Toy Review - Masterpiece MP-36 Megatron (2.0)

[GoktimusPrime]

Pics showcasing Megatron's various accessories...


*boop boop* (sound of Megatron unlocking the Nemesis )


"Welcome, Professor."


A disgraceful moment for Megatron as he has lost face.


"Because everything I touch is food for my hunger..."


"...my hunger for power!"
btw this line closely reflects what may have been an earlier version of Megatron's motto (before it became "Peace through tyranny) which may have been "Everything is fodder." This was still Megatron's motto in the G1 Marvel Comics (and we know that the G1 tech specs were written by Marvel & the G1 cartoon was created by Marvel/Sunbow Productions)


Totally not a light sabre.


「ついに貴様も終わりだ、これでな…！」/ "It's over, Prime."

I haven't tried out the gun stock/stand yet.

[GoktimusPrime]

More action pics showcasing the extension accessories can be seen here.

[Magnus]

With regard to the paint, is the issue the paint quality/paint not adhering to the plastic surfaces well, or parts rubbing up against each other and paint coming off in the process? It seems like the latter from what I'm reading and seeing in videos.

[GoktimusPrime]

Rubbing up against other parts or even against your skin at times. For such an expensive toy I would absolutely expect better quality paint. MP5's paint has no such problem, and that toy is 10 years older. Although admittedly MP5 does suffer from rust on its die-cast metal parts. MP36 has some die-cast metal parts too, but they're painted over (e.g. feet, base of stock-stand etc.), so hopefully the paint will help protect those metal parts from rust.

I haven't put batteries into mine, but it sounds like the same voice chip that they used for reissue Galvatron.
MP36 & reissue Galvatron sound chip comparison video
As you can see (hear) the voices are exactly the same. :/ Although Katō Seizō (the Japanese voice actor for G1 Megatron/Galvatron) passed away 3 years ago so while he was able to record voices for Galvatron he was unable to do so for MP36. Perhaps they reused the same voice chip as a tribute to Katō. They could use a sound-alike but I'm sure that Japanese G1 cartoon fans would appreciate them using Katō's original voice.

For such an expensive toy I would expect them to at least use decent quality paint that didn't rub off so easily. It reminds me of the crappy paint that they used on MP9's spoiler (yet Hasbro's version has much better paint quality on its spoiler). For this reason I voted, "Only if cheap." At least MP9's spoiler only covers one small part of the toy and only scratches when you slide it in and out of his trailer -- Megatron's main body paint which covers the majority of the toy is prone to rubbing off. And being metallic, there have been a few times where after handling this toy my finger tips have been sparkly.

[GoktimusPrime]

Pro tip for removing Megatron's chest plate: using your thumbs and fingers, push down on the top of the chest as indicated by the red arrows - hold this piece in place. Then push up on the bottom corners of the chestplate (as indicated by the green arrows) to slide the plate off.

[Magnus]

Rubbing up against other parts or even against your skin at times. For such an expensive toy I would absolutely expect better quality paint. MP5's paint has no such problem, and that toy is 10 years older. Although admittedly MP5 does suffer from rust on its die-cast metal parts. MP36 has some die-cast metal parts too, but they're painted over (e.g. feet, base of stock-stand etc.), so hopefully the paint will help protect those metal parts from rust.

For such an expensive toy I would expect them to at least use decent quality paint that didn't rub off so easily. It reminds me of the crappy paint that they used on MP9's spoiler (yet Hasbro's version has much better paint quality on its spoiler). For this reason I voted, "Only if cheap." At least MP9's spoiler only covers one small part of the toy and only scratches when you slide it in and out of his trailer -- Megatron's main body paint which covers the majority of the toy is prone to rubbing off. And being metallic, there have been a few times where after handling this toy my finger tips have been sparkly.

Reading and hearing about paint chipping, I was under the impression that parts rubbing against each other were resulting in paint coming off while transforming the figure, so it's a surprise to read that little bits of it come off with just handling. It's not just paint rubbing near joints and coming off onto your hands that way?

I was thinking that MP-36 was designed to very close tolerances, and the paint might be just thick enough to interfere such that transformation results in parts rubbing against each other and paint coming off as a result. In that case, it might not be an issue if more of Megatron was bare, unpainted plastic, but then you'd have people complaining about the lack of paint.

I haven't put batteries into mine, but it sounds like the same voice chip that they used for reissue Galvatron.
MP36 & reissue Galvatron sound chip comparison video
As you can see (hear) the voices are exactly the same. :/ Although Katō Seizō (the Japanese voice actor for G1 Megatron/Galvatron) passed away 3 years ago so while he was able to record voices for Galvatron he was unable to do so for MP36. Perhaps they reused the same voice chip as a tribute to Katō. They could use a sound-alike but I'm sure that Japanese G1 cartoon fans would appreciate them using Katō's original voice.

Did Seizo use the same voice for Megatron and Galvatron, or did he use different voices for each character, like Frank Welker?

[GoktimusPrime]

Did Seizo use the same voice for Megatron and Galvatron, or did he use different voices for each character, like Frank Welker?

Pretty much the same voice, although in TFTM it was less electronically warbled after for Galvatron, but then in the TV series it was warbled and pretty much sounded like Megatron. Or more accurately, the voice was exactly the same as Megatron first in the TV series and then later "unwarbled" for TFTM (I keep forgetting that TFTM only came out in Japan in 1988).

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Must admit that I'm not that fond of the warbled Japanese Megatron voice. They could've done something a bit more exciting.

[Sinnertwin]

Must admit that I'm not that fond of the warbled Japanese Megatron voice. They could've done something a bit more exciting.

I don't mind the voice, the fact that they got the sound of his fusion cannon wrong irks me even more
Still, if we could get a hybrid of MP5's alt & MP36's robot mode, it'd be perfect.

[GoktimusPrime]

Must admit that I'm not that fond of the warbled Japanese Megatron voice. They could've done something a bit more exciting.

I'd say that it's because we don't have any emotional attachment to it because we didn't grow up with it. From a non-Anglophone's POV Chris Latta's high pitched screeching Starscream's voice probably sounds weird. Japanese G1 Starscream has a far more menacing and booming voice. But of course, we all want our Cobra Commander-esque screeching Starscream voice if we ever had a G1 'Screamer toy w/ a voice chip cos that's what we grew up with. It's all about hittin' that childhood nostalgia.

Hhhmmm... I wonder if a third party company would be able to produce a sound chip (or even alternative fusion cannon) with Frank Welker's Megatron voice.