Ramblings: Alright, so, I made a huge mistake. I opened Optimus at the same time as this guy, and it's just not fair. Siege Megatron is a decent figure, a definite improvement over the other Megatrons we've gotten from Generations. I like him, I really do, he looks like the G1 design turned into a tank. The grey plastic Hasbro used looks...fine...it's a step above the disgustingly transparent grey plastic used on TR Megatron, that's for sure, but it's not as rich as I'd like. Before I get into what I don't love, there's a lot of good to point out about Megatron. The transformation is fun and intuitive, so no complaints there. The alt mode is an "H" tank that's nothing special but also not hateful, and the bot mode looks like good old G1 Megatron. I absolutely love his fusion cannon, his sword is really cool (grey plastic aside), and the frowny head sculpt is really fun in a crabby third-world-dictator sort of way. The problem with this figure arises when you put him next to Siege Prime in bot mode--he's just not up to snuff. To be more specific, his arms kinda suck. The forearm gaps on this figure ruin a wonderful sculpt. The figure's overall articulation is fine, but he lacks Prime's wrist swivel and butterfly hinge while his ankles don't really seem to hold poses. I don't want to hate on this figure because he's absolutely fine, but he won't be taking the place of my MMC Tyrantron anytime soon. It all comes down to the Prime he's paired with; when compared with Prime's sleek, updated design, Megatron just looks a tad squat and "retro" in a way that doesn't do him favors. The way Siege Megatron has kept his place in my house so far is with his playability--I have a strange urge to armor him up with Shockwave/Brunt/Micromasters and I really enjoy posing him so there's something keeping me from selling him to someone else, for now. Look, this is a good figure, he's just not great. The Good: Great sculpt, solid transformation, decent articulation, great accessories. Nitpicks: The grey plastic is an improvement over TR, but I'd prefer something richer. The Bad: FOREARM GAPS. Mode Ranking: 1. Bot 2. Tank Transformation Difficulty: 4/10. He's easy. Grading: MMC Carnifex is pretty much as close to a 100/100 (I’d give him a 98, two points off for not having base mode ramps) figure that I can think of, so that's what I'm grading to. I want all my figures to be above a 70/100, anything below that has failed in some regard, anything above an 80 is a figure I really like. I start from 100 and take off points for stuff I don't like. For reference, I recently reviewed Siege Optimus Prime and gave him a 94. Grade: 72/100 The prominent wrist gaps are a -15, the poor articulation in the arms (when compared with Prime) is a -5, the grey plastic is a -5, and the crummy ankles are a -3.
I start from 100 and mentally take off points for things I don't like. The prominent wrist gaps are a -15, the poor articulation in the arms (when compared with Prime) is a -5, the grey plastic is a -5, and the crummy ankles are a -3. I didn't want to make him a 70 because that's the bare minimum for me keeping a figure and he's ever so slightly better than that score. It's all very arbitrary! Good note, I should articulate that better in the review.
I found that if you shave the back of the lower head it allows for the head to look up smoothly. I just used a cheap nail file.
Finally got Megs, Prime, and Cog! Best Megs figure in a long while, imho. His head plate is really stiff, I have to use some force to move it, so it doesn't move or sink in bot mode, which is great! Awesome Prime & Cog! I freaking love this line, and can't wait to get the rest of wave one!
Love the figure. Sculpt, transformation, articulation... He's what I want from a G1-styled Megatron. Looks like the G1 bot, turns into a tank. I don't like gun Megatron. I don't like mass shifting. Megatron as a tank, Shockwave as a space battleship, Soundwave as...... I have no idea what I want Soundwave to be, but not an 80s cassette deck. Don't worry guys, this is just my opinion, and it doesn't make anyone who prefers to stick to the original G1 toys as designs have a less valid opinion. The thing that gets me is... this gray plastic is SO BORING. I don't like the battle damage because it just looks messy. I feel like battle damage should be left to the customizers, cause it just doesn't look right to me at a mass production level. Of course, removing it will end up with bland, boring, flat gray. So easy fix: I ordered the Reprolabels set! Problem... his battle damage is much harder to remove than Magnus. Eek. He's my least favorite Siege figure so far... and he's AWESOME. It's all because of the gray plastic. That's it. That's literally my only complaint. I have 5 figures now (well, four plus a Battlemaster): Shockwave, Ultra Magnus, Sideswipe, Megatron, and Firedrive. They're all phenomenal. This is becoming my favorite toyline since Cybertron/Galaxy Force.
