Review #32: Classics G2 Megatrons
Tall & Small Month #1!
Hello, folks. Sorry for the lack of any updates in July... I was busy. So much packing... Soooo much! Then the moving! Then the unpacking! It's mostly done... Before I get on with the review, thought I'd share a few photos with y'all of some of my set-up in my new surroundings! But, I suppose if you don't give a darn about that and want to skip ahead to the Transformers... well, you can just click here.
Still with me? Awesome. Anyway, here's how I've got some of the various things I collect arranged in the new place:
Still with me? Awesome. Anyway, here's how I've got some of the various things I collect arranged in the new place:
Remember, folks... the main reason I wanted to move was so that my lovely girlfriend and I could cohabitate... and she lets me put all of that crap on display! I am a lucky, lucky man! (Heck, she even contributes... She made me that plush Adapose standing atop the Doctor Who DVDs!) Anyway, I suppose I should get onto what you really came here for, and review some toys!
So for August, I thought I'd go with a theme of looking at two toys at once, pairs of Classics style toys in two different scales (Deluxe and Legends) that are representations of the same character. And to start things off, I thought we would take a look at a few Megatrons. We've already seen him in two different scales in his G1 gun form (click here for the Voyager Class figure's review, and here for the Legends Class figure's review), but now we shall take a look at him in his G2 tank form!
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I've been thinking of doing a themed month like this for a little while now, and decided that now was the perfect time! Why? 'Cause for quite a while, I was missing the arm on the Deluxe Class Megatron we're looking at today, and I finally found the darn thing while packing up to move! So to celebrate his return to complete status, he gets reviewed! Yay, arm!
Ahem...
So anyway, in the G2 days, Hasbro had a problem. That problem was Megatron. Both sides needed leaders. Optimus Prime was fine. He was a truck. But Megatron? By the time G2 rolled around, the climate had changed and it seems that Hasbro was a wee bit leary at the thought of releasing a toy that was a realistic looking toy gun. But the Decepticons still needed a leader. What to do? What would Megatron be if he couldn't be a gun? I'll tell you what he'd do! He'd be a mother fracking tank! |
I'll admit I am still partial to Megatron as a gun. It is what I remember from my childhood, and it just feels right. But, as an alternative, a tank -- especially if it is a somewhat realistic looking Earth tank and not some strange Cybertronian contraption -- does seem to work for him. And these Classics style updates to Megatron's G2 alt mode seem to work just fine as tanks.
Not much to comment on here. They're tanks. They look like tanks, so that works. They're both predomanantly a green colour. The Legends one actually has a more realistic looking drab green with (since he's Megatron) some subtle purple camo worked in, but the Deluxe class's more vibrant green works well, too, and also features some light beige and a bit of gold highlighting.
Between the two, the smaller actually is the more realistic looking tank. Not that I am a tank expert, mind you, but the aesthetic design of it looks more like something you'd see in real life. And I always appreciate a Transformers tank that goes to the effort to only have one tread running the full length of each side, rather than what you often see these days (including on the Deluxe Megatron here) of two separate treads on each side to make more obvious breaking points for the transformation. Granted, the Legends Megatron here does still sport a rather obvious breaking point by having a noticable gap in the middle of each "single" tread... but I think I've established by now that I am slightly more forgiving of such things when looking at Legends class figures.
I don't usually talk about articulation much when looking at vehicle modes... After all, all that most vehicle modes have to do is be able to roll around on wheels. But tanks have some expectation of articulation in the turret. With the Legends Class figure here... Alas, nothing. But oh well, Legends Class. The Deluxe Class Megatron? Can the turret spin? Yup, a full 360 degrees! Can the barrel be raised? Yes, sir, it can! Articulation win!
Not much to comment on here. They're tanks. They look like tanks, so that works. They're both predomanantly a green colour. The Legends one actually has a more realistic looking drab green with (since he's Megatron) some subtle purple camo worked in, but the Deluxe class's more vibrant green works well, too, and also features some light beige and a bit of gold highlighting.
Between the two, the smaller actually is the more realistic looking tank. Not that I am a tank expert, mind you, but the aesthetic design of it looks more like something you'd see in real life. And I always appreciate a Transformers tank that goes to the effort to only have one tread running the full length of each side, rather than what you often see these days (including on the Deluxe Megatron here) of two separate treads on each side to make more obvious breaking points for the transformation. Granted, the Legends Megatron here does still sport a rather obvious breaking point by having a noticable gap in the middle of each "single" tread... but I think I've established by now that I am slightly more forgiving of such things when looking at Legends class figures.
