The toy mashup line ’80s kids only dreamed about will get its third crossover toy this January (or shortly thereafter). Transformers who become G.I. Joe vehicles and remain in-scale with 3-3/4 inch G.I. Joe figures have only recently been achieved, with two vehicles so far. First, a HISS tank that became Megatron came packed with a Baroness figure. Second, Bumblebee became an AWE Striker for Sgt. Stalker. Optimus Prime might have been expected next, but Hasbro threw a swerve: high-tech Soundwave becomes the post-apocalyptic chic Dreadnoks Thunder Machine.
Dread, Locked
Soundwave used to become a portable stereo boom box often used by the antisocial to blast loud music. The Dreadnoks, a gang of grape soda-swilling bikers loosely affiliated with Cobra, would have loved to do such things, so that makes sense. The Dreadnok aesthetic tended toward a cross between motorcycle gang culture and Mad Max production design, with the Thunder Machine very much resembling a war machine of the wastelands.
Soundwave/Thunder Machine comes with three figures. On the Joe side, Dreadnok leader Zartan and his sister Zarana can take the wheel and ride shotgun (literally). On the Transformers side, Ravage can pop out of Soundwave’s chest as a large cassette then convert to robot dog form to assist the bad guys. If you’re getting this for younger kids, you might have to explain what cassettes were.
The price tag on this thing is $99.99, which isn’t so bad when you figure that Zartan, Zarana, and Soundwave by themselves would probably cost around $36 total. Preorders are up now at our affiliate partners Entertainment Earth and others.
Take a look through the images below to see if you need to bring the Thunder home.