For those who are having trouble locking the right foot into place...I found that it's best not to move the foot but the lower leg panel it's actually connected to. It's a little flexible and is able to be pulled a bit into place.
Just got my Megatron today, and pushing on the bottom of the panel sort of works 2 out of 5 times. I've found that if I push up on the bottom of the foot / outside right, it clicks in place every time.
Finally found this guy today. Digging him a lot. He's solid. Not as god as Optimus, but very solid. These two look good together, as most bitter exes tend to.
Great figure so far. Only major QC issue I have is one of those hinges on the top of his shoulders that goes over what looks like a point from his G1 gun design is loose, so it hangs down in tank mode until I put the gun/sword part through the turret, which holds that hinge up, so the whole issue isn't noticed much outside the transformation process.
I'll try my best to cover the things I deem problematic first. 1. It would have been nice if this Megatron with wrist swivels. 2.This Megatron is a bit wide or "squat" for my liking. 3. It would have been nice if there was a mechanism that secured the head to the chest. 4. It would have been nice if the head had a better range of motion. 5. I sincerely HOPE that HasTak releases this mold without the "battle damage". Quite frankly, this particular Megatron toy is downright iconic. OBJECTIVELY SPEAKING, this WFCS Megatron is the most G1-accurate, official release of the character. He boasts an excellent, detailed fusion cannon, a sword weapon that is reminiscent of the original Megatron toy's accessories and modern articulation. He's basically, a down-scaled version of CW Megatron with better leg articulation. I just wish he came with a flail.
He scales well enough with certain Constructicons, Vehicons and Shockwave. I just wish he were a bit taller.
The Siege line is the best Hasbro's put out in awhile. The recent Prime trilogy had as many good figures as bad in all three lines. Siege is nailing everything, with Shockwave's pricing as a leader class being the biggest downside. It's all personal taste, but these are the Optimus, and Megatron I've been waiting for. I enjoy proper scale. CW Megatron looked good, but was simply too tall. TR Megatron didn't look good, and had a bad paint job. I got MP-10V Voyager Prime as my Optimus, and he looks great, but he's still too tall as well. The Optimus, and Megatron's either towered over every other figure, including PoTP Grimlock...which is just odd. These don't. Yes they're smaller Voyagers, but they look perfect next to deluxe, and recent voyager figures. Optimus looks great standing next to Sideswipe, and Grimlock. Megatron is the same. This scale works perfectly for me. I can understand it doesn't for everyone, but I'm very happy with these figures. Even the accessories are good. Also, with his sword, the blades do slide off with mushroom pegs, but they also are just held on by one screw. You can easily just turn it into another gun. Plus, doing this allows the turret in tank mode to move up, and down without the blades preventing it. If I had to nitpick on Megatron. The ankles, and panel under his head are minuses. Also, now that I noticed it, I can't not notice it...Despite his fusion cannon being the best one Hasbro has given us in ages, if not ever (outside of MP), it has this little square chunk missing near the end. I still love the cannon, but it bugs me.
My biggest nitpick for megs is the red behind the eyes. I have yet to see one that both eyes are consistent. Useing my phone flashlite ive checked at least 10 in box at retail. One will be over sprayed and the other not. So in the sun lite his eyes look all wonky. The rest of the figure is flawless. (I sanded down the tab on one ankle so they are both easy to click in)
