After being a new addition to the Kingdom chapter of the War for Cybertron trilogy, the Core Class makes its debut in Studio Series with figures meant for both the live-action and G1 characters. Continuing a theme for the size class, we get both miniature versions of larger characters and figures that'd allow certain characters to be done with justice in mind without being Deluxes or accessories of larger characters. And of course, it had to begin with the Bumblebee movie robots, so let's take a look at Ravage and Shockwave!
Let's start with the reverse order as we have Shockwave in his robot mode. It's very faithful to the CGI model since it basically has no altmode added at first until HasTak stepped in and gave him one. Added to the design are tank treads within the forearms and the back of the lower legs; honestly, that adds to an otherwise simple design while trying to be faithful to the retraux robot mode. As for the design itself, it's certainly G1 Shockwave with the realism filter added to appeal to the Geewunners, down to the thick thighs and wide head.
Head sculpt doesn't look as funny as it did on the CGI model, mostly because the eye didn't look too deep in an otherwise wide af head. It also has a bit of an eyebrow that Shockwave had on Cyberverse but without a second eye. I have to commend them for going so far in painting the head at such a scale, too. His articulation's on-par with the other Core Class figures: neck swivel, ball joints in the shoulders and hips, bicep and forearm swivels, and elbow and knee bends. His cannon can be placed in either arm.
For a size comparison, here he is with Starscream and Soundwave. As you can see, he is small. Some may find it weird that he's the one with a smaller toy, but I think it would make sense to want to either tease fans for a larger version or to go with a possible playset that may be some stupid escape pod tower.
Transformation is pretty much like Prime Shockwave, only the cannon attaches to the head being rotated for you to use the 3mm port while the arms are now the rear treads. The resulting tank mode we have looks pretty good, and I'm happy we have that instead of some dumbass upside-down G1 gun that they'd call a submarine. The only issue is that it lacks any rolling wheels, much like Megatron did, but it looks so awesome on this small scale. Thanks to the head being the back of the turret, you can swivel it around so it can be like any other tank, even if Shockwave's head is exposed on the back. I'd say this guy is a slam dunk and is one of my favorite Core Class guys along with Rattrap, Bumblebee, and Soundwave.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And here is Ravage! This guy initially comes like this without all of his accessories, so I have to say that this figure already looks good as far as being a fully-realized jaguar mech is concerned at this size. Previous minion Ravages in the recent lines have either been too chunky like the WFC version or mere accessories like with the ROTF one that came with Grindor. This guy, on the other hand, feels so complete all around that he's not missing anything n terms of molded details or paint apps. The white does look acceptably painted on his dark plastic surfaces without it looking like it requires a second coat of paint, and it also works if this is meant to be a war-torn Ravage. His accessories consist of the two hip-mounted guns based on his G1 toy, a missile pod that goes on his back, and a very phallic blaster that goes underneath him. His articulation consists of a neck hinge, an articulated jaw, ball joints at the shoulders and hips, hinges for the knees and elbows, and additional hinges for the hind legs while the paws can move up and down, and it's so good to have him with the added articulation that only a standalone figure like him would have at this day and age.
He is great for pitting him against Optimus Prime, especially when the Autobot leader was nearly mauled in the face by the pet of Soundwave. If Bumblebee was here, Ravage wouldn't be as lucky given what he'd later experience in Revenge of the Fallen.
Transforming him is pretty much reminiscent of how the G1 toy would transform, though you can put the missiles on the altmode without discarding them, and the same goes for the other accessories. As for the resulting alt mode, it's a cubic take on the typical cassette mode that Ravage takes. It's just a folded-up animal, nothing that mind-blowing. HOWEVER, the figure can be placed inside Soundwave's chest as seen in the Bumblebee movie as part of them going for that fanservice schtick. The missile can attach to the cannon to complete the look, which is cool if you wanted to give him the toy missile; it's moreso meant to give the look of the G1 gun that had the missile included since Soundwave never had it in the movie like that, but hey, it works. Ravage himself may not have a good alt mode, but at least he has a good amount of articulation, and he does fill in the gap of Soundwave, and thankfully, Ravage is currently easier to obtain for the most part compared to Soundwave's partners, who I had to get online back in the Siege days for being hard to get.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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