MP-36 Megatron

Oh boy, the big one, Masterpiece Megatron.  I knew that at some point Takara would work to update the horrible thing that was MP-05, a figure so bad that I put him in my closet a couple of months ago.  I'm still not sure what to do with him, but that's not what I set out to talk about.  What I want to talk about is how incredible MP-36 is.  I sincerely think that this is what the entire Masterpiece line has been leading up to.

I can't believe that I let this guy sit at my mailbox at the UPS Store for almost a week before I picked him up and then waited almost two weeks after that before I even opened him.  I was hesitant on what to do with him since I wasn't super excited about him when he arrived.  Reading so many rumblings about scratching pain, parts breaking off and just poor QC gave me pause.  Couple that with the fact that I knew that I'd be getting a Megatron with orange plugs that I wasn't sure would come off, and I was just unsure of what I wanted to do with him.

Upon opening him up, I don't know what all of the complaints were about.  Megatron 2.0 is a delight.  I don't think I've ever handled a better Transformer.  Ever.  There are no wasted parts or details on this guy.  In more capable hands, there would be an infinite amount of awesome poses, but I'm not that guy; I'm still working on it.

Transforming into gun mode had me pretty nervous.  I've seen pics of what people have done to their Megatrons through forcefully putting pieces into place.  My MP-05 Megatron broke on his first transformation, so I've been extra careful with figures since that fateful day, but I sweat still poured from my brow while I slowly folded, slid, and moved parts to and fro.  At one point, I even looked up different YouTube videos just to make sure I was doing things correctly.  All in all, I think it took me about an hour to transform him for the first time.  It took me about two minutes to get him back to robot mode after that.  Perhaps I was being a tad bid overly cautious, but I didn't want to break something that I had spent so much money on.  Oh, as far as the scuffing on the barrel in concerned?  Never happened.

I'll admit that the Megatron 2.0's price point had me a little concerned at first.  It seems like the prices on Masterpiece figures seem to be going up all of the time.  Once I had Megatron in hand, that price was damn worth it.  This guy has a plethora of accessories and swappable faces.  I didn't photo them all, but they're all incredible, like the mace.  Takara has been forcing the energy mace on every Megatron release since the book-style series it seems, and this is the first time I really enjoyed it.  It's proportioned much better than all former versions.

The chain from the mace can be removed and replaced with a jointed piece and I really dig it.  Takara really nailed this accessory.

There's the obligatory pistol from The Transformers: The Movie, but I'll spare everyone the ubiquitous setup shots form the movie.  I'm also not going to showcase all of the battle damaged parts that come with Megatron.

The accessory that I like the least would be the sword. Yeah, I get the significance of it all, and I know it's place, but I still think it's cheesy.  This one is much improved over the one that came with MP-05 and it even breaks down into two pieces so Megs can hold just the sword hilt.

 Megatron loves walking among his troops.

Megatron is a stone cold killer, and I think that this pic conveys that feeling. I may redo this picture with a better setup and more bodies.

Finally, someone to lead my Decepticon army.  Hopefully we'll get more Decepticons in the near future.  Aside from the Megaplex repaint, that is.

Masterpiece Megatron 2.0 is the ultimate Masterpiece figure, in my opinion.  It's been six years since MP-10 was released. ushering a new age of unified scale, and those six years have been leading up to this bad boy.  Don't have him?  Go get him.  Now.

Combiner Wars Megatron Review

So there's a Leader Class Megatron out there and he's apparently a big deal.  Yes, he's large, being a Leader Class figure, but after viewing numerous pictures of him online, I was unconvinced that he'd be any good.  He just looked stiff.  Then again, Hasbro stock photography isn't known for being that great.  I've actually run into a few copies of this figure and passed him up multiple times, but I decided to take a chance on a $45 dollar figure just to see if I was wrong.

Out of the box, Megatron has a lot of mass; he feels much heavier than Leader Class Jetfire.  The sculpt is heavily reminiscent of the classic G1 look.  I do have a bit of an issue with the arm mounted cannon as it really limits the movement of Megatron's right arm.  Luckily, it can pivot a bit, allowing the arm to bend at the elbow.  Still, it's a bit of a letdown.  The tank treads on the back actually look better than anticipated. 

Megatron's cannon comes with a missile that launches a fairly good distance.  Range of motion was definitely a concern going in since every single stock photo made Megs look super stiff, but it isn't as bad as I thought.  He twists at the waist and his legs had have decent articulation.  I can't pull off a Maz-styled running pose with Megs, but he does what I need him to do - look menacing.

