DSC_5384
The highly logical Shockwave (Laserwave in Japan) is a cold, calculating Decepticon that was so effective at his job, that Megatron left Shockwave in charge of Cybertron in his absence that resulted in the G1 Transformers series.
The character has appeared throughout the years and area as expected homages to the original character, with the most recent mainline release of the Tranformers: Siege Shockwave being probably the closest to the original G1 toy.
I was tempted to buy one to fill in that G1 gap I had until one fateful day, I responded to a Facebook Marketplace ad for a used MP 29, which after a good two weeks, I finally have opened up.
MP 29 is, of course, Shockwave/Laserwave. Specifically, this one is coloured as per the animation model, with the more recently solicited MP 29+ being a darker purple akin to the original toy itself.
Generally speaking, with the exception of white on the grip of the gun mode, and the various pieces of metal on the figure, everyting is the colour of whatever plastic it was moulded in.
The MP 29 set comes with the main figure, 5 extra hand attachments, a miniature version of himself that I think was used for one episode, along with a backpack cover (more on that later), stickers, a bio card, and the manual.
Shockwave's alt mode is a laser pistol, and was originally one of those toys that was purchased from a third party company so Hasbro could flesh out the Transformers mythos quickly and cost effectively.
I never owned the original toy, but I have had, in recent years, the opportunity to play with one. The spirit of this original toy has, like with all MP figures, been carried over to this figure. While the figure has no sounds, an LED was built into the muzzle of the gun for some light up fun. The tiny trigger is hilarious, perhaps to the point of harming Shockwaves self esteem, but highly logical beings don't fear that sort of stuff, I suppose. Unlike the original toy, Takara wisely made the "power conduit" to his left arm out of the a plastic coil this time rather than a rubber tube that would eventually fray over time.
The translucent aiming reticle is nice and is a good throwback to the original toy. The gap in the back of the grip.. not so much.
The backpack doubles as a stand such that you can in fact display Shockwave in gun mode should you choose to do so.
Transformation into robot mode is nowhere as complicated as the new MP Megatron.. of course, with the exception of the upcoming MP Convoy, I don't think they will ever release anything so difficult to transform. The process isn't as simple as the G1 toy either, which is the other extreme. Everything is generally straight forward, with the exception of the legs, which requires a bit of thinking but does result in proportionally correct body parts. The muzzle does not come off the figure like the original toy, but rather is attached to main body via a rail, and tucks neatly on the back of the robot mode - this is hidden from sight by, you guessed it, the application of the backpack cover.
While it is a positive to not have a transformation sequence as complicated as MP Megatron, the resulting robot is sadly, nowhere as impressive as that beast.
Articulation is generally there, though the limited ab crunch and waist movement is only activated by you pulling apart the upper and lower torso.Typical shoulder, forearm, and neck movement is present, with no chest collapse allowed. Leg articulation is alright, though limited due to the design of joints and physical space limitation, which translates into no extreme lower body poses. There is some ankle articulation, but the hips on mine are loose in anything other than upright position, and as such holding non standard poses can be challenging, further made more annoying due to the small width of the feet which are smooth and do not grip any surfaces, resulting in uncontrolled splaying of his feet.
Each of the hands can be pulled off and replaced according to how you feel. Generally speaking, there are two types of attachments - fist, open palm, and laser barrel, all of which come in both opaque and translucent varieties. The figure also includes a left fist in the event that Shockwave wants to go and take up boxing. His left forearm has lights built into it to allow for some light up fun there as well. The head does not have light up capabilities, but is provided with light piping such that if a light is used on the back of the head, his "eye" will glow.
The MP 29 succeeds at doing what it set out to complete - to provide a show model accurate transforming toy. Gun mode is functional (and really, what else did you expect from a glorified flashlight) but robot mode is at best above average. It certainly looks nice but is somewhat restrictive in what you poses the figure will hold, which is disappointing to say the least in a figure that is supposed to be THE definitive version of a character.
It is probably this fact plus the availability of more articulated 3P figures that also look the part that resulted in the online prices for this figure dropping significantly.
At the end of the day, I paid about the same price as I'd pay for the Siege version of Shockwave. Articulation wise I can't imagine the Siege version being that much better than the MP version, with the MP version giving a improved,albeit flawed, G1 character experience. This nostalgia is, if we're being honest, what the Siege line is banking on.
Thus, overall, I feel I paid a fair price for what I got. If I had bought this brand new at around $200 back in the day, however, I might have had a meltdown.
Long live the King of Logic.
