Transformers Earthrise Battle Master Soundbarrier // Review
Transformers has been going on since forever, or at least 1984. The toys and characters have been recycled dozens of times, with some action figures representing a dozen different characters when painted in certain ways. However, what has become increasingly rare is the originally designed toy that represents a brand new character.
Especially when that character is a concept that is both dumb as hell and adorable as all get out.
The Battle Master class figure Soundbarrier is small, running about the same size as the Micromaster class at a little over two inches high. The sculpt is detailed despite the size, and Hasbro did not skimp on the paint job for this guy. However, the paint does hide a key structural issue we will get to in a moment.
Soundbarrier turns into a shield and can also be connected to key other Transformers as a ramp, or even as a road. But he is a slab of plastic nevertheless. It is so amusingly bad that many fans on social media have embraced how silly it is, and he has become almost as popular as the 1990s transformer Erector.
Articulation is on the cheap for Soundbarrier, but it works. Four ball joints allow his limbs to flail about from his torso, but no elbow or knee joints for detailed action pose. A 5mm peg unfolds from his chest to allow mounting into any figure, but extra care must be taken with these joints. The torso of Soundbarrier, despite the solid blue color, is molded in the same clear plastic as the shield he creates. This means the figures can break far easier than they should, and some even come from the factory with stress fractures on the hips… as happened on our own sample.
This was fixed by drilling into both the ball and socket with a screwdriver in our test sample, then fitting a neutered screw between them to hold while epoxy and superglue hardened around it. This has created a ball joint that mostly works, and can save the poor figure from the scrapyard.
Soundbarrier also comes with an explosion effect that can peg on most Siege and Earthrise figures and his own shield. It works quite nicely.
Soundbarrier is a figure full of weird character, and an utterly silly concept. As such, he is perfect for Transformers. However, the quality of the plastic used makes for some troubling play and posing, and is the main reason this review both exists and such a middle of the road grade exists. Buyer beware or at least be careful.
