Customer Reviews

Transformer Generation 1 Re-issue Exclusive Soundwave Decepticon .

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish Transformers like this were re-issued more often. This is certainly a prize for anyones collection!

The toy comes packaged extremely well, Takara and Hasbro know that they are selling collector's items so they display this toy and all of his accessories very nicely. The box has a fold-open flap with a large picture of the toy in robot mode as well as some background info. On the other side the toy is stored in cassette player mode very visible in behind the plastic. Ravage and Laserbeak are both stored in robot mode and look great in the packaging.

If you choose to open your Soundwave, he also comes in vacumm molded plastic, with a removeable plastic cover, so you can take him out of the box and display him without the cardboard so you can see everything. Nicely missing are any twist-ties. If I have any gripe about recent transformers toys its the amount of twist-ties holding the toy in the package. For 20th Anniversary Prime there were about 20. This toy is held in place by the molded plastic, and the clear plastic cover. He is easy to get out of his box, and easy to put him back in for display.

The toy itself is made from plastic very similar to the original. It feels classic, and it is more brittle than more modern transformer toys, so you probably want to be careful with this toy (won't survive a fall off a shelf, for instance). And as mentioned, the cassette door is enlarged using a newer mold than the original Soundwave. For some people this is a draw-back, but personally I don't care.

A lot of attention to detail was put into this toy back in the 80's when it was released as part of Takara's Diaclone toy line. The weapons transforming into batteries is a real nice touch, as is the fact that the batteries are stored in the battery compartment (which even has a belt clip! :)

If you can find one of these toys and are a Transformers Fan, don't let it pass, buy it right away. I was lucky enough to find some at my local Toy R' Us and I bought 3 of them for their list price of $30, but it is unlikely you will find one there anymore. The TRU near me has been sold out for weeks, and when I tried to order them over the phone the operator told me that they were running out because the pre-order and sales had been higher than anticipated.

So if you see one, buy it!

Cougar said it best- you cannot put a price on the memories returned on the purchase of this figure. Some have complained about the bigger cassette door but I can certainly live with it. One of my favorite things about this figure is that the weapons in robot mode store as batteries for the tape player in the alternate mode. To me though, the best part is that this Soundwave reissue comes packaged with Ravage and Laserbeak- two of the highly sought-after microcassettes. And because of his enlarged door, both can fit in at once! As with my past G1 Transformer reviews, I would not reccommend this figure to anyone under the age of 14 or 15 due to fragility issues- but any child of the 80s like myself will be thrilled with this Soundwave reissue.

My kids' only question was where Rumble was. They have become huge fans of the old cartoons via Internet, and like them much more than the 2007 movie version, so it was a big thrill for them to receive this toy. It is beautifully packaged, and the durability is not so big a deal as some have made; it is a shame to open the beautiful package but a toy is a toy! Laserbeak and Ravage even have their own separate little cassette cases, and one of Soundwave's "battery" canons actually holds a missile.

Biggest problem I had was trying to explain to my kids what cassettes and cassette players were. Kind of like explaining the concept of a rotary dial phone...Gosh I am old.

I don't care what otehr decade you were born in, the 80's were the best, and nothing was better than the classic Transformers. SOundwave was one of the many favorites I never had as a kid, but today I am glad that these re-issued toys are here.

SOundwave was cool, evern moreso than Blaster in my opinion. He was the first with his cassettes - Laserbeak, Ravage, and Rumble - and while he got pushed back in seaosn 3, he was still a welcome sight as most of the original characters were axed. It's been over 20 years, and now... I'm proud to say SOundwave is the latest in my nostalgic collection. If you love Gen 1 TF, or just love robots, SOundwave is a definite must-have in your collection.

This is a reissue I can't refuse. It is a repaint of Soundblaster (so he can hold two tapes instead of one). The batteries turn into weapons (although the gun can't shoot). He comes with Ravage and Laserbeak. If you put Ravage through a red glass item, he has the weak spots to Fortress Maximus (what the orignial Soundblaster had on Buzzsaw). He is a very nice figure and was my first Soundwave. Overall rating 10-10.

My 6yr old recently got interested in Generation 1 Transformers after I showed him the extras DVD from Season 2's BotCon 2002 coverage where my wife and I attended in Ft. Wayne - Because she's actually not into Transformers at all, but wound up making a cameo appearance on the DVD and says my/his name clear as a bell... Since then it's been nothing but Gen 1 in the DVD player! :) And SoundWave instantly became his favorite character (probably because of the vocoder almost musical effect used to create SoundWaves voice - no simple task to itself) I have the Takara reissue wave-1 but cant find it to save my life. And he's been drooling over my US MISB original since he got going w the Transformers bug. So I set out to avoid auctions and find one QUICK for his recent birthday. Thank you Amazon!!!

Not only is this series graced w nicer packaging, but getting two cassettes opposed to one was a big plus. Sure, there are MINOR differences (Like Primes shortened stacks on the US re-ish) But they are miniscule and for this purpose, utterly insignificant. This a perfect alternative to a loose original for a kid's gift, and as noted by others - Has some seriously nice display quality in its packaging design. He treasures this toy above all others and though he plays with it constantly, is always sure to not drop or scratch it and puts it back in it's place when done. And I said not a word - This is for play, not collecting (for him/me at least) And coupled with the 4-pack of cassettes from Takara, I thought his eyes were going to bug out as he peeled away the wrapping. I made no mention of getting it for him, and he was honestly content to look at my original in one of the cabinets - So this was probably the best toy I've ever gotten him, and that is saying a lot!! Already had all the waves of HOC figures so I opened a case and pulled out a SoundWave and Megatron w LaserBeak on his arm and wrapped them all together. I can say this is a really well made reissue that both he and I will be proud of, maybe for a lifetime. Dont think, GET IT NOW!!!

Note: I have the Takara (Japanese) reissue, which has the single tape deck.

Soundwave was one of the best G1 Transformer toys, and is still a great addition to any collection. Soundwave (originally "Casette Man") looks remarkably like his on-screen self in both modes, especially considering that most of the characters were changed significantly from their original designs for use in the cartoon (yes, his head sculpt is a bit different, but it still looks cool). Transformation is quite simple, but he has good articulation for a G1 toy and looks great standing there with Laserbeak on his arm. Be careful with him though, as rough handling can cause his joints to loosen and a tumble off the shelf might cause something to break.

For some reason, we never got a true update to this figure to fit in with the newer Classics/Universe/Generations figure line. True, the War For Cybertron figure can be used as a stand-in, but he's undersized and looks odd, and the Music Label version is also a bit small and bland looking (and expensive!). G1 Soundwave actually fits in nicely with the new guys, as he's just a bit shorter than Megatron yet bigger than most of the other figures (he was an intimidating guy in the series anyway).

We have been very pleased with this reissue. I would highly recommend it to dad's wanting to get their son a part of their childhood. Quality made and does not fall apart like the new transformers made today.

This is the best Transformer ever made and It was worth every penny. The kids love how easy he is to transformer and he looks perfect next to my G1 Optimus Prime.

If you're looking for a Soundwave Reissue, hold off on this Toys R US version and look for the San Diego Comic Con version, if you can find it at a reasonable price.

Why? The Comic Con version comes with all four original cassettes, but more importantly, it has the original "flat" chest/cassette compartment (instead of the double-deep one from the later Japanese version, as this one has). The cassettes are also the original die-cast metal construction in the Comic Con reissue, without the quality complaints from the Toys R Us version.

That said, Soundwave is one of the best Transformers ever, with a really ingenious design and a very cool and iconic look. So by all means, get a G1 Soundwave reissue, of any version!