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[Tformer]

As a few of you might know. I am a big fan of High Moon Studio's Transformers games and I'm an equally big fan when it comes to their cybertronian designs. So as you can probably imagine, I was very stoked when Hasbro announced that they were going to step up the game from 2010 and dedicate a greater portion of the 2012-13 continuation of the Generations line to Fall of Cybertron. Especially when Shockwave was going to be part of the first wave.

The line has however become a bit controversial as the figures have taken quite a hit in the size-department, made even worse by the simultaneous price-increase in the US as the bad economy has caught up with the retail giants. Bearing all this in mind, how does the figure hold up?

ROBOT MODE


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr

Shockwave's robot mode is quite faithful to his game model and all the major details are there, some more important ones are brought forth with a couple of well placed paint-applications. The sculpt is fairly sharp, however the overall aesthetics take a bit of a hit as a result of the hollow lower-legs and the lack of detailing on the outsides of his lower arms. Personally I'm not a big fan of the pink and I'm not sure why they went with that colour. The concept art and game models both have the energon detailing, chest and optic in a bright purple. Perhaps they intended for the pink to 'pop' a bit more than the purple might've done.
There's plenty of articulation to go around and Shockwave can hold most poses you'd want him to, especially when it comes to his arms. However, I would've really liked to see a balljointed neck on this figure instead of the standard swivel. Having virtually no face, Shockwave has a ton of potential to emote by just tilting his head. Compared to his wavemate Optimus' incredibly mobile neck balljoint, it's a bit of a letdown that we're stuck with a simple swivel here.
Thus far, the Generations toyline is fairly gimmick-free, with supposedly a weapon-combination gimmick entering later and FoC themed mech tech after that. So Shockwave is quite light in that department. However, as an undocumented feature, the end of his cannon can be removed to reveal a triple-barrelled gun, reminiscent of the X12 Scrapmaker from the first game or the Neutron Pulse Rifle from FoC. The barrel can also be stored on his lower back in robot mode.
Additionally and necessary for transformation, the gun can detach from his forearm and be replaced with a regular hand (the gun can go on either arm to properly facilitate the shooting-arm-swap mechanic implemented in the game). If so desired the gun can be stored via a 5mm peghole on his back.


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr

Sizewise he's about on par with some of the early Beast Wars Deluxes like Cheetor and Rhinox. Which sort of makes sense seeing as if inflation is anything to go by, $10 in 1996 equals to about $14~15 today. In my opinion, Shockwave isn't hurt quite as badly by the decrease in size as he's a scientist chassis which is supposed to be fairly small. However I can understand if some people want their Shockwaves big and imposing, especially if you're a fan of the Marvel comics.
Comparing him to the WFC Megatron mold might seem a bit odd as that was a fairly large and bulky deluxe even by 2010 standards. However I figured that that would be one of the molds people might want to see it compared to.


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr

VEHICLE MODE


TF Generations DX FoC Shockwave by Tformer_90, on Flickr

Transforming Shockwave into his 'Mobile Artillery' mode is a breeze and really gets the point through that you can accomplish a lot with a simple transformation, although maybe not quite impressive as the Transformers Prime Vehicon. The arms peg together to form the engine nozzles and the legs form the front of the vehicle. Also worth noting is that the head springs up automatically when going back to robot mode, which I suspect was one of the reasons for the lack of a balljointed neck.
The detailing and paint applications are pretty much kept intact in this mode and the only thing that gets revealed are some panel lines and surprisingly enough a fake set of 'ears' on top of what I guess would be the cockpit.
There are no play features what-so-ever in this mode. If you really wanted to you could always swivel the wings around a bit to emulate rudders, but aside from that you're pretty much limited to swooping him around the room while making 'whoosh' noises. Admit it, you still do that from time to time... Or is that just me?

VERDICT

A lot of people might be put off by the size decrease and price increase, which is completely understandable. However, even with those drawbacks I still think that this is an excellent figure and more importantly it's the first G1-esque Shockwave we've gotten in quite a while. While the aesthetics are a bit different, it can quite easily serve as a stand-in for a Classic style Shockwave seeing as the character never adapted an earth-mode.
It's not without it's drawbacks though. Like I mentioned the hollow lower legs and pink detailing can be a bit of an eyesore, keeping this figure from being near perfect.
I don't think it's worth overpaying for, but if you can get it for at least UK retail or less, it's well worth a purchase. Especially if you like the character and/or the games.

