We finally got our hands on the new Masterpiece Megatron from Takara, and it’s pretty nice. Read on for our review (with video) of the most controversial toy released this year.

MP-05 Masterpiece Megatron (マスターピース　メガトロン)

People had wondered that if a Masterpiece Megatron was made, would it be the famous G1 style megatron, or the lame tank version. And if it was the G1 version, would it even be allowed in the states?

Thankfully Takara decided to go with the version of Megatron we all know and love, the old fashioned gun mode. Initially the thought was that it would be allowed into the US because it was not packaged as a gun. After much speculation, Megatron would be allowed to be imported into the US with the condition that an orange tip be applied to the barrel of the gun to comply with US toy safety flaws.

Transformer fans were upset, but at least they were getting Megatron. When a lot of the Megatrons arrived they found the orange tips easily removable. All was good with the world. That is until ebay got involved. Apparently ebay has been pulling auctions of the Masterpiece Megatron due to their guidelines.

It just seems that fate does not want to get Masterpiece Megatron into your hands, unmodified.

Unless you get yours from betaToys.com, who are selling them unmodified.

Like I mentioned earlier, the toy ships in robot mode. The box is your typical nice black Masterpiece box, and the toy is encased in a clear plastic tray. The first thing that struck me when I pulled it out of the box was how big Megatron was. Megatron stands about 14 inches tall (to the tip of the barrel) in robot mode.

Megatron looks great. The designers did a great job capturing the anime look of the character within the confines of the modern transformation system. They toy is fairly articulated, with double joints at the elbows and knees, ball joint ankles, and arms and hips that can move in almost any direction. The hands have moveable fingers and feature a tab in the wrist that you can plug the accessories into. Megatron holds his weapons firmly.

The toy does seem to have a fair bit of kibble hanging off of it, and it makes posing it kind of difficult. The shoulder pad sections are held on by a ball joint that tends to pop off when you try to pose the arm. The same thing happens with the legs. The upper leg panels pop off too easily, and the lower leg panels don’t fall off, but they do become unfastened. Part of this is due to the fact that the joints are so tight that you cant help but move or bump these parts when moving it around.

The giant scope cannon fits securely onto Megatron’s right arm, and features a light-up action when the button on the side is pushed. The light is bright but my only complaint here is that you have to keep your finger on it to be lit. Megatron becomes really top-heavy when the cannon is added, but you can actually help brace the feet by lifting up the top panels on the feet so that they touch the legs. This gives added support and prevents Megatron from toppling over.

Included accessories are:

• Laser Sword
• Energy Mace
• Blaster Gun (Used to kill Optimus Prime in the movie)
• Kreemzeek figure
• Laser Scope weapon

The sword is made out of translucent purple plastic and can be separated into two parts. The hilt features a tab that fits into the palm of either hand.

The gun is solid plastic and also features the same tab. Why Megatron needs a gun (I mean, he IS a gun) is beyond me.

The ball and chain requires that you fold the hand back into the arm and then attach the clips to the stump. The clear plastic ball is attached to the base via a purple plastic chain.

Transforming Megatron is a challenge. It can be done, and once you do it a few times you won’t need the instructions. But it is not instinctive like the older transformers. At each step I felt like if I moved the parts the wrong way I would break it. I’m sure part of this can be attributed to the language barrier – the instructions may in fact offer clearer tips on how to handle the toy. But as it is, some of the connection points are small and made me worry. The transformation is basically the same as the classic G1 toy, just more complicated (if that makes any sense.). The parts go in the same place as before; you just have to do a lot of twisting and turning. Make sure you pay attention when you get it into gun mode, because the instructions don’t show you how to get it back.

Once you are finally in gun mode (took me 35 minutes the first time), Megatron looks like a realistic Walther P38 pistol. It actually feels a little big in my hand; my guess is it is scaled up from what an actual pistol is for safety reasons. I never could get the all the seams to fit tightly in this mode. There were always a few gaps that I just couldn’t get to be flush but I attribute that to my lack of transformation skills than that of the toy. In pistol mode the trigger works, and the gun safety can be moved. The scope can also be attached in this mode.

Megatron is a decent enough toy. If you are a fan of the existing masterpiece toys, or if you have a lot of time and patience, this if for you. If you get frustrated with overly complex transformations, look elsewhere.

The unmodified Masterpiece Megatron is available at betaToys.com

Overall, I think this is a good toy, very good. But it's not great.

I never liked Transformers. Not even as a kid. Oh sure, I liked the cartoon and I loved the movie and used to watch it repeatedly. But the toys just never did it for me. Sure, they usually looked great in vehicle mode, but if I wanted toy cars, I would have bought Hot Wheels or Matchbox. I wanted cool looking robots and they just didn't deliver for me. Furthermore, mine always broke on me so for me, it was all GI Joe, Masters of the Universe, etc....

Then as an adult collector, with the Transformers making a big-time comeback, I still decided to focus my attention elsewhere. In an age where high quality collector toys are everywhere, Transformers were not a consideration....until 2003, when Takara released their Masterpiece Convoy. Preliminary pictures looked amazing and the toy lived up to the hype. So much so that after buying it, I started to actually look forward to the next release in the line. This turned out to be essentially a repaint, so I skipped it. But 2006 brought us the release of the next real toy in the line, Starscream, the decepticon everyone loved to hate.

I still wasn't prepared to pay full import prices plus shipping, especially since some of the internet buzz wasn't entirely flattering. Apparently the toy underwent some changes that were not considered positive and diecast content was called into question. But with a December 2006 trip to Tokyo planned, I put it in mind to grab it if I saw it for a reasonable price. Well, a vendor at the World Character Convention was selling it for just 6,500 yen so I pounced on it.

The toy comes packaged in vehicle mode, inside a two part plastic tray. The F-15 plane looks fantastic and measures just over 1 foot long. The panel lines help blend the small gaps between parts beautifully and there is a clear, opening cockpit into which you can place an included small figure of Dr. Archeville. You can pull the tip of the plane and open it to reveal a radar array, but make sure it is pull all the way out, because if you don't, it might break....like mine did. Some things never change I guess. My only complaint with the fighter plane mode is that the hands of Starscream are still pretty obviously seen on the underside.

Transformation from fighter jet to robot is fairly easy, but I'd definitely recommend you follow the directions at least on the first time around rather than just diving in and trying to figure it out yourself, as fun as that can be. Especially since from F-15 mode, it is not all obvious where you should get started. One thing I just noticed is that the best way to get the arms out of their position is to use the sides of the legs as a lever. Swinging them out from the legs and pushing back will push the arms out and allow you to start manuevering them more easily.

In robot mode. Starscream is about 9" tall with a pretty good amount of poseability, but he seems to be a bit top heavy and like to fall backwards. The feet could be more stable to help this. The engine ports which form the heels are on ball joints, but I think they are too short and don't provide quite enough support in the rear.

There are a couple of gimmicks that are included in robot mode. The chest opens up to reveal missiles launchers, though they do not fire.

You can also choose from two different faces to display him in, a standard face and a smirking one. In order to make the change, you simply push his head back, pull his face down out of the black housing, spin it to reveal the one you want to show, and then re-insert it.

Starscream comes with a base and stand to display him on, either in F-15 or robot mode. It is a simple, plain feature, but the clear plastic stand is nice and sturdy. There is also a sticker sheet included if you would like to add some more color and detail to your toy. I think it looks good enough right out of the box though, so I haven't used mine.

Overall, I think this is a good toy, very good. But it's not great. It's certainly not a masterpiece and nowhere near as cool as the Convoy/Optimus Prime. That toy had plenty of diecast content, and this one has none. But if you're a transformer fan I see no reason you should not get it, especially if you can get a good deal like I did.

What more can be said about this toy? It is truly worthy of the Masterpiece title. The Masterpiece Convoy is the product of 3 years of development. It is the Optimus Prime you always wanted. This is the Japanese release by Takara, so we have to call him Convoy in this review.

Convoy is full of die cast. The lower legs and chest are solid. Every joint is satisfyingly tight and clicky and most joints have hydraulics. The wheels have suspension, and the tires are actual rubber. He comes with a gun, an axe and a miniature Megatron pistol. as well as the matrix of leadership, which fits snugly in his chest. You can move a lever on the back of his head to make his mouthpiece move up and down to simulate talking.

Transformation is fairly complex, but once you get used to it it becomes easy. While the robot mode looks great, the truck mode is unconvincing. Things don't line up right in my opinion.

The Takara version of Convoy is slightly different than the Hasbro version of Optimus prime. The Hasbro version has shorter smokestacks and has a weathered look. The die cast content is the same.

Regardless, this toy is insane. Get either version, and get it now!