ROTF Leader Megatron Pictorial Review

The last of the figures yet to get a pictorial review from this week's haul, it's Leader class Megatron!

This time out, Megatron is rebuilt from cannibalized Decepticons into a massive tank of doom!



Despite his giant alt mode of destruction, and his new crankier attitude thanks to his humilation, Megatron still keeps his head visible in alt mode, the better to continue his "research" and spot anyone who might dare to cross him:



Other than that, tank mode is just big and imposing. Not the greatest design, but also suffering from poor packaging pics. He's actually much better proportioned than those pics make him look. Still not PERFECT, but a lot better when you can see the figure in person.



Thrusters on the rear for jet propulsion?



And a quick size comparison to the deluxe seeker mold:



Transformation is satisfying clicky and involved, and you end up with a robot that is a good match for Leader Prime:



Arms could be better proportioned, and the robot mode is a little less stellar than alt mode, but again, the figure makes a better impression in person than pics have shown. Pushing down on the gold button on his chest activates the " I AM MEGATRON!", makes his chest kibble move and his head turn back and forth, and spins some gears inside his chest. He's also got a cannon noise you'll probably hear during transformation, but I haven't found a reliable way of activating it yet. EDIT: There's a TINY button where his cannon arm snap into place that activates the sounds when you rotate his arm, and if you have the turret snapped into place in tank mode, pushing the missile button will activate the sounds as well.

Here's me playing with my camera's macro function:



Just a quick side shot so you can see how the treads sit:



Those treads actually make him remarkably stable, despite his top heaviness. He can actually hold some pretty decent action poses:





Overall a pretty decent figure, if not great, but if you can only get one Leader, go with Prime, he's just a LOT more awesome all around. If you can afford both and want someone to square off with Prime, Megatron makes a good sparring partner for him. He's a solid figure that could've benefited from a little more time in the designers hands. He's good, but not enough to get a wholeheartedly enthusiastic recommendation. The voyager version should be here tomorrow, so we'll see if maybe we can crown a champion then.

Video review is available here:

Peaugh Reviews: ROTF Leader Megatron

Originally Posted by Toxicon Holy shit, I'm in Peaugh's sig? I have achieved greatness.

Moving the arm up and down in robot mode triggers the firing sound.

Could you please take a few pictures showing off his articulation?

If it weren't for that gimp arm, I would be all over him. He does look menacing in alt mode. Great review!

Yeah, I just came here to update that. Also, if you have the turret snapped into place in tank mode, pushing the missile button will activate the sounds as well.

Originally Posted by Toxicon Holy shit, I'm in Peaugh's sig? I have achieved greatness.

There are two pics in your review that seem to be duplicates.

As for the figure himself, he looks much better in tank mode there than we've seen before. Do you think he'd be able to pull the turtle/Animated Ratchet tread configuration? The gimp arm doesn't bother me, but I don't actually like it. Great looking.

Originally Posted by Valkysas NO ONE CAN EVER, EVER say that hasbro doesnt care again. This fucking seals it. that's a LOT of product to release for a "dead" line.

Whoops, guess I copied the same link twice. Fixed.

Originally Posted by Toxicon Holy shit, I'm in Peaugh's sig? I have achieved greatness.

The 3rd and 4th images are still showing up as the same image on my screen.

Thanks for the review and pics. I think the voyager will top this one, however the dedicated triple weapon arm on this one is cool, I just hate how it killed elbow articulation.

It does seem spot on with the initial concept art, which in itself may have lacked a functional elbow(maybe the designers really did want an elbowless giant triple changing arm of doom?), while the voyager, like the voyager Prime from TF1, definitely seems to have been designed later on while the character design was nearly finished.

A friend of mine was talking to me, after I told her how disappointed I was in the arm. She thinks there is definitely a reason for that weapon arm to not have an elbow. My current theory is that there was no elbow in the initial CGI design at all. There is ample space for an elbow joint on the toy yet it was not implemented, and for a Leader class figure, this hasn't happened in years. So this would explain why this figure lacks a right elbow, while the voyager one(which also looks more accurate to the recent renders and has weapons on both arms) has elbows on both arms.

I think the arm is only meant to have 2 modes (claw mode, blade mode) because if you leave the arm in "pure cannon" mode, the minute you will try moving the arm out the top of the turret will start popping off because its rear part and the blade will push against the black shoulder part. Same thing in tank mode, moving the cannon up will make the turret pop off. It's really meant to be clicked into place both at the front AND the back in tank mode.

Hate the gimpy arm, but everything else looks really nice. Tank mode looks just plain mean.

Originally Posted by Twin Twist Jam sucker