Takara Tomy Transformers Masterpieces MP-13 "Soundwave" (Japan Import)

Love mp-13 he one I’ve been after for ages and I’m not disappointed in anyway my version is reissue 2019 with the chest being able to hold three cassettes love this feature

Just perfect. Don't need to say anything else.

Extremely G1 accurate with great posability and a sleek and satisfying transformation

Transformers Review: Masterpiece Soundwave and Masterpiece LaserbeakThere are many iconic Transformers in the franchise, Optimus Prime, for example, being one such example.There is one character in particular however who is very iconic, his head is even considered to be the inspiration for the Decepticon symbol itself. The character is Soundwave, a character who was loyal to Megatron only and later to Galvatron after Megatron was reformatted into Galvatron, why he was so loyal was never explained.Other Decepticons didn't trust him and for good reason, he would spy on them, gathering information on them and ensuring that Megatron would know of that information, pretty underhand really.For older fans and collector's Soundwave is quite memorable, his alt mode of a walkman which was tiny compared to his robot mode was distinctive for it's time. It turned out to be a pretty useful alt mode to have, after all who would suspect a walkman?Over the years Soundwave has appeared in other forms but the original still holds a place in the hearts of many of the older collectors and fans. When the Masterpiece version was announced there was a lot of excitement, after all it's Soundwave.So I guess on with the review.Soundwave Alt Mode:Many today would have no idea what a walkman is, in the 1970s and 1980s until CD players gradually phased out tape players in the 1990s, the walkman was considered to be the needed item of music lovers. It was small, it could play tapes and you could carry it in a pocket, pretty much a must have.Like his original Generation One version, Masterpiece Soundwave's alt mode is a walkman, or tape player if that's preferred. It's pretty thick, much thicker than the real item would be back in the day.The colours are a dark blue with grey on the bottom and on the left and right sides. There is a dark gold detailing for the cassette door and leading to the speakers, plus a little of the dark gold on the cassette door itself in the shape of a half arrow that points to the right hand speaker. The buttons underneath the cassette door are chrome with the rewind and fast forward buttons being press-able, although they don't do anything beyond that.There is a purple Decepticon symbol outlined in white on the cassette door and a chrome button sticks out from the top which opens the cassette door for Decepticon tapes to do in, both G1, the Universe Ravage and Masterpiece tapes can be slotted in there, up to three can be placed in by pushing the inner workings back and then pressing a little lever on the back to push the section back to the front.Slightly below the right speaker is a little REC/BATT indicator light, those would indicate when you were recording or when the battery was low. A black line goes around from the front to the sides. On the back you can somewhat tell it's a folded up robot but that's okay, not like it's meant to be seen from the back all the time anyway.There are little details added which fairly bring a little character to this mode, things like a volume control on the lift side and a little switch on the right side, there are also small details like switches, slots and more.The buttons have Play on one button as well as the symbols for stop, pause, fast forward and rewind. The speakers to the sides have R and L to indicate right and left. There are also small details on the bottom of the tape player mode.Inside the cassette door when opened you can ee details that would look like what you would see in a real tape player, for the most part. There's even a little headphone slot on the top of this mode which will accept a real headphone connection.Plus above the cassette door on the upper right is a little counter which would indicate how long the tape was playing for.On the left side on the bottom is a little port which can be used to slot in Rumble or Frenzy's pile drivers.The little details fairly add a lot to what looks like a pretty unremarkable alt mode to many.The designers for this figure have done a very good job with this mode, it looks almost completely accurate to the cartoon design. It may not be as fancy as a sports car or as eye catching as a truck, but it works beautifully and stands out nicely in a collection.Laserbeak Alt Mode:Laserbeak's alt mode is designed to fit into Soundwave, much like his G1 version. His alt mode is a micro cassette, they were fairly common in the 1980s through to the early to mid 1990s, I think they're still used today but not as much as they were in the past.His colours are largely red, grey and black with small tape like details in a few areas, on the back you can tell it's pretty much a folded up robot bird. On the top of the tape mode are two small Decepticon symbols in purple.It's a cute mode in many ways and probably one that might have younger generations today wondering what it is.~~Soundwave Robot Mode:Transformation to robot mode is quite easy and is more or less a slightly more involved version of the original Generation One toy transformation, he's perhaps one of the easiest larger Masterpiece's currently released.The colours are mostly the same in this mode with more grey on the legs and lower legs, some red on the waists and a little red on the shoulders, the feet are a grey die cast with plastic supports on the bottom and sides of the feet.His weapons, which pose as batteries in alt mode, are very much accurate to the original Generation One toy and the cartoon model as well as the comic model. His shoulder cannon flips round to face forward while his rifle is pulled open, the handle flipped down and the barrel pulled out.The face sculpt is beautiful with red eyes, a grey face plate with grey vents on the sides, the top of the head is blue with a small yellow upside down triangle. Very accurate indeed.There are small details in this mode as well, the only real kibble from alt mode is on the legs and it's not too obtrusive.Articulation is largely very good, although his upper legs can't go backwards, just forwards, that might seem silly to many but oh well, he can still pose nicely enough. Although posing his legs can feel scary due to how tight the joints feel, especially so on the upper legs.This robot mode is quite beautiful and eye catching, although it's not perfect it is as close as. And considering that they did the best they could to try and make sure that the robot mode would still look as Soundwave as possible then they did a pretty good job.Laserbeak Bird Mode:Transformation into his bird mode is pretty easy although it can feel scary since the parts are small and pretty tight, it can feel like they're going to snap off, so be gentle.Once transformed you get a bird mode that is as close to accurate as possible to the cartoon version, the colours all work extremely well, the face is very well done and the little details fairly help in bringing out a lot of of the original cartoon design out with this figure.There's even a tiny camera you can flip out of Laserbeak's head which is a very nice touch.The colours are pretty much the same as tape mode with only the yellow beak and eyes being added.Laserback has very little articulation but that's okay, it's to be expected really. He can be perched on Soundwave's arms with a little see through plastic piece that sticks out of Soundwave's wrists, he can also be perched on the shoulders. His feet are designed to slot in, the connection isn't perfect but it's decent.The work that went into this little figure fairly shows, so very screen accurate to the original Generation One cartoon design.~~So are they worth getting? Hmm, well that depends really. For collector's who can afford it, and he is pretty expensive, then yes, I guess he is. While Soundwave isn't perfect he is as close as we're ever likely to get. The work that has gone into him and Laserbeak shows a lot.However he is expensive, it is best to look for him at a price you can manage, instead of the over the top prices being asked for him.This figure is not for kids, it's an adult's collector's item, in the hands of kids he is a very expensive disaster waiting to happen. A figure like this is not designed for the kind of play that kids do.So if you're a parent or a grandparent or whatever looking for a Transformer for the kids, then don't buy this figure, you'll just find yourself paying a small fortune for something that will be destroyed very easily in less than gentle hands.Soundwave comes with other accessories but I'm not going to go into those, there are Youtube videos up that show everything he comes with.Collector's should bear in mind to be gentle with this figure and Laserbeak, don't be ham-fisted with them, while they won't fall apart if you so much as look at them, they can be damaged if you are far too rough.He's very impressive, but don't pay the high prices being demanded by most, look for a reasonable price.Great figure, not perfect by any means, but close enough.

