Review: #742
Name: Megatron
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Predacon
Line: Generations - Legacy
Year of Release: 2022
Size Class: Leader (Wave 3)
Mold Status: new
BEAST MODE:
Skipping the first Transmetal version, we get Transmetal II Megatron instead, and this is a good choice given it is a wicked red robotic dragon.
The dragon has some slight portion issues, mainly in the base of the neck. The dragon is also heavily reliant on panels, so there could be some gaps. However, Megatron looks and feels way better in hand that photos show.
He is approximately as tall as a Leader in robot mode, but he has some good heft to him and it helps that he doesn't have any massively hollow parts, so he doesn't feel cheap at all.
The dragon overall has plenty of intricate sculpting, and the head looks awesome, with a mouth that opens and closes.
There is also plenty of articulation. The neck itself has five (restricted) balljoints along with the hinge at the base, while the tail also has four (restricted) balljoints.
Rounding out the articulation are his legs, which has plenty of articulation include ankle joints given that they double as the robot feet, while his arms has joints for his shoulders, elbows and wrists. The wings can also be positioned fully open or closed, or any way in-between to your preferences.
Megatron comes with a fire blast effects piece that can peg into his mouth, although it's a bit too cartoony at times to look really good.
This is a fantastic dragon mode that will stand out in a great way. Plus, there is so much play value from being a dragon alone.
TRANSFORMATION:
The transformation is not hard, but it is complex enough to be quite interesting and fun. The legs basically straighten up, but the torso has a panel that detaches and flips to his back, while also revealing the head in the process. The most interesting part is then how the second torso piece then opens up, so that you can rotate the inner piece which will bring the dragon head to become the left arm, while also rotating the right arm into place. The dragon arms cleverly store inside the torso, with the claws clipping into the torso piece.
ROBOT MODE:
Once again, just like in dragon mode, Megatron in photos appears to have some slight proportion issues, being bulky-ish while also appearing slender at the same time thanks to the thin arms. However, in person, there is no such problem.
For something that transforms into a dragon, he doesn't have too much kibble. He has the dragon's torso piece that pegs onto his back, as well as the tail that hangs off the back of his head, which is accurate to how the original toy was. Of course, there are also the dragon wings, but they're more of a feature instead.
The head sculpt is an interesting choice as it isn't based on his cartoon appearance, but rather the toy appearance. He has an angry snarl and interestingly enough, the teeth aren't sculpted, rather, the black part is painted. Since the head has the dragon tail hanging off the back, it can be quite restricted in its motion.
In terms of size, Megatron is an okay size. He might be shorter than Leaders from previous lines, but he makes up for it by not being obviously hollow. As a result, he feels bulky and hefty in your hands, similar to how Kingdom Megatron was.
Articulation is very good, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles. The ankles are particularly nice as they can tilt both forwards / backwards and side to side.
The dragon arm is particularly nice as it has multiple balljoints, giving it a lot of flexibility.
As mentioned in dragon mode, he comes with a fire blast effects part.
The fire blast can double up as a club held in his hand, which looks so so.
Alternatively, it can be pegged into his dragon hand, but the problem with that is the piece is angled downward in such a way that Megatron can't quite pull off a good firing pose.
The biggest negative here is that while the red used is quite nice, it doesn't match the metallic sheen of the show model. Then again, painting him with metallic red paint is also not an option as it'll definitely chip.
Naturally, the wings can also be angled to however you want, but overall, this is an amazing robot mode.
OVERALL:
Transmetal II Megatron is an amazing figure. He is quite stellar and striking in both modes, and heaps of fun in other of them as well. While he isn't perfect in capturing the show's design, it's such a cool and fun toy that many other figures in the line cannot compare. It's rare these days, but Megatron is well worth the Leader asking price as he is well engineered, and doesn't feel cheap.
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