Loving this figure.
Does anyone's elbow on the tail arm not go past 45 degrees? There's alot of resistance going past that point.
Yess
Only if cheap
Only if something else (specify)
No
Not even interested
Loving this figure.
Does anyone's elbow on the tail arm not go past 45 degrees? There's alot of resistance going past that point.
I'm really just here for the free food and open bar.
Megatron here, along with Blackarachnia, are imo two examples of design synergy between main line and MP designs, where the main line figures actually improve on some aspects of the respective MP figures.
Beast mode:
I don't know for sure if the T rex mode is more anatomically accurate than the cartoon model, but it feels more realistic to me although with a slight stylized touch to it. The soft rubbery plastic skin looks great with all the molded skin texture, and feels right to me for a dinosaur toy. The gaps don't look nearly as egregious in person as some photos make them look.
Articulation in this mode is excellent. The robot mode right arm articulation is pretty much unhindered here, especially the side to side rotation, thanks to the spring-loaded neck panels.
What's most impressive imo is the front to back thigh rotation which the MP figure technically doesn't quite have. It's a clever mechanism that allows the thigh pieces to rotate on a circular track. Megatron to me is just expressive in T rex mode as the MP version.
Transformation:
The flow of transformation is the same as the MP figure. More thigh mass gets distributed to the backpack, and obviously it won't be able to collapse as neatly as the MP. But it doesn't look as bad in person, and if the thighs need to end up on the back to give way for better T rex articulation, I'd take it any day of the week.
'Bot mode:
Just like the MP figure, it has great shelf presence. I could've sworn the head sculpt was just slightly tweaked from the MP head, so it has that incredible likeness to the show model.
Articulation is quite decent in bot mode. Imo not as good as dino mode as he doesn't have regular arms per se so it's limited here and there. The right arm has a slight butterfly hinge built in which is good for both T rex and robot mode. The left fist has a dedicated up and down hinge presumably for better weapon holding. Neither the front to back nor in and out hinge at the hip is ratcheted, which is disappointing. Good thing though is he has front to back ankle joint as well as ankle rocker, so he's quite well balanced in more dynamic poses and so far I haven't had issue with the hip joint being to loose.
He's very substantially sized for a modern leader and scales very well with the other Kingdom BW figures.
Overall:
Just like the rest of the Kingdom BW figures, Megatron sets out to achieve a few different things than the MP counterpart and does it very well. Imho he's not simply a mini Masterpiece as the phrase gets thrown around quite a bit lately, but a great update to the character with a very well executed T rex mode.
I just managed to get hold of one of these elusive leader class toys. I'm very impressed. It's one of the few toys where alt-mode is a lot more fun than robot mode. In fact, I'd say that's the case for all of these Kingdom Beast Wars figures. I like how Doublespy put it, that it's two action figures in one.
It's been mentioned in other posts, but we need to appreciate the engineering on those dino thighs and how pieces from very different parts of the figure come together and are able to move together. It's very clever. They've put them on sliders that run through axial guides around the same axis as the hip pivot. It just comes together so smoothly that it actually moves better in T-rex mode than when the parts are separated. Hats off to the designers there.
Also a shout out to the rubbery plastic used. I know some won't like it but it's a bold move that I think works really well. It does mean that they've almost doubled the part count as a result. Each rubbery part also has a hard plastic part as a skeletal frame for it, which I appreciate. I wouldn't want them to do it on every figure, but it's a really nice change that works for a posable dinosaur and sets it apart from other toys.
I do really enjoy the MP version, but it doesn't have to be a competition. They're both great and I have no regrets in owning both.
Holy crap I was not prepared for how awesome Kingdom Megatron is. If someone broke into my house right now and set it on fire and I had to choose between saving Commander Rodimus and this guy, I'd choose this guy.
PROS
- Forgetting that he's a transformer, hands down the best dinosaur toy I own. Just about everything you could ask for in an articulated T-rex.
- Transformation was surprisingly neat for a shellformer. Hits that sweet spot of being not overly complicated yet not exactly just sticking pieces of shell together.
- Aesthetics are near perfect. He feels resplendent, the colours, moulding, articulation result in absolute swagger and shelf presence. This guy does not look cheap in the slightest. Viva!
CONS
- Yeah he's got a big arse kibble backpack but it doesn't interfere much with articulation or balance thanks to his natural heft and large feet. Hey wait, I'm supposed to be writing cons.
- No accessories. Forgivable for sure given what you DO get, but still disappointing they didn't throw in a blast effect or something for that T-rex mouth.
Heard some horror stories about this guy breaking in places. Opened mine and (very carefully) transformed him a few times. Thankfully the left shoulder and the dino hip covers don't look like they're gonna break off yet. A very BEAUTIFUL toy in both modes
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