TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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Technical Specifications:
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Dinobot365's review of: Beast Machines Megatron

Name: Megatron
Allegiance: Vehicon
Function: Predacon Vehicon Leader
Motto: “Purification is the key to our salvation!”

The leader of the new world order on Cybertron, Megatron has focused his ruthless energies on a new mission: to restore the machine-like purity of the Transformers. Creating a devastating virus that wiped out the inhabitants on Cybertron, Megatron populated the planet with Vehicons - vehicle Transformers with no spark. In robot mode - his preferred mode - Megatron plugs into his diagnostic drone, which controls every aspect of Cybertron. In beast mode, powerful jaws can crush all metals and alloys with ease. Breathes fire or ice. Will stop at nothing to fulfill his twisted vision of a new order.

Megatron was the leader of the Predacons in Beast Wars, and he returns in Beast Machines as the leader of the Vehicons. However, this figure is very small for a mega. Some deluxes are larger than him. Megatron might have been a deluxe instead of a mega if not for his wings and the fact that he is more detailed than average deluxes.

Beast Mode:

This mode was used very sparingly in the television show. Megatron’s beast form carries over from the end of Beast Wars. He is still a dragon, but this figure is a different mold from the Transmetal 2 Megatron and has a completely different transformation. Megatron looks quite a bit different from his show likeness in this mode. He is mostly red with gold, maroon, black, and translucent orange accents. He has large gray wings. Also, he has green eyes. Megatron is 23 centimeters (9 inches) long from snout to tail and has a 26 centimeter (10.5 inches) wing span. He has twenty-seven points of articulation. Eight of these points are focused in the wings and the claws on top of the wings. Six more are in the neck and head. I like how his head is poseable, instead of being rubbery and completely unposeable like the Transmetal 2 Megatron’s head. His main action feature is a spring-loaded neck. When you pull the head and neck back, it will strike downward with a small amount of force.

His wings look totally different from the Transmetal 2’s wings. They are all gray, and at first glance do not look too much like wings. If you look closely at them you can see very organic looking tubes and veins. I find it unfortunate that his front arms are attached to the wing section, as it leaves a small gap between the arms and the body, but it has to be this way so the transformation works.

Robot Mode:

This mode was never featured in the Beast Machines show. It looks similar to the Transmetal 2 Megatron’s robot mode at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it has quite a few differences. He stands 12 centimeters (5 inches) tall. His color scheme from beast mode carries over with some additional black. His eyes have orange light piping. Megatron’s head is the blue and silver helmeted version from the show. He has twenty-four points of articulation

His beast mode head retains its striking action in this mode, even though it is now his left arm. The blue hexagon in the middle of his chest opens to reveal a green Vehicon spark crystal. I find it a little disappointing that Megatron’s beast mode arms don’t lock into place, which creates a small gap in his abdominal area. Also, the wings make him a little top heavy, so he sometimes has a tendency to fall over.

Cloaked Mode:

This is the mode that Megatron appears most often in on the show. He is mostly gray in this mode with some translucent orange on his front. He has absolutely no articulation whatsoever, making him have much more display value than play value in this mode. Megatron is still 12 centimeters (5 inches) tall in this mode. His cloak has lots of technological details on it. Unfortunately, this mode does not have the arms on the sides that Megatron has in the show. Also, his legs stick out of the bottom of his cloak.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 8 – Some bits are simple, but others aren’t. You may need the instructions to transform Megatron the first time.
Durability: 10 – Nothing has broken or feels like it is going to break.
Fun: 9 – Megatron is a great figure to play around with and looks good, too.
Price: 5 – Megatron retailed for $15, which is a bit too much considering his size. I have seen prices on eBay between $10 and $25. I was lucky and managed to get mine for only $9 (including shipping) on eBay.
Overall: 9 – Once you get past his size, Megatron is a visually appealing toy that has lots of play and display value. Even though he looks hardly anything like he appears on the show, I still recommend picking up this excellent and unique figure.