Transformers: Bumblebee: Energon Igniters Power Plus Series Wave 3 (Ironhide, Soundwave)

Energon Igniters Nitro Series and Energon Igniters Power Plus Series toys come with an Energon Core that can be used to propel Nitro Series, Power Plus Series, Power Series, and Speed Series toys. They also deploy weapons on all but the Speed Series. Energon Cores are interchangeable.

Ironhide

Vehicle Mode: I love Ironhide’s vehicle mode. The black and red color scheme is great. Usually movie Ironhide toys are either red or black. I guess they couldn’t choose and split the difference. Paint details are decent and when his Energon Core is attached it deploys very cool gatling guns.

Robot Mode: In robot mode Ironhide looks great, but oddly has a cannon instead of a left hand.

Soundwave

Vehicle Mode: I like Soundwave’s vehicle mode, which is clearly based on his Transformers Animated design. It does have a serious design flaw. The door in his roof that swings in when his Energon Core is attached will release if it’s barely pressed at all, making it hard to handle the toy without deploying his Energon Core feature. That feature is opening his rear doors to reveal speakers. Unfortunately, they went cheap on the design. Only the left side door is spring loaded. The other one swings freely. I had to prop it up to get the door to stay open for the picture. All they had to do was spring load both doors and give it a better locking mechanism.

Robot Mode: Soundwave’s robot mode is very cool, though he could use a few more paint apps. Oddly, like Ironhide he has a cannon instead of a left hand.

Overall: The Energon Igniter feature doesn’t really do much for me. I’d have rather seen the action features built right into the toys. Ironhide is great, and highly recommended. Soundwave’s design flaw is unfortunate, as he’s otherwise a very cool toy.

Thanks for reading!