NICE find!!! You made me go back and discover like 2 additional pairs of tabs and slots for that whole backpack. If everything is tabbed in right, the tab that connects the wings together juuuuust makes the clearance.

Takara is really strutting their backpack management/engineering.

 

I genuinely don't care for Beast Wars. This is one of my favorite figures I own now. The dino mode alone is amazing. Those eyes look so imposing from certain angles. Once you transform it and know how the joints move, you can pose it a bit more. And the bot mode just has this presence to it that no other MP has yet. It's refreshing to get a more organic bot in the vast sea of G1-jerking, with block arms and legs. This guy is a must have. If you didn't get him on Amazon JP, and they still have some, get it. This is the second MP now I would buy another of (but uh...maybe a KO) to display in alt mode. The other being Megatron 2.0.

Just transformed from dino to bot mode for the first time. I guess that torso pull up is a tad scary the first time, but as long as you use your thumb to put pressure on that black plastic so you don't put so much stress on it when you do pull the torso up, you'll be fine. And I tested it again a few times, it loosens up pretty good. It's definitely a point that won't phase me in the future. I saw like, one stress point on my back wing hinges but I mean, it's a back made of thin panels with mostly double hinges. I'm over it. If you know how to apply pressure to a double hinge, and not be a hamfisted fool, you won't break a thing. That backpack becomes real solid if you hit all the tabs and slots.

My only complaints: bit of a loose waist swivel, which others have mentioned. Not too bothersome, but I don't like when waists rotate when I turn the figure in midair. My face swapping is the scariest tight thing on him, took alot of force for me to pop it off and even more to pop the angry face on. I hope I can get it off.

Oh and Takara, at this price point, MP's should probably get display stands. Especially when you advertise them in the promo shots. Just a thought. Especially if this while $250-330 big MP's are a thing now.

 

You may or may not be aware of this ....but the faces slide on/off by going up/down. Not by pulling them off. See if that helps.

 

Yup.

 

Very happy, the more I fiddle with him the more I like, I appreciate the ab crunch effect too!

 

Quick mod

Idk bout u but completely collapsing the armature that connects the tail to the arm for bot mode was proving scary af if not impossible



This was as far as I could push it in despite clearly being intended to latch into place

So I cut the bump on the bottom keeping me from fully collapsing it



Viola



Fully collapsed and super secure, like if it’s this solid after cutting off that bump I shudder to think how insanely difficult it would be to untab this if i didn’t cut it off




So ye this is before, tail off at a slight angle and easily moved



And after it’s in line with the forearm, and super secure


I’m certain u could probably force it if u tried hard enough, but functionally this mod has impacted nothing negatively as that bump only serves to lock the joint in specific positions, a task that the latch by itself has no issue handling


Not gonna tell anyone to do this or not, just sharing what I’ve done, and how it improved my toy, for me, hope it helps  

 

Apparently Megatron came with one...and then he didn't. I do think Blackarachnia will come with one, mostly to support the web accessory, but it's far from guaranteed.

I agree with all those saying it was a jip that Megatron didn't come with a stand...looking forward to posting my own review of this figures soon.

 

I have no idea what was up with yours, but mine certainly didn't have that problem. Locked in just fine when pushing it in, and it pops out easily enough.

Man, this guy is so solid in both modes. Super impressed. I was a bit worried the parts on his back would wind up being floppy and unwieldy, but they're very well-secured, with tight joints and plenty of tabs.

Working on tightening up that waist joint, though. Only real problem with him.

 

Yeah I was very surprised that even the Japanese reviewers missed that step! Even though it's so obvious and in the instructions XD

 

Hey Chris,
Don’t know if you checked but he does have an ab crunch

A bit awkward looking perhaps like Primal’s elbows but it is there

 

I still haven’t transformed mine yet. But, after seeing stories of broken crotch pieces. I checked mine, and there it is, a crack, and not a small one at that

 

This seems to be relatively commonplace. Unclear as to whether that means breakage is probable.

 

True! When you look at it that way, it's awkward but there.

 

Cross posting my 'review' from the new thread.

Right....I have been in possession of MP-43 Megatron [Beast Wars] for about 6 hours now. I've played about with him in Beast Mode, very carefully transformed him, played about with him Robot Mode and taken a bunch of photos along the way. So here's my 'review'.

