Transformers War for Cybertron Siege Soundwave x2 (with minions): I'm done putting this one off.

I see you Takara Soundblaster, with your Mercenary badge, gorgeous black and red paint job, and your ability to store two Micromasters in your chest thanks to a window that sticks out awkwardly. I've got it on order, but I've wanted to do a review of Siege Soundwave for a while. I kept putting it off because new minions were announced, then obtained, then the Netflix one was announced while I was in an awkward "no real reason" hiatus. So know what? No. We're doing this! This review is long overdue!

We'll start by looking at the original version of the mould, a figure that suffers from the G1 toy being a Micro Change toy. How do you make a Soundwave toy that collectors will like while still having it be an exciting toy for kids? You try and turn Soundwave into an awkward Spaceship, with an Easter Egg lamp post mode. I think it goes without saying at this point that the original Siege Soundwave, and the Soundblaster as mentioned above in the intro of this review, do not have nice looking alternate modes. What's frustrating is that they're almost cool looking, with the only real issue I have with the modes themselves being the vents and thrusters' positions. They look like they're supposed to fold down and rest on the sides of the ship, instead than sticking out not doing anything. There's even a tab on the body doing nothing, and a slot in the thrusters that look like they line up perfectly. But with the way the hinge pieces were designed, they physically can't get to that point, there's an intentional stopper, why? What's the point? Was the storage for that one grey gun that looked like it was meant to go to Siege Megatron anyway (to the fact that most people gave their Siege Megatron that gun) that important? As for the lampost mode? It's neat that they include it as a nod to G1, Season 1, Episode 1, Scene 1, but it looks even dumber than the space ship. I usually groan when I see people try and force Megatron toys into having a gun mode, or Soundwaves into a cassette player mode. But when you've got two bad modes already, is it any wonder why people were making parts specifically to turn it into the cassette player?

So it should come as no surprise that Hasbro eventually made one that turned into the Cassette player. Released for the Netflix Siege line, Netflix Soundwave (a heavy retool of the Siege Soundwave) does look like an excellent Mini Cassette player, but only from the front. Due to it being a retooling, the mode does not look good from the sides or back. I don't find this to be that big of a problem though, mostly because it is a retool. It wasn't going to have Masterpiece levels of panel management to hide the arms better. It looks great from the front, and it does look a lot better than the Siege one being twisted and contorted into a cassette player. For what we got, I think it's great.

Why was the alt mode vital? Because it doesn't make sense for a spaceship to drop rectangles out the back. Through the power of Micromasters, This version of Soundwave has minions! Between the two years of toylines, Soundwave has eight rectangle minions that he can store in his chest, have out deployed in their robot/ animal modes, or wear as shields because Micromasters had to have weapon modes for War for Cybertron. So to quickly give them mini-reviews:

• Siege Laserbeak: Siege Laserbeak is probably the best of the lot because it looks good in all its modes. It doesn't feel like anything was compromised when designing the toy to pull off everything it needed. I love the detail on the wings, and I especially love the fact that the blast effects ports on the back mean you can pull off a hilarious rocket bird mode. You can also have Laserbeak perched on Soundwave's arm. While it does make the feet look big, it's a minor complaint and adds stability—a great companion piece for Soundwave.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Siege Ravage: It's a shame though that his packmate is terrible. Siege Ravage does not look good in cat mode. The cat legs look awkward. Paint is excellent, I like the purple along the back, and the red eyes look cool, but due to the size, the legs look too bulky for something that's supposed to be a sleek, stealthy predator. There's a reason mine usually live inside Soundwave's chest.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Netflix Laserbeak and Ravage: Packed in with Netflix Soundwave, they're both the same, with the only noticeable differences being the paint applications (in an attempt at being more G1 toy accurate) and both having new heads. Pretty much everything I could say about these two has been covered when looking at their general retail release predecessors. The only reason I bring them up separately though is because I wish these two were Buzzsaw and Howlback. Out of the regular minions for Soundwave (trust me, he gets some weird ones in the toys), Buzzsaw is the only one missing, which is odd because the original partner he came with back in 1984 was Buzzsaw. Considering how hard the Laserbeak and Ravage shelf warmed, I'm surprised they didn't take the chance to repaint them and fill in those minion gaps, as anyone who wanted the Netflix Soundwave likely already had Laserbeak and Ravage. Were people that desperate for G1 heads for them?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Siege Ratbat and Generations Selects Wingthing: Though the rectangle mode for these two does look bad, the bat modes look great, like Micromaster Batterangs (and thus concludes obligatory Batman reference). The only real complaints I have are Wingthing's missing paint applications (not sure why), and the fact that the post for plugging them into bigger bots isn't in an excellent position to have them be flying on display. You could probably pull something off, but the back-mounted port does look awkward to work around.
  
