Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Studio Series Shockwave

Release Date: May 2026

RRP: $42.99/£35.99

Even though the Studio Series (86) line has covered most of the main characters from Transformers: The Movie in the five years since it began, that doesn't mean Hasbro still don't have plenty of releases on hand to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. There are still plenty of characters that played bit parts in the movie to be featured, many of which are fan-favourites from the earlier seasons of the Generation One cartoon. One such example is the Voyager Class Studio Series Shockwave, the loyal Decepticon who remained on Cybertron as the rest travelled to Earth at the beginning of the series. Shockwave only makes three brief appearances in the movie - the beginning to inform Megatron of Laserbeak's return, then during Starscream's coronation and finally alerting the Decepticons of Unicron's attack. Though scripted and storyboarded to die in this scene, it was left out of the final movie - leaving his fate ambiguous despite never being seen in the cartoon again.

Shockwave comes packaged in the updated Studio Series style box that's more closely aligned with the Age of the Primes packaging, with a new slight differences made to mark the 40th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie. The front of the box shows off the figure via its large window section, accompanied by new artwork of the Decepticon in both modes as well as the generic Transformers logo, Studio Series branding and character name. One side of the box continues the same artwork alongside the Transformers: The Movie 40th anniversary logo, whilst the other repeats robot mode art. On the back of the box are images of the figure in both modes, accompanied by a step counter, a small (and incredibly generic) character bio and image from the movie. Inside, the figure and its single accessory are tied down to a cardboard tray.

Studio Series Shockwave is an extensive retool of the War for Cybertron: Siege Leader Class Shockwave figure from 2019, featuring newly sculpted head, torso, arm, and lower leg parts that remove all of the tech detailing to give him a smoother look closer to his cartoon self. The colour scheme has also been revised, featuring brighter colours to again in the name of anime accuracy. The revised head sculpt even has light-piping incorporated into it, allowing that sinister yellow mono-eye to glow when light shines down from above. Overall the changes made give Shockwave a far more cartoon-accurate look, though still not quite 100%. The toy has a rather large grey backpack that's absent on the cartoon model (the piece is removable on the original toy, so it's a shame there isn't an option to do the same here) and the chest piece still has tech detailing behind a purple window rather than an opaque piece. That latter detail does however match up with the original G1 Shockwave toy, and arguably makes for a more interesting look that just a flat window piece. The changes are enough for Shockwave to look great alongside newer Studio Series figures in terms of looks, but when it comes to scaling some fans might be a little disappointed as he's shorter than both Studio Series Soundwave and Megatron. Not so much that you can't mask it in action poses, but enough to make him look a little bit lacking in a basic line-up.

Despite being a seven-year-old figure at this point, the Siege Shockwave mould still proves to be poseable enough to stand toe-to-toe with the current Studio Series and Age of the Primes figures. Altogether he features;

- Ball jointed neck

- Double hinge swivel shoulders

- Single swivel hinge hips

- Hinged elbows, knees and ankles

- Waist, bicep, wrist and thigh swivels

That's just as much as you'd expect to find on a brand new mould at this price point, with Shockwave even having some lovely ratcheting joints for extra stability. Unfortunately the way the shin guards come down over the sides of the feet mean the ankle joints are kind of superfluous, but they are at the very least there. As far as everything else on the figure is concerned, there isn't a whole lot to complain about. The additional vertical movement in the shoulders is mainly there for the transformation, but it does allow you to raise the arms slightly higher than usual. The pipe on the left arm is also long enough to not impact on its movement or be at risk of breakage. Other than maybe somehow also implement butterfly movement into the shoulders, it's hard to see what a new Shockwave mould could do any differently.

Shockwave includes a single accessory - a blaster which closely resembles his G1 alt mode. As well as being a nod to this form that Hasbro no longer allows him to take in toy-form, it also references a scene in "Desertion of the Dinobots (Part 1)" where he wields a tiny version of himself in battle. This accessory was not included with any previous version of the Siege Shockwave mould, making it wholly unique to the Studio Series edition. Despite being completely moulded in purple plastic and lacking any detailed moulded or paint apps, it's nevertheless immediately recognisable as his original alt mode. It can be comfortably wielded in Shockwave's right hand, or stored in his back (behind the back pack piece) when not in use. It's a simple accessory, but a nice reference to the cartoon.

With gun alt modes (whether they be realistic guns like Megatron or sci-fi blasters unlikely to be mistook for the real thing like Shockwave) a complete no-no from Hasbro, Shockwave now transforms into a futuristic alien spaceship which bares some resemblance to that original gun mode. As well as the front section of the ship now being cast in grey to closer resemble his cartoon colour palette, the Studio Series version also has a newly moulded bridge section that lacks the mono-eye faux-head sculpt of the Siege version. It's a solid enough spaceship design, but without all the extra parts that came with the Siege version to bulk it up there isn't a whole lot to say about it. What's more interesting however is the alternate configuration pictured in the instructions. By flipping the ship upside down and folding the bridge section back, you get a second configuration that resembles that original gun mode even more. And that's where the designers' sneakiness come back into play - flip that bridge section back into the earlier configuration (with the grey sidepieces remaining down) and you have something that's pretty damn close to Shockwave's gun mode without actually directly being his gun mode. Just because Hasbro don't advertise this figure as having the gun mode, it doesn't mean that it's not actually there. Sure the grip section is a little different and it lacks the sight piece at the back, but it's a very creative workaround which was clearly in mind when designing the spaceship mode. The spaceship mode looks good, but the "gun" mode works even better - the colour layout almost perfectly matching both the original toy and cartoon model.

With the Studio Series version lacking all those extra parts which bumped the original Siege version up into Leader Class territory, Shockwave's alt modes (whichever you decide to display it in) don't have much in the way of features or gimmicks. There's a couple of 5mm ports on the sides (both at the front and back) that you can plug some effects into, but there isn't even a straightforward port on the bottom to plug a display stand into. That isn't to say Studio Series Shockwave is completely bereft of gimmicks though - you just have to partner the figure up with someone. The instructions also make reference to another variation on his alt mode - this time reconfiguring the ship mode into a shoulder cannon for Age of the Primes Bruticus. As I don't own a complete set of the Combaticons yet I've omitted pictures of that mode in the review, but will be covering it later when I have assembled Bruticus - just watch this space. The shoulder cannon works as a partial reference to the episode "The Revenge of Bruticus", where the combiner wielded Shockwave in his blaster mode. It isn't quite the same, but it's a fun bit of cross-compatibility that could have just as easily been left out.

Studio Series Shockwave is a figure where your overall enjoyment may depend on your previous experience with any of the previous versions of the figure (Siege, Comic Edition and Dramatic Capture) released. The retooling done to the figure to bring it closer to a screen-accurate look that'll sit comfortably alongside newly created Studio Series figures is fantastic, while the mould itself is also poseable enough to square up with them. The alt mode situation is unfortunate for G1 purists, but the ship mode itself is a great compromise - especially with the way it can be reconfigured into that un-advertised gun mode. That said, the frustration levied at essentially buying the same figure again is fair - particularly as due to inflation you're getting less bang for your buck. The smaller size in comparison to some of the other Decepticons is also reasonable, though if Hasbro were to upscale Shockwave he probably wouldn't fit into the Voyager Class bracket anymore. As my first experience with the mould I'm having a blast with him, but if you're someone who's picked up any of those earlier versions I can understand if you're perhaps a little more apprehensive about picking him up at full price.