Agreed! Especially in a scenario like this where it doesn't hinder the toy in any other way whatsoever; the electronics are all neatly tucked away in his forearm, unlike the G1 toy from the 80's whose entire upper body was stuffed with electronic components to achieve the same affect (plus sound effects).
And that's exactly why I'm cool with light-piping
yes, his gun hand lights up, which in turn lights up the barrel in alt mode.
In the image below you can see the battery compartment on his left lower arm (the hose is just for aesthetics and doesn't run power from a giant 9-volt battery in the backpack like the G1 toy)
Side note: I like the way the trigger from his gun mode disappears in robot mode. That's another nice little update from the G1 toy.
A) Who is this guy?
But I will keep checking the other site for any updates.
You guys do know that "estimated arrival: end of October/early November" from TF-Direct is in regards to the unlicensed 3rd party shockwave figure by Cloud9 - NOT the official Takara-Tomy Masterpiece Shockwave scheduled for March, yes?
One additional cost I hadn't considered when ordering directly from Japan is currency exchange fees from my bank/credit card. That could negate most of the savings from ordering overseas in a hurry. If one uses the Paypal checkout method for HLJ, does Paypal charge exchange fees? Which, if any, shops charge your credit card in your country's currency to avoid these fees?
In other news, Shockwave's box looks fantastic! We also get a look at his back without the "stand" slipped over the gun canon here, along with the arm attached to said canon that allows him to transform without being a partsformer.
