We Build the LEGO Transformers: Soundwave, a Beautiful 80s Dream Come True

Getting the accidental to physique this acceptable was the culmination of a batch of puerility wishes, and I'm blessed to accidental the process is simply a bully time. The extremity effect is present the crown jewel of my LEGO collection, adjacent if I've enactment unneurotic different sets that had much surprises and amusive packed inside.

It's benignant of astonishing to maine however Soundwave has withstood the trial of clip truthful well. Soundwave was my archetypal ever Transformer artifact backmost successful 1984 (yes, I americium that old). Everything that makes him awesome is seemingly a merchandise of those heady days of the aboriginal '80s. Portable cassette players were to 1984 what the iPod was to the 2000s, oregon what... well, I don't cognize if there's adjacent a comparable portion of must-have audio exertion successful 2025. The novelty of a portable euphony subordinate arsenic the precocious 1970s moved into the aboriginal 1980s was inactive highly strong.

They weren't conscionable devices for listening to music: they were a manner accessory, a connection connected however chill and young you were. Just look astatine Marty McFly successful Back to the Future. Here we person the coolest dude successful his school, and clipped to his loop is an Aiwa HS-PO2 MkII cassette platform to fto audiences cognize astatine a glimpse "this IS a cool, hep teen of the '80s." That peculiar model, by the way, is highly sought aft present by collectors, acknowledgment successful ample portion to its relation successful Back to the Future, but besides due to the fact that it was a truly saccharine portion deck.

Soundwave was 1 of the archetypal Transformer toys to deed the US, and the insane popularity of the Transformers artifact enactment was likewise a defining inclination of the era. I deliberation this mash-up of bleeding-edge chill is what made Soundwave the implicit coolest. Here was a caller artifact successful the hottest caller kids' artifact enactment that transformed into the hottest teen tech accessory. You had the amusive of a artifact for a 7-year-old kid similar maine mixed with the aspirational teen coolness each kids crave. It besides helped that connected the 22-minute episodic Transformers commercials/animated series, his dependable was heavy filtered done a vocoder.

It's different 1 of those things that is hard to comprehend now, but physics sounds were inactive caller and felt antithetic to the ears. It gave him that other spot of futuristic, robotic oomph that was lightning successful a bottle. Sure, the Autobot communicator Blaster was based connected a full boombox, thing that was besides highly chill and a large portion of the 1980s, but arsenic I mentioned earlier, Autobots are nerds and his dependable was lone mildly filtered done what present sounds similar 1 of those megaphone toys for kids.

As if Soundwave wasn't already chill enough, helium came with a cassette that could besides alteration into a robot. My representation told maine Laserbeak was the pack-in for the original, but a small probe has revealed immoderate flaws successful my callback acknowledgment to the ravages of time, and Buzzsaw was really the archetypal G1 pack-in cassette. In fact, determination was a full slew of Decepticon cassettes that you could bargain and usage with Soundwave, compared to anserine Blaster, who lone had four. Also, the Autobot cassettes were called Recordabots, which is simply a unspeakable name, though "Recordicons" truly isn't overmuch better. Even if you ne'er expanded beyond the pack-in, Soundwave was a fearsome Decepticon who came with an extra, smaller Decepticon packed in. Two transforming robots for the terms of one? Now that's a worth my parents could get behind.

I'm highly blessed to accidental the LEGO Soundwave is each portion arsenic chill arsenic its archetypal G1 toy, with the quality not lone to transform, but with 2 Decepticon Mini-Cassettes by mode of Laserbeak and Ravage. Cooler inactive is the information that each of them are capable to alteration into their alt modes. The summation of a dependable brick, 1 that's activated by Soundwave's Play button, transforms this elite Transformer into a level of chill you conscionable don't find successful the modern era.

When it's each said and done, you person a brace of Decepticon Mini-Cassettes, a afloat functioning Soundwave with the quality to talk and a moving eject fastener for his cassette minions, a tiny brick-built replica Soundwave successful his alt-form implicit with a brace of cassette bricks to lucifer the larger models, and a motion showing disconnected his stats.

That's 1 of the features I emotion the most: they could person enactment thing connected that small sign, but for the Transformers line, they adapted the stats primitively printed connected the backmost of the G1 packaging. Did you cognize Soundwave lone scores a "2" successful speed, but a "10" successful skill? Now you do.

As acold arsenic the process of assembling Soundwave goes, it's a beauteous straightforward build. It doesn't person overmuch successful the mode of Easter eggs. I built the Pac-Man Arcade cabinet, and existent to LEGO's video game-inspired line, there's a truly chill concealed hidden successful its backmost panel. The LEGO Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City acceptable mightiness person been the astir amusive I've ever had putting unneurotic a LEGO set, with hidden secrets and nods to the bid peppered everywhere, to the constituent determination was astir a communicative unfolding portion I built it. Soundwave doesn't spell that deep, unfortunately.

That's not to accidental determination isn't a amusive small hidden gem. The dependable ceramic could person conscionable been a ceramic hidden inside, utilized for immoderate structural enactment oregon conscionable existing connected its own, but it really ends up resembling a 2D approximation of Soundwave's face, thing I emotion and appreciate. They didn't person to bash that, due to the fact that erstwhile you instal the brick, you won't spot it again until you alteration the coin artillery sometime successful the twelvemonth 2040. But they did. And I admit it.

I'm truthful gladsome I was fixed the accidental to physique this kit. Not lone is Soundwave my favourite Transformer, the LEGO Soundwave is present 1 of my favourite LEGO kits. The attraction to detail, the cleverness employed successful its transforming design, the information helium tin freaking talk, this is the worldly 1980s dreams are made of. If you person the means, I highly urge picking 1 up. It's truthful choice.

Seth Macy is Senior Social Commerce Producer, and conscionable wants to beryllium your friend. You tin find him online astatine sethgmacy connected Instagram oregon SethFromMaine connected X.

Originally posted:

Aug 1, 2025 6:07 pm