I cant really add much in terms of the model itself to what has already been written about it.But one thing I should make clear to anyone importing a model from Japan or any country without an MoU with the UK HMRC could be liable to be hit with customs duty and more sneakily- Import VAT. This cost me an extra £35 on top of the value of the model and postage.This seems to be a bit of a grey area, I don't think it is certain you will get charged but it is a possibility depending on if the package is randomly selected for inspection at the border.(as far as I can tell MoU countries are Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong & Channel Islands)This soured the experience for me as I typically expect any price quoted on a UK site to include a VAT element already unless exempt or explicitly stated.

I bought this grown man toy for myself as a decoration more or less as I've always been a fan of the franchise and have never owned my favourite character (Soundwave) so decided to treat myself.It looks great, it looks exactly as Soundwave appears in the G1 cartoon even more so than the original toy. There's an energon cube, a Megatron gun, Soundwave's own gun and, quite curiously, a schematic tyope grid thing seen in one of the first G1 episodes.The instruction manual is pretty straight forward...but all in Japanese...however, the illustrations are straight forward and easy to use.The plastic seems quite fragile to me and although nothing has broken yet (even though the 'gun trigger finger' slips out quite easily) it does not appear to be of the highest possible quality and worthy of a 'masterpiece' label and certainly not the £100 plus price tag as it feels very light and a bit flimsy and wouldn't survive being dropped. Quite frankly, I expected it to be tougher for how much I paid.NOT reccommonended for kids AT ALL - way too expensive and sensitive to young ones and if they're anything like I was, Soundwave would be missing a few limbs at the end of the day.In recap, for older TF fans only but try and get a good price as it is much too expensive for the quality it and be VERY carfeul with it.