Toy review - TLK leader Megatron

[Magnus]

Series - The Last Knight
Sub-line – Premier Edition
Size/class - Leader
New/remould/redeco – New
Wave – 2
Released here - July 2017
Approximate Retail Price - $79.99+
Approximate Size – 22.5cm
Allegiance -Decepticon
Alt-mode – Cybertronian Jet Fighter
Main Features/Gimmicks – Flame effect parts; switchable battle mask; spring-loaded deploying cannon
Main Colour – Dark grey, gold
Main Accessories – Sword, flame effect parts

The first new leader-class movieverse Megatron since Revenge of the Fallen!

Vehicle mode





Once again, Megatron has taken a flying vehicle mode. Although there are a lot of curved, alien design elements, the overall impression is of a design that appears to be a lot more terrestrial than his previous jet mode, appearing more futuristic than alien. There are two shades of dark grey, with hints of metallic blue, silver, and gold paint.

Oddly, Megatron has a cockpit that opens to reveal a single seat. I say 'oddly' because presumably Megatron would have no need to even give the impression of being a piloted machine. This is something I appreciated about his first two vehicle modes: they weren't disguises, but rather reconfigurations of his body to travel a certain way, and as such he had no need for a cockpit or cabin.

Megatron has an 'attack mode'; pressing the button behind the cockpit causes the front of the nose cone to split open to reveal a cannon barrel that can be extended. Note that when returning to 'normal' mode or transforming to jet mode, the cannon barrel should be fully retracted so that the button pops up, and more importantly, the tabs on the inner surfaces of the sides of the nose cone can properly latch to the slots on the sides of the barrel.



Megatron comes with two orange flame 'effect parts' - something new for a Transformer. They can be attached to his exhausts or the muzzle of the cannon barrel.





Transformation

Not particularly complex, although manoeuvring the front of the plane on his arm can be fiddly the first few times. Perhaps owing to his 'alien' design, Megatron avoids a backpack made of plane parts or an undercarriage of folded robot parts.

Robot mode





Megatron's new design gives the impression of a hulking black knight. There's a little more gold and the second shade of dark grey visible here.



Although it's not screen-accurate, the folded wings on his back give the impression of a cloak or short cape when viewed from the sides or back.

The gigantic cannon on his arm isn't screen-accurate either, but I still like the idea of it.



Megatron has a switchable battle mask. Flipping a switch on the back of his head up rotates the mouth section upward and into the head, replacing it with a blank face plate. This also allows the curved 'tusks' on his cheeks to shift inward. Oddly, this feature isn't documented in the instructions, although it is seen on the back of the box.



The robot mode's only real weakness is the hollow forearms caused by the hands swinging out during transformation. These will be visible if you rotate the upper arm such that the elbow bends forwards instead of inwards. The effect is minimised on the right arm due to the way the cannon becomes positioned, with the large hinge filling in some of the space, but it's quite glaring on the left arm.



It's not mentioned in the instructions, but Megatron's sword can be attached to one of two holes in his back that form part of the hinges for the wings.



Once again, a flame effect part can be attached to the muzzle of the cannon barrel.

Verdict

The first new leader class mould for Megatron in eight years doesn't disappoint, although some may not like the hollow forearms. Recommended.