Which IDW version? He had a lot of bodies and it's hard to keep track.
The gun mode is definitely pretty close to what he transformed into when on Earth in the comics but i don't remember him ever lokoing like that in bot mode?
Personally my GC IDW Prime (much preferred the slimmer GCreation build than GT's) will pair with GC's stealth bomber Megs when it arrives. MMC's Autobot Megatron pairs with Zeta/TW's Orion who's a smaller, chunkier version of that same IDW Prime.
Curios to see a pic of the IDW Megatron that Gladius is based on.

 

Again I'd love to see another company like Wei Jhang take the mold and make it better. I love the idea of a Megatron who becomes a gun and a tank. I want to love this figure, but there are just too many problems. But I want Boldforms to continue his work, even if he goes to work for another company designing things. I get it, sometimes things get out of your control, take a look at Badcube's original release or the Original version of Ollie, the "Not Wheelie honest gov." Those companies came back from that and even Ollie got a second chance with a fixed version release. If they can get a second chance why not Boldforms? Even retweaking his original designs and changing factories. There is potential in Gladius as well as Lonewolf, and I'd love to see them and their creator Boldforms get a second chance and bounce back from it.

 

This guy  

 

I appreciate it. Taking the pics is another way for me to enjoy the figures. Im glad it can be seen. (I wonder what the pics would look like if I hated them lol)
(PM'ed about Mospeada)

Thank you sir.
Maybe one day I'll bite the bullet and paint him.

It's funny I keep trying to bring this sort of thing up to people and it's never well received (or gets deleted).
Maybe its because I work in a plant, I'm more receptive.

Like a factory is going to put in all that time and labor into something and scrap the entire run? Ha.
The consumers get in an uproar over the shoddy product.
They proclaim to disown the company (Boldforms or Omnigonix).
But guess what? That doesn't affect that factory. It's going to keep on keeping on.
You have no idea what factory made that product.

Agreed.

Transformers Escalation, art by EJ Su

It's the one where he finally gets the gun alt mode, and draws Optimus into a trap.

I forgot how accurate he is.

 

Wow that is actually pretty bang on to the comic. I had no idea it was that close to the artwork.

 

PM'd back.

 

Warning: The post below contains purely my opinons and should not be taking as fact or the last word in any sense.

Fair enough I guess. I mean the only real similarities I see are the helmet shape and the horizontal banding on the legs. The shape and porportions are all pretty far off from the cartoon design. I guess he's kind of got the red arms and inner calves and the dark abs in roughly the right places. The shape of the legs and hips are way off though.
The pics from @Potchez are a little closer, giving him that awkward, poorly proportioned chest/torso of Gladius but even then, the differences are pretty big to my eyes.
I'm the farthest thing from a gun guy but even the pistol looks like a different model?
I can kind of see what folks are saying that this IDW design is the closest thing to what we got with Gladius but it doesn't really jump out of the page at me, certainly not in the same way that MP-36 or Spark Toy Spartacus or Generation Toys Tyrant does.
Honestly, I bought him well after release, I knew exactly what I was getting into and I made a concious and well informed decision to spend that money on him as part of my Opti/Megs collection. Coming from that perspective, I wasn't really that suprised at what I got (though it was even flopier than I expected) but I think anyone who want's to buy this figure NEEDS to know exactly what they are getting and should be under no illusions that this is a Masterpiece grade figure
And by Masterpiece I don't just mean official or 3P G1 MP, I mean superior size, finish quality etc. I rate Spark Toys as Masterpipece grade, GCreations and Gen Toys IDW stuff as Masterpiece grade. Even Apollyon just creeps into the lower echelons of Masterpiece grade for me. This simply doesn't, any more than POTP Optimus would.
I mean, even the $25 WJ Rendsora TLK Megatron feels , looks and transforms better than this thing.
With entirely new and better materials, a painted finish, tightened and fixed tolerances and overall QC fixes, this would possibly creep into the lower echelons but even then I'd rank it below Apollyon. Its complexitiy and parts count actually works against it as there's just too much going on, and most of it isn't going on all that well.
I'm a little harsh maybe, but that's how I feel about it. Havng said that, it serves it's purpose on my shelf and pairs reasonably well with $50 POTP Prime.
And this is where I'm coming from to have reached this opinion, so I have done a little bit of research and comparison:
[/QUOTE]

 

What’s kinda funny is that Machinima’s latest episode, #6 of PotP, gives this a bit more meaning than the IDW connection, what with Megs being a Gun/Tank triple changer.

Alas, only MP-36 looks any decent to me on that shelf. But, I’d maybe get Megotroun... if Iron Factory doesn’t announce anything, soon.

Though, there is also the NBK Megs, even if it’s a bit too big for me, and not a triple change and, instead, just a Machinima inspired figure.

 

Well at least he looks on as shelf standing still.So if you never want you play with your toy get this. And now I am sad.

Please someone knock Gladius off better.  

 

...always intrigued by this design, nearly pulled the trigger for $40 from A3U this morning, but it sold out before i completed the transaction: not sure whether i dodged a bullet or missed an opportunity...

 

Bold Forms: Gladius

 

This could have been a really cool figure. But the robot mode always looked ugly to me. He looks like he borrowed Apollyon's diaper.

 

Sorry  

 

...let me know which it was!..  

 

My Gladius showed up this week. I've been tracking this project since '14 and have been watching these shenanigans as they've progressed. I got him for a song, so was quite comfortable with pulling the trigger, so to speak. That said, I'd prepared myself for MAJOR disappointment when opening this guy for my MP Megatron Corps display.

Nothing really new to be said here, just throwing in my two cents: Gladius is unfinished, over-engineered, and floppy. He's not ready to go right out of the box. He definitely needs floor polish and paint, and those are simple to implement. The photos of improved samples are great, and kudos to those who've put some elbow grease into making said improvements.

He's going to be fine.

Bold Forms and the mind behind company should keep working. I truly dig the ideas both here and on Lone Wolf.

In summary, there was an IDW "-ation" era Megs-shaped hole in my collection, and I am *delighted* to let this figure fill it.

 

Still waiting for a KO company to put out this guy with paint and better joints...

 

As a toy goes, even as a Megatron, is it worth the $50.00? Or, are we better served spending that $50.00 elsewhere?

 

I just wish more Megatron figures did this! Yes Megatron turned into a Gun originally, but the secondary Tank Mode is absolutely necessary! I am actually to the point of finding ways to add extra parts to my Megatron figs to make them Tank-able...

And I'm just gonna say it, because it's the time of year for unreasonable wishes...

I WISH THERE WAS A VERSION OF THIS FIGURE IN LEGENDS(or even Legends+) SCALE!!!

...There I said it. 

Also, I am totally gonna buy this figure, while I can get one for $50. I regret walking by him at TFCon...

 

It's probably worth the $50 as a toy, but I feel it doesn't worth my time of fixing it and transforming it.

 

I doubt I'd put any effort into fixing it. I'd probably leave him as-is. I just more or less have a morbid curiosity type of deal with this guy. I firsthand have to know if he really is that bad or something passable in my book. I have a sort of soft spot for the broken and the damned when it comes to figures like Gladius.

I went out of my way to buy TWO Airachnids from Prime so one could have weapons as well as be complete. lol (She's Assy McGee, but I like her.)

That said, I've had figures that even I didn't like and I have to wonder if Gladius is one of those. lol