Megatron w/ Rampage (Botcon 2008 Attendee-Only Exclusives)
 

Rampage
Beast ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Mini-Con (comes in a 3-pack with Megatron and Rodimus)
Difficulty of Transformation: Very Easy
Color Scheme: Reddish orange and some black and silver and metallic gold
Rating: 6.0

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the Predator Attack Minicon Team. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the Predator Attack Minicon Team here.)

    Rampage's color scheme is based off of the G1 Predacon of the same name, and shares the same beast mode as well, which is certainly a plus. The reddish-orange is a particularly good shade of the color, and the gold serves as a magnficient highlighting color. What small bits of black and gold there are look good, too. However, as good a color as it is, Rampage still has too much orange on him-- it either needs to be broken up with more paint apps or some of his plastic should have been molded in another color. Also, when taken by itself it's not at all a bad color scheme, but it's REALLY similar to this mold's previous color scheme, only with the orange being a bit more reddish and the black stripes being replaced with a few gold paint apps. Considering the prices that one has to pay for exclusives like this, a bit more effort to differentiate them from the originals would have been appreciated.
    No mold changes have been made to Botcon Rampage.


Rampage Bio:
FUNCTION: Gunner
MOTTO: "Thought preceding action equals success."
Rampage's mind is always working furiously. During his time as one of Razorclaw's students, he would often begin on a new assignment before finishing the previous one. The war did not diminish his enthusiasm; it allowed him to simply reorient his focus on warfare. He would often destroy twice as many Autobots as Razorclaw or Divebomb by constantly trying out new and more efficient ways of dispatching with his enemies. Watching alien transmissions tends to calm him down. It was Rampage who presented Razorclaw with transmissions showing predators that became the basis for the alternate mode designs of the Predacons when they joined the Decepticon army.
Strength: 7.0
Intelligence: 9.0
Speed: 7.0
Endurance: 7.0
Rank: 3.0
Courage: 9.0
Fireblast: 8.0
Skill: 9.0

Megatron
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Ultra (comes in a 3-pack with Rampage and Rodimus)
Difficulty of Transformation: Easy
Color Scheme: Light milky gray, black, and some transparent dark blue, light red, metallic silver, moderately dark blue, and dull orangish-yellow
Rating: 8.9

(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to Energon Ultra Megatron. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of Energon Ultra Megatron here.)

    Megatron retains some of his classic colors-- namely, light gray and black-- but he's got enough unique twists to definitely set him apart as a seperate "mirror-verse" character. For one, he's got a lot more black than Megatron traditionally had, including on his brand-new head mold. The head mold makes Megatron look very beneficient, something that admittedly had to be a bit hard to pull off by the sculptor, since we're so used to seeing Megatron being the master of evil. His expression looks very peaceful, and his helmet is a bit less "bucket"-shaped, hearkening back to how his helmet originally looked in the early Marvel G1 comics. Red and blue are new colors for Megs, but he pulls them off well-- in addition to being traditionally "good" colors on TFs, which help with the whole "good bad guy" image, they contrast remarkably well with the black and gray. Megatron's also got quite a few paint apps, so no complaints about large open spaces of the same color here. My only real complaint about the figure as far as the color scheme goes is the same complaint I have with Rampage-- the original Energon Megatron was mostly light gray, and this version of Megatron has light gray in almost all the same spots, too. I mean, I know that they're Megatron's traditional colors, but c'mon, mix it up at least a little, maybe by swapping where the black and gray were, for example. Or even something like painted over the gray with a fine silver finish would have really helped it look great-- after all, this is a Botcon exclusive, you might as well spare no expense.


Megatron Bio:
FUNCTION: Decepticon Leader
MOTTO: "Peace will come for all Cybertronians."
As a young mathematician, Megatron lectured at one of Cybertron's most prestigious universities. During the course of his own studies, he had developed a set of equations that could predict social trends in a given society. He was alarmed when these trends pointed to a civil war on Cybertron. His colleagues dismissed his work as the paranoid ranting of a lunatic. He saw them as simply misguided and he retreated underground to prepare for the coming war. When Optimus Prime began his march across Cybertron, Megatron was ready. He had developed the art of transformation, refashioning his own body into one capable of converting to an aerial vehicle of tremendous power. While Optimus spread the gospel of destruction and conquest, Megatron championed compassion, courage and freedom. His charisma and humor in the face of a war helped him form a united front against the Autobots. Though Megatron is a pacifist at heart, he has the soul of a warrior as many have discovered time and again.
Strength: 9.0
Intelligence: 9.0
Speed: 9.0
Endurance: 9.0
Rank: 10.0
Courage: 9.0
Fireblast: 9.0
Skill: 8.0

    The Megatron & Rampage set is an interesting take on the molds-- the former more than the latter-- but both suffer from having a major color almost exactly the same as their molds' previous release, which knocks them down quite a few pegs in my book. For such an expensive set, this isn't really something to brag about. Still, Megatron has quite the unique color scheme, and it's very intriguing to see a "good" Megatron for once.
 

Review by Beastbot

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