Release Date: December 2025
RRP: $59.99/£55.99
Transformers: The Movie may have introduced fans to a whole new selection of Autobots and Decepticons, but that doesn't mean that the veteran cast was completely forgotten about. The opening battle on Autobot City in particular was a showcase of previously established characters, earning them a place in the Studio Series "86" line. Among the figures to kick of the 2026 assortment (even if they were technically released at the end of 2025) to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary is Studio Series Soundwave, the Decepticon Communications Officer and one of Megatron's most loyal soldiers. Of course no Soundwave figure would be complete without some of his cassette minions to go with him, and this release has been bumped up to Leader Class status partly thanks to the inclusion of Buzzsaw, Laserbeak and Ravage.
Soundwave continues the new style of Studio Series packaging, which has discarded elements like the numbering system and background diorama cards in favour of being more uniform with other concurrent Transformers lines (in this case, Age of the Primes). It has also however brought back the clear window section on the front, from which we can see Soundwave displayed in his robot mode and his minions in cassette mode. This window is accompanied by some lovely new artwork of Soundwave, Laserbeak and Ravage (Buzzsaw is pictured ejecting from Soundwave's chest), as well as the Transformers brand logo, Transformers: The Movie logo and line/character name lettering. The artwork extends on one side to reveal the ruins of Autobot City, whilst the other side features a larger version of just Soundwave. On the back of the box are renders of the all the figures included in both robot and alt modes, as well as a picture of Soundwave lifted from the movie and a one-sentence bio. The picture is particularly funny because apparently Hasbro don't have the resources for a high-quality still - as this one is not only blurred but also features a tiny web-player button in the bottom corner. Inside Soundwave and his cassettes are tied down to the cardboard tray, with all of the accessories neatly stored in a clear plastic bag.
Studio Series Soundwave is an all-new rendition of the iconic Decepticon, improving upon the height of the War for Cybertron version as well as removing all the tech-detailing for a far more cartoon-accurate look. At a push I would argue that the blue is a little lighter than how he appeared in the show, but it's a very minor complaint as it's undoubtedly the best rendition of Soundwave we've gotten at this scale/price point. The pursuit of cartoon-accuracy does come with a few sacrifices though - this Soundwave has a fairly sizeable backpack as well two sets of tape deck buttons, with the ones intended for alt mode hiding on his back. Again as far as complaints go they're pretty minor ones, and more just worth bringing up for discussion rather than being a knock against the figure. Whilst the arms and upper legs are unpainted grey plastic it tones quite well with the blue, and the legs and feet have silver paint applied. The head sculpt looks great, as does the shoulder cannon with its red painted missile tips. Overall it hits all the right notes for a Studio Series Soundwave figure, and will look great among the other Decepticons from the line.
Articulation is perhaps where this figure really shines in robot mode. A straightforward transformation definitely works to Soundwave's advantage here, and overall there's a huge range of motion and poseability. Altogether Soundwave features;
- Ball jointed head
- Swivel hinge shoulders and ankles
- Double hinge elbows
- Single hinge fingers, knees and feet
- Bicep, hand, waist and thigh swivels
On top of all that key articulation, the "rewind" and "fast forward" buttons on the skirt piece are hinged to provide more clearance for the legs, and the shoulder cannon can rotate in its peg hole to make action poses a little more dynamic. This figure is really fun to pose - every joint moves smoothly and Soundwave just oozes personality in every pose he's in. Thanks to the double-jointed elbows, he also has more that enough movement in his arms to reach up and press the eject button beside his head as well - arguably the most essential pose for any Soundwave figure.
In addition to cassette bots (which we’ll get into further down in the review) which constitute the main bulk of “accessories”, Soundwave also comes with his signature Concussion Blaster weapon. Rather than feature a firing or removable missile, the front silver piece extends outwards when in weapon configuration – pushing inside the barrel when stored in alt mode. While the paintwork on the Concussion Blaster is good the weapon itself is slightly inaccurate, as the fins on the silver should be orientated vertically rather than horizontally. Though admittedly it doesn’t really have much of an impact on the figure, it’s surprising that Hasbro got this little detail wrong when the rest of it has strived so hard for cartoon accuracy.
As is mandatory for any G1 Soundwave figure, the Studio Series version also features a spring-loaded tape door on his chest which can be opened by pressing the button to the side of his head. The inside of his chest features moulded cassette player detailing, and the door itself has enough storage space for one modern cassette bot figure. This means not only can he fit any of the three included with him or the other Studio Series releases (Rumble, Frenzy and Ratbat), but also any of the previously released War for Cybertron trilogy versions. Whilst not totally unexpected as there hasn’t been a huge change in scale, it’s nice that the figure is compatible with those older tapes so that collectors don’t necessarily have to buy them all over again.
