Bot Reviews: Blokees Classic Class Megatron (2007)

I’m a very media-first guy when it comes to how I collect my Transformers. I like having the Guy from the Thing. The flipside is, if I don’t like the Thing, I don’t typically want the Guy from it. Which brings me to the Michael Bay movies, which I mostly don’t like.

To be fair, my opinion on them’s gone back and forth a lot over the years, but these days, I’m on the side of “nah,” for a billion reasons not worth elaborating on. Still, the original 2007 movie holds an important place to me, as both the thing that got me back into Transformers after an absence of a few years, and the film from which I got my long-time internet handle, based on a line delivered by Megatron (16 seconds in, below).

In fact, that specific version of the character left a big impression on me at the time, as this scenery-chewing unstoppable titan, who spoke with a curiously slow, almost lazy affect, like he didn’t really need to try to win. He was only in the movie for like 15 minutes, but did a lot with it. So, I at least wanted a figure of That Guy. But I don’t care for how the Studio Series Voyager version of him looks (he’s got baggy pants thanks to his transformation, and has the Revenge of the Fallen version’s chest).

And I’m definitely not going to shell out for the Movie Masterpiece, because spending that much money on a Bayverse product just feels wrong.

So I grabbed the next best thing: The Classic Class Blokee of the character.

This is a type of Blokee I haven’t looked at before. They’re a larger, pricier offering (I got this one for 25 Canadian, so about 12 dollars less than a Deluxe), and aren’t blindpacked, meaning you just get the guy you want, guaranteed. So, I get the bot I want, and get to look at a new thing. Everybody wins!

The Build

Good news: Since this isn’t a blindpacked figure, Megatron’s instructions are actually dedicated to him properly, making this build less confusing than your average Blokee, even if he’s much larger and more involved.

Bad news: I still managed to mess it up a bit. You see, Blokees all have these specific circular joints that are used for their knees and elbows, and come in two asymmetrical pieces that need to specifically be pegged together. Well, I didn’t read the little labels on them correctly, plugged the wrong joints together, and had to spend an eternity trying to take them back apart, outright shredding some of the plastic in the process. But I managed to get them undone, and the damage was only superficial. You can’t see the joints on the final product anyway. So, the lesson: Pay attention while you’re building this, and don’t try doing it while you’re streaming, and splitting your attention.

Asides from that, though, it was a fun build. I didn’t need gundam clippers, or glue, and it was interesting watching the skeleton become the metal man.

Speaking of that, let’s get into the completed bot.

The Sculpt

So, this guy is a bit cheaper than a Deluxe, which makes sense, because he’s the size of a small Deluxe. Specifically, he is exactly the same height as Siege Sideswipe, and also roughly the same height as Legacy Deluxe Optimus, which is a fun counterpart for him to scale to, since they’re at polar opposite ends of the aesthetic spectrum.

Also, this means Megs towers over the smaller Blokees, which also feels right. 

So, yes, this is the melted, jagged metal creature from the first Bay film, the one that inspired so much hatred in the fanbase at the time. And to be fair, there’s not much about him that’s traditionally Megatron-y. But it’s a cool design, in my opinion, and it’s replicated very well here.

Technically, he’s got the “big head on smaller body” aesthetic of Blokees going on, but at this scale, I barely register it at all. It’s mostly just a tiny version of the movie guy, with his ludicrously complicated metal shard details lovingly sculpted. This includes his three-clawed hands, and even a bit of altmode parts on his back, in the form of folded-in wings.

Excellent work can be found on the headsculpt, too, which looks like it’s ready to say any of the small but memorable lines he got in the movie. 

Colors

I think they took some liberties with the colors here, as I picture Megatron mostly being different shades of metallic gray, whereas the Blokee is a combination of metallic gray and metallic gold, with the gold mostly being internal parts. But actually studying clips of the film, I think he might have always had the gold innards, and the lighting and cinematography obscured that. I’m not complaining, though, because it looks good, and stops him from being too boringly-colored. It helps that all his shades are nice and metallic.

