Soundwave's alternate mode for RID2015 of a bulky 4WD vehicle is done a bit differently here than on his other toys-- though then again, pretty much all of the RID2015 toys of Soundwave have some very noticeable differences in vehicle proportions/features. For this version, Soundwave's front end looks pretty uniform compared to his other toys, with cockpit windows that are entirely too small, a long and wide front nose with faux "cassette deck" mold detailing on the front bumper, a string of three headlights molded in on each side, and two bars above the roof. The back end is considerably more boxy and is a bit longer than on his other toys, however, with the roof actually continuing at its same level all the way back (and actually getting slightly higher for the port on the top in which you can plug in a Mini-Con Weaponizer or some other toy with a same-sized handle). There's large side vents next to the cockpit windows this time around, and the machine gun on one side is de-emphasized to the point where if he fired it, he'd be partially shooting himself, it's so "inset"! Nearly all of Soundwave in this mode is a dark navy blue, but the wheels and back end are a milky red-- which contrasts well, but looks weird on the back end, having just one section of the car body be red. (There's some basic bumper details back there, though-- and some basic armored panel details molded in on the rest of the toy, beyond the details already mentioned, but nothing all that impressive.) The rear wheel covers, oddly, are of a blue color that's just a shade or so darker than the rest of the plastic-- and as far as I can tell, it's not painted either, making it doubly weird to have this odd color inconsistency back there and only there. The cockpit windows are painted a dull red, the mouth of the rotary cannon is gray, and there's a basic dull mustard yellow outline on the cassette deck details on the front, but unfortunately not any more paint than that is visible in this mode-- a real shame, as the front bumper and headlights in particular really needed some more paint to bring out those molded-in details.
    For his transformation, Soundwave uses the (by this point) tried-and-true 1-step method of taking the entire upper "shell" of the vehicle and rotating it all up and behind the robot mode, plugging it in to the back of the robot waist, and thus unveiling the robot mode mostly "underneath" the alt mode shell. Then you just rotate the arms down at the elbows if you want (his only points of articulation in this mode) and that's it. The end result, like other 1-step toys that use this transformation method, means there is a HUGE piece of kibble behind the body-- that is, pretty much the entire top! However, if you can ignore that big piece of backpack, the tradeoff is a pretty proportional and accurate (if stiff) portrayal of the robot mode. There's some extra little flaps hanging off the shoulders, and the wheels hang off the arms and legs a bit more obviously on this version because of the smaller size and simple transformation, but other than that this toy fits the whole "strong yet slim in some parts" look of RID2015 Soundwave on the show. He's got a wide chest and shoulders, along with somewhat large (but angular) lower legs, but his waist, upper legs, and parts of his arms are a bit skinny. His headsculpt is very true to its Prime Soundwave roots, but with a red visor this time, which to me just continues to not fit the rest of the toy's aesthetic at all, like it was transplanted from a completely different toy. The hands have some nasty-looking claws on the end, and the faux cassette-deck details continue on Soundwave's chest in this mode-- this time more detailed beyond just a dull yellow outline, with some details on the sides of the chest, as well as some black paint in the middle, now apparent. There's a fair bit of gray paint on the front of the lower arms, waist and upper legs, and feet as well, though I wish it extended beyond just the front to make those pieces look more like they actually ARE that color at an angle other than directly frontal. I also wish the gray was a titch lighter to contrast against the dark blue more.
    If you want a toy of RID2015 Soundwave that's both A. simple to transform and B. is fairly show-accurate in robot mode, this is the toy you're looking for. I'd still recommend the Activator more for the fun factor, but there's no reason to get the more-expensive 3-step changer for anything other than size when this superior version is available.
 

Review by Beastbot

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