TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
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INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Wildfire's review of: Galvatron

Generation: Armada
First cartoon appearance: ****
"I am the ICON of destruction!"

Galvatron is a powered up version of Megatron making him the epitome of egotistical might and tyranny. He is a self-centered maniacal bully who constantly abuses those around him in order to advance his wishes and dreams. While he despises incompetence and petty bickering he demands complete and utter loyalty. Even the most devote of his warriors are pawns to be used, maneuvered, gambled with, and if need be, sacrificed. He is a power broker in a universe of infinite possibilities. Galvatron has a vision where he travels the universe, collecting instruments of power, gobbling up resources, dominating species, declaring wars, ravaging planets, and drinks from the goblet of strife.

Vehicle Mode: Galvatron is the same monstrous battle tank that Megatron was, a form that commands respect. He is primarily off white with mauve, light purple, gold, dark blue gray, and yellow. Galvatron has less detailing on his mechanical bits than Megatron did, but he has “battle scars,” black scorch marks all over him, dirt on his serrated fenders and on his treads, plus black scorching on his gun turret and missile launchers. The tank has incredible detailing including headlights, hatches, grates, tubes, pipes, mechanical bits and grooves. The front “fenders” have serrated edges, like this machine could ram straight through barriers and foes alike. To aid in this, there are also huge serrated pinchers between the fenders, which could easily grab or decapitate enemies. Galvatron is packed with features, most of which deal with enslaving Minicons. Pushing back on the turret barrel fires a missile accompanied by a cannon blast noise. Pushing the black button on the left front fender opens three panels, each of which has a Powerlinx point on it. The right fender has a gold ramp, which can either hold a Minicon normally, or be flipped up to form a launch pad for one of the Air Defense or Air Assault team members (or one of the upcoming Air Military members.) The light purple Powerlinx point on the top of the turret unlocks the missile launcher on the other side of the turret. Place a Minicon on the point then pull back and to the right, the cannon will rise then make a firing noise, launch the missiles by pushing the black buttons on the launcher itself. The white point behind the cannon makes a machine gun noise when you attach a Minicon and turn it left or right. Firing the cannon, missiles, or activating the machine gun noise also makes a red light behind the translucent Decepticon symbol on the right side of the turret flash repeatedly. Turning Galvatron’s turret to the right or left causes a very out of place voice to yell, “The power is mine!” Unfortunately, this is still not David Kaye’s voice, and what’s worse it sounds more like an English professor than a Decepticon warlord. On the rear right fender, there is a section with a Powerlinx point sticking out from the side, pull down on this to reveal a platform then fold the ramp forward and push forward on the light purple button on the top of the fender to slide out a light purple claw that can grab a Minicon. On the left rear fender, there is a section that protrudes, pull it outward then lift the upper half and push down the lower half to form a chamber that can hold a Minicon. Until recently, I didn’t believe any Minicon could actually fit in this, but then I found that Nightbeat fits perfectly. Galvatron holds quite a few Minicons when utilizing all his Powerlinx points and looks vicious to boot.

Robot Mode: Flip the tank over so its underside is facing you. Pull down on the rear treads to detach them from the main body then straighten them out to form the robot legs. Rotate the waist around by turning it right (you may need to move the turret a little so the waist gets clearance.) Pull up on the black wedges at the ends of the legs and fold them up against the shins to form the feet, push the black bits behind the feet back to give the robot better balance. If Megatron’s faceplate is up, push down on the small light purple piece that has a tiny dark purple Decepticon logo on it to reveal Galvatron’s scowl. Next, pull open both mauve panels on the sides of the upper treads and pull Megatron’s arms out of them and down to his sides, close the panels afterwards. Megatron is now in his Robot mode.
Just as the tank was imposing, so is the robot. Galvatron has a furious scowl on his face and the pinchers from his tank form have become huge horns on his head, one hand is clenched in a fist, the other is clawed with spring loaded fingers. His shoulders bear large Decepticon symbols, as does the small panel on his chest. In robot mode, Galvatron is mainly off white, mauve, and light purple. He has bright red eyes and some gold parts near his hips, shoulders, and horns. He has 13 points of articulation, most of them in his arms, but he also has a swivel waist. Unfortunately, his legs can only kick outwards, limiting his poseability. Galvatron can carry about nine Minicons in robot mode and has only one new feature revealed, attach a Minicon to his left forearm point and slide it forward and a dagger springs out of his palm and up into his hand. If you rotate the turret on his back around to either side and swing the barrel under an arm, he can use its firepower in robot mode. The turret can also either swing loose or be locked into place, on the left side of Megatron’s body, near his waist you will see a light purple peg extending out. Above this in the chest section is an indentation in the black plastic. If the peg is free from the indentation, you can turn it and the turret will turn as well, but if you lift upwards on the chest, fit the peg into the indentation, and push the chest back down, the turret will be locked and won’t flop around. If you want, you can also make full use of Galvatron’s firepower. Lift the chest again and raise the arms up, then turn the waist section the turret is attached to around to the front and lower the chest again. Now Galvatron can use his cannon and his missile launcher. If you want to increase Galvatron’s firepower more, remove all his missiles from their launcher and open the gray panel on his left shoulder, inside are grooves that the missiles fit into, close the panel again and Galvatron looks more powerful.

Minicon: Galvatron’s Minicon is a repainted Leader-1 named Clench. Clench was, if I remember correctly, a G2 European Incinerator figure, nice to see the name re-used. Clench is some type of lightly armed military vehicle. He has four treaded wheels and two large gold cannons on his roof. He is mainly black with gold cannons, mauve front fenders and rear section, and silver windows in his cockpit. To transform Clench, pull back on cannons until they are straight then fold the gold parts into the black parts, rotate the fenders down to form his arms and there you have it. Clench is tall and thin, he has a visor in place of eyes and his face seems to be hidden behind a cowl of sorts. His Minicon symbol is on the middle of his chest. He has six points of articulation, which is a lot for a toy his size. An interesting point of note is that he appears to have a device like brass knuckles on his right hand, making it look like he’s got more tricks up his sleeve than he’s letting on. Clench has several weapon modes to use with Galvatron. He can of course be attached to any Powerlinx point in vehicle mode to add firepower, but real fun is his other modes. The easiest is to turn him to robot mode but not tuck in his gold cannons, like this he can attach to Galvatron’s forearm and look like wrist weapon. From this mode simply pull one of his arms down and put it in Galvatron’s closed fist to form a rifle-like weapon. Finally, bend his legs backward a little and opening the mauve panel on Galvatron’s right shoulder, you’ll see a slot that Clench’s cockpit slides into, close the panel again and Clench is a shoulder mounted cannon!

Transformation: 3 - Suprisingly simple for such a large figure
Durability: 10 - Like a rock
Fun: 10 - Just as much fun as Megatron was, which was quite a bit.
Price: 6 - About $25, worth it if you don't have a Megatron, or if you like repaints.
Overall: 9 - Once again, needs a real voice, otherwise, thumbs up.