Still, it’s a really simple colorscheme, with only a little bit of translucent red around his chest and on his eyes to break it up. 

Build Quality

This is somewhere in the middle with Meggy. His feet are big enough that he can stand very well on his own, with no assistance, and generally he stays together, with no need for glue. But I’ve had a few of his external panels pop off while transporting him in my backpack, so I’d definitely call him less durable-feeling than a standard Transformer, and even a bit less durable-feeling than the smalled Blokees. That said, he still feels leagues ahead of the non-Transformers model kits I’ve handled in the past, which all tend to feel flimsy and fragile, while this guy’s just a bit more delicate than your average bot.

Funny, considering his whole role in the movie is “big tough indestructible monster.”

Articulation

This continues to be a strong point with Blokees, which manage to have all the articulation of a standard modern mainline Transformer. In Megatron’s case, this means rocker ankles, universal knees and hips, a waist swivel, universal shoulders and elbows, and, very importantly, swivelling wrists, with individually articulated fingers, for some really good gesturing and grabby action.

I think the only thing I miss on him is a head that can raise and lower. It’s on a ball joint with some up-and-down motion, but not enough to have him go full hunched, which he did a fair amount in the movie. Still, as far as bendiness goes, it’s really impressive!

Accessories and Features

Megs actually has a lot of these. Firstly, like all Blokees, he comes with a stand.

Or, in his case, two normal Blokees stands that you clip together. There’s four pegs on them that go into bespoke holes on his feet to stand him up, not that he really needs it.

There’s also a whopping ten 5-millimeter ports on the stand, for hosting two additional accessories: Translucent purple flame effects. Weirdly, though, he comes with two of the same flame effect, when the shape of it suggests it’s meant to be mirrored.

I even checked the product photography to make sure it was supposed to come with two of the same piece. Either way, you can make his stand flame-y if you want, or try to give them to another mainline Transformer with 5-millimeter ports, though the odd shape of them leave you with somewhat limited options.

Next up, he’s got a big weapon accessory, in the form of a long laser rifle, that pegs into the center of either one of his claw-hands.

It’s based on the big weapon he pulled out when he went “JOIN THEM IN EXTINCTION!!!” Which is a little bit of a problem, because he formed it from clapping his two hands together in the film. On this figure, he’s got to hold it in one hand, and there’s no good angle to have him fake holding it straight forwards two-handed.

Still, it’s an impressive piece, and there’s plenty of posing that you CAN do with it. Amusingly, the sculpt on it is such ambiguous melted metal cruft that I’m not sure which way’s supposed to be up or down on it. 

Speaking of melted metal cruft, Megatron actually has two entire chestplates. There’s his normal one, and an alternate damaged one, representing when Sam pushed the Allspark into his chest.

There’s a hole in the middle that exposes a little Allspark Cube, embedded in the translucent red of his undershirt.

You can also remove the cube if you want, though you need to take more of his chest apart to do so.

It wasn’t intended as a standalone accessory, though, so it’s hollow on one side. 

Lastly, the key feature from Shining Edition Blokees has migrated its way up to this size class, in the form of glowing LED eyes.

You just jostle him a bit to activate them, with my preferred approach being a very stim-like “tap his head twice with my index finger” motion, and they stay on for about 60 seconds or so. They’re bright enough to shine a bit even in a well-lit room, and his eye don’t look dead once they turn off, so it’s pretty much a perfect gimmick.

Honestly, mainline Transformers should do this, it’s a little thing that just adds a lot. 

Overall

Blokees continue to be surprisingly good, even in large form! I think the low price helps a lot, because $25 Canadian feels like good value for what’s here. You get a small Deluxe-sized figure, with mainline-worthy articulation, who doesn’t transform, but does have a lightup eye gimmick, and comes as a fun building activity out of the box. I understand that most of them are like this, and it makes me want to at least get the 2007 Optimus the line also did, in order to fight this guy. As for Megatron himself, it’s a good representation of the movie’s design, if that’s what you’re into, which is exactly what I wanted!

For over 200 Bot, Non-Bot, and Retro Bot Reviews, click here to view my archive.