Cold, brutal, scientific approach to war. Seeks to overthrow Megatron as leader of Decepticons because he believes logic says he would be better. As laser gun, can emit lethal beams of energy from anywhere on the electomagnetic spectrum: gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, infrared rays, radio waves, etc.. Flies in laser gun or robot Mode. High fuel use, but can be powered by nuclear sources. Often confounded by initiave, emotional thinking.
First/Last Comic Appearance (UK) - Issue 59, May 3rd 1986 / Isue 286, September 8th 1990
First/Last Cartoon Appearance - Episode 1 (Season 1 #1), September 17th 1984 / The Transformers: The Movie, August 8th 1986
Figure Details
Manufacturer - Hasbro
Toyline - Energon
AKA 'Shockblast'
Additions/Mods:
- Custom repaint of Energon Shockblast, with replacement arms from Universe Dropshot, hose and weapon added.
- Added a Decepticon symbol to the shoulder
Review
Shockwave was one of my favourite characters due mainly to his portrayal in the comics, where he played a cool, logical yin to
Megatron's impulsive and despotic yang. His original toy was immense, transforming into a huge space cannon. Partially because of his calculating nature, and also due to his single, inscrutable eye, Shockwave was one of
the classic vilains. Hasbro have recently homaged him with a new figure which ties in with the forthcoming '
Fall Of Cybertron' game. But I found him to be too small and insubstantial for someone who could stand toe-to-toe with Voyager Megatron (or even Deluxe Megatron!) So I decided to go down the well-trodden path of splicing
Energon Shockblast with
Universe Dropshot, with mixed results...
Appearance (Robot Mode) 8/10
Well this one didn't quite work out as planned. It is difficult to mix paint to be the same colour as existing plastic (I didn't want to repaint the whole figure) and under normal light the paint I have added matches the purple of the original toy. However, under the bright colour temperature of a flash, the areas I have painted show up blue, and clash badly with the existing colours. Oh well. Aside from my dubious paintjob, Energon Shockblast was always about three quarters of a very decent Shockwave homage, apart from the arms. I replaced these with Universe Dropshot and the cannon and some panels were also fashioned from the same figure. Height-wise, this figure is slightly taller than Classics Megatron, which is really the main draw of this figure. It is also bulky. The feet are rather large for my tastes but this aside I think the whole figure is really great, and it's just a shame that the original arms were so odd.
Appearance (Alternate Mode) 7/10
This is technically a triple changer, with a Satellite mode which resembles a robot with its arms splayed out, and some sort of tank/train whcih also resembles a robot with its arms splayed out. I might mess around and see if there is any gun mode which can be constructed from it. To be fair, the tank type vehicle isn't too bad, and kind of passes as a decent alt mode if you squint a bit. It's just a shame that this wasn't a gun in the first place.
Transformation 7/10
Transforming into tank mode is pretty straightforward. First, you pose the upper torso to resemble Usain Bolt, in that you turn the head to the left and kind of 'hide' it in the nook of the shoulder, then point the gun arm skywards. The chest area swivels and the waist snaps down, and you have to do some jiggery pokery with a few hinges in this area. The legs are stuck together by tilting and pivoting the feet, and slotting them in place. I am happy that with this transformation there isn't much scope for my dodgy paintjob to rub off.
Poseability 9/10
The head can tilt up and down and also has neck swivel, there is also waist swivel and another swivel just under the chest, this is used in transformation but can be used here to make some more dynamic poses. The shoulders are ratcheted for up and down movement and they also have side to side movement, with the left shoulder being ratcheted. There is bicep swivel and elbow joints. The one fist can be folded back up in to the arm but that's it - no swivel. The hips also have up/down and side to side ratcheted joints, with thigh swivel just above the knee, and knee joints. The feet are very versatile; they have ankle pivot and tilt, and also they can be 'scissored' together or further apart. They are also huge, and really lend themselves to some terriffic poses!
Quality 8/10
generally this figure has a lovely solid 'old skool' feel to it, at odds with more recent HasTak releases. There's certainly no sense that plastic is being scrimped on here. The joint at the waist which is used for transformation is fairly 'floppy' though, held together by friction and a single pin. I don't think that this joint would ever fail, but I do believe that this joint could become looser with extended use.
Overall - 39/50
I would recommend that people try this custom out for themselves, that is until either Hasbro or a third party get their acts together and come up with a more viable option. I own the Fall Of Cybertron figure, and while it is a nice piece, it appears to have been severely affected by the dwindling economy, as have most recent figures. Modern moulds are just far too adherent to saving plastic and unfortunately this really shows when you have a 'classics' toyline which started when the economy was in better shape. I think I may try to repaint this figure again if I ever have the time and the inclanation, than maybe I will score myself a bit higher!
