(NOTE: Because this set is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the set and the color scheme, and merely compares it to FoC Soundwave w/ Laserbeak. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of FoC Soundwave w/ Laserbeak here.)
 

Buzzsaw

Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Legends/Legion
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Milky dull greenish gold, black, metallic gold, and some silver and dark brown
Individual Rating: 7.6

    Buzzsaw-- as is traditional for him-- gets the same black parts as Laserbeak did (namely, the bird mode inner wings, head, back, and bottom), but the main plastic color has been changed from Laserbeak's red to a greenish gold plastic. I wish the gold were a bit "purer" shade of the color-- more bronzish, perhaps-- but it still looks fairly good, and the milky sheen to it works well with Buzzsaw's other colors and paint apps. The "circuitry lines" on the top of Buzzsaw's disc mode have a pretty cool pattern-- metallic gold mixed with a dark brown, and they both give off a pretty nice contrast against each other and are a nice effect, even if some other data disc minions have even more eye-catching paint apps on the tops of their disc modes. More visible in bird mode, Buzzsaw has the same exact silver paint apps on his wings as Laserbeak, which help to give him a bit more color variety. Unfortunately, ALSO like Laserbeak, his bird eyes aren't painted, which is a detail that I really think should not have been overlooked.
    No mold changes have been made to FoC Buzzsaw.
 

Soundblaster

Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Voyager
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Milky charcoal black, moderately light milky gray, and some transparent cherry red, light yellow, metallic gold, metallic bronze, silver, dark metallic gunmetal gray, translucent yellow, and dark metallic red
Individual Rating: 9.1

    It's rare that a redeco of a mold will be released in the same wave as that mold's initial release, but Soundblaster is that mold, released in the same exact wave as FoC Soundwave w/ Laserbeak. However, Soundwave came 3 to a case of 4, leaving Soundblaster here the shortpacked one-- which is understandable. Even though they're technically the same character, Soundwave has waaay more name recognition. Anyways, unlike most redecoes these days, Soundblaster shares all the same paint apps-- paint "masks"-- as Soundwave. I would've preferred a bit more variety, but that still doesn't mean Soundblaster looks too same-ish. As opposed to a dark blue, Soundblaster's color is a milky charcoal, "impure" black, which honestly looks a bit better as a main color on this toy than a "straight" black would've, in my opinion. The milky gray pieces are still the exact same shade and in the exact same place as they were on Soundwave, so no surprises here. Unfortunately, because Soundblaster's main color is also monochrome, it makes the color scheme look a bit more one-tone than it does on Soundwave. Besides the use of silver on the front/chest "claws" and a few other places, as well as the dark metallic gunmetal on the wheel hubcaps, Soundblaster has a lot of paint apps that do give him some color variety outside of the monochrome scale. The most stand-out color is the rather bright shade of yellow on the sides of the vehicle mode/lower arms, which really looks striking against the black; I wish it had been used a little more. There's also a fair amount of red, both in terms of the transparent plastic (which is a nice "cherry" shade here) and in terms of a solid, semi-metallic shade of the color used on a few places like the tip of Soundblaster's cannon and vehicle mode chair, which fits in pretty well with said transparent plastic in terms of its overall tone. There's also a fair amount of gold and bronze on the legs, sides of the lower arms, and on the chest, which pretty much always looks good on any TF. Soundblaster's visor in robot mode has a rather interesting shade of translucent yellow that is quite eye-catching, and makes for great light piping as well.
    No mold changes have been made to FoC Soundblaster.

    FoC Soundblaster w/ Buzzsaw is a pair of great molds, though the target crowd for this release (Soundblaster in particular) is a bit more niche and short-packed than Soundwave, so be prepared to spend a bit more for this version unless you got lucky and found it physically in stores. Buzzsaw-- due to his gold plastic-- looks a little bit better than Laserbeak overall, but I think Soundblaster's usage of charcoal black over Soundwave's dark blue is a bit of a step down in terms of colors, leaving Soundblaster looking a bit more monochrome (even if he has some spiffy paint apps to help alleviate that a bit). Recommended for completists, big fans of the FoC data disc gimmick, or those who want to be able to store all their Decepticon FoC disc-Cons at once. (If you have both Soundwave and Soundblaster in robot mode, they can store 3 each-- and since there's 6 Decepticon data disc TFs total, there you go.) Otherwise, you're probably better off sticking with the more visually interesting, mainstream, and easier-to-find Soundwave version of this mold.
 

Reviews by Beastbot

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