I came across this oddity while searching for ideas to paint Soundwave that weren’t just his typical black Soundblaster, or white Shattered Glass Universe repaints. Especially since I’d already done his Marvel Comics Purple color scheme.
From TFWiki.net, “The … Transformers Gum series ran throughout the franchise’s peak years in Japan, from 1985 to 1989. Usually (but not always) released in waves of four, each toy took the form of a snap-together model kit sculpted from three colours of plastic, with a sheet of stickers for detail, and, per the name of the line, a stick of chewing gum.”
“All the kits from wave 1, and the Decepticons from wave 2, were made from black, red and grey plastic…”
So, that’s a weird-ass color for Soundwave, right? Because he’s usually blue and white with some yellow details.
But the more obscure, the better, I say. There’s basically a 0% chance that Hasbro is going to make a R.E.D. Series Soundwave in this colorway, while I fully expect a Soundblaster and Shattered Glass repaint of the mold within the next two years.
I didn’t have all the stickers of the Transformers Gum line for the details, but since the point of the R.E.D. Series figures was to make a more cartoon-accurate design, that suited me just fine.
Since the TF Gum figure was missing the shoulder cannon, I figured it made the most sense to paint that black, and I decided to give ol’ SW a red visor, unlike the mono-colored head of the model kit. I also decided to paint the buttons on his waist, because it broke up the red. And the sticker on the original’s codpiece is just too bizarre for my taste.
It’s a weird ass color design for this character, but I kinda dig it in its awkwardness.
Here’s a work-in-progress photo from the other night:
I dunno what I’ll post tomorrow, but I can guarantee it won’t be more R.E.D. Series repaints… because I’m out of extra figures to paint.