Here is his backdrop, which is that of Chicago with paratroopers who just jumped off their plane. Shockwave fits in, though it makes him look like he's floating in mid-air.
Here is Shockwave in his vehicle mode. It's somewhat different from the one that the DOTM figure had, as while the cannon and blade placements are similar, the rest of the details aren't exactly carried over as you would intend. For example, the front of the vehicle mode has the feet prominent rather than having them tucked away. The head is more visible in this mode than on the DOTM toy, and there are no wheels on the front. It's something I'll get into more detail when I cover the transformation and the robot mode. In this mode, it can simply roll on the small wheels, but that's about it. There's not much else for it to do other than be a Cybertronian tank.
The side view shows where the hose goes because it's not really a separate accessory like on the old toy. I chose it to be tucked within the tank so it won't be too exposed. There's another port next to the spot it's attached to, but it's very hard to pull it out, and even then I wouldn't want to risk it.
For a vehicle mode comparison, here he is next to the original figure in tank mode. You see what I mean by how different the designs look between the two? While they share some design elements, the thing that makes the Leader different is mainly the front and back portions of the tank. They transform differently, the new version doesn't have any added parts on the front, the feet are prominent, and it's a bit boxier than the old toy, which looked a little longer. The chest is no longer seen slightly from the top, and the new figure has back boosters instead of what used to be the wheels. I'm not sure which one I like more. The old figure's design does feel a little more unique, whereas the new guy sort of mimics...Megatron?
If you thought the tank mode being somewhat like Megatron's was weird, the transformation is where things start to be a little weirder. Shockwave had a somewhat unique transformation that had nothing to do with Megatron's, but this Shockwave turns out to share the engineering of the Studio Series ROTF figure, which means that this toy sort of goes on the stomach rather than on the back like with the old toy. The use of engineering from Megatron is kind of mixed for me. I think it's cool that the transformation scheme is carried over since both were Cybertronian tanks, but at the same time, the old toy's transformation felt a little more unique in comparison.
As for the proper robot mode, this figure looks almost like a nontransforming statue compared to the original toy. Studio Series Shockwave captures the look of the somewhat briefly seen yet still impressive design with proportions that make him look a lot beefier, an arm cannon that's big, a hose to go along with said cannon, and a hunchback look that reflects his more ruthless look; certainly a departure from the nerdy Spockwave. Compared to the stock image, this figure isn't as purple, but even if the toy had the standard purple, I'd still like it. This figure looks amazing, but look at the thighs: those are totally Megatron's thighs! Yes, some parts are reused from the ROTF Megatron figure from the same line, and I get that Hasbro wanted to make A Shockwave without coming up with an entirely new mold or transformation, so they pretty much used Megatron's transformation and based the design around the figure without being a retool, but it's odd that the thighs are carried over when almost everything else is new. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's kind of weird.
The side view looks pretty good, with the side feeling more complete than the somewhat flat DOTM toy, though the forearm spike does seem a little odd when the front part of it has paint on it but the back looks bare. It's an accessory that does come off but I left it on there to complete the look. That said, the accessory is made of PVC and does feel a little hollow. I kind of wish that it'd look a little more "metallic" since it's a bit half-assed...like the deco on it. The back shows how much more filled in the toy looks, but take a look at the bottom portion of the legs! Those are totally Megatron's feet!!! You can just barely split them, but they aren't supposed to due to the added plastic.
The head sculpt looks the part as the cycloptic Decepticon with the addition of the forward-facing horns and the teeth underneath the eye. The red-eye could be a bit more vibrant, but it's still good.
Articulation is pretty much the same as with Megatron. Head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel, the elbows bend, the thumb is on a hinge for the cannon (I don't think that was a detail found on Shockwave) while the left-hand hinges in and out. The legs move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel the knees bend, the feet hinge up and down as well as pivot.