I don't usually talk about articulation much when looking at vehicle modes... After all, all that most vehicle modes have to do is be able to roll around on wheels. But tanks have some expectation of articulation in the turret. With the Legends Class figure here... Alas, nothing. But oh well, Legends Class. The Deluxe Class Megatron? Can the turret spin? Yup, a full 360 degrees! Can the barrel be raised? Yes, sir, it can! Articulation win!
Moving on to robot mode, both are fair representations of G2 Megatron. The Legends Class one is actually a much closer representation of the actual G2 toys. The Deluxe Class takes the general design and updates it nicely. I particularly like not having the large gun formed by the tank barrel shoulder mounted, but instead on his arm more like the G1 version's fusion cannon.
Articulation! Starting with the Legends Class figure... Well, it ain't much, but it is pretty standard for a Legends Class figure. Most of the articuation is required for the transformation, but fortunately doubles as useful joints for the robot mode. The head can turn, but it should be noted that the tank barrel is actually atatched to it, so will move with the head. Arms only have articulation at the shoulders, which are on ball joints. Also ball jointed are the hips. Finally, the knees have pivots in them. But hey, at least they bend in the right direction for knees, not always the case in Legends Class figures! |
The Deluxe Class figure fares much better, but one would hope that would be case when looking at a larger scale! The head swivels nicely, unimpeded by a large gun. Shoulders feature two joints, a 360 degree swivel, and then a pivot for outward movement. There's a swivel below the shoulder, and then for elbows... Well, one arm has an elbow. The left arm has a pivot in the elbow, and then ends in a hand that can hold his gun. The right arm? Well, it has the big frackin' fusion cannon. And if you look under the cannon... there's no hand! Instead, there's a joint we'll get to shortly when we look at this figure's gimmick. Moving on with the articulation, he has a waist swivel! Always nice to see. Hips have ball joints, and there are swivels just below the hips. The knees bend, of course, and then the ankles can pivot forwards or backwards. The ankle movement is mainly an artifact of the transformation, but could be useful in some posing.
A note about the ankles: they were misassembled on the figure as put together by Hasbro. Truth be told, having the feet on backwards didn't have an extreme adverse effect on the figure. He still works fine in both modes, and if I hadn't read elsewhere on the internets about this issue (although a close look at the instructions would have also been a clue that the feet were backwards) I likely wouldn't have noticed. But I did notice, and fixing it was as simple as taking out a few screws, flipping the feet around, and putting the screws back in. It does really help the figure's aesthetic, especially when he is a tank, where otherwise the feet would stick out somewhat farther from the rear of the tank.
A note about the ankles: they were misassembled on the figure as put together by Hasbro. Truth be told, having the feet on backwards didn't have an extreme adverse effect on the figure. He still works fine in both modes, and if I hadn't read elsewhere on the internets about this issue (although a close look at the instructions would have also been a clue that the feet were backwards) I likely wouldn't have noticed. But I did notice, and fixing it was as simple as taking out a few screws, flipping the feet around, and putting the screws back in. It does really help the figure's aesthetic, especially when he is a tank, where otherwise the feet would stick out somewhat farther from the rear of the tank.
I had mentioned a gimmick earlier. This figure was first released in a two pack with the previously reviewed Classics Deluxe Class Optimus Prime, and you may recall that that figure had a spinny waist gimmick.
This Megatron has a similar gimmick. Use the joint where his hand theoretically should be to position his fusion cannon as seen in the photograph to the right, then push down repeatedly on the transclearant red button you can see protruding from his arm, and you get... Well, you get a Spinny Thingy of Doom™. The Spinny Thingy of Doom™ is a potentially cool gimmick for this toy if it was being given to a child, but as an adult collector, it doesn't really do much for me. (Although my girlfriend thinks it is cool!) Fortunately, it is not a gimmick that has much of a detrimental effect on the rest of the figure. The only major issue it causes is the lack of a right hand on the figure, but that is usually hidden by the fusion cannon and thus not the end of the world. |
Since the Deluxe Megatron here came in a two pack with an Optimus Prime, here's a few shots of the two figures together.
Of course, that is a G1 style Optimus Prime, so perhaps a photo of that Megatron paired up with someone more appropriate?
For size comparison, we continue with the Get Smart DVD sets... and for ha ha's a few more Transformers decided to join in for this photo.
All in all, a decent pair of figures. The Legends Class one is somewhat simplistic, but no more so than a typical Legends Class figure. It looks right, and gets the job done. The Deluxe Class one is a very nice figure. Looks like a good Megatron, has nice articulation, a decent transformation, and a nice tank mode. If you're looking for a modern version of a G2 Megatron for your collection, depending on the scale you want either (or both) of these could do nicely. Recommended! |
Review added 4 August 2012 by Yotsuya. Please comment!