Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[william-james88]

Fellow seibertronian Lost Cybertronian has shown us this cool new product from Hasbro and Xiaomi. It's a new licensed Soundwave Transformer that tuns into a Mi Pad 2. This takes about 30 steps to transform (though partsforming is involved). The entire transformation can be seen in this video.

Below is a video introducing the product as well as some images. Enjoy!

[Gauntlet101010]

Woo, nice! I wonder if they'll do one in blue. I also wonder if it'll be voyager sized. It looks bigger than a regular deluxe, but it's hard to tell.

[william-james88]

Woo, nice! I wonder if they'll do one in blue. I also wonder if it'll be voyager sized. It looks bigger than a regular deluxe, but it's hard to tell.

One of the videos in the article has him next to MP-10, so check it out.

[joevill]

This looks awesome! I want it!!!

[Sigma Magnus]

Wow. I never expected that they could make a working Transformer from an iPad (I know, it's not an actual iPad, but you get the idea). I wish the back was cleaner, but there isn't much you could do without partsforming. I might have to get this...

[Sabrblade]

The bit I find the most interesting about this is that it's being initiated by Hasbro instead of Takara when Takara is the one who previously did the Music Label, Device Label, Mega Drive Megatron, and PlayStation Optimus Prime toys.

[Ravage XK]

Soundwave still transforms into a box, albeit a very flat one.

Its interesting but the robot is really messy and quite ugly.

[Shuttershock]

Soundwave still transforms into a box, albeit a very flat one.

Its interesting but the robot is really messy and quite ugly.

Yeah, I have to agree. Might just be the color choice, but nothing about it really says 'Soundwave' to me. Maybe Movie Soundwave at a stretch.

Looks like that Year of the Goat Soundwave.

[william-james88]

Soundwave still transforms into a box, albeit a very flat one.

Its interesting but the robot is really messy and quite ugly.

Yeah, I have to agree. Might just be the color choice, but nothing about it really says 'Soundwave' to me. Maybe Movie Soundwave at a stretch.

Looks like that Year of the Goat Soundwave.

Looking at the video, the name soundwave is almost arbitrary. They didnt design the toy with soundwave in mind. The name came after when they were wondering what the most bankable name to sell this communication tech device themed toy would be.

The bit I find the most interesting about this is that it's being initiated by Hasbro instead of Takara when Takara is the one who previously did the Music Label, Device Label, Mega Drive Megatron, and PlayStation Optimus Prime toys.

It is weird, and it makes this an official toy that Takara has not engineered, which is quite rare.

[Kyleor]

It has more of a Prowl/Megatron look (if it had a different head) but it looks pretty awesome overall.

[Randomhero]

Soundwave still transforms into a box, albeit a very flat one.

Its interesting but the robot is really messy and quite ugly.

Yeah, I have to agree. Might just be the color choice, but nothing about it really says 'Soundwave' to me. Maybe Movie Soundwave at a stretch.

Looks like that Year of the Goat Soundwave.

Looking at the video, the name soundwave is almost arbitrary. They didnt design the toy with soundwave in mind. The name came after when they were wondering what the most bankable name to sell this communication tech device themed toy would be.

The bit I find the most interesting about this is that it's being initiated by Hasbro instead of Takara when Takara is the one who previously did the Music Label, Device Label, Mega Drive Megatron, and PlayStation Optimus Prime toys.

It is weird, and it makes this an official toy that Takara has not engineered, which is quite rare.

You'd be surprised. A lot transformers are not hasbro engineered. Combiner wars, a lot of generations and and RID and the movie stuff are engineered at hasbro. Some are done with Takara but lately it's been a lot of Hasbro

[shajaki]

Dang. I thought it was functional.

[william-james88]

You'd be surprised. A lot transformers are not hasbro engineered. Combiner wars, a lot of generations and and RID and the movie stuff are engineered at hasbro. Some are done with Takara but lately it's been a lot of Hasbro

Firstly, your sentences are saying 2 very different things, you maybe out a "not" in the wrong place.
Regardless Takara engineers all Hasbro TF products for the lines you mentioned. This one here is a rare exception. Please show me where you get your info.

Here is an exerpt from a takara engineer about the RID line (which they call "Transformers Advenure):

The Transformers Adventure series came right after the development of the Movie Advanved series (Age of Extinction) and uses a lot of technologies developed during that previous line, as can be seen with TAV 01 Bumblebee. One of the main struggles of the "Advanced Series" was to replicate the rapidity of the transformation seen in the films and thus needing to reduce the amount of steps from one mode to the next while still getting the right look in both modes. We wanted to go back to the G1 era where kids from 30 years ago were fascinated with these toys and the fact that they converted from one mode to the next quickly made for easy play. We wanted to incorporate that speedy transformation and instant playability with the technology we developed in all these years since.

There are a ton of other statements like this on their site detailing the engineering process.

[Microraptor]

YES! Real Gear returns!

