I thought I’d finish off the week with the other figure that came with Terrorcon Cliffjumper. Even though I already had a Hasbro Soundwave, I decided to try out the Takara version too because I wanted to see the differences and I love dem Microns!
The thing that surprised me the most about Takara’s Soundwave is how similar it is to the Hasbro version. So in this review I’m mostly going to focus on the differences between the two figures. If you want a full rundown on the figure itself, check out my Hasbro Soundwave review.
I’ve noticed that Takara has a tendency to use more metallic looking plastics and paints on their figures than Hasbro. So I was a bit shocked when I pulled Soundwave out of the box and he was the exact same color as my Hasbro one. Not only were all the molded plastics the same color, but so were the few painted bits that Takara did. This makes me wonder how different the Takara Arcee is going to be from her Hasbro counterpart.
The biggest way to differentiate between the two figures is by using the sticker sheet included with the Takara version. This sheet comprises most of the purple and black bits that run under Soundwave’s arms and chest/Laserbeak. Their shiny metallic look definitely would set him apart from the more subtle Hasbro paint tones.
Another huge difference between the Takara and Hasbro Soundwaves is in the kind of plastic each company used. The Hasbro version is made entirely out of a very hard and sturdy plastic. (So much so that when my Hasbro figure took a dive off the shelf, one of the points on his crown cracked.) But the Takara version opted to use soft plastics on his crown, forearms, all of the pieces that make up his nosecone, his two tail-fin wings, and Laserbeak’s large wings. Continue to page 2…
Great review as always, but one thing I’d like to note is that I got the Hasbro version of this guy and the tail fins, crown, forearms and Laserbeak’s wings are all made out of the soft plastic on mine. like almost Lion-O’s sword soft… the only parts out of the ones that you listed that are not soft plastic on mine are the nosecone pieces.
Same here, Joe. I just checked mine and he has the soft plastic in those places.
Huh, I wonder if Hasbro changed plastic during production?
Anyone else have hard or soft Soundwaves?
My (Hasbro) Soundwave’s “soft parts” are softer than the hard plastic, but not too soft.
Still not crazy about the design of this guy…but the Takara version looks more appealing to me..that scorpion minicon is sweet. Awesome pics
As usual, great review.
I really like Zori. These microns are really appealing to me (I guess it’s because of me growing up with Micromasters, targetmasters and other tiny partners) and may make me delve into the Takara versions of these molds!
Well, I normally think all the reviews on this site are excellent, but this one is out-filthyword-standing. I hadn’t thought about swapping out parts to make an “Ultimate Soundwave,” but now that you’ve said and shown that it’s possible, I’ll do exactly that! Thank you!
I mentioned in the Terrorcon Cliffjumper review that I thought the nosecone/leg pieces on this thing almost felt as if they would tear during transformation, and I’m glad I’m not alone in that assessment.
looks to me like hasbro wins this round —