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Though I understand the
reasons for it, I still think it's somewhat
silly to pass off this toy as the Robots in
Disguise version of Megatron. Just
look at the helmet that comes over his face
when the gun flips out -- you know this bad
boy, don't you. Not to mention his
alternate mode -- minus the insect legs --
was in every episode of the second
season. Yeeeessss... But enough
of that. Aside from some words and
packaging, the toy remains virtually
unchanged from when we first saw it over a
year ago at Toy Fair 2001. It's been a
long, long wait, but it's been worth it.
Robot Mode: This guy is
pretty bulky for a deluxe, but he's not the
tallest ever. I think the most telling
feature is that he's taller than his Beast
Machines Mega counterpart. Definitely
worth the money, though since he's only
available at KayBee we're practically paying
the price for a Mega-sized toy, though his
robot mode doesn't feel quite as
solid. This is due mostly to the arms
and legs being essentially hollow. The
paint scheme is reminiscent of his original
Beast Wars form, although this may be more
due to the affiliation of purple to regality
rather than a throwback to his earlier
form. The legs are REALLY neat.
I can't get over how neat their design is.
His alternate form (not
sure whether to call it a vehicle or beast
form) is really REALLY tight. All of
his Robot Mode parts tuck up, fold in, and
lock into place very nicely. It's
quite remarkable how many details of the toy
made it into his Beast Machines big giant
head body. Even though the insect feet
are really strange, they're pretty
interesting in this mode.
But now for the gripes.
That whole red backpack thing in Robot Mode
is terribly inconvenient. It's so
heavy that the center of gravity shifts and
the toy has to stand rather oddly in order
to balance on its own. Unfortunately
this means that the really cool legs can't
be used to their full potential and they
look a little silly. The hands feel
like they can break off at any second -- and
I honestly expected there to either be some
finger or wrist articulation. The
nature of the transformation negates certain
elements of poseability, so it's somewhat
forgivable. Unfortunately the rest of
the articulation is completely cancelled out
by the off-centeredness of the Robot Mode.
That being said, he's
still really neat and I like him a
lot. My Beast Machines collection is
now complete, save ONE.
The alterations from the
Toy Fair version are subtle. The teeth
are molded slightly differently, and a hole
has been made in the "chin" of the
lower jaw to accommodate the missile.
Probably the most interesting additions is
that the gun that goes over his head is held
in place by a magnet. I guess I
shouldn't be keeping it this close to my
computer, then... |
MEGATRON MEGABOLT
