It feels like Transformers fans grousing about rising prices, and shrinking figures has happened about once a month since, like, 2010. And to be fair, there’s definitely been some awkward transitional points in the franchise where budgets collided in off-putting ways, but generally, I think it’s really overstated, and we’re in a good place in 2021. Still, there’s an inherent resistance to budget items, not helped by the current line of cheaper, market-six figures, called Authentics, looking kind of hit-and-miss. But they’re just the latest of a few different attempts over the years to produce a cheaper sideline of figures, and the Cyber Series, which loosely ran from 2015-2018, is probably the most interesting, and most successful example.
Cyber Battallion Optimus Prime, from the hard-to-find first series.
The Cyber Series has kind of a weird history. It wasn’t originally intended for either North American or Japanese release, but was developed specifically to sell in Asia and Latin America, with the first series only being released there. The second and third waves, though, did actually make it to this continent, and in Canada, were carried by Walmart.
Cyber Battalion Prowl, who actually did make it here.
So, what was the Cyber Series? It consisted of a bunch of the main Cyber Battalion figures, and a pair of larger Cyber Commander figures. Here was the big idea: At the time, the Cyber Battalion figures that Walmart carried each cost as much as a standard Generations Deluxe, but were much larger, slightly bigger than most Voyagers, even. They accomplished this by being very simple, which meant they lacked a lot of articulation, had a lot of hollow parts, and had simple transformations. But they caught people’s eyes, largely since they were actually well-sculpted and well-painted, which is likely why they belatedly made it to Canadian shores (a shame we skipped that first series of A-listers).
Out of what came out here, Shockwave’s the one most people seemed to want, including myself. Honestly, I was never much of a Shockwave guy. I didn’t read Marvel growing up, so the cold Decepticon usurper wasn’t a thing with me, and IDW’s crazy master manipulator didn’t really strike a chord, largely thanks to that whole comic being a bit too much of a tangled knot to appreciate. But I did remember the staunch, Cybertron-bound loyalist from the G1 cartoon, and wanted one to hang out with the rest of the Decepticon High Command. At the time, I was dissatisfied with the then-recently-released Siege version, as I discussed on Friday, considering him to not have enough for the price, and so here was a figure that did the exact opposite. So, let’s have a look at this unusual sample from an unusual toyline.
Robot Mode
Toe to tip, that’s the guy.
One reason this particular Battalion figure was popular is undoubtedly his design. Most of the Battalion figures were new spins on each character’s design in one way or another, but Shockwave, instead, has a sculpt that’s really staunchly Sunbow-Cartoon-Shockwave.
An eye so brightly-colored, it reflects on his chest.
Which, fair, because Shockwave always did have a really nice, retro-robot design. That hexagonal cyclops face with its two antennae and single, glowing eye, that giant chest, that gun-arm, it’s all iconic, and it’s all replicated here dead-on. But on top of that, he’s also covered in a lot of tiny cartoon-specific details, like his little abdomen grill, and the little scoop beneath his chest. His legs are a tiny bit different, and they’ve added a little surface sculpting here and there, but generally, he’s extremely close. He’s also the size of a meaty Voyager-class generations figure, and so he scales well with Siege and/or Earthrise Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave, which is the biggest reason to own him.
This, right here, is what it’s all about.
See, that’s what separated these Cyber Series guys from later efforts like the Authentics. There was a focus on making sure the sculpting was really, really good, and the same goes for the paintwork and colors.
A typical Tuesday on Shockwave-run Cybertron.
Shockwave’s actually got a ton of color on him, too. No paint apps seem to be spared. He’s mostly purple and silvery-grey, but there’ multiple shades of both colors on him, both painted and unpainted. And, of course, he’s got the appropriate black void with a single yellow dot for his face (as well as a bit of yellow on the scoop beneath his chest). Speaking of that scoop, that’s just one of many details on him that actually have more color than his G1 Cartoon animation model did. Broadly, they seemed to be aiming for a more toy-style over show-style set of colors, though the only big difference here is that he has a Decepticon logo at his collar, instead of a pair on his arms.
And on every Wednesday, he fails to stop yet another group of Autobots from using the Spacebridge.
So, since no expense was spared in sculpting and colors, the budget-cutting was all in materials and construction. Shockwave’s largely composed of that shinier, Prime-Wars era plastic, and a lot of it feels semi-flexible, especially on his extremities, like his gun-hand. But importantly, it doesn’t feel flimsy. If I squeeze him, his plastic flexes a bit, but doesn’t feel breakable, and he feels like he could be safely chucked against a wall with no issues.
This angle reveals at least one of the budget cuts.
He does have a lot of hollow parts, too, to account for that budget, mostly from the back. Most obviously, his lower legs are totally hollow, but there’s also visible gaps in his upper legs and forearms. Like it or not, this is how they made him big and cheap, without sacrificing sculpt or paint.
This is about as dynamic as he gets.
