Review 10-015 - Alternity Megatron (Diamond Black)

[griffin]

Review 10-015 - Megatron (Diamond Black)
Series - Alternity
Sub-line -
Size -
New/remould/redeco - Redeco
Wave - 2 (limited edition version)
Released here - TakaraTomy product, not released here.
Approximate Retail Price - $40-50
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Destron
Alt-mode - Nissan Fairlady Z
Main Features/Gimmicks - Replica car, diecast parts.
Main Colours - Black, red.
Main Accessories - 2 swords
My Difficulty rating (out of 5) - 3
Stability - Alt-mode is very stable, while the robot mode's joints are tight enough to hold poses quite well.
Poseability/articulation - Very well articulated, and as long as the many joints don't weaken over time, the toy will remain very poseable. Which a sword-weilding toy needs, to carry out dramatic poses. Only flaw is that it isn't able to turn at the waist.
Playability - Highly playable in both modes.
My Thoughts - I don't like the blocky head, and the 'auto-morph' style transformation is confusing, especially if you don't use instructions. Those sort of gear-assisted transformations can get in the way of planning out your next moves in converting the toy, as it forces parts to move into places you didn't yet want them. It can also strip gears or push gears out of alignment, which limits or prevents future conversions. I'm not a fan of auto-morphing/gear-assisted conversions, as it feels like cheating, or at the very least, takes out the fun of working it out yourself. I also think this character toy should have had an arm-cannon worked into it somehow - Megatron just looks naked without a big cannon somewhere.
My Overall Recommendation Rating (out of 10) - 7 (I recommend the silver version over this one, as the better looking homage)

[Wheel-J]

Since I have both the silver and black version for comparison, the silver looks better in alt mode but I prefer the black version in bot mode. I like the touch of black and red which is complemented by the gold accent from his swords (and thigh) that makes him look like a "more powerful and fiery villain".. I also like extending his side panels much further down to cover his arms like a shield. And the sword, I'm not complaining about it. Neither the automorph gimmick. Though I agree that they could've trimmed the head to fit the figure better much like his counterpart.