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Leader-class Decepticon Megatron (Earth Mode)

Comments

12 comments posted
Looks pretty cool, but isn't

Looks pretty cool, but isn't there a way to make his knees look less....odd?

Viokni's picture
Posted by Viokni on 12 August, 2008 - 20:33
Mighty Megatron-chan...?

Wow- you caught that too, huh? Yeah, when his legs are straight down, it looks like his knees are turned inwards, in an almost petite anime schoolgirl-type way. But, alas, that is just the way the thighs are molded, since the legs have to join together in vehicle mode. (If you watch the video I made, you'll see what I mean.)
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 August, 2008 - 20:42
Making the legs look better.

The black parts of the lower legs can be unlocked to make for better proportions. They can be moved around to suit anyone's liking. I just got him yesterday and he is a great figure. I was going to pass on all the Leader figs from Animated, but finally caved on this guy. Glad I did.

GogDog's picture
Posted by GogDog on 12 August, 2008 - 21:33
Herecy-! Herecy! You put

Herecy-! Herecy! You put Megs's fusion cannon on his left arm! Herecy!

Just kidding, of course.

Someone commented on YouTube- have you seen the video yet???- that Megatron's transformation is fairly simple. And I tend to agree with that- you move everything except his torso & head. To me, that's kinda cheap when you look at how intricate the Leader-class figures were from the movie's line-up; I think they could have done something different. I mean, you can get away with that on Bulkhead, but not Megs. (I'm hoping Ultra Magnus doesn't have a non-moving blocky torso like this either.) However, I will compliment Takara on giving Megs a waist joint; that was nice.
Perhaps they could have reduced him to a single AA- or a set of watch batteries instead. I mean, I like the SFX, but they could have kept this down to three LEDs (head, chest, cockpit) rather than five.

Oh, BTW, does that sound like Corey Burton to you in the SFX, or a sound-alike...? I'm still undecided on the matter.
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 August, 2008 - 23:32
Hehe

That's not my pic, so I'm off the hook. :) I figured I didn't need to take one since I already saw that one on TFW.

If it's not Burton, than it's close. I'm fairly certain that the real voice actors were used in the Bumper Battlers, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was really him. And I agree, Megs is pretty simple, but he looks so bad ass! I think his robot and copter modes both look great, and for me, that's the point, so it's forgivable. It is kinda the opposite end of the spectrum when compared to Movie Leader Megs, but I'd take this one any day.

*Edit*
I also just want to mention that that is one drawback of the American style of large, expensive figures. Hasbro tends to include batteries and FX often to the detriment of their figures. I do tend to like the Japanese approach which is just make a nice, posable figure with lots of accessories. I do believe that Hasbro thinks that parents have to justify a $40 price tag on a figure, and having electronic gimmicks (ZOMG LIGHT AND SOUNDS!!) help do that. And for some, maybe they do, but often they do more harm than good.

GogDog's picture
Posted by GogDog on 13 August, 2008 - 00:31
Hmm. One thing I want to

Hmm.

One thing I want to comment on that I couldn't really in the review was "...Animated" Megs as a whole. While I wait to pick up the Voyager-class figure, I think that his Cybertronian mode is still superior to his Earth Mode seen here. I mean, WHY would the All Spark chose a helicopter alt. mode over a jet/rocket-powered alt. mode? A helicopter just seems to weaken Megs' image overall versus his wickedly-dangerous Cybertron Mode.

Or rather, why did Takara, Hasbro, & Cartoon Network choose a helicopter over a jet- because we'd already seen that before in the Unicron Trilogy?
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 13 August, 2008 - 01:07
Of course Hasbro, and every

Of course Hasbro, and every other toymaker, has to justify the price tag of every figure they make, not just to consumers, but to their corporate overlords as well.

It's been pretty obvious, especially with their Transformers brand, that Hasbro seems to think US parents and children are not very smart. That in the US, kids only want flashing lights and sounds, or shooting missiles, or basically anything they can print in big letters on the side of the box, or features that only sound good in a board room. "Kids like video games, right? Just make every figure talk and flash, like video games do!" Why not save yourself money, and families in the US insult- just import the Takara toys, like you did in the 1980's, and collect your money.

Now they've taken the US approach to animation- take a simple, easy to animate style they know financially works, and apply any old 80's cartoon to it; add computers and marketing department- and these new US designed toys are overly simplistic and pretty plain- especially for $40 a piece.

The design is interesting, despite being pretty plain. I like the helicopter design, but like a kid in my family said when he saw an episode of the show: "Isn't Megatron a jet? or a car? I don't know what he is besides a robot!" I always prefered the "jet" Megatron myself, but a little consistancy would be nice. Robot mode is very nice as well, I like the throwback design, but i think that i'm a little partial to the 80's designs, as i grew up with them.

The real question is: "But is this really a $40-50 toy?" and the answer all around is NO. It's a $15-20 figure, blown up a few inches, with added plastic and electronics, to "justify" the price. 5 to 8 years ago, this toy would have cost $20-25. Adding some weight, and flashing lights does not justify the addded expense.

While I'm usually a sucker for megatrons, and this does look kind of cool, this is one that i won't be purchasing, on the principal that it's too expensive and the transformation is far too simplistic for the price.

The Big R's picture
Posted by The Big R on 13 August, 2008 - 09:37
Another thing to keep in

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the Animated deluxes are more complex than Megs. The line as whole is not too bad, but it is funny when you have much smaller figures that are twice as complex. Supreme Starscream anyone? I don't blame you for abiding by your principles on this. But he just looks too cool to me. He will be the only Leader class I pick up from this line.

GogDog's picture
Posted by GogDog on 13 August, 2008 - 12:01
Oh, I don't know- I think

Oh, I don't know- I think Ultra Magnus looks pretty awesome too, don't cha think?
However, I'm still debating whether to go with Leader-class or Voyager-class Bulkhead. Going with the larger figure means he's in-scale and you get the Headmaster unit, but I don't feel like spending $40 on him since he's not exactly my favorite character.
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 13 August, 2008 - 20:33
I agree, Magnus looks cool.

I agree, Magnus looks cool. I'm just running out of room in my apartment. :)

GogDog's picture
Posted by GogDog on 13 August, 2008 - 22:26
Yes!

Another figure done justice by a great EVA_Unit_4A review.

In short, I love this figure. I've had a good couple of hours of fun flying it around devastating various smaller aircraft and land-based artillery Transformers. And the robot mode looks great standing around giving orders and showing off his sweet weapons. When I can take a figure and honestly say that neither mode outshines the other and that they're BOTH awesome, that is quite a fine piece.

Gareth Infinity's picture
Posted by Gareth Infinity on 13 August, 2008 - 01:41
Meh- I'd take Megs' robot

Meh- I'd take Megs' robot mode over the vehicle mode, even though I like the synchronized rotors and chin-mounted fusion cannon/missile launcher turret.
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 13 August, 2008 - 02:22