  
  
  
  Above image was sourced from https://thelastgherkin.tumblr.com/post/628351249459331072/generations-selects-soundwave-spy-patrol-3rd-unit (it was the only image of that half of the Generations Selects pack I could find)
  
  
• Siege Rumble and Generations Selects Frenzy: No, I'm not going into which one is which, these are what they're called on the box, regardless of if I agree with them or not, that's what I'm calling them for this review. For a pair of mini humanoid robots, they're alright. I think the hips are a bit too wide, and the thighs too short, but I wasn't expecting much out of these two, especially when it comes to articulation, as none of the Micromasters has had strong articulation. No pile drivers for either of them, but with blast effects ports on their hands, they can pull off some hilarious overkill pyrotechnics. Paint on their chests though is very weak, as both of mine have been chipping off over time. It sucks, but at least with Siege, you can pass that off as battle damage.

Soundwave's robot mode is extremely basic when compared to other Transformers. A good G1 Soundwave doesn't have kibble, and credit where it's due for both versions, they're very clean transformations, with the only notable instances of kibble being the landing skids on both versions arms. Moving these two around is an absolute delight, thanks to the sturdy joints (a little too sturdy in the case of my Netflix Soundwave's shoulders). You can even fudge your way into them pressing their eject buttons to deploy the minions inside. Head sculpt is frustrating on both of them, because while I love the detailing on the Siege Soundwave, they went for the toy accurate yellow yes, which I'm not a fan of. While on the Netflix one, it has the red eyes and a simpler, more cartoon accurate head sculpt. Why did that need to get remoulded? Thanks to the C.O.M.B.A.T port gimmick of Siege, both versions can store all the minions on them. I've got all the minions with Netflix Soundwave, and what I tend to do with the pointless pipe gun that looks awful as a gun, and even worse when combining his actual firearms. What I do is that I use it as a makeshift flight stand for Laserbeak, plugging it onto Soundwave's back so that it looks like the bird is flying over him.

If you can't find a Netflix Soundwave on the shelf, I still think the toy's original Siege version is an excellent representation of Soundwave. The reason to get the Netflix one is if you absolutely must have a G1 faithful version of Soundwave that scales with your other Generations Figures. It's like trying to decide which War for Cybertron Optimus Prime you should get. Both are excellent toys, and there's no definitive answer to which one is objectively better or worse. I hope that we get a Blaster in the future. While I don't think the Ravage mould would work for Steeljaw, I could see them getting a great Ramhorn out of it, and all they'd need to do for Rewind and Eject is change the deco on Frenzy and Rumble. It would also be an excuse to get the missing Buzzsaw and Howlback (Spy Patrol 4th unit anyone?). Blaster did play a decent role in the 86 movie, after all. Just saying, it could happen. This toy is a significant improvement over the Titans Return one, a great figure to add to your Decepticon army.

Lego Batman 76119; Batmobile Persuit of The Joker: I thought the dead face was meant to be Joker's thing

No joke, there was a point in time when Joker had his face removed, and hung onto him loosely.

