http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020018.jpg
First off, i have to give Robot Kingdom props for this order. I pre ordered Fri 16th.. but something was up on their site and i never got an order confirmation. I sent them an email about it.. but before they replied to it, they had already noticed my payment go through, and sent me an email asking what i'd ordered. I told em and it was sorted, and shipped on the 19th. Each time i communicated, they replied within 12 hours. I usually get EMS shipping but cause of the large size, opted for registered. It got to me in 4 days, FASTER than even EMS normally is! I don't know who to thank for that, but i certainly appreciate it :)
Click small photos to enlarge!
Head
http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020019.jpg
This has got to be one of the best head sculpts i've seen since i got back into collecting TF's last year. It's spot on to the cartoon, and VERY reminiscent of G1 Megatron. He has the dark "eyebrows" but done way more subtley than Henkei Megatron. The animated style is very angular and this suits his face perfectly - he looks more menacing than MP05 in my opinion. The head has electronics so you can only really rotate to the left and right. You can nudge his head around a bit but it doesn't stay in place.. sometimes it forces his mouth open a tiny bit, but not as much as his gimmick does.
Robot Mode
http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020024.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020025.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020026.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020027.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020039.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020040.jpg
A beautiful design, again very show accurate with lots of hints from G1. There's only 3 colours but it makes for a very clean, focused look. The paint is a tiny bit sparkly, giving it a bit of a metallic look, moreso on the red parts. The chest has transparent red plastic that lights up when you press the Decepticon logo. I think in terms of cartoon accuracy, the logo is the only thing out of place - it's red instead of purple. That said, it looks awesome and purple might have stood out too much with all the lights. Along with the lights, his mouth moves and he says one of 2 phrases ("Crush the Autobots", "Where is the Allspark") or an evil laugh. The voice, if not Corey Burton from the show, is damn close! It sounds very clear as well - Movie Leader OP seems a bit less clear.
His knees have been a talking point! After looking at them from many angles, it's still hard to put your finger on what might be wrong with them! I mentioned in the acquisitions thread that his knee point is the thinnest part of the leg, and his feet and thighs start out wider and go inwards, possibly creating an optical illusion of sorts. Also, if you look at the side-profile pictures, the first one has his legs straight down, and you can see the knee joint is not parallel with the ground. The second one, i've moved his thighs one click forward, and his leg one click back, so it's parallel. When it's not parallel, the legs rotate outwards and back more than normal. It's quite hard to explain, but there is pretty much no need for concern, he looks great and can make some good poses. He has pretty much all the articulation you could want, except i was a bit disapointed his hands are just a mould, rather than individual fingers. Theyr'e a bit bigger than a Binaltech hand, so i guess they could have done it. Not a big deal, he holds his swords better this way! The swords are simply transformed from the blades of the helicopter, and they work nicely.
Transformation
This is one area where some people might be disappointed. It's a simple transformation, with fewer steps required than say Movie OP (i don't have Movie Megs to compare). There's nothing particularly complex or innovative about it, which is a shame, but given that, it's impressive that both modes look as good as they do (especially compared to the messy voyager figure). Both this figure and Voyager Starscream have simpler transformations than even the Animated Deluxe Cybertron Prime and Animated Deluxe Prowl, which seems odd! After Movie OP, i was expecting a bit more, but considering both modes look so good, i can look past it.
Attack Helicopter Mode
http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020033.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020037.jpg http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020038.jpg
This mode is HUGE! Again, it's very show accurate. The button now makes helicopter sounds (continuously if you hold it down) and the chopper blades are linked so as to never hit each other. The gun works the same as it does in robot mode - that is, there's a trigger to fire the transparent red shot. It's nothing special, but the gun can be pulled back and locked into place before firing, which is pretty cool although it doesn't seem to make it fire further.
Size Comparison
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Here's another area people might be disappointed with. He's a good 1-2 inches shorter than Movie OP (up to their heads). I think in the context of the animated line, he wont look short, but i would have liked him a bit bigger. That said, if they had made the robot any bigger, the helicopter would have been gigantic! Measuring 34cm long (32 without gun), he dwarfs even Movie OP, despite being thinner at the ends. The head sculpt is about the same size as Movie OP though, and looks in better proportion because of it. Interesting to note the robot mode has wings very reminiscent of Henkei Megatron.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a must have figure. After the messy Movie Megatron figures, it's nice to have such clean, defined lines and character. This line is shaping up very nicely in my opinion. The designs are very striking to display, and make a nice change from the realistic movie line. All you people who aren't fond of animated, i recommend giving it a shot - if you like Transformers in general, you shouldn't be disappointed! And if you prefer the movie style, well, those types of figures will be back next year anyway :) Enjoy this change of style while you can - variety is the spice of life!
Fire away with the questions and i'll attempt to answer!
http://mirror.cliffbee.com/animated-...0/P1020032.jpg
