Originally written January 2019.
Naturally there was going to be a Megatron in Transformers: Siege, considering that it’s dedicated to creating the best-possible figures of the classic group, as they looked on their “last day on Cybertron” before coming to Earth, and every Optimus (reviewed here) needs his Megatron to fight. Unlike most of this line, Megatron can’t be a strict Generation One homage, because in Generation One, Megatron transformed into a gun, which you’re not allowed to do in toy form in North America anymore. So, instead, he’s had a slew of different altmodes over the years, though Hasbro and Takara seem to have generally settled on “some kind of tank” as his new go-to, which this figure repeats. However, usually that alternate mode means a different-looking robot mode. This toy tries to have it both ways, re-creating the Megatron we know and love from the 80s, while giving him his updated alternate form. Let’s see how he turned out. Photography in this post provided by Venomously Addicted Photography, who you can follow on Facebook and Instagram.
Robot Mode
Like most of the Siege line, Megatron isn’t trying to update his design as previous Generations figures have. Instead, this is a direct re-creation of his original character model, as seen in the Sunbow animated series and Marvel comics. To that end, he has a lot of specific details we don’t usually see replicated on modern Megatrons, like the little blue and yellow details on his abdomen, or the broad, flat chest originally made of a gun’s chamber. This is very much the Megatron you remember, complete with the big fusion cannon bolted to his arm. Like Optimus, special attention was given to this guy’s head and face sculpt, which looks unbelievably accurate to the cartoon, to the point where you can hear Frank Welker’s scratchy voice coming out of it’s scowling expression, red eyes, black eyebrows and bucketlike helmet. The only detail that isn’t accurate are the big black tank treads on his back, a testament to his new vehicle mode. Still, for something that doesn’t change into a gun anymore, the level of detail to a character model that originally did was admirable. I personally think he looks a little bit squat and broad compared to how he’s “supposed” to look in my head, but I might be imagining it.
Megatron’s colors are the traditional grey, with bits of red, black and silver liberally applied to keep it from getting dull, as well as the tiny bit of blue and yellow on his midsection details. A layer of silver paint on his face, in particular, makes the details pop. Of course, he’s also covered in one of Siege’s trademark aesthetic flourishes, the source of so much fandom controversy, the dirt, grime and battle-damage paint apps. They’re far more present than they were on this line’s Optimus, with splotches in various shades of grey and silver across his flared lower legs, all of his arms, his chest, and even on his helmet. You’re either going to love or hate this aesthetic choice, as they don’t downplay it like they did with Optimus, but put it right there in the open. I personally think, as said before, that it adds a level of visual interest, breaks up the monotony, and reminds me of cell shading in CGI, but your mileage may vary.
Poseability wise, he falls a bit short of his wavemate, Optimus, but to be fair, that’s a high bar to clear. Stil, he’s got above-what’s-expected poseability, and while he doesn’t have swivelling wrists (a shame, considering his sword accessory) he does have it in his head, shoudlers, elbows, waist, legs, knees, and ankle tilts that will, unfortunately, give you a bit of trouble. His feet are on ankle tilts that unsnap from a straight position with an audible click, and flop around a bit loosely when being posed. This is fine, but on my copy, his left foot didn’t want to snap back into its straight position, and so, kept dangling. Apparently this is a common quality control issue, but there is a solution: Popping his foot out of the circular mushroom peg it’s in, and pressing the ankle down hard until it click into place, before putting the foot back on. Still, it’s a bit disappointing, though I will note that, even when they’re untabbed, the figure is still very stable. Another source of disappointment is the panel his head’s on, which swivels up and down for transformation, but doesn’t lock in at all. While it’s tight enough that his head doesn’t flop around, when you pose him, it does naturally move into an awkward position. There was some early stock photography of this guy with his head sunken into his body because of it. Lastly, while it’s in no danger of falling apart, I wish his tread backpack was more securely pegged on, as it can come undone a bit too easily.
In terms of accessories, the big, round, signature Fusion Cannon on his arm’s removable, though if you’re like me, it’s pretty much never leaving that arm. He also comes with a big, meaty, triangular sword, based on one that the Japanese release of his original G1 toy came with. While wrist swivels would have helped make it look better, it’s a big, impressive weapon that he looks good wielding. There’s another cannon embedded into the sword’s blade body, and you can split and rotate the edges of the blade for transformation, which some people have used to fanmode it into a makeshift giant claw/rail gun type thing. Speaking of that, you can mount the weapon on holes on his upper and lower arms, lower legs, back (for storage), and top of his tread backpack, using either its handle, or another peg on its side. You can even, according to some more dopey stock photography, tab it to the front of his fusion cannon for a crazy gigantic bayonet. One of the line-wide gimmicks of Siege is different kinds of weapon accessory packs, so most figures, including him, have these mounting points so you can trick him out with a big pile of extra guns.
Transformation
Despite following the basic tank transformation of “lay him on his front, fold his arms and legs into treads, and cover the gap with the panels,” his conversion is more complex than you’d think. I still need help figuring out the complicated way his legs fold and compress, as it involves a really specific set of bends to make it work. One thing I do like, though, is the fact that it’s possible to leave his Fusion Cannon on his arm, and still complete the transformation. It can be a bit of a challenge to get all of his parts to line up and peg together, but everything has somewhere to click into, you just have to feel around until there’s a snap.
Tank Mode
Whereas Optimus Prime’s Cybertronian vehicle mode really just looked like an advanced concept Earth truck, this definitely looks like a futuristic sci-fi vehicle. Megatron changes into a common fake altmode that fans have nicknamed an “H-Tank,” due to the way it has four sets of small treads, instead of two large ones.
To the credit of the designers, this altmode tries really hard not to look like a robot on its stomach with its limbs splayed out, and mostly succeeds, the most obvious robot bit being his feet poking out of the back. While his treads are fake, he’s got small wheels he can roll on, and manages to do so without scraping the ground. His tank turret rotates, and the barrel on it is the one that was hiding in the middle of his sword.
Speaking of that, there’s one issue I have with this mode, and that’s that his gunbarrel can’t raise or lower, but has to point straight forward. There’s a joint there, but because the sword’s blades stash underneath the turret, the joint can’t actually move. That being said, there’s a lot of alternate ways to mount the fusion barrel/sword combo, so you can build a liftable turret (and, once again, it can be a ludicrously long bayonet/railgun thing.)
Overall
While not as strong a release as his near-flawless counterpart, Megatron’s still handily the best Voyager-scale rendition of the character we’ve ever gotten, and is, once again, the best non-Masterpiece representation of the classic character on the market, and a handy improvement over the previous few Classics/Universe/Generations renditions of the Decepticon leader. If you’ve got an Optimus, and he needs his opposite, this is your guy, and if you just want a good, solid Megatron, he’s still your guy.
2021 notes: This guy would go on to receive multiple repaints, including a G2-themed Combat Megatron (reviewed here), and an extensive retool for Earthrise, of which I reviewed another G2 repaint of, here. That being said, the Earthrise retool was a bit of a lateral move, and maybe even a downgrade, when it wasn’t being a G2 Megatron, and honestly, I still prefer the Siege tooling. That being said, this is the least-good-looking version of it now, as he got a pair of shiny silver repaints in the Netflix line that both improve upon this, and while I can’t check the ankles on those, Combat Megatron fixed that issue, so I’d assume the Netflix ones did, too. Regardless, this is still my preferred mainline G1 Megatron.
For over 100 Bot, Non-Bot, and Retro Bot Reviews, click here to view my archive.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks