Megatron [G1-esque] (Combiner Wars)
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon or Autobot (see review)
Size: Leader
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Silver, black, light milky gray, and some red, dull red, dull blue, dull pumpkin orange, transparent cherry red, and light metallic purple
Rating: 9.2

    Megatron's mode is a tank, and a pretty solid-looking one at that. THe proportions are quite realistic between the turret and the main body of said tank, and other than the cannon section extending too far into the middle of his turret due to his transformation, by and large it's hard to find anything wrong design-wise with this mode. The only real issue I can come up with here is that Megatron's back end is a bit hollow between the tread sections, with only the back (hollow) side of his pelvis making up the top of the rear, with no real "bulk" to it. Megatron's mold detailing in this mode is nothing short of stellar, and has all the mold detailing you'd expect from a tank and then some; the diagonally-oriented armor panels on the sides, ladders, little molded-in ports for an imaginary pilot to "look out of" on the side of the turret... it all looks fantastic. What makes him look even more fantastic is that pretty much all of Megatron's light milky gray plastic has been painted over with silver in this mode-- that's right, this mode is almost completely covered in paint! That's certainly a rarity in a 2015 toy, Leader-class or not. There's also a fair amount of black plastic in this mode to give a dark color to contrast against the silver, and there's some red accents here and there to keep him from looking too monochrome, too-- all very much in line with his G1 color scheme. What's more, Megatron has rubber treads, and they actually roll! This hasn't been used effectively on a tank TF in a LONG time, and is very much appreciated. By pressing down on the red section in the middle of Megatron's cannon, you'll fire a spring-loaded red projectile out of it-- though he also has removable (non-firing) weapons mounted on the rear area of his turret, a gun and missile launcher pack. Sadly, although the turret can rotate, the cannon can't move up and down-- a noticeable oversight on a toy this large. Due to the other usage of this mold, Megatron also has four Armada Mini-Con ports-- one on each side on top near the front, one on top of his turret, and one at the back end, at the top of his pelvis piece. Another fun extra Megatron has is that he comes with a sticker sheet, giving the buyer optional additional details to put on-- namely, swirly lines on his chest to mimic an aspect of his G1 gun form, and two Autobot symbols, one for each mode to cover up his Decepticon symbols (this is to pay homage to the IDW comics, where at this period in time Megatron had become an Autobot-- a cool feature, especially since they're optional).
    Megatron's transformation is a bit inventive, involving the turret becoming his arms, the sides of the tank folding around and becoming his feet, the front tread sections becoming a backpack, and the underside of his mode flipping around a bit to become his chest and waist. In general, this mode is remarkably accurate to G1 Megatron's cartoon appearance, with only the treads on the back of his lower legs and his backpack making it obvious he's a tank. The way his feet fold out to closely mimic his G1 version's "gun handle-feet" is particularly well-done. By and large Megatron's proportions are good in this mode-- he arms are nice and thick, he's got a broad (but not too broad) chest, and his legs are proportionate at least from a side view, though from a front-on view they're a bit skinny. The tank treads on his back also stay out of the way of articulation and only stick out a little, so they're a minor downside at best. No, the real issue here are the placement of Megatron's arms. As I mentioned earlier, by themselves they LOOK alright, but due to his transformation they come out too low from his body-- only a little bit above the center of his chest. This looks very awkward in almost any pose, and is by far this mold's biggest downside. On the plus side, Megatron's mold detailing is just about as good in this mode as it was in his tank mode, with the necessary cartoon-esque details on his chest, arms, and legs all there. His head is also remarkably well-sculpted, complete with the G1 triangular "eyebrows". Using red plastic for his eye light piping was a good decision, though the treads behind his upper back can make it a bit more difficult for his eyes to "glow". I also love how his tank cannon retracts into itself a bit to become a more proportional arm-cannon, though the front is still a bit skinny for Megs. The main colors are still the same as they were in the tank mode, but they're broken up a bit more effectively by the black and red, and Megatron has an impressive number of colors on his chest that are only used there-- the dull orange, the somewhat brighter red paint (as opposed to the duller red plastic), the dark blue circular button on his stomach, the purple triangles.. it really all pops against the silver and black. For articulation Megatron can move at the neck (at two points), shoulders (at three points), elbows (at two points), rotation at the wrists and waist, and movement at the hips (at two points, though side rotation is restricted some), the knees, and the feet. His arm-cannon can also rotate where it meets the arm, but only a little. Thus, except for some issues with his lower legs, he's quite poseable. Megatron's two weapons from tank modes can be held separately in his fists, or they can be combined into a longer rifle, which is a neat little extra.
    Combiner Wars "G1-esque" Megatron is a great toy, though not flawless. His color scheme is excellent-- particularly all the silver paint when it easily could've been a dull, boring milky gray. His tank mode is remarkably solid. He's got cool weapons working treads, and his robot mode looks amazingly close to his G1 robot mode. The stickers are also a nice little extra. That all said, although it's just one thing, his arms are VERY awkward in robot mode, coming out from too far down on his chest, and it nearly ruins what is otherwise a great mode. Still highly recommended (and recommended over the Armada Megatron remold), but keep in mind that big caveat with his arms.



Megatron (G1-esque, Combiner Wars) Bio:
There was a time when the name of Megatron was honored by many across Cybertron. But power inevitably corrupts, and none are so powerful as mighty Megatron. Long ago, he forgot he was a hero, and became nothing more than a tyrant. The war he launched eventually drained his home planet of life. Not even the death of a world could sate his hunger for conquest.

Review by Beastbot

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