I... Love... This... figure. Thats it.

Heh no not really, we all know I like to over analysis shit and hammer points home so repeatedly you all get sick and tired of me and I have to go away for a bit. So here we go!

Beast Mode
This looks looks fantastic! The sculpt is flawless, all those scales and that head with it's toothy scary grin...beautiful. The paint is nice too nothing intricate or detailed but it's all where it needs to be, He looks like Beast Mode Megatron which is really is all they needed to do...and TT nailed it. Articulation? Well it's all in the head, which where it both excels and falls down for me. The head articulation is excellent, the mouth opens crazy wide! Side to side, up and down rotation all cool but totally free rolling eye movement!? That's another first for the BWMP line and it works fantastically. I love how expressive they are and that they can roll back far enough for the iris's to be hidden for that dead red eye look he often has in robot mode...perfect. However the rest of the Beast mode is not so impressive, the range of movement in the legs and tail is limited, although I really like the spring loaded panels that collapse in the legs to allow more range of movement, and the more you move things the more panels start to pop open and separate. Indeed, there's a few panels on mine that just don't stay connected, I may need to paint these tabs with a little polish/varnish to give the recesses something more to grip onto. I also second @Joalro's point/obsession that the dino arms are not as articulated as I'd like, they should be able to meet and his 'hands' should be on sone sort of joint. It's acceptable because I can't really see how they could have done it any different but its a shame he's not more possible in this mode. It seems they did a better job on Dinobot in this regard...were it not for his instability which...Megatron does a lot better with properly ratcheted ankles! YAY! I love how his back talons/toes are die-cast, it really helps balance him out nicely in both modes. Also out of all the BW MP's so far Megatron's Beast Mode is the best for visible Robot Mode parts. All you can really see is the Robot Mode thighs and those are at the back underside of the figure blend in rather well with the beast hide.



Transformation
I mean...it's ok...it's fine...it's nothing special. Much like MP Primal is it aint broke don't fix it, and MP Megatron transforms very similarly to the original ultra figure. There are some nice moments... and there are some horrible ones. The way the 'side guns' and backpack fold down is really nice and once you get everything tabbed in nicely its a really solid robot mode. Thanks to @Actar I have the tail weapon/shield tabbed in correctly and it's really satisfyingly stable. However I did experience a few stress makes on the backpack panels and the way abdomen extends is terrifying! Thankfully it appears to be a one time thing and once you work it loose it 'should' be easier but MAN I can totally see how you might end up damaging your figure doing this for the first time. Also the crotch is a problem, I don't care who say it isn't...it is..the plastic they used looks like junk and is easily the least well designed price of the figure. I hope they go back to the drawing board on this with any future reissue or a KO company improves upon it when/if they make an attempt at Megs.



Robot Mode
Amazing...glorious...perfect...[insert favourite superlative here]. As I said above once its all tabbed he feels solid and looks fantastic...and this is in spite of the 'lounge mode' that allows the 'side guns', shoulder pads and tail weapon/shield to be removed. All these parts lock and stay nicely in place. The detailing, paint and sculpt are all superb. In fact Id say the paint on the robot mode is quite possible the best TT have done to date...bar none. It's dripping in the stuff! The metallic purple, glossy blacks, the greens on the thighs, the beautiful combination of silver paint and sculpt that make those sections on the chest look almost holographic.... breathtaking. The face sculpts are spot on and also excellently painted. I have a couple of imperfections here and there but they are very minor indeed. The materials bar that swirly plastic feel and look great. The swirly plastic is employed elsewhere than just the crotch, its present on the thighs (same purple) and the knees, insides of the 'side guns', inner shoulder joints and maybe a few other places (in a more blush purple), it doesn't appear to be such an eyesore in those places or cause me as much concern...but I'd rather it wasn't there. Thankfully feels a lot less brittle than I expected and the stuff used for his beast mode 'hide' is a stronger feeling hard plastic, plus those die-cast heels keep him very stable. The articulation is excellent, he has everything you'd need and then some, the sort of stuff that woulds make @Samsalivate, you know... "Deep" knee and elbow bends, a ratcheted ab crunch, butterfly joints and one very well articulated and beautifully expressive hand. Much like in the beast mode I love how the leg sections collapse at the back allowing for a deeper bend for example. The waist is a little looser than I'd like but not nearly as loose as others appear to have....I wont be swinging it around of course! There are plenty of good strong ratchets, which is great especially those in the ankles...something Dinobot sorely lacks. It's just a shame and frankly baffling they didn't put them in the lateral shoulder joint that holds up the T-rex head arm..I mean it's his signature pose after all! Returning to the feet for a second they are wonderfully stable and I love the inclusion of die-cast in the heels, my only complaint would be the heels don't tilt with the ankle rocker, they don't tilt at all in fact so the wider the stance the less stable he gets. The extra neck joint echos that of Dinobot and allows the head so much more range of movement.. which works great with the expressive face sculpts.