For some reason, Megatron comes with a rifle.  Megatron has a huge honking cannon on his arm, so he naturally needs a rifle too.  This will be the only time he sports it.  There are also decals to give him more of a G1 look and optional Autobot insignias if one felt the need to adhere to what's going on with the IDW books.  I've opted out of the decals entirely.

Since this isn't 1984 anymore, the days of a mass release Megatron transforming into a gun are long gone.  Tanks is the mode du jour these days.  I really, really like the tank mode.  To be honest, it's highly evocative of the No Limit Records tank logo from the 1990's, what with the silver finish.

The barrel is almost comically long in tank mode, but it still looks decent.  The turret itself is able to rotate a full 360 degree. The treads on the tank are rubber.  There are posts littered around this mode that I'm guessing are for the Armada Megatron redeco to use for Minicons.  I passed on the Armada version because, uh, that series just isn't for me.

The rifle that Megatron comes with breaks in two and can mount on the turret for added firepower.  It's a good look.

Finally, here's a shot of Legends Class Bombshell riding Megatron.  Until next time!

Thrilling 30 Megatron

That's a horrible title, but it can't be helped.  There have been so many different versions of Megatron released just in the Generations line that merely titling this Generations Megatron would have been woefully insufficient.  Really, I had no idea how many iterations of G1 Megatron there have been since his debut in 1984.  Seriously, there have been a ton.  While I thought that the Thrilling 30 version of was unique, I was proved wrong.

If there's one thing that can reliably be counted upon in the world of Transformers, it's that Megatron is always a gun.  Unless he's a tank.  Maybe a T-Rex.  One thing Megatron has never been?  A plane.  Well, at least that's what I thought until I looked at TFWiki.  Well, there goes my entry into the discussion of the newest release.  I'm still going to try.

Fine, Megatron has been a jet before.  It was only once, as far as officially released toys go.  Here is Megatron's first release as a jet.

Picture from tfwiki.net

That is from the Machine Wars line.  As everyone knows, Machine Wars was a line introduced in 1997 and carried exclusively by Kay-Bee Toys.  It was such a huge success that one wave of figures was ever produced.  Can we say success?

Regardless of this minor setback, I'm still determined to discuss Megatron as a jet.  Besides, have you seen the Thrilling 30 Megatron?  He's sweet.

He's a stealth bomber.  In a way, I guess that this is a callback to an unreleased Generation 2 version of Megatron that was itself a redeco of Generation 2 Dreadwing.

Picture from tfwiki.net

 The new version of Megatron was designed by artist extraordinaire Don Figueroa, who is the second greatest artist to ever draw a Transformer.  The greatest is, of course, Andrew Wildman.  Back on track, I originally thought that this figure was designed by Nick Roche, perhaps the third greatest artist.  It isn't hard to come to that conclusion since this Megatron first appeared in Transformers Spotlight: Megatron which was written and drawn by Mr. Roche.  Roche also designed Sandstorm/Springer, so I had just assumed that he had designed Megs as well.  All of that was put to rest when I read this article on Bleeding Cool.  I should have known that Figueroa had a hand in the design based on just the fusion cannon.  It's pure Don.

Here's a closeup of the front of the bomber mode.  The canopy is very reminiscent of a classic 1940's style design.  That could be just me.  This is a very compact toy, as it isn't immediately visible that the bomber will unfold into Megatron, mightiest of the Decepticons.

After removing the wingtips and doing a little unfolding, the bomber is in robot mode.  Megatron, being a Deluxe, isn't that tall, but he's still a nice looking figure.

Even at the Deluxe size, Megatron is pretty imposing.  I think it's the broad shoulders.   The black and purple look sharp.  I'm not a big fan of purple, but it looks pretty good here.  Megatron's head is a little small for my tastes, but it's still a good sculpt.  There is a 5mm hole on either arm that you can attach the fusion cannon to.  I opt for the normal right hand placement.

I really like the look of the new cannon.  In the comic, it's referred to as a rail gun, but for the figure, Hasbro has decided to stick with tradition, I suppose.

Due to the nature of his size and transformation scheme, Megatron is kind of hollow.  This leads to some difficulty with posing.  The shoulders on mine don't really want to stay at the most upright position.

I love the look of that fusion cannon.  It looks like it could double as a melee weapon as well.

When I first heard about this newest iteration of Megatron, I was unsure.  Megatron as a plane?  That's not something that I'm used to.  However, Don Figueroa just knocked this out of the park.  Add in the bonus trivia surrounding the concept, and I think it's a great design.  The hollowness of the actual figure coupled with the small head leave a little something to be desired, but overall I think that this is a great figure.  Still, I think I'd to see this as a voyager.