Robots in Disguise Megatron

Didn't see a feedback thread for Megatron (though I know one exists for Galvatron), so here we go! For those not in the know, the Hasbro release of Robots in Disguise Megatron is actually a repaint of Galvatron/Devil Gigatron from the same line. The original Gigatron figure from Car Robots was slightly different. The end result is that Megatron, despite only featuring six modes on his packaging, is actually capable of all TEN modes that Galvatron/Devil Gigatron feature! That's right, this transformer has TEN unique modes, and while not all of them are spectacular, the end result is truly something to behold.

Robot Mode: We begin with the most basic of modes. Megatron's robot mode is really pretty awesome. Purple and black, with spots of gold and red and a blue-ish chromed chest give him a unique and threatening color palette. Megatron stands around 8 inches tall, perhaps even taller when including the tips of his wings. His size is impressive without being unwieldy, and he's certainly no brick! Megatron has an ample amount of articulation. His wings bend forward and back at two joints and the wings themselves can fold open and close. His head swivels around fully, and his head fins fold forward or back. His arms have a great range of motion. Shoulder rotation is naturally limited by the wings, but otherwise rotate fully, and bend outward up to 90 degrees. The arms rotate above the elbow fully, and bend up, down, and BACK a full 180 degrees. His hands rotate at the wrist fully as well. His legs are just as impressive, bending forward and back a combined 180 degrees, and out at 90 degrees. The legs rotate above the knee fully, and bend at the knee 90 degrees at not one, but TWO joints (though only one is truly meant for the robot mode, the other is meant for various transformations.) The feet are articulated on a ball joint, with a "toe" and "heel" joint for each, but they aren't strong enough to support any really wild poses. For weapons, Megatron comes with a pair of swords, holding "razor-sharp" blades that can be fired like missiles. These can be held in the hands individually or combined into a double-bladed weapon. For you creative folks out there, they can also be pegged onto the forearms to serve as arm blasters. All in all, Megatron's robot mode doesn't disappoint. My only complaint is that the feet are not terribly strong, and it can prove challenging to balance Megatron in just the right way. This aside, Megatron's robot mode easily gets a 9.5/10. It's functional, articulated, and looks plain bad-ass.

Two-headed Dragon Mode: If you were to ask what Megatron's "real" alt mode is, this is probably it. The two-headed dragon mode looks the most coherent of Megatron's beast modes, with the clearly dragon-like feet, the dragons' articulated heads, massive wings, and tiny arms attached to the body of the figure. This mode is really something special. It's not hard to get Megatron to look absolutely terrifying, and he retains all of his articulation he possessed in his robot mode (with the robot legs serving as the dragon heads and necks, while the robot arms are now the dragon legs). The tail that plugs into the robot's neck joint stabilizes the figure nicely and prevents it from simply flopping over, and even has some articulation by twisting various segments around. Having the swords mount onto the dragon's back feels like an afterthought, but it's easily ignored. It's too bad there was no way to plug the sword blades/missiles into the dragon mouths, but with the way the figure is engineered, it certainly would have been a challenge. No doubt about it, this is a killer dragon, and earns a 9.5/10.

Gargoyle/Bat Mode: What is there to say here? While it's nice that Megatron has an additional "bat mouth" that flips out from within the chest to cover the robot mouth, the overall look is just kinda weird and silly. The dragon wings work nice as bat wings, but having the arms stuck to the sides as bat legs just looks odd. Not a very impressive mode when compared with others, but it's not the worst either. 5/10.

Flying Dragon/Pteradon Mode: Oh boy, it's the bat mode again, only...backwards? And now the tail serves as a new head. Again, not impressive, and the end result just looks wrong. Even less remarkable than the bat mode was. 4/10.

Griffin Mode: Now this is better! Megatron is four-legged now and definitely resembles a griffon, or..something like it anyway. While not as impressive as the two-headed dragon mode, it retains a lot of nice articulation and does look pretty menacing. The swords also make a nice tail for the beast. Probably my second-favorite beast mode, all things considered. 8/10.

Elephant Mode: This is a mode that gets a lot of flack. How does a dragon turn into an elephant? It's certainly no Big Convoy, but this mode actually isn't too bad. Honestly I'd be downright terrified if I encountered an elephant like this! If demon elephants exist, they probably look like Megatron's elephant mode. The swords work as fairly convincing tusks, and the tail makes for a good, articulated trunk. Even the dragon wings work as elephant ears, which can fold out or in! It's different, and it works. 7.5/10.