The other main bit of budget-cutting, and the one on a lot of collector’s minds, is articulation. So, let’s cover him, bottom to top: His toes move, due to transformation. His knees, however, cannot bend. They can just swivel sideways. He does have full, double-jointed hips, but no waist. Up top, he’s got a swiveling head. Surprisingly, his arms are pretty decent. He’s got full double- jointed shoulders, and a swiveling elbow joint. Honestly, the only thing he’s really missing is knees, which are, admittedly, a bit of a bummer, and really limit his posing. Still, he stands there pretty well, can do a lot with his arms, and can easily look imposing.
Well, maybe not all the time.
As was usually the case for this line, Shockwave’s got no accessories or gimmicks, but his non-gun-arm’s the right size to accommodate modern War for Cybertron weapons, so you can arm him a bit more, if you want.
That One Animation Error Dot Jaypeg.
That, and his gun arm’s the right size to hold certain blast effects.
Too bad he can’t aim for scrap.
Transformation
Shockwave’s transformation is fairly involved, but clear enough that I was able to remember it from squinting at photos.
Halfway there, you reach the Beast Machines Vehicon mode.
Basically, you unfold his wings, lie him on his back, fuse his feet, fold his torso up, pull his arms back, and adjust the fine details. Bizarrely, you sway his head out for….another head, but I’ll get into that below.
Vehicle Mode
Unfortunately, Shockwave can’t be a gun anymore due to safety laws, even if it’s a purple space gun. So, this figure goes with the typical solution of most modern Shockwaves, and changes him into a spaceship. That being said, it’s definitely meant to evoke his gun mode, what with the giant barrel in front, that even has the front end sculpted like the end of his classic altmode.
Members of the “changed the altmode to suit the times” club.
But unlike Siege Shockwave, there’s no way to even quietly mistransform him into a gun, thanks to his low partscount, so this is stuck as a flying thing. And to be fair, between the long front end and the wings at the sides, it does look like an X-Wing with only two wings (and you can even sort of finagle the wings and arms into a more explicit X-shaped homage.)
Just call him Purple Leader.
That being said, my biggest aesthetic issue with it is those arms hanging out of the back. Doing something to hide them would have tipped it just across the “isn’t clearly a folded up humanoid” finish line that it’s just shy of crossing.
He’s so shy of crossing it, that he’s buried his head in his altmode.
It does succeed in being impressively large, again, and dwarfs the alternate modes of a lot of its Generations Voyager Contemporaries. On one hand, it kind of feels like they knew you wouldn’t use this mode a lot, but also they did more than just the bare minimum Action-Master-Elite-ing that they could have.
What’s going on here, exactly?
So, unrelatedly, his head’s a bit odd. Like I mentioned before, he’s still got a robot head hanging out on top of this mode, but it’s swapped out from the Shockwave head to….another Shockwave head that’s sculpted a bit differently (blockier, no antenna), but still clearly him. It’s also totally unpainted purple, which makes me frown. If they weren’t going to paint it, I’d rather they just not have hidden his head. Though, to be fair, you can just…leave his regular robot head there.
The obvious solution.
The other major issue I have with this form is its stability, specifically where the robot torso folds in. Whatever grooves it’s meant to rest in are far too loose to secure it well, so, picking up and handling the ship even a little bit causes it to wobble and shake forwards and backwards really noticeably, which is really unfortunate, because it wrecks that feeling of rock-solid stability he otherwise has, and makes him feel rickety and a bit flimsy.
Ready for launch!
On a more positive note, he actually has a little skid beneath his long nose, one that flips out during transformation, and helps to make him stand up well when at rest. And, in what feels like a nod to the collectors that definitely got this, there’s actually a peg at the bottom that can be used to connect the ship to a standard flight stand.
Overall
I’m fond of this guy, because he’s big, cheap, and they knew what to do with their budget to make him work: Focus on the aesthetics, make sure he doesn’t look cheap. And it works, because he looks fabulous. He’s well-sculpted and well-painted, and just meaty enough to feel sturdy. He looks great on my shelf with my Generations Decepticons, which is specifically what I got him for. Granted, he doesn’t pose well, but that comes with an understanding of why he was so cheap. In that context, he works really well, and they rode the line between “cost cutting” and “doesn’t feel like a knockoff” perfectly, even if he’s got a rickety vehicle mode. If you can get one, it’s great fun.
The members of the Purple Suck-up Squad welcome their newest member, inducted via the Kingdom TV show.
I kind of wish I’d gotten more of the Cyber Battalion, really. Out of the four that showed up locally, the other three (Swipe, Prowl, Jetfire) were figures I already had Siege or Thrilling 30 versions of. I’ve heard the other battalions are on par with Shockwave in terms of fun. Still, when it comes to the aftermarket, I wouldn’t pay markup for these. Not because they’re bad (this one definitely isn’t), but because the whole point of them was that they didn’t run you a lot of money. But, when convention season comes ‘round one day, I might find myself looking out for some more of them.