In 28 steps Soundwave transforms into his iconic tape deck mode, which seems like a lot of steps for transforming something into a solid rectangle but the conversation remains relatively fun and straightforward nonetheless. The strive for the most cartoon accurate robot mode does mean the alt mode has suffered a little though, as from behind you can quite clearly see the arms hanging off the back as well as the faux playback buttons. The shoulder cannon and Concussion Blaster storage isn’t quite as intuitive as it is on the original toy (where they slot into a proper battery compartment), but the do at least peg into a place that works. Pushing the silver part of the Concussion Blaster into the barrel also causes a battery terminal nub to pop out of the other end too, which is a fun little gimmick even if the nub has a habit of falling back into the cylinder. Overall it’s perhaps not the cleanest rendition of Soundwave’s alt mode when viewed from all sides, but at least from the front it looks as it should. At least mostly anyway, as the tape deck is missing the silver stripe running across the bottom. This looks to have been done to maintain accuracy in robot mode, but it's a pretty significant detail to have left out.
Naturally this alt mode doesn’t have much in the way of features though, being far more suited for stealth and reconnaissance. The tape door still opens just as it did in robot mode, and can still store a tape of your choosing. Personally I think the tape being visible through the clear plastic door adds a lot to the look of the tape deck as well – more than it does storing one in Soundwave’s robot mode anyway. One other little detail to enjoy about the alt mode as well is that the alternative button flap (previously located on the back of the robot mode) has the little playback icons moulded onto it, giving it a slightly more authentic tape deck look.
But what Soundwave would be complete without a selection of minions to command? To fully justify his Leader class status, Studio Soundwave comes with three cassette bots – Laserbeak, Ravage and Buzzsaw. The latter choice is an interesting one considering Buzzsaw doesn’t actually appear in Transformers: The Movie, but presumably because it’s both the last of his main onscreen ones requiring a new release (Rumble and Frenzy having separate Studio Series releases, and Ratbat being packaged with the second version of Perceptor), and an easy repaint from Laserbeak. As they were both onscreen and in original toy form, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw share an identical mould with the only difference being Laserbeak has a red body and Buzzsaw a yellow one. Both feature simple moulded tape detailing on one side of their body (though lack the detail of their G1 toy counterparts in the name of cartoon accuracy), and can transform between cassette and robot modes with a few simple steps. Like on the original toy, the thruster parts that sit on their backs are separate pieces that need to be attached after transforming them. Once transformed, the bird-bots feature hinged heads and necks, as well as wings that can swoop forwards and bend at the middle. Overall they’re fun little toys, but truth be told the original G1 toys might still be the gold standard for these characters. They look perfect in both modes (the cassettes looking far “fuller” than the Studio Series versions”, and the angled wings look much better than the Studio Series’ straightened ones. The Studio Series versions are still fun toys in their own right and the fact they transform slightly differently is a novelty, but I didn’t expect them to make me feel quite as nostalgic for the originals.
Ravage is also a bit of a mixed bag. In cassette mode he's far less recognisable as a tape than the birds are (while the spools are moulded in, they're barely visible on the dark grey/black plastic), and the robot mode has its issues as well. Overall it's a step up from the War for Cybertron version in that it's a lot sleeker and more akin to his cartoon model, but the whole backend of the figure (the tail and rockets) are an additional piece that need to be plugged in after transformation. Worst still is that they sit atop the back of his body, throwing the whole thing off as the rockets are supposed to be on either side of his legs. Articulation is pretty good though, with rotating knees, a moveable tail as as well as a ball joint in the middle of the torso that allows you to raise/lower the front section. While the front legs can also rotate, they can only be moved backwards which does limit posing a bit. Whilst I wasn't a hue fan at first, Ravage definitely grew on me the more I messed around with him - the tail section and "cassette" mode are pretty hard to defend though.
Studio Series Soundwave is a really fun figure to figure to play with, and as previously stated undoubtedly the best articulated Soundwave we've gotten at this scale. While certainly not a Leader Class figure in terms of size or complexity, the addition of Buzzsaw, Laserbeak and Ravage definitely help alleviate the cost somewhat. But as great as he is, I'd still struggle to call him perfect. Whilst there isn't anything significantly wrong with the figure, there are instead lots of little inaccuracies here and there that definitely add up when you keep in mind what a straightforward design Soundwave is to begin with. Some of which I fear will be fixed with repaints and/or re-releases somewhere down the line, which I guess is the gamble you have to take nowadays with Transformers figures. The cassettes are also a bit of a curio in that they're good but not a huge step up from versions that have come before. Ultimately though this is Soundwave we're talking about so most Transformers fans are going to have them on their wish list, and it is a very good one at that.
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