Friday, June 17, 2011
Review: [Hasbro] Transformers Dark of the Moon MechTech Weapons System Shockwave
| Figure Information | |
| Manufacturer: | Hasbro |
| Origin Series: | Transformers: Dark of the Moon |
| Scale: | Non-Scale |
| Height: | Approximately 17cm tall |
| Original Price: | 23 USD |
| Figure Box: |
Though now a box, it still follows a similar design though the Dark Moon is now nowhere in sight which is kind of a bummer and the Earth's been pushed back as an interior cardboard design. Which I dig the very portable box size, it is a little disappointing that instead of seeing Shockwave's osom head in Dark of the Moon, we're given a view of his alt mode instead. :/
| Figure Details: |
Shockwave's alt mode is that of a Cybertronian Tank I think, and yeah, despite the fact that most DotM deluxes and voyagers have dull paint apps or sometimes even lacking in it. Shockwave's done quite nicely IMO; there are really wonderful silver apps through him and as for his plastic metal frames, they're also not the typical cheap and very dull looking gray, while on the other hand, a bulk of Shockwave's paint are based on his original color which is of the purple-ish shade.
Because of the Cybertronian design, a lot of Shockwave's body parts are well hidden in here even his head and yeah it's really just sticking out somewhere there (even his feet); probably the most visible body part would be his arms but still they're made to look ridiculously as just part of the tank, the weird thing about Shockwave's design though is that he has this hose which doesn't really look bad but still is an odd touch or even of a sight for a transformer. But yeah, overall the tank's pretty good the details pop out nicely and it really is heavily detailed (even the blade is!).
Now for his bot mode, while at many ways he might look to have a very wide body, it does a pretty fine job since it doesn't look weird in any way and the addition of these rib like frames really saves Shockwave from looking ridiculous; additionally, his head is really neat, a really good reinterpretation of how Shockwave was back in G1. He does retain the hose and his cannon and what's weird is by following the transformation by book, you'd actually need to flip up his right hand when attaching the cannon but seriously, it looks weird and you can actually choose to flip it open and no such things as popping out cannons will happen; what's really neat for Shockwave is that his Mechtech weapon isn't just a plain weapon, it's specifically built for his right arm alone as you simply cannot lock it properly on the left, making it a real part of his design instead of just a kiddie accessory. So yeah, overall, Shockwave sports a very hulky and menacing look making him look like a real force to be reckoned with. Additionally, I really like the blade attached on his left making him really armed (and you can even beef him up more!).
Now his MechTech is of course removable but removing it would require you to pull out the hose as well, but yeah, just to have a glimpse of Shockwave's "naked" right arm.
Now unlike the deluxe mechtechs, Voyager Mechtechs have their own locking mechanism so you can retain and as for Shockwave, you can lock it by pressing the button and hooking a certain tab onto a tab slot at the back part of the gun.
Now the sweet deal about this MechTech is that on the top of the tube there's another MechTech port there so you can basically plug in another 5mm weapon there but what I like to do is remove Shockwave's arm blade and attach it there instead to create a bayonet of sorts; addition at the back of the MechTech weapon, there are two clip bars on each side so yeah, you can pretty much clip any c joint weapons there to make it even more ridiculously "powered".
Ridiculously enough you can choose to replace the MechTech with any other 5mm pegged weapon but yeah, why would you replace his blaster with something else XD Now for the left arm, aside from a MechTech port, he does have another c-joint clippable bar and additionally neat, while his hands are opened, there are actually sculpted holes there which are yet again another batch of 5mm ports.
So yeah, thanks to these ridiculous number of weapon ports, you can arm Shockwave to the teeth and most notably his vehicle mode which has MechTech ports on each side near his wheels; and seriously, Shockwave's a monster in vehicle mode when all of the ports have been used.
Now Shockwave does have some seriously sensitive light piping and having just one eye makes it all the more awesome as he already is.
Though like most DotM figures, they're smaller than the previous lines' figures of the same class but yeah, it's not really a point for deduction since well, this is indeed a new toyline no matter what people might say; so yeah, a little comparison pic below with RotF NEST Recon Ironhide.
| Articulation: |
Shockwave's neck joint is another swivel so yeah, it's a little stiff but better than none right? And the light pipe will help make him look cool even if he can't look up or down with the neck joint alone.
His shoulders are hinge mainly with a swiveling point in it and additionally it's even made better since you can go further because of his hingel as for others the same elbow hinge and bicep swivel while his wrists are basically just a hinge; which is sad actually since I really do love his hands but since there aren't any hand swivels it's kind of disappointing for me.
Similar his hips use the same but this time it's the reverse as it uses the swivel as its main connecting point; he does have the usual thigh swivel and elbow hinge but his hinge does flex very very well compared to the usual 90 degree bend. And lastly, his ankles can be pulled down but it's basically the "heels" that would help you balance Shockwave around.
Overall, I just could've wished for a waist joint and Shockwave would've been a total monster but yeah, even without it, he's still very very cool and despite lacking the wrist swivels Shockwave can do quite a LOT of different poses (yes, cool ones) and thanks to the light pipe, he's given even more character with these poses so yeah, overall Shockwave proves to be one of the more fun figures from the DotM line which I currently own.
| Final Thoughts: |
As a voyager class from the line, I think Shockwave pretty much nails it along with Megatron and probably Skyhammer as they are the most appealing Voyagers for me; Though downscaled a bit because of the MechTechs, he's still pretty much every peny and it's friggin' Shockwave, so yeah, I HIGHLY recommend getting Shockwave from the DotM assortment; he's that awesome in both alt and bot modes. :D
| Rating (Out of 10) | |
| Details | 10 |
| Articulation | 8.5 |
| Price | 10 |
| Overall: | 9.5 |
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