DSC_5384
The highly logical Shockwave (Laserwave in Japan) is a cold, calculating Decepticon that was so effective at his job, that Megatron left Shockwave in charge of Cybertron in his absence that resulted in the G1 Transformers series.
The character has appeared throughout the years and area as expected homages to the original character, with the most recent mainline release of the Tranformers: Siege Shockwave being probably the closest to the original G1 toy.
I was tempted to buy one to fill in that G1 gap I had until one fateful day, I responded to a Facebook Marketplace ad for a used MP 29, which after a good two weeks, I finally have opened up.
MP 29 is, of course, Shockwave/Laserwave. Specifically, this one is coloured as per the animation model, with the more recently solicited MP 29+ being a darker purple akin to the original toy itself.
Generally speaking, with the exception of white on the grip of the gun mode, and the various pieces of metal on the figure, everyting is the colour of whatever plastic it was moulded in.
The MP 29 set comes with the main figure, 5 extra hand attachments, a miniature version of himself that I think was used for one episode, along with a backpack cover (more on that later), stickers, a bio card, and the manual.
Shockwave's alt mode is a laser pistol, and was originally one of those toys that was purchased from a third party company so Hasbro could flesh out the Transformers mythos quickly and cost effectively.
I never owned the original toy, but I have had, in recent years, the opportunity to play with one. The spirit of this original toy has, like with all MP figures, been carried over to this figure. While the figure has no sounds, an LED was built into the muzzle of the gun for some light up fun. The tiny trigger is hilarious, perhaps to the point of harming Shockwaves self esteem, but highly logical beings don't fear that sort of stuff, I suppose. Unlike the original toy, Takara wisely made the "power conduit" to his left arm out of the a plastic coil this time rather than a rubber tube that would eventually fray over time.
The translucent aiming reticle is nice and is a good throwback to the original toy. The gap in the back of the grip.. not so much.
The backpack doubles as a stand such that you can in fact display Shockwave in gun mode should you choose to do so.
Transformation into robot mode is nowhere as complicated as the new MP Megatron.. of course, with the exception of the upcoming MP Convoy, I don't think they will ever release anything so difficult to transform. The process isn't as simple as the G1 toy either, which is the other extreme. Everything is generally straight forward, with the exception of the legs, which requires a bit of thinking but does result in proportionally correct body parts. The muzzle does not come off the figure like the original toy, but rather is attached to main body via a rail, and tucks neatly on the back of the robot mode - this is hidden from sight by, you guessed it, the application of the backpack cover.
While it is a positive to not have a transformation sequence as complicated as MP Megatron, the resulting robot is sadly, nowhere as impressive as that beast.
Articulation is generally there, though the limited ab crunch and waist movement is only activated by you pulling apart the upper and lower torso.Typical shoulder, forearm, and neck movement is present, with no chest collapse allowed. Leg articulation is alright, though limited due to the design of joints and physical space limitation, which translates into no extreme lower body poses. There is some ankle articulation, but the hips on mine are loose in anything other than upright position, and as such holding non standard poses can be challenging, further made more annoying due to the small width of the feet which are smooth and do not grip any surfaces, resulting in uncontrolled splaying of his feet.
Each of the hands can be pulled off and replaced according to how you feel. Generally speaking, there are two types of attachments - fist, open palm, and laser barrel, all of which come in both opaque and translucent varieties. The figure also includes a left fist in the event that Shockwave wants to go and take up boxing. His left forearm has lights built into it to allow for some light up fun there as well. The head does not have light up capabilities, but is provided with light piping such that if a light is used on the back of the head, his "eye" will glow.
The MP 29 succeeds at doing what it set out to complete - to provide a show model accurate transforming toy. Gun mode is functional (and really, what else did you expect from a glorified flashlight) but robot mode is at best above average. It certainly looks nice but is somewhat restrictive in what you poses the figure will hold, which is disappointing to say the least in a figure that is supposed to be THE definitive version of a character.
It is probably this fact plus the availability of more articulated 3P figures that also look the part that resulted in the online prices for this figure dropping significantly.
At the end of the day, I paid about the same price as I'd pay for the Siege version of Shockwave. Articulation wise I can't imagine the Siege version being that much better than the MP version, with the MP version giving a improved,albeit flawed, G1 character experience. This nostalgia is, if we're being honest, what the Siege line is banking on.
Thus, overall, I feel I paid a fair price for what I got. If I had bought this brand new at around $200 back in the day, however, I might have had a meltdown.
Long live the King of Logic.