17 June 2011

The Decepticon Communicators - D-17: Soundwave MIB and D-101: Soundblaster MIB

I want to fully show these 2 very nice acquisitions for E here, which I sneak-previewed here.

However, this time, I'm going to break with tradition and say as little as possible in favour of letting one of my buddies at OZ Formers do the talking and the describing - which I should say, he always does very well and in wonderful detail on the forums.

D-17: Soundwave & Rumble MIB


D-101: Soundblaster & Buzzsaw MIB

Soundwave and Soundblaster together

Description by Hursticon of OZ Formers:

"Yep... There goes another keyboard.

E is a very lucky woman and the both of you are very lucky to have such incredibly awesome Gems!

For one, the Box-art is in thoroughly pristine condition and reflects the stunning efforts that Hasbro and Takara put into it's packaging some 25+ years ago.
The boxes look to be in splendid condition too as it's great to see that the Techspecs and Robot Points are present but also that there is very minimal to no warping at all and that the plastic of the window hasn't lifted away from the cardboard.

Those foam inserts are in delicious condition too as it looks like there are no scratches, dings, dints, slices or chunks taken out of them, which adds to the truly factory fresh appearance of both packages in their entirety.

It's truly inspiring to see both Soundwave and Soundblaster displayed like that in their foam inserts as I've often wondered what their layout was like and I must say that it looks really cool to see Soundwave complete with all of his intended accessories; Weapon/Batteries, Microphone and Headphones.
As superfluous as they may of been to a Western Market with regards to his Robot Mode - I believe they go quite a long way in creating the proper look, feel and presence that was intended for his Alt mode, as it clearly succeeds in deceiving Spike Witwicky on a number of occasions.

The bots themselves look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, save for an odd faction sticker placement , with both Rumble and Buzzsaw having yummy chrome and sticker conditions but Soundwave and Soundblaster is where all the fun is!

I'd also like to mention how incredibly alike the pair are when looking at them face-on, apart from the colour of the plastics being different, initial glances would suggest that they are exactly the same but upon closer inspection, the subtle differences are more apparent; such as the solidly-molded buttons on Soundblaster and the modified, dual storage tape deck he also has.

It's interesting to see this pair not following the usual trend of having the Battery stickers placed on the legs too, which I know is not where they're supposed to go, and whilst it's unfortunate that a single missile has been clipped from Soundblaster's sprue, I think you've found a highly, highly desirable pair of MIB Decepticons HD."

Thanks Hursti for the very detailed write up cum review!

More photos of the 'cons here...

D-17: Soundwave MIB










D-101: Soundblaster MIB










6 comments:

  1. I been hunting for those two boxes forever. It's hard finding them in good condition and for a fair price. Either that or I'm just too damn cheap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, its difficult to find them in box. But I think the prices may come down since the Encore reissues are about to hit the stands.

      Delete
  2. Wow HD, I don't know what to say man...

    I'm honoured that you thought so highly of my observations, I hope your readers enjoy it as much as yourself because I thoroughly enjoyed visually eating those photos. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I spent a lot of time to find two perfect specimens of these fantastic toys, so I know how big is the satisfaction to display both SW and SB close one beside the other in such wonderful conditions :)
    Soundwave is the regoular hasbro version, note that -in japanese market only- you can find the "deck modified" version as well, identical to the Soundblaster deck. There are also two different version of the instruction booklet, seems you have the standard "rumble pictured" version. Japanese G1 toy universe is a little tricky under this side ;)
    Congratulations again, a very nice purchase ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Puffmarko! I know I can always trust you to discern the differences and variations in releases.

    Are you saying that the 'correct' SW that should be in the box should be the Japanese deck-modified version or did they release both versions in the 17-Soundwave box?

    Would love to know what's the other version of the instruction book?

    ReplyDelete

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