General Information: Images:
*Images and text below archived from Hasbrotoyshop.com: Turn the tables on the good guys when you throw this warrior into the fight! Your CYBERTRONIAN MEGATRON figure is dedicated to destroying any opponent and his launching missile accessory will help you two get the job done. If robot combat turns into a chase, convert your villain into Cybertronian tank vehicle mode. His tank "treads" convert to hover engine accessories to make him a virtually unstoppable fighter! Ages 5 and up.
Robot Mode: Megatron's general body layout resembles his Generation One self, including having his fusion cannon attached to his right arm, symmetrical arms and legs with a head design that has a helmet over his face. Where it takes a lot of movie design influence are the details. The body of the original Megatron was very much made up of rectangles with some curves. This Megatron seems mostly made up of angles. Perhaps three of the details that show this off the best are his knee armor, the chest panel and the panel on his back, all of which have a triangular shape. However, it's not just Movie Megatron this harkens back to, but also the Decepticon symbol itself. If you look at his chest for instance, the chest looks like the top of the Decepticon symbol, complete with smaller arrow designs in the middle. On the back panel there is an actual Decepticon symbol, with the central crest, triangles sweeping out to the sides and the angular "eyes" leading to a V shaped mouthplate. These designs look absolutely fantastic and it really gives a modern look to a classic design. The original Megatron was a very straight forward design with a lot of rectangles and tubes put together to form his basic body form. It is a cool and classic form, but there was not a whole lot of nuance to it. This form however has lots of layers, further echoing the live action movie designs. If you look at his right arm, you'll see the upper arm looks like it has armor built onto the outer facing side with small details including circles and angled lines running along its length. His chest is not just a flat panel but instead a V shaped panel set on top of the base chest section. His hip section has layers as well, with V shaped panels layered on top of others. Taking Megatron's story as a gladiator who fought his way up the ranks, his design suggests a series of upgrades and armor additions over the years. Not only do these sculpted parts look fantastic, but they also add character to the figure.
One of my issues with the live action movie Megatron design is that many details get lost in the layers and layers of jagged armor. This Megatron could have easily fallen prey to the same weakness, but the designers balanced the layering of armor designs with some awesome distinctive detail. Among some of my favorite details are those on his waist section and the fusion cannon itself. The waist area has a vertical and horizontal row of angled lines on each side. These are reminscent of similar details found on Generation One Megatron's animation model. It's a small detail, but really shows the depth and detail the sculptors were aiming for. The fusion cannon itself is a thing of beauty. No longer consigned to being a plane tube connected to two other tubes, this design looks like it means business complete with a targeting scope on the side, power readouts on top (all sculpted in!) and tubes sticking out the back a bit that are reminscent of the "thruster" like design on back of G1 Megatron's cannon (but much smaller in size). A final detail that deserves mention are the hands, which are sculpted in what I would describe as a "reaching" position, partly open, the fingers stretching forward. It looks great and it befits the character as he reaches to take hold of power for himself. I'm happy they didn't just go with a simple fist on this figure.
In terms of fidelity to the CGI model used on the game, I would say Megatron is spot on. The sharp angles, the bulk and the intricate designs of the in-game model are reflected here. I do find that the game model looks a bit elongated in some parts, especially the head, compared to the figure, but that may just be a trick of proportions (it's hard to compare a three dimensional figure to something up on your 36" TV screen sometimes). Megatron is cast in light grey, black and translucent purple plastic. The grey plastic dominates most of his form while the black is found on smaller parts such as his forearms, lower legs and the Fusion Cannon. Translucent purple is used partly for light piping on his head, but also to convey the "glowing energy" that most of the "War for Cybertron" Transformers have showing through their bodies. On Megatron, you'll dinf the translucent purple plastic most prominant on his head (in the center crest) and on his chest. The crest interests me the most as it is rare for light piping to be used in such a manner. Usually if there are painted eyes, the light piping is wasted. In this case, Megatron's eyes are painted but the light piping still shows through. Paint decos are mostly done in black, grey, silver, lavender and metallic red. Red is the color seen the most, with designs on his chest, arms and the fusion cannon painted in red. Black is used for smaller details such as the middle part of his knee armor and the ridged lines on his arms and chest. Light grey is used on the upper part of his knee armor while a darker shade is used for his face. The lavender color is found throughout his body. On the torso, it is used for a Decepticon symbol. On the waist, it paints thin lines near the hip joints. One of my favorite details are three lavender lines on his fusion cannon that resemble power readings. A spot of silver is seen on the cannon, painting in a circle right in front of the aforementioned "power lines". Megatron has twenty two points of articulation in robot mode. This six in each arm and five in each leg. Thanks in part to his wide feet, Megatron is very stable in robot mode, allowing him to strike a variety of poses without tipping over. This is especially handy considering he is, by design, asymmetrical in appearance and in weight distribution. The cannon is longer than his entire arm, creating an uneven weight on that side, but you'd never know it from looking at him. The Fusion Cannon can detach from the right arm and attach to the left, but a quick look at the screws on the cannon tell you that it was really meant to be attached to the right arm as the screws are not visible from the front on that arm. Unlike his Classics counterpart, this Megatron can point his cannon forward with his forearm right side up. This makes for some great potential posing and play. Inside the cannon is a translucent purple missile that fires when you press the piece with the circle and "power lines" on them. Believe it or not, despite his G1 self being a gun, this is the first time in ages that a G1 inspired, US Megatron figure has been able to fire from it's cannon (this does not count guys from lines like Armada, which are clearly in a separate universe). Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
Vehicle Mode: The only "new" parts really revealed here are the undersides of Megatron's feet, which are light grey with red detailing. His cannon is the most prominant detail in this mode so it draws the benefit of having the detailing from that piece make up a lot of the vehicle's top seciton. While he is a tank, the only shame is that Megatron's cannon cannot be moved in this form. However, the designers did add in one feature that I like a lot. Megatron's "standard" form is a hovertank (as portrayed in the video game), but you can also convert him to a regular ground tank by swinging the treads out to the sides. The treads have small wheels on the bottom, allowing him to roll along. Coupled with his cannon firing, there's still some good play value in this mode.
Final Thoughts:
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When the "War for Cybertron" game was announced, one of the most anticipated design reveals was Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons. Having seen Megatron redesigned over and over in various forms (Armada, Energon etc.) over the years, many were eager to see his new design that represented the "Generation One" version of the character that so many fans grew up loving (or hating). With his reputation as a warrior, a powerful figure and a leader, his new form had to be fresh while evoking the original character, and thus was born "War for Cybertron" Megatron.
