Looks like the series name change did not change Takara Tomy’s love to put lipstick on a pig. You’d think that giving a 4-year-old mold a new coat of colors is bad, well, wait till you hear that the Transformers Masterpiece Soundwave is making a comeback—after 12-freaking years. To be fair, I cannot tell for sure if the just-revealed Takara Tomy Transformers MPG-19 Soundwave is 100% the old mold.
I sold mine a while back, so my memories of the original Masterpiece toy are a little blurry now, but the ugly side piece on the legs, the shoulder details, and more do point to the good old MP-13. But it is not all hate from me. The Takara Tomy Transformers MPG-19 Soundwave does feel like Takara Tomy is trying to make the wrong right.
It is kind of like what they did with MP-52 for Starscream, which is superior in many ways compared to the original toy. Granted, MP-52 was an entirely new design. Anyhoo, in this instance, it is my poison: a toon-accurate redeco.
So, yeah, the infamous Decepticon Intelligence Officer is making a return. I guess it presents an opportunity for fans who missed it more than a decade ago. It is also a chance for toon-purists to make right their collection.
As with the original Masterpiece toy and in the cartoon series, Megatron’s trusted right-hand Decepticon transforms into a cassette tape player. It is not clear if it can pull off the lamp post disguise as seen in one episode of the cartoon.
The MPG-19 Soundwave is accompanied by Cassettebot Air Assault Soldier “Condor” (a.k.a. Laserbeak, a.k.a. the snitch in the sky)—also in toon-accurate colors. Like the original, his trusty robot bird can perch on either of his forearms or on the left shoulder.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that it has updated how the bird attaches to the arm or shoulder. It is still the same tab (transparent in the case of the forearms) route. Meanwhile, in the third-party scene, they have already used magnets to allow the robot bird to attach to the forearm of Soundwave. Just saying…
In addition to one Cassettebot, the figure is supplied with his trusty battery/blaster gun, a sensor attachment (now presented in blue), a cassette tape case in transparent pink, and a display panel for Soundwave’s chest, along with two display sheets.
Like the original, you can attach the included Energon cube to Soundwave’s chest just like in the cartoon. However, this time, in addition to the clear Energon cube, you will get a purple version. Rounding up the package are collector’s cards for both Soundwave and Condor.
This upcoming Transformers MPG figure was revealed at the recent T-SPARK LIVE livestream on YouTube. The final price has not been disclosed. However, we should know soon enough once pre-orders start on October 08, 2025.
Images: Takara Tomy [JP].
