Toy review - MPM-8 Movie Masterpiece Megatron

Series - Masterpiece
Sub-line - Movie Masterpiece
Size/class - N/A
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - August 2019
Approximate Retail Price - $200
Approximate Size - 29.5cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Alien jet
Main Features/Gimmicks - Screen accuracy, Masterpiece detail and engineering
Main Colours - Grey, silver
Main Accessories - Chain, fusion gun, AllSpark

Vehicle mode

https://i.imgur.com/CDveoYy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Fqe9o52.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JlI2uT3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DeOKdAy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6SopN6w.jpg

The movieverse brought with it a new design aesthetic for the Transformers, one that emphasised their alien nature. Megatron's vehicle mode certainly fits the bill - it's clearly a flying machine, but not one that looks like it was designed by humans.

Megatron is rendered in grey plastic, with some areas painted in silver and some recessed details painted in copper. The centre of the fuselage is made of diecast metal.

https://i.imgur.com/rY7Y9c1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VFpW0Vt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fxT7Qg5.jpg

The vehicle is substantial, with a length of 44cm and a wingspan of 35.5cm. At this size, he is big enough to rival War for Cybertron: Siege Jetfire, is substantially bigger than HftD/MPM Starscream, and nearly dwarfs MPM Optimus Prime.

Transformation

Very involved. If you like transformations with lots of steps, MPM Megatron is for you. The legs are simple to transform, but the arms and torso require numerous steps to fold and tab everything into place.

One of the final steps when transforming the torso is clipping the wings together behind Megatron's back. I find that the tab used to connect the wings together refuses to stay in place, but this may be a case of variation between figures. Fortunately, the tail assembly comes up from below and tabs into both sides to hold the wings in place.

That first transformation to jet mode took a lot longer than I would have liked, partially because the complex shape of the figure means that it's not always easy to tell what the instructions want you to do.

One area that needs some adjusting and 'massaging' is clipping the tail assembly onto the rear fuselage, as it doesn't quite align with the tabs and slots on the fuselage upon folding it down. Despite successfully doing this, I wasn't sure if this was correct, so I watched some YouTube videos, and sure enough, that's what people are doing. Fortunately, the base of the tail assembly is made of a softer plastic than the hard plastics used elsewhere on the figure. This aside, everything goes where it is meant to without straining any parts.

Robot mode

https://i.imgur.com/zfQ4v1u.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZAesmdu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lZf9A5C.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fXMPuAa.jpg

Large and imposing, as one would expect of Megatron. He stands at a formidable 29.5cm. While he doesn't quite have the same 'jumped off the screen' look that Ironhide has, he is nonetheless very screen-accurate, and certainly more so than any 2007 Megatron figure to date.

Now the copper is a lot more prominent, and the intricate, complex moulding is on full display. Some red translucent plastic pokes through the detail on Megatron's chest. The fronts of his feet are diecast metal, painted silver. The placement of the copper paint is accurate, but the on-screen model appears closer to a dull gold. Megatron also features light piping - the second Movie Masterpiece to do so.

The head tilts up and down on a double jointed assembly - useful for giving the lower jaw clearance to open - and the base of the neck rotates.

The shoulders rotate, with forward and back flexion/extension and abduction/adduction. There is an upper arm rotator just above the elbow. The wrists rotate, the two largest fingers have two joints each, and the three smaller fingers are moulded as a single piece and share a common hinge at the base.

The waist rotates. The hips have forward and back movement and abduction/adduction. There is a thigh rotator just above the knee. The foot as a whole has dorsiflexion, moving 'up', but the toes and heel have independent downward movement, and the entire foot hinges inward for inversion.

https://i.imgur.com/DMZAq8B.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/q31e0A3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4iqg4gD.jpg

Megatron has a new take on his arm-mounted fusion cannon - the arms 'fuse' to form the gun, although it is also possible to attach this weapon to one arm. For the full 'fusion cannon' effect, a barrel folds out from inside the gun.

https://i.imgur.com/vGDbKnP.jpg

The rubberised plastic 'chain' attaches to Megatron's forearm to replicate his flail attack, although an articulated chain like the one that came with MP-36 would have been better, as the rubberised chain tends to flop under the weight of the attached hand.

https://i.imgur.com/jb4P0Qk.jpg

It is possible to store both the fusion gun and the chain on Megatron's back.

https://i.imgur.com/ldgWfje.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CHpuwrk.jpg

Megatron includes a small plastic AllSpark, painted in silver. It is possible to remove a small section of Megatron's chest, exposing more red translucent plastic and a square indent to replicate the scene at the end of the movie when Sam Witwicky plunges the AllSpark into Megatron's chest.

https://i.imgur.com/NciEfGK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/orti0dZ.jpg

Megatron is actually slightly taller than Jetfire at the top of the head, but Jetfire's backpack gives him a taller final height.

https://i.imgur.com/KmDlOIU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SlMy6eX.jpg

Megatron stands taller than MPM Optimus and Starscream.

Verdict

https://i.imgur.com/Qk6ovc0.jpg

Whether you like the design of movieverse Megatron or not is up to you, but as a representation of that design in plastic and metal, MPM Megatron is truly amazing. Both modes look great and are faithful to what you see on screen, the robot is well articulated, and the accessories make for some interesting display options. Depending on your disposition, the lengthy transformation will be either an interesting challenge or a frustrating chore.

My only real gripe with the figure - if it can be called that - is that I wish it had more silver paint, notably on the chest.

Recommended if you like movieverse Transformers in general and Megatron in particular.

Great review! I agree with your recommendation...this is a long awaited Masterpiece version of movie Megatron and IMO is among the best of the MP line...G1 included. This is one chunky boy and the size and weight reminds me a little of MP-01. The detail is amazing and whilst someone could nitpick some differences, you?d hard pressed to criticise the accuracy. The big chunky piece of diecast on the back is interesting, the biggest chunk in a MPM yet. Something not mentioned is the inclusion of some soft plastic pieces on the forearms and collarbones. Not 100% why, possibly because they?re potentially quite sharp pieces.

My major criticism is that the instructions are just awful. I gave up halfway through and ended up using the box picture as a guide. Luckily the transformation seems intuitive and all the hinges and tabs gives a good idea of what goes where.

You beat me to the review but funnily enough the pics I took are pretty similar:

https://i.imgur.com/hU3m7nj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8GBVPCl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5JAlbC2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/f7j1lYv.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ICeEUMq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k3nOBOL.jpg