TFTM Premium Leader Megatron

I know, I know, there's already a thread for Leader class Megatron, but as the Repaint-happy monkeys at Hasbro say, "Vive Le Difference!" (At least the French ones do)

The first thing you notice when you see the Premium edition of Leader Megatron is that he's still the same price as the other leaders. Including the Megatron you already bought last year. D'oh!

The second thing you notice is that the shiny chrome banner across the top of the box isn't the ONLY thing that's shiny.



Premium Megs isn't as chromey as the metallized Best Buy Voyager version, or Cybertron Galvatron. Instead, he's molded in a silvery flecked grey plastic, not entirely unlike Deluxe Jazz or Deluxe Scorponok, except not Bronze tinted. In the right light, he's really reflective; my cheap camera's flashbulb doesn't do the effect justice. You'll notice it when you see him under the bright fluorescent lights of your local store.

On top of that, gone are the garish blue accents -- Megs has been given paint washes of gunmetal and brighter silver, along with some bronze and gold paint apps here and there. The quality of the paint apps isn't too terrible, though they're not spectacular. Let's just say Hasbro isn't putting Jin Saotome out of business anytime soon. The applications vary, so you might want to examine the figures on hand and pick and choose the one you like the best.



Some of the paint you won't be able to see until you take him out of the box, most notably the somewhat sloppy wash along the leading edge of the wings in Jet mode, since they're folded behind him in the packaging...but let's face it -- you're probably going to transform him once, marvel at the shoddiness of the vehicle mode, realize you wasted a half hour figuring it out, then display him in bot mode from that moment forward.

Seriously, this guy has the most incredibly complicated yet half-assed Alt mode since Cybertron Undermine...or most of Beast Machines. You'd think that if they were going to make a halfhearted effort at the alt mode, the designers would have given the Bot mode a bit more love and articulation, but such is not the case. Our fearless leader cannot move his wrists, neck, ankles, or waist, and only charitably at his shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. But if you've been paying attention since this figure's first deco was released, you already knew all of this. For more on the subject of gnashing teeth, check out the Feedback thread for Leader Megatron linked up there.

There was some talk that he might have a resculpted head, a la Premium leader class Optimus Prime. If that is the case, I don't see it. It's true, however, that he's gotten a little more attention paid to his face paint, but still it's not quite enough for my taste. I would very much have liked to see the eyes light up somehow, but no, only the chest lights up, and it still lights up a weak yellow; a far cry form the searing red they photoshopped all over the boxart.

The sound chip has also had a bit of an upgrade, with a major difference sure to melt the hearts and clench the fists of any diehard fan. Pressing the Automorph button activates a G1 transformation sound, instead of the unfamiliar, ear-bleeding "vroooOOOPEWPEWPEW" that initially accompanied the leader Leaders. The Jet mode is still a screeching turbine, but that G1 sound effect totally made the difference for me, from an "Oh that's neat" to a "Jeez, I guess I have to get this."

So if you didn't get the original, and you've been considering blowing a pair of Jacksons on Megatron, this is the one to get, since it's the same price as the version still lurking on some store shelves. If you DID get the original, first and foremost you have my apologies, but you might want to consider getting this one too. The Premium version is definitely a step up from the initial release, which is a damn shame, because this is how the figure should have looked since day 1.

P.S. - If you do buy this figure at a retail outlet, make sure that the one you get is the correct one, and not an original paint that some shady character bought, swapped out and returned. It happens a lot more often than you think.

For the more visually inclined -- you could save yourself the agony and just wait for Seibertron to put a gleaming gallery of this bad boy, but if you absolutely must see more pics, here is a small gallery of all the quick snapshots I took.

Sweet!

Thanks for the awesome review and clear pictures man!

One quick question:

Are the clear red spikes actually red this time or are they still that horrible pinkish red the first release had?

Dear God....I am so glad I passed on the first release. He looks GREAT. The mold, from what I have seen, isn't the best...but at least now he LOOKS good.

Definitely want to pick him up, and I hope I can.

Going off of his pics, they look rather red. The pinkish ones on the regular release looked pink even in pics.

cool except premium kinda seems like a rip off to me except the G1 transformation sound convinced me GAH another 40$ down the drain

I wana get this. Why do people think his transformation is hard? The copper looks weird and cheapish though, Looks like it would come off with a wash cloth.

Yeah, those colours are perfect.

Premium's not the rip-off...it's the first round of figures that were all rip-offs.
Premium should have been released right away. Who would buy the same toy twice.

So does everyone think this one > Best Buy Megatron?

You cant shine sh*t. This mold still blows. Pass.

[QUOTE=ShadowStitch;2005825]"Vive Le Difference!" (At least the French ones do)

They would say: "Vive la différence" since différence is a feminine word and you do not use capital letters for every word of an expression or a title in french.

As for the figure itself, I regret buying the regular version.

The colours rock. The mould was awesome even in the first release, but these colours really prove it.

I just don't get why people say his alt-mode is half-assed? It really makes me question them. It's an alien jet. It's got the alien part down, lets go through the jet parts:

Wings: Check.

Fuselage: Check.

Tail/tail fins: Check.

Nosecone: Triple Check.