Though I have not covered a lot of DC content on the two sites, it is not something I ignore (unlike some people in the whole "Marvel vs DC" battle). The truth is that I enjoy a lot of DC's animated content, from the animated movies of the old DCAU, to the silly one offs like Batman verses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (yes that is a thing), to the shows on both extremes of the argument. Though I haven't seen a lot of Teen Titans, I'll admit I've gotten a lot of laughs from the Justice League Action clips I've seen, though some of the designs are questionable. In regards to the Lego side of DC, a lot of the DC sets fall into the same category as the Star Wars sets lately, in that it feels like I'm seeing the same sets over, and over, and over again, due to the reliance on Batman.

Objectively, this is not a surprise. He is the most popular superhero DC has, and thanks to the fact that his powers are all about equipment he makes, including vehicles, it only makes sense that he gets the lion’s share, to the point where the DC superhero brand started life as just a Batman line. Unlike a line like Star Wars, there is not a lot that could be done outside of what they are doing. Are there things I would still like to see? Of course, show me Batman Beyond sets and you have my money immediately, but even then, options are limited. A set like Queen Watevanabi (I think that is how you say that name), but it is full of translucent pieces themed around Lantern Constructs? The Fortress of Solitude? Invasion of Apokolips that gives an excuse to make minifigs based on characters that have not been done in Lego form yet, though the DC Supervillains teases, such as the Young Justice crew? ...Ok that last one might be cool, but I digress. With the focus on Batman though, every now and then you get something aimed at older audiences, such as today's subject, the new Batmobile.

Starting with the Minifigures, and the two we have are really the only two needed, Batman and The Joker. While The Joker Minifigure is well done, giving off a mix of the Tim Burton and DCAU designs, with the only big complaint I have with it being the green sleeves, it would have been great if they were in purple, Batman has some problems... Like with the Captain America Minifigure from the Avengers Endgame sets, and the Mercy from Overwatch, Batman's face suffers from a bad paint application. What helps hide it though is Batman's Cowl, as the eyes are still painted well. While it is avoidable, it is hard to deny that it is bad, especially because we have seen better prints done for this Minifigure before. I have heard reports that Mercy had four coats of paint, and it would be safe to assume that the same could be said for Cap and Batman; it leads me to believe that the paint quality went down this year, and I cannot help but wonder why.

As for the build itself, this is very reminiscent of the Batmobile from the Tim Burton movies. Not one for one, but within the ballpark that many are willing to look at it as such. The two big differences are the front, where the jet engine on the Batmobile from the movies are hidden by one of the new bat Sigel pieces, and the bat wings are completely off, due to the nature of the pieces used. That being said, I would not be surprised if people have already made modifications to make it more accurate to the movie. What I do like about the shaping of the Batmobile is that it is not much wider than normal Lego cars. I've heard that a lot of people stick to a 6-8 stud wide limit when designing Lego Cities, and this is roughly 8 studs wide (give or take two thanks to the rim covers on the wheels). The appeal is definitely in the shaping and not in the functions though, because while the shape and styling look great, especially with the silver details on the side, there are not a lot of functions. You can put a single minifig into the driver’s seat without needing to remove parts, there are two stud shooters, and the fire on the back spins as you drive. Nothing exciting, but there is not a lot of room to add more features without compromising the build. Maybe a steering system without the need of "Hand of God steering"? However, that would probably need new parts. The underside of the car is messy though, with large gaps that could have easily been filled in. The only other minor complaint I really have is that I would have liked somewhere to store Batman's Batterang. It is a small thing, but I really appreciate it when Lego vehicles have dedicated storage for Minifig gear, rather than just "try to fit it in the cockpit". None of these is deal breakers for me, just things to note. It should be said that this is meant to have some playability with the other sets in the wave, such as being able to drive through the Bat Cave, but I only have this set so I can't vouch for that feature.

There is not much more to say, this is a solid car, and a good price considering what you get. What issues I have with the build itself are minor, with the only big issue being Batman's head. This is something I hope is sorted out soon, because this should be inexcusable. How it keeps happening without official comments is beyond me. I hope that it is addressed in the future, because this comes off as cheap, lazy, and honestly, the kind of quality I would expect in a knock off.