Threezero DLX Soundwave and Ravage

Seems to be forever since Threezero released the DLX Soundwave and Ravage from the Bumblebee movie. I think the first early batch came out around September 2020, and similar to their previous Optimus and Bumblebee figures, they released them in stages. BBTS finally got their batch and it's definitely worth the wait!

Click the link below to watch my full video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel.

Packaging and contents are pretty much on par with their previous DLX releases. The stand is pretty useless, but I guess a decent option if you really want the figure in some sort of jumping pose. In any other pose, the figure's articulation and strong joints allows it to stand on its own very well.

The hands are well sculpted and painted, but I noticed that they are the exact same sculpt as for the Optimus figure. I think this is contributing to it looking like it has really small hands, particularly with the fists. It's not so obvious with the action hands, but still a bit of a disappointing shortcut taken by Threezero on this aspect.

I read that the underlying body structure also reuses that from Optimus, but I would never have known without reading that. If true, I think the only issue is that it makes the figure seem almost too big in comparison, like it's slightly overscaled compared to Optimus. As a stand alone figure, it looks amazing, but side by side with Optimus it feels strange for Soundwave to look so much more like a beast than Optimus.

Thankfully everything else about the figure is pretty damn awesome. The highlights for me, like with the other DLX figures, is the incredible attention to detail in the sculpting and paint application. I can't think of any other toy manufacturer that does metal weathering as beautifully realistic and detailed like Threezero.

Most panels are plastic, but you'd never know with everything looking like it's worn and battle damaged metal. Even the rubber panels along the sides of the torso look seamless with the metallic look with the surrounding plastic.

The use of diecast is strategic for strength, such as the shoulder cannon joint, and areas of the hips, knees, and ankle. It all makes for a perfectly balanced figure that has the style and weight expected for a figure in this scale and price point.

I haven't compared the figure in detail with movie screenshots to see how accurate it is, but I doubt many will find too many faults. No matter which direction you look a the figure, there's just so much detail to take in. I love how they've maintained the design where using the articulation reveals more detail, such as in the torso ab-crunch revealing spine detail, the shoulder butterfly revealing more upper back detail, and the knees having that silky smooth integrated movement with the thigh panels.

I would still love more ankle tilt and rocking motion, but there's enough there to allow flat footed poses in wider action stances. The way the panels can be moved out of the way to give more range of motion in the shoulders and hips is great too, allowing some very nice crouching poses with Ravage.

Ravage comes out of the box all folded up ready to be placed into Soundwave's chest. It's a nice enough option, but I think most collectors will have Ravage displayed ready to pounce in front of Soundwave. The transformation is fairly straightforward, but I definitely recommend following the instructions or detailed YouTube videos.

There are aspects of the rear hip joints that need some careful attention to rotate the joint correctly. Also The extension of the leg panels can be tight on first attempt, but go easy and you should not have any issues with breakages.

Once transformed into the animal (looks more wolf than jaguar!) mode, the articulation in the legs is just enough to get it into some decent stalking poses. I wish there was more lateral movement in the neck area to get it looking slightly sideways, but overall it looks pretty nice. Again, the amazing weathered paint application takes the sculpt to the next level.

I think the designs of these characters from the Bumblebee movie really were the representations that G1 fans have always wanted. They have the new modern detailed aesthetic, but have enough homages to the original G1 cartoon versions for fans to have that immediate connection. Soundwave's design is a little stranger, with some wide hips that are a little awkward. But side by side with the MP figure, I just love how both remind me of my childhood, but make me excited about what could happen in the future.

It's a real shame for me that Threezero seem to have moved on from the Bumblebee movie in this DLX series. Their focus now seems to be other source material, such as the IDW comics. I was really hoping that they would at least make three or four more characters from the opening scene, such as Brawn, Wheeljack, Shockwave, and Starscream. That would've been perfect, whereas now the three that I have seem a little incomplete.

Either way, these are fantastic figures in and of themselves, and display beautifully in the collection. I'm sure new and old fans will love these figures when added to the collection.

ThreeA DLX Scale Bumblebee

I wasn't a huge fan of the recent Bumblebee movie, so steered away from getting figures from the movie. However, quite a few collector friends contacted me about this ThreeA DLX scale Bumblebee figure, which they said was a fantastic figure.

After seeing some pose photos and more messages from friends, I decided to take the plunge and check out what all the fuss was about. And I am so glad that I did! This is my first ThreeA figure, and it definitely won't be my last! It truly is an incredible figure!

Click through below to check out my video review over on the Kool Kollectibles YouTube channel. Hope you can give the video a thumbsup and subscribe too! Read on below for more of my thoughts.

The set doesn't come with a huge amount of accessories, and more swap out weapons like his sword type hand would've been nice. But what you do get is of high quality. The swap out forearm with his arm cannon is very nicely detailed. I love how you can see the fingers in their transformed position along the front barrel.

The paint app and sculpting detail on the hands are superb. I just wish they gave a few more expressive hands, or even made the fingers movable! The swap out head sculpt is also good, with the battle mask a nice alternative. One thing I did notice was that the Autobot insignia on both head sculpts was very clean, unlike the dirty wash that was on early photos. It would seem like the early batch of figures had a much dirtier wash on them, whereas more recent batches like mine are much cleaner.

Either way, the paint app on this figure is amazing! The dirt wash is realistically applied, and I would've preferred it even more dirty. I ended up using my kids' black art pencil to draw and smear on some additional weathering. It gives the figure such a realistic worn style. The yellow is a nice hue in hand, and the silver and grey areas have a nice rusted appearance too.

I went with the smaller doors on his back, which I think is more accurate to the movie. The larger doors can be used to give him more of a Bayformers look I believe. I love that the overall design of this Bumblebee is much more akin to the G1 character, rather than the overly busy design of the Bayformers version.

Where this figure really shines is the articulation and build quality. The heft on this thing is significant, and you feel it as soon as you lift it out of the box. They have used diecast in all the right places, designing it for stability in almost any pose.

The joints, while quite tight the first time you move them, never feel like they're going to break. The articulation is incredible, with subtle movement in places you only expect from larger or more expensive figures. The knees in particular are a joy to move, with pistons that move seamlessly with the rest of the leg to give incredible motion in the knee.

You do need to be careful adusting the position of certain plates and panels as they move, but it's all quite intuitive and never too delicate that you're afraid to move it.

Since it's a non-transforming figure, they're able to include all the details that you see in the movie representation. No compromises need to be made to allow the transformation, and in this figure I am glad they went with that approach.

There's just so much detail to take in on the figure. Minute details in the sculpt and paint app are apparently on the front as well as the rear. This figure looks senstational from every angle, unlike transforming figures that almost always only look good from certain angles.

I wasn't a huge fan of this recent Bumblebee movie. I loved the character designs and the throwbacks to the 80s, but the overall story was a little too cheesy for me. I wasn't even planning on getting this figure, but am I so glad I did! It's right up there with some of the best Transformers figures I have in the collection. I am definitely looking forward to getting the upcoming Optimus Prime. If they decide to make the Soundwave, Shockwave, and Seekers, I would definitely get them too! Highly recommended!

Here's the figure alongside my other TF Masterpiece Bumblebee figures. A great addition to any Transformers collection!