Leader-1

Allegiance: Minicon
Size: Mini-Con
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Milky light gray, metallic dark blue-gray, black, neon orange, and some bright yellow
Rating: 6.4

    Vehicle mode is a futuristic mobile artillery truck. This mode is pretty good overall, and has nice mold detailing- it could use more paint detailing, though, as the windows are the only thing painted on Leader-1. As for extras- the only significant ones are his robot arms, which are clearly visible on the back of his front wheels. Bleh. Minicon port is on the central underside in this mode.
    Leader-1 has a "gun mode", in which you basically unfold his legs and stick his hand in a larger robot's hand. Ta-dah. For a third mode, it's actually not that bad of a gun mode, if a bit unoriginal. Although the windows integrate nicely into the gun mode, though, the wheels stick out like a sore thumb.
    Robot mode is nice, if a bit unoriginal. Basically fold out his legs, fold the guns in, and you're done. The paint detailing is better in this mode- the only part that could've used a little more is his legs, but that's no big deal. What's interesting is that Leader-1's face has the same colors and features of the old Go-Bot Leader-1, from that knock-off Transformers line in the '80s. Hasbro eventually bought the copyrights to the Go-Bots, though, and now Leader-1 makes a reappearance as a Minicon. Why? "Because it was funny," a Hasbro rep said. Heheh. Anyway, the only big problem I have with this mode is that the folded-up guns get in the way of knee movement almost completely. Kind off a waste, having knee articulation if you can't move them... Also, the arms are a bit piddly proportionally. As for articulation, Leader-1 has shoulder, hip, and knee articulation. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad for such a little guy, either. The Minicon symbol is on the center of his chest.
    Leader-1 certainly isn't bad, but he certainly isn't extraordinary, either. At least he can form a gun, though...

Megatron

Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Giga-Con
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Dark military green, milky light gray, neon orange, dark metallic blue-gray, purple, silver, black, and some transparent plastic, light metallic purple, and bright yellow
Powerlinx ports: 14 (3 gimmicked)
Rating: 9.0

    Vehicle mode is a futuristic tank. This mode is pretty nice-looking, with wonderful detailing everywhere- both mold-wise and paint-wise. The silver highlights really help make this mode look "meched-out". And, although I usually don't like neon colors on Transformers, I think it looks rather nice on Megatron, in small amounts. There are two things I don't like about this mode, though- for one, it's not "solid" enough. Although the gap in the front can be explained by the capture claws (even though the robot head is slightly apparent here...), there's no reason for the gap in the back. So the tank mode has an "H" shape, rather than a more solid square shape. Also, the robot feet and heels stick out rather obviously from the back, not even trying to be disguised. Although this mode still remains cool, it's obviously that this mode was designed around the robot mode, and not visa versa. As for the gimmicks, there's a ton of them:
- If you press the tank nozzle in some, a missile will fire out of it, and a "firing" sound will emit from Megs, and his transparent Decepticon insignia will flash.
- Attach a Minicon to the purple Powerlinx port on the turret, then pull back on it and to the side. This will make a missile-firing sound (in addition to lighting up the Decepticon insignia), as well as spring up a missile launcher holding two missiles, which you can fire individually.
- Attach a Minicon to the green Powerlinx port on the rear of the turret, then push it left or right a little, and a "machine-gun firing" machine will sound, and, of course, the Decepticon symbol lights up.
- You can fold out a small ramp on the right rear side of the tank, with a built-in "capture claw" for seizing any Minicons dumb enough to wander up it. Probably one of Megatron's weakest gimmicks, since there are very few Minicons that can actually FIT in the chamber the capture claw drags them into (via a switch you push back or forth)...
- You can fold out a ramp on the right front top of the tank, with a Powerlinx port on each side. However, the ramp doesn't really go anywhere...
- Press a switch on the left front top of the tank, and three more static panels with Minicon ports flip out, for even more Powerlinking goodness.
- You can pull out a huge metallic "chomper" from the left back side of the tank, which can clamp and hold onto most Minicons.
- If you turn the turret roughly 45 degrees, you'll hear a helium-inhaling Megatron voice announce, "Decepticons, attack!", followed by laser firing sounds and the light-up Decepticon symbol. However, this gimmick is very annoying, as you can turn the turret much without it activating, and it ALWAYS activates when you transform Megatron into robot mode.
Yep, this guys definitely gimmick-filled, even if some of them are rather weak.
    Robot mode... KICKS! MAN, this sucka looks cool. The huge tank-tread shoulders and turret poking out next to Megatron's torso could be considered extras by some, but I think they only enhance this mode and make him look all the more menacing. The huge antlers on the side of the head take some initial getting used to, as they're so different, but MAN, they sure look Megsy look nifty. His face also looks eeevil, too. To make him look even more eeevil, push up the tab on the center of his chest to push up a little "battle mask" that envelops most of his face for heavy-duty fighting. You can also swing his tank turret around to the front for an "attack" mode- it's a little weak, granted, but it sure gives him enough firepower. As for the one gimmick that couldn't be activated in tank mode- Attach a Minicon to the port on his left arm (or not, it doesn't really matter) and slide it forward, to reveal a little dagger that comes out of Megatron's palm. COOL! "Gonna stab ya, Optimus!" I also like how his hands are asymmetrical- one's a regular hand, while the other's a snap-shut claw-hand. Sah-weet! Of course, the coolest thing about this mode has too be the INSANE amount of Minicons you can powerlink to Megs. As if 14 Powerlinx points wasn't enough, you can also put some in his capture claw or in his hands. Some people have even gotten up to 25 Minicons on him at once! Cool! My only problem with Megatron in this mode has to do with his legs. The upper legs are too small when compared to the big bulky lower legs, and, to make matters worse- he has no knee articulation! He only has side-to-side hip articulation here, which is absolutely inexcusable on a toy this big. The rest of the toy has good articulation, though- the head, waist, shoulders (at two points), and right hand can all move easily. His Decepticon symbols on his shoulders could use a better paint job, however... they're just solid purple...
    Megatron says, "Buy me now! Although my tank mode isn't very solid, my robot mode is the best robot mode out of any Megatron EVER, and I have enough Minicon ports and gimmicks to keep you busy for quite some time!" And, after all, who are YOU to ignore the future conqueror of the galaxy?

Review by Beastbot

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