Review: #797
Name: Magmatron
Brand: Transformers
Allegiance: Predacon
Line: Generations - Legacy: United
Year of Release: 2024
Size Class: Commander
Mold Status: new
PACKAGING:
As the Commander class release of 2024, Magmatron comes in a big box with a beautiful piece of artwork on the front.
The back are some stock photos and we see that Magmatron is a combiner of sorts.
SKYSAURUS:
Magmatron is a unique combiner in that he is the form of three members, but each member only has two modes, the beast mode, and the combined mode.
First up is Skysaurus, which transforms into a red flying prehistoric creature (apparently only Landsaurus is a dinosaur). The red flying creature reminds you of Terrorsaur.
Skysaurus is the smallest of the lot, approximately Deluxe size (above is a comparison with a Voyager figure).
The mouth can open and close, and the head can tilt up and down. The neck is all jointed at one piece, so it can feel a bit restrictive.
Articulation is similarly restrictive, the wings have multiple hinges, and the front claws are on balljoints. The legs have hips, knees and ankle joints, but due to how top heavy the figure is, he'll easily fall over due to balancing issues.
The wings can open up and the wingspan can be quite impressive as a result.
Skysaurus is a fine figure, although he feels very small compared to other two, and the shade of red used is very reminiscent of the 1990s.
SEASAURUS:
Seasaurus transforms into a water based creature, and it reminds you immediately of the Loch Ness Monster, as it's that type of creature.
There are no robot bits here, which is impressive. Although despite looking big, he is actually fairly hollow, and it's noticeable when you pick him up.
Similarly to Skysaurus, the mouth can open and close, revealing a row of sharp teeth and a pink mouth.
While the flippers can move a bit due to their balljoints, most of the articulation lie in its neck. There are four major hinges and swivels plus the one on its head to give it a fantastic amount of motion. However, you do need to fiddle around with the hinges to make it do what you want, and for it to look good.
An impressive looking figure and the highly articulated neck makes it very fun to play with.
LANDSAURUS:
The final member is Landsaurus and he is the core of the team, in more ways than one. It is a dark blue T-Rex type creature.
Landsaurus is the only member with robot parts peeking through. It's still hidden very well but when looking from behind, you can see the dark robot bits behind his legs.
Landsaurus is the biggest and heftiest member of the team, and it's where most of the engineering of the set went into.
The mouth can once again open and close, but not by a lot though. One thing that's missing from all members is allowing the included fire effects pieces to attach, while the originals didn't have it, it would still be cool to have the trio breathing fire.
Articulation is limited. The legs are not very flexible otherwise you'll start revealing the robot parts. The tail can move from side to side, the head can also move a tiny big. The two small front arms are on balljoints though.
A nice design, although the 1990s color scheme can make the figures feel dated or from an older era, as it is very faithful to the original.
TRANSFORMATION (TO MAGMASAURUS):
Transformation to Magmasaurus is more involved than you would expect. Landsaurus is the easiest as you need to open up a panel on its back. Then using Seasaurus, you need to split him in half and flip out the robot arms to act as legs. Flip him back to front, attach it to Landsaurus and then peg the half back. Finally, Skysaurus just attaches at the top.
MAGMASAURUS:
Magmasaurus looks.. ridiculous, and it is basically the three mashed together, and not in a great way.
However, this mode was in the original, and at least it rounds out the set by giving it a combined mode in both beast and robot mode.
Magamsaurus, being the combination of two roughly Leader sized figures and a Deluxe, and it is absolutely massive.
Having all three heads being able to point forward is a nice touch and gives it a chimera type beast kind of feel.
It's also surprisingly stable, as everything pegs and holds together strongly. Articulation is bad though as you only really have the heads, the front arms of Landsaurus, and limited movement for the front and rear pair of legs.
There are some dedicated pegs for this mode and having something extra without compromising anything else is a bonus.
TRANSFORMATION (TO ROBOT MODE):
Starting with Landsaurus, it takes on most of the work as it forms the legs, torso and a shoulder pad. The legs looks easy as it is the beast legs, but you need to straighten it, then flip out a few panels at the back of the legs to lock the pieces into place. The underbelly of Landsaurus also separates and forms the hilt of the sword weapon. The revealed underbelly then flips around to form the torso, while the head is the right shoulderpad.
Seasaurus also separates into two, the bottom half with the flippers is the shield. The remaining half contains the robot arms, which are easy to rotate and swing out. There are several pegs to connect it to Landsaurus, and as the finishing touch, you fold several panels onto the back and wrap the neck around to form the other shoulderpad.
Finally, Skysaurus is the easiest as you fold up the legs, fold down the beast head and reveal the robot head. You then attach it to Landsaurus and complete the combined mode.
MAGMATRON:
Magmatron is the combined form of all three and it is a impressive looking robot mode. You can immediately tell that it is a combination of three separate creatures thanks to the color scheme that while it clashes, also works well.
There is a ton of kibble though and most of it sticks out the back. You have Landsaurus's tail, Seasaurus's panels, and Skysaurus's wings.
The head sculpt is good, and looks very organic. While it can turn from side to side, Skysaurus's wings gets in the way and you have to fiddle around with them.
Magmatron is a big figure, and towers over even the older Leader figures. He feels very solid and hefty in your hands.
As expected, there are a lot of really nice sculpted detailing.
He has giant heel spurs to help support his weight, there are never any issues with balancing.
Articulation is good, he has mostly ratchet joints, and they're complemented by tight hinges.
He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, waist, hips, knees and ankles.
You might have noticed the red blades on Skysaurus's wings, and they can detach to give Magmatron a pair of red blades, although they seem a little bit short for him.
There are some leftover pieces, half of Seasaurus forms the shield. Part of Landsaurus forms the hilt of the sword, while the blade was hidden in the tail in beast mode. Magmatron also comes with fire effects parts.
The shield attaches mostly via a 5mm port, and similarly he holds the sword using a 5mm port.
The only way you can use the fire effects is to plug it between the hilt and the blade. It doesn't look that great, mainly because due to the soft plastics used, it sags.
A fantastic robot mode and of course, this is where all the focus and effort went into.
OVERALL:
Magmatron is another winner in the Commander class line. It is a fantastic update to the original toy and that's what it is. This is basically a refinement of the original design with modern engineering, and it works wonderfully here.
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