Jet Mode: Easily the best of the vehicle modes, Megatron is channeling the spirit of G1 Cyclonus here, with forward swept wings and a long nose. The swords work brilliantly as missile launchers/laser cannons, and the retracted fist ports and open leg spaces resemble thrusters for the rear. Megatron even has some front landing gear that fold out from inside the chestplate, with the "wheels" on the arms/rear of the jet serving as the back landing gear. It looks great and functions well as a space jet fighter from hell. 8.5/10.

Car Mode: Here things go downhill a little. It doesn't really resemble any kind of car at all (honestly it reminds me a bit of the Landmaster tank from the Star Fox series), and functions only moderately. While rolling wheels are found on the wings and the arms that make up the front and rear of the car, they don't roll well when Megatron is pushed along on a flat surface, and there isn't anything that really keeps the rear of the car locked into place, so putting too much pressure on Megatron will misalign everything. A noble effort, but not very successful. 6/10.

Boat/Hydrofoil Mode: Garbage. It doesn't look like anything. The positioning of the wings and arms gives the vague impression it might float or hover, but it's a huge stretch. Not very fun at all. 3/10.

Claw Mode: Ah, now this is different! You have to give the designers credit for this one. With exception of the wings, which kinda get in the way, Megatron makes for a fairly convincing claw, and with all the articulation the toy possesses, you also get a very articulated claw! You even get some grasping action by pushing down on a tab that covers the robot mode's crotch. Good times. Not my favorite mode, but definitely menacing, functional, and unique. 8/10.


Megatron is not a transformer you should pass up. This is an excellent toy with tons of playability provided you've got a decent imagination and a willing to suspend your sense of disbelief. Megatron could never actually "disguise" himself as anything in this incarnation, but when has Megatron ever cared about being subtle? This is one of his most unusual incarnations, and in my eyes, one of his most successful. While not all of his ten modes are winners, most of them are pretty good, and a few are truly excellent! It can be hard enough to give a Transformer two or three good modes, let alone ten! Best of all he tends to sell for far less than some of his other recent appearances, such as Cybertron and Energon. A terrifying and versatile nemesis to add to your Transformers collection. Overall (not an average) Robots in Disguise Megatron earns from me a 10/10. He really is that awesome.

Agreed, although I would give Griffin and Jet mode higher ratings. I used to have Megatron, but got Galvatron to replace him. Either one looks fine.

But whatever you do, avoid the Pterodactyl and Boat Modes, they're extremely bad. Especially the boat, that is just fugly.

I love this figure too. Posable and just Evil looking. Lots of modes. Not lots of great ones but still fun to mess with.

This really is a great toy. Robots in Disguise is a really under-rated line, as far as engineering goes. Great review!

Very much agreed. RiD is a really spiffy line all in all, certainly much better than Armada was, and even tops most Energon and Cybertron figures, in my book.

Ah yes, one of my favorite TF's, and one that I suppose I don't own either. I've got Gigatron and Devil Gigatron.

There used to be a site up, and I wished I saved more of the pictures, but some japanese fans got together and came up with 150+ modes for Devil Gigatron; some of them were really neat, like the Mantis mode, Ape mode, etc.

Ooooh, do you have ANY of those pictures saved? I'd love to see them!

good to see others like him too! i dont have him, but i do have Galvatron (i did his review: RID Galvatron) and to me it seems we pretty much agree about the whole thing-some modes work, some dont, but still not a toy to pass up. btw, how much did you spend on him?

Got mine from a forum member for $22 shipped. In great condition too, with just a tiiiiny bit of Chrome chipped off his head fins, but it's easily ignored.

Just got a RID Megatron today (bought it from LemonPrime). Definitely better than I expected, and is a great addition to my collection. As , I'll add one of my own:



Edit: The mold, specifically transforming it, takes some getting used to at first. I haven't attempted all of his alt-modes yet (downloaded the instructions), but I'm slowly liking each for their own reasons. Especially the dragon and jet modes. Would be great for that BW Megatron repaint/retool to somehow make it to mass retail, if not some other kind of repaint/retool of the mold.

Originally Posted by optimus major this man is a genius