[Randomhero]

You'd be surprised. A lot transformers are not hasbro engineered. Combiner wars, a lot of generations and and RID and the movie stuff are engineered at hasbro. Some are done with Takara but lately it's been a lot of Hasbro

Firstly, your sentences are saying 2 very different things, you maybe out a "not" in the wrong place.
Regardless Takara engineers all Hasbro TF products for the lines you mentioned. This one here is a rare exception. Please show me where you get your info.

Here is an exerpt from a takara engineer about the RID line (which they call "Transformers Advenure):

The Transformers Adventure series came right after the development of the Movie Advanved series (Age of Extinction) and uses a lot of technologies developed during that previous line, as can be seen with TAV 01 Bumblebee. One of the main struggles of the "Advanced Series" was to replicate the rapidity of the transformation seen in the films and thus needing to reduce the amount of steps from one mode to the next while still getting the right look in both modes. We wanted to go back to the G1 era where kids from 30 years ago were fascinated with these toys and the fact that they converted from one mode to the next quickly made for easy play. We wanted to incorporate that speedy transformation and instant playability with the technology we developed in all these years since.

There are a ton of other statements like this on their site detailing the engineering process.

I apologize, I meant to say a lot are engineered by hasbro. And there are. Just look up on the tfwiki and you'll see a lot of hasbro enployees designed a lot of figures. Almost all of animated was designed by hasbros team and there are videos all over online with interviews of hasbro employees and the figures they've been credited. There is even an entire bonus segment on Age of Extinction and Harris design team creating a grimlock figure. Yes, Takara does do designs too but they are not the soul designers of Tranformers.

[Sabrblade]

I apologize, I meant to say a lot are engineered by hasbro. And there are. Just look up on the tfwiki and you'll see a lot of hasbro enployees designed a lot of figures. Almost all of animated was designed by hasbros team and there are videos all over online with interviews of hasbro employees and the figures they've been credited. There is even an entire bonus segment on Age of Extinction and Harris design team creating a grimlock figure. Yes, Takara does do designs too but they are not the soul designers of Tranformers.

Designing =/= engineering. The typical formula for TF toys is that Hasbro designs the toys while Takara engineers them. In the case of this Soundwave, however, Hasbro engineered it instead of Takara. That's what's unusual about it.

[william-james88]

I apologize, I meant to say a lot are engineered by hasbro. And there are. Just look up on the tfwiki and you'll see a lot of hasbro enployees designed a lot of figures. Almost all of animated was designed by hasbros team and there are videos all over online with interviews of hasbro employees and the figures they've been credited. There is even an entire bonus segment on Age of Extinction and Harris design team creating a grimlock figure. Yes, Takara does do designs too but they are not the soul designers of Tranformers.

You are confusing design and engineering. Ever since Beast Wars, Hasbro has designed the majority of their transformers. But, they then send the designs of the bot and alt modes and Takara figures out the engineering on how to get from one mode to the other. Both companies have desingers, Hasbro is about how the figure looks and Takara is about the engineering for how it transforms. Takara has engineered the transformation for absolutely every single RID and Gnerations toy of last year, no question, even the 3 step RID toys.

So now knowing this, you may udnerstand what I was saying all along:

It is odd to see that for this Mi Pad Soundwave, the engineering was handled by hasbro and not Takara.

[Noideaforaname]

This is refreshingly Movieverse, in a way. A loose reimagining of a classic character based more on the concept than anything, a complex transformation, fresh design ideas we haven't really seen before... an alt mode with a lot of panel lines...

Still, after feeling like the brand's stagnating on its own self-references, this is a nice little change of pace. Would be cool to see it get a release over here, too.

[Emerje]

It looks remarkably like the same engineering used to make Mega Drive Megatron and Playstation Prime. Kinda want one in blue to go with MD Megatron now.

Do we really consider the backpack, gun, and shield as parts forming? Just seems like removable accessories integrated into the alt mode like we've seen since Beast Wars. Without those three parts we still have a full robot. And is it just me or does that backpack resemble Laserbeak? I wonder if that was scrapped from the original design?

Too bad it's being made for Chinese crowd funding, it's going to be tricky to get one of these cheap if at all.

Emerje

[Gauntlet101010]

On this guy not really looking much like Soundwave: I agree he doesn't so much. He looks about as much like Soundwave as the Alternity Seekers look like the Seekers.

IMO, a lot of that would be fixed if he were metallic blue. The combination of metallic blue with that black chestplate would do a lot to make him feel like Soundwave.

[Fires_Of_Inferno]

That is nice. I might want me one of those. The only thing I would complain about is the screen should be glossy, but eh, it's not a must. It looks pretty sweet still.

EDIT: Actually watching the video and not just looking at the pictures, I'm now happy. The screen is glossy as it can be! Me wants!

[Unicron Magnus]

Hope we see some Micro USB or SD Card cassettes.

[triKlops]

I fi can get this guy somewhat close to the 20 price point, i am in.
But if the middle men jack up the price too much, it will be a reluctant pass.

[Optimum Supreme]

The screen's all cracked!

[Whifflefire]

This looks interesting, I may try and get my hands on this if I see it. I don't know if I'd call it Soundwave though. I can see some semblance in the headsculpt, but the overall design is brand new, they could've taken the opportunity to make a brand new character.