. Likewise, his shoulder cannon can be folded down as well.

Before moving on the gimmicks, here're a few clips of them that appeared in the original G1 cartoons.
-Space cruiser blueprints (More than Meets the Eye part 1 / G1 Pilot episode)
-Sensor part (Fire on the Mountain - Season 1, episode 9)
-Chest display texts (Anti-Matter formula? - Roll For It -Season 1, episode 5)

Please click to begin video playback.

Here's a clip of another Soundwave "gimmick" that I think should have made it in toy form since it had more use than the sensor (it revived Jetfire), the "million volts generator" (Seriously, the guy's a walking hardware store! lol....)

Please click to begin video playback.

Soundwave's Sensor accessory appeared briefly in the TF G1 episode "Fire on the Mountain", for like, 3 seconds.

Sensor plugs into his ...uh, exhaust pipe when not in use.

Display plate.

The display plate does have optional paper inserts, they are printed on the back of the manual. If you want to preserve the manual then scanning and printing the images is the way to go.

The ship image is from the first episode, which Soundwave details the plans of building of a new "space cruiser". The second insert I think is from the episode "Roll for it", I think it's the formula for the anti-matter that Soundwave "mind-reads" from Chip Chase's mind. ( I'm not 100 % sure about the latter one, feel free to correct me )

For more fun, here's a thread I stumbled upon over at Seibertron.com, they're customizing printouts for other "display sheets" for Soundwave's chest panel. I love the "I'm with Stupid" and "turkey roasting oven" sheets. lol.

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/mp-....-fix-t92480.php

Megatron Gun mode.

This is the same as the guns that came with MP01 Optimus Prime, MP02 Ultra Magnus (different color). The only difference is that they modified the grip a bit by adding an extra joint into the handle to make it easier for the newer MP figures to hold.

Like the previous version, this gun can be disassembled into many parts.

The Energon Cubes. Soundwave comes with 1 cube.

TakaraTomy also recently provided a downloadable PDF file that can be printed to and folded into Energon cubes. Here's the link.

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/toy/event/2013/01/09/mp/box_sheet.pdf

Removable lid, so you can plug the opened top part into Soundwave's chest and/or put in the paper insert for the cube.

Eject button. Soundwave can pose like he's pressing his eject button, no problem.

Transforming Soundwave to Device mode is a bit tricky particularly when it comes to folding the legs. The manual is a little fuzzy here, but this is how it should look.

Device mode.

Pretty cool, in device mode, you can press the "play, forward, rewind, stop" buttons on Soundwave, they do retract thanks to a built-in spring but don't really do anything, same with the power switch on the right side, you can move it up and down.

Unfortunately, I noticed that the volume dial in his device mode seems to be stuck on mine. I think it's supposed to be moving. Anyone else encounter this? Or is the volume dial really meant to be stuck?

Going by the manual, you can fit up to 3 cassettes at the same time inside, thanks to an internal mechanism that allows you to push back the back panel of Soundwave's inner chest.

Laserbeak

The transformation for Laserbeak if perfect! I'm really impressed at how far along toy engineering has come.

Hidden spy cam

In cassette mode.

I think I can see why the case is colored pink, if they do bundle Rumble, Ravage, Frenzy and Buzzsaw with the same props, then you can stack them up and make them look like "compressed" Energon cubes, like in the G1 cartoons.

Laserbeak fits right in like a glove!

Laserbeak can attach itself to points on Soundwave's shoulder and forearm.

Amazon.JP Exclusive extra energon cubes.

These are the same cubes that come with the toy, packaged as a set of 2.

Comparison with G1 Soundwave

Comparison with G1 Laserbeak.

Comparison with MP-10 Optimus Prime (Hasbro version).

Comparison with MP-11 Starscream

Some points of interest
-Yes, Soundwave has diecast, but only in the feet. The rest is plastic.

-Soundwave weighs 335 Grams

-Laserbeak weighs 15 Grams. No diecast on this one

- Soundwave has hidden panels in his feet (I only found out about this recently so I didn't take pictures of it at the time). The panels are for storing Rumble/Frenzy's guns. This is not revealed in the toy manual, I guess it will be something that will be revealed later when we get the cassettes.

-G1 cassette tapes can also fit inside Soundwave, but not too well, I tried putting G1 Laserbeak in, getting him out was a bit of a hassle, I ended up having to pry him out with a precision screwdriver. I didn't have this problem with MP Laserbeak.

-As awesome as this toy is, it does have one problematic area, the hip joints.

They're not really weak but the do feel like they undergo a lot of stress when you try to pose the figure. I really would've preferred it if they used diecast metal here instead to prevent any possible breakage.

-On a personal note, I wish TakaraTomy included a mini recorder Soundwave accessory, so it can "spy" on the Autobots.

Gold