[Ultra Marcus]

Excellent review! The undocumented gun variation is really neat. Can the gun be held by any other figures with 5mm sockets, or is it only compatible with Shockwave?

[Tformer]

It does have a 5mm post as well, so technically it should be able to be wielded by most figures. The peg's a bit recessed though, so some figures might have issues holding it properly.

And thanks for the compliment on the review.

This post has been edited by Tformer: 7 August 2012, 22:36

[NRJohn]

Great review!

However not sure I really want it to be honest. Btw is there any chance any FoC will show up in Swedish (or any Nordic) stores? Did we get any WFC? I sure didn't see any

[Tformer]

I doubt we'll see the 2012 Generations line on shelves over here as we didn't get the last one and retailers already seem to order so little TF products. Maybe with a little luck they'll give it a chance if the game does well enough, but I wouldn't count on it.

[Soundblaster]

I doubt we'll see the 2012 Generations line on shelves over here as we didn't get the last one and retailers already seem to order so little TF products. Maybe with a little luck they'll give it a chance if the game does well enough, but I wouldn't count on it.

Yeah, there is basicly no doupt that those Generations figures won't show up, i even sked Hasbro about the missing Wave 2 of RID Deluxes and they said those wheren't gonna show up, so i have no hope for any Generations figures showing up here.

I assume the recently released Kre-o took over their release spots.

[Fighbird]

A little late reply, but awesome review.

I really like this figure. He looks awesome in both modes, the gun(s) is/are fun and the sculpt detail is great. However, I feel the transformation is a bit "cheap" and too simple, but that might be because of his reduced size due to costs. Also, the paint is starting to wear on the clear gun piece from storing it on the back via its sight tab.

After getting this guy and SDCC Bruticus I just had to get Megatron to round of the set. And then I realized that I need to find Deluxe (not Voyager, no: Deluxe) Soundwave as well... ah well...

[Tformer]

A little late reply, but awesome review.

I really like this figure. He looks awesome in both modes, the gun(s) is/are fun and the sculpt detail is great. However, I feel the transformation is a bit "cheap" and too simple, but that might be because of his reduced size due to costs. Also, the paint is starting to wear on the clear gun piece from storing it on the back via it's sight tab.

Ouch, I was a bit worried about paint scraping given that it's quite a tight fit. It doesn't bother me personally all that much since I very rarely remove the barrel, but a shame none the less for the people who want to use the feature.

After getting this guy and SDCC Bruticus I just had to get Megatron to round of the set. And then I realized that I need to find Deluxe (not Voyager, no: Deluxe) Soundwave as well... ah well...

And my envy meters went through the roof. Dare I ask how much you had to spend on that beast?
I originally intended to get the SDCC version, but I couldn't find a middleman in time for the event, and by the time I had scrounged up enough money to get it for the aftermarket prices, they had already gone through the roof. I do like the look of the TakTomy set (which has the added bonus of an accurate Onslaught, at the expense of Bruticus' chestplate being blue rather than grey.) and might snatch that up eventually. But then I'd be worried about them being too shiny and thus standing out a bit too much, so I'd feel forced to replace all the other ones with their TakTomy counterparts. Oh the woes of being a collector.

[Fighbird]

After getting this guy and SDCC Bruticus I just had to get Megatron to round of the set. And then I realized that I need to find Deluxe (not Voyager, no: Deluxe) Soundwave as well... ah well...

And my envy meters went through the roof. Dare I ask how much you had to spend on that beast?

I paid $190 including shipping. This was an eBay pre-order auction thingamajig from back in May. Did a quick search and did find a few in that prices range on there currently (pending that no one else bids on them, that is).

A beautiful set with a HUUUUUUUGE outer packaging. Have also ordered the G2 repaint - gotta love me some neon!

[Honkimus Prime]

I actually like this toy now that I just got him. Those legs have bothered me but they don't look as flimsy as I though. Though I have a weird problem with mine: I just can't peg those hands to the back when transforming him to alt mode. It is not that complicated job but for some reason those small pegs and those holes don't mach no matter what I try. I can connect them, but then those hands that are serving as thrusters points upward.

[Tformer]

I actually like this toy now that I just got him. Those legs have bothered me but they don't look as flimsy as I though. Though I have a weird problem with mine: I just can't peg those hands to the back when transforming him to alt mode. It is not that complicated job but for some reason those small pegs and those holes don't mach no matter what I try. I can connect them, but then those hands that are serving as thrusters points upward.

From your description I think I had the same issue at first. It's a bit finicky, but it can be remedied by fiddling with the arm hinges for a bit.