The accessories he comes with include a NEST Paratrooper, who comes with some hooks to go with a parachute. It's not really meant to descend slowly due to the plastic film not being made for such a little task. You're better off getting Green Army Men, especially the Toy Story ones. You can have Shockwave hold this figure as he's blinded by the guy, which leads to him getting taken down by the Wreckers and later Optimus Prime.
He also comes with these really TINY versions of Wheelie and Brains. These guys are VERY TINY, to the point where you'll easily lose them if you're not careful with them. Since he has no real Titan Master playability, Nitro Zeus will easily store them in his cockpit. These figures have some decent paint apps, with the eyes for Wheelie along with the black for parts of the toy and the tires. Brains, on the other hand, has silver paint and some metallic cyan for his crazy hair.
Here are some comparisons I want to make before getting to his old DOTM toy. Here he is with the Siege version of Shockwave, also a Leader Class figure. While I did mention that calling the Studio Series figure a Leader Class might seem a little too buzzwordy to get fans' attention, it does at least look bulkier and is also taller than the G1 guy. The armor may be there to justify the price, but it doesn't make it too worthy of being $55.
I know some will say that there's no way he's worth the price of a Voyager, but why not make Leaders cheaper by not calling them Leaders and making them worth $39.99?
Here is Shockwave next to the Transformer that he borrowed the engineering from (along with a few parts), Revenge of the Fallen Megatron. He's a it shorter than Megatron, which is one of those weird things when it comes to seeing how Leaders and Voyagers work if I'm being honest. You can tell that he borrowed Megs' hips, but curiously...
...he also borrowed Megatron's treads! They face the back rather than the front, but those seams are definitely what were once used to make Megatron's feet split open.
Here is Shockwave next to Optimus Prime, who is seen with his sword and shield in his hands (and not because he's excited for a Pokemon game). I don't remember seeing how big Shockwave was next to Optimus in the movie since they never stood next to each other idly, but here, Shockwave's a larger robot than Optimus.
Here he is with Nitro Zeus, a Transformer that took some elements of his design. He's a fairly substantial Voyager, so it's interesting to see how he scales next to Shockwave, but it works fairly well.
On a side note, I know NZ is supposed to have Shocko's head instead of this made-up one, but I like the new head design, as it makes him feel less like a reused bot compared to the other TLK Decepticons.
For a size comparison, here he is next to the original Shockwave figure. You can certainly tell how much more accurate the new figure is in comparison to the old figure, but I feel the proportions work well, too. The Studio Series version may have bigger arms, but they feel like they're part of the torso compared to the old guy's shoulders on a hinge-me-do that we have here. There's no awkward A-stance for the legs thanks to the leg articulation not having any weird ratchets while instead using ankle pivots. The colors feel a little more consistent than the old toy, especially with the hands and feet. Also, the arm cannon doesn't feel too much like they're separate pieces. Still, the old guy isn't too bad, but he felt pretty toyish by comparison.
Most fans will probably forget about what kind of scale the Studio Series line is meant to be a part of and instead say it's too small next to their ROTF Optimus, much like what they said with Megatron. Point is, it's a new era of Leader Class figures, and ones I don't think are supposed to be compatible with what we used to get save for a few exceptions. Still, I kind of feel Shockwave was made to be a Leader with the sole purpose of bringing in the hype when he's not the same size as someone like ROTF Optimus. Is the arm cannon, paint, and accessory count really going to justify the Leader price point? Well. he's about the same height as someone like DOTM Megatron, but the thing is Megatron's transformation is pretty involved for a guy that's a long truck with 30 steps. Shockwave's transformation is about the same as ROTF Megatron, yet whereas Shocko has 17 steps, ROTF Megatron has 32(!!!), nearly twice the amount. I guess Hasbro sacrificed transformation complexity in favor of looks and using the plastic for the cannon. While I do recommend this figure because it looks good and has at least some form of bang for your buck (since it's taller than a Siege Leader in some ways), be aware of some of the weird shit that I mentioned about their transformations, part reusage, and the fact that this guy's not really meant to scale with your old Leaders.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment