{"id":20408,"date":"2012-08-21T01:47:11","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T06:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20408"},"modified":"2012-08-21T02:29:05","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T07:29:05","slug":"vault-review-transformers-fall-of-cybertron-shockwave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20408","title":{"rendered":"Vault Review: Transformers
Fall of Cybertron Shockwave"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> When it comes to Transformers, I\u2019ve been mostly obsessed with the Prime figures (and their Arms Microns) ever since the First Editions started hitting. So I thought I\u2019d be able to take a break with the return of the Generations, but Hasbro wasn\u2019t about to release their stranglehold on my wallet!<\/p>\n

As a kid I didn\u2019t really understand or care about the underlying political issues of the Transformers universe, other than the fact that the Decepticons were bad and the Autobots were good.\u00a0 To me, Shockwave seemed like a futuristic Megatron copycat with his laser gun mode.\u00a0 And with his creepy single eye and no face, I think he may have been my first exposure to the idea that robots didn\u2019t have to look like humans.<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t until I rediscovered Transformers at an older age that I began to understand just how calculating and dangerous Shockwave was to Autobots and Decepticons alike.\u00a0 His cold robotic eye, which seems like a very strong allusion to HAL from 2001, was the perfect choice of a \u201cface\u201d for this calculating mad scientist.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t necessarily call his character deep, but the fact that he served the Decepticon cause only to further his own machinations has definitely made him one of my favorite characters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I knew I was going to buy this figure ever since I saw him at SDCC.\u00a0 He has a great G1 feel without the blocky look, and the sculpt is just as nice in person as those tempting first pictures led me to believe.\u00a0 His mono-eyed head is complete with light piping to make his burning eye even more intimidating.\u00a0 His chest is also translucent purple (unfortunately this time without direct light piping), and it makes him look like he\u2019s containing a large amount of energy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rest of his body is unique, but with nothing really out of the ordinary with its overall humanoid shape.\u00a0 I do like the extra detailed bits like the sculpted wires and cables that make up his neck.\u00a0 I also really like that they added wings to his back.\u00a0 Those blade-like edges make him even more intimidating.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shockwave\u2019s alt mode is a \u201cCybertronian mobile artillery\u201d vehicle, but to me he looks more akin to a kickass space battleship.\u00a0 The entire front half of his ship is a larger version of his hand blaster, and his feet even turn into two bayonet-like ramming wedges.\u00a0 The bladed wings adorn the sides of his ship, while his chest turns into a large viewing area for the \u201cbridge\u201d.\u00a0 I know he\u2019s meant to be more of a Cybertronian airplane tank, but he\u2019ll always look like the flagship of an invading army of space aliens to me.\u00a0 Continue to page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With as great as this figure is, there are still two issues that kept him from being absolutely perfect for me.\u00a0 The first is his hands.\u00a0 They designed him to have closed hands with the 5mm in the center for holding things.\u00a0 This was probably done to make him transform easier.\u00a0 But I\u2019m a really big fan of the open hands that allow for gesturing, so this was a bit of a disappointment.<\/p>\n

My second issue is his height.\u00a0 Ultimately I\u2019d have preferred if he were made a larger class than Deluxe, like their new reworking of FoC Soundwave.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t a huge deal because he does fit in with the War for Cybertron and Deluxe class Prime figures, but he\u2019s still a smidge smaller than even them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shockwave\u2019s paint job is very simple.\u00a0 The whole figure is mostly molded in a dark purple, with a few pieces done in black and translucent purple as well.\u00a0 The majority of his painting is silver and neon purple highlights.\u00a0 This minimalistic approach really works well and fits perfectly with his character.<\/p>\n

Shockwave\u2019s articulation is just as nice as any of the Prime figures.\u00a0 His head is on a swivel joint, while his shoulders are swivel\/hinges.\u00a0 The elbows and hips are on ball joints, while his wrists, knees, and ankles are hinges.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shockwave comes with one accessory, a blaster.\u00a0 This gun is made up of two parts, a black body with a three pronged barrel and a larger \u201cY\u201d shaped barrel that fits over the three prongs.\u00a0 This gun can be held by either hand, or it can be attached to his arm and replace either hand.\u00a0 I always see Shockwave as having a cannon arm, so I find it a bit odd that he can carry a gun instead.\u00a0 But I\u2019m glad the option is there for those who want it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All around this is a great figure, even if he is a bit small.\u00a0 I love that he\u2019s an updated look of his G1 counterpart, and I think he\u2019s a perfect figure that can smoothly transition between the various Transformers brands on a collector\u2019s shelf.<\/p>\n

-Vault<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to Transformers, I\u2019ve been mostly obsessed with the Prime figures (and their Arms Microns) ever since the First Editions started hitting. So I thought I\u2019d be able to take a break with the return of the Generations, but Hasbro wasn\u2019t about to release their stranglehold on my wallet!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[34,35],"tags":[1077,1660,675,24,1247,253,2570,625],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/swavTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-5ja","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18470,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18470","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":0},"title":"Sponsor Announcement: Past Generation Toys","date":"May 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week @ PastGenerationToys.com PreOrders Several new Transformers Prime preorders are posted. The next wave includes Airrachnid, Bumblebee, and Deadend. Also posted are the new line from Hasbro called Fall of Cybertron Transformers Generations. The first wave includes Optimus Prime, Jazz and Shockwave! GI Retaliation Action Figure and Vehicle preOrders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Toys"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28146,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28146","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":1},"title":"Transformers SDCC 2014 Boxset: Knights of Unicron!","date":"June 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10696,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=10696","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":2},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers WFC Cliffjumper","date":"December 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re a Transformers fan, one thing you can always count on is the inevitable repaint figure. Even in lines as small as the War for Cybertron, Hasbro\u2019s able to squeeze at least one in. So to wrap up our coverage of the War for Cybertron figures, here\u2019s my review\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8228,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=8228","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":3},"title":"Vault Review: WFC Optimus Prime","date":"July 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In Transformers: War for Cybertron, you get to play as your favorite Transformer and fight the battle that started it all. But, if you\u2019re old school like me, you\u2019re probably looking to reenact that battle on your shelves too. Hasbro knows this and we've already got for first WFC figure:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10399,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=10399","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":4},"title":"Vault Review: Transformers Generations Soundwave","date":"December 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, my long search is at an end. After months of making the rounds between my local Wal-Marts, Toys R Us, and Target, I finally found a Transformers: War for Cybertron Soundwave. It\u2019s been a very long time since I\u2019ve had to hunt for a figure that hard, but lucky\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19485,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19485","url_meta":{"origin":20408,"position":5},"title":"Sponsor Announcement: Past Generation Toys","date":"July 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week @ PastGenerationToys.com PreOrders The new Spider-Man movie is here and we have the Diamond Busts and Status below MSRP + Free Shipping. The four include: Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie Statue (preOrder) Lizard Amazing Spider-Man Movie Bust (preOrder) Proto Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie Bust (preOrder) Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sponsors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20421,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20408\/revisions\/20421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}