Accessories/Gimmicks
So we have a rifle, toothbrush, a blast effect, three robot faces and stand connectors...but no stand. As far as I'm concerned the price he should include a stand...end of story. It's ridiculous of TT to expect you to have purchased Dinobot to use these connectors. There are plenty of folk who just collect Convoys or Megatrons or both. There will be collectors who didn't get Dinobot that will be disappointed by this and rightly so. The rifle is a nice addition, but a typical...:that thing he used that one time" accessory that I could totally do without, same goes for the toothbrush and 'lounge mode'. I was worried the removable armour for the lounge mode would affect stability in beast and robot mode, causing parts to fall off...thankful this is not the case so I'm totally ok with it even if I doubt I'll use it much. The blast effect seems more useful but then they cheaped out on it and left it hollow on one side. To be honest only the extra faces are worth included to me and I'd trade the rest in for a stand...even if I don't really like Dinobot's stand lol, it's the principle! The lighting works pretty much like Primal's, two LR44's on the head are activated by a button on the back, the two red LED's illuminate nicely and stay that way for about 20 second and then fade out. The voice gimmick...I haven't tried it and to be honest don't wanna add the extra weight to the beast head due to the aforementioned issues he has holding it up in robot mode.

Overall
I'm going to have a really hard time deciding which is better, this or MP Optimus Primal. Both are so beautifully executed, Primal has less 'issues' but Megatron is more ambitious and arguably better finished/painted but he does cost over 3 times as much! Primal certainly packs more bang for my buck. Either way I'm very happy with him and he will be probably the pride of my collection for a good long while. TT really knocked this out of the park in so many ways and thankfully the QC issue that have disappointed some do not seem to be present on mine (yet... fingers crossed)

 

I can't tell if it's supposed to be like this, or if I lined something up wrong, but is the gap to the tail supposed to be so large?

 

Nope, that's right. If you look closely at the box photos, it's the same way.

Intentional or not, that gap actually allows the tail to articulate a bit more. Due to the way the arm joints are set up, you can swing the tail slightly to his left at that point.

[edit] I have no idea what I was getting at with that second point. I must have had something swiveled around funny to get that effect, because I can't replicate that anymore. However, the freedom of movement still retained in the shoulder does allow to use some of the joints for a bit more tail articulation beyond just that joint at the tip.

 

I freaking love this guy!

 

Cross-posting from the news thread:

So, I finally got around to putting the batteries in the head (don't care about the sound effects, so those will stay out), and I noticed something cool that I don't think has really been mentioned before. There's actually a very good reason for why they used two LEDs (instead of the one central light that both Primal and Dinobot have), and why they're recessed into the back of his head rather than closer to the eyes for greater intensity. The positioning makes for a more pronounced bright spot behind his eyes to mimic his bright "pupils", and the depth of placement creates a parallax effect, so that those pupils appear to follow you as you turn his head. It's absolutely brilliant.

 

The transformation wasn't quite the nightmare that it was made out to be. I watched Emgo's review as an additional guide and was able to work through it. I'm not that concerned with the swirling on the crotch. I don't feel that they're actually cracks, but a byproduct of the materials process instead. However, it's still something worth keeping an eye on. I love the robot mode, but I do agree that a display stand should've been included considering the figure's price point. A rubber ducky accessory also should've been included, but that's not something that a trip to Michael's won't solve.