Megatron's tank mode
is a bit of a "chibi tank" despite the large size for the "Ultimate" size
class. There isn't really a turret to speak of-- more like a lower section
with treads and an upper portion with a big cannon on the front. This isn't
entirely accurate to the show model, so it's a bit of a downside, especially
for such a large toy. There's also some other robot extras, such as the
gap between the treads in the front, as well as Megatron's robot back making
up the, well... back of the tank. Thus, there isn't really an actual back
end to this mode, unfortunately. One can also see the top of Megatron's
head back there, even though it's sunken down into the body a bit. The
mold detailing is the Cyberverse norm, with some basic details for the
most part, such as the cybernetic detailing on the sides, along with some
simple wheel-like details inside the tread portions (the toy runs on small
red wheels on the bottom, not the treads). There's also some "panel reinforcement"-like
details on the upper sides, and some surprisingly intricate little guns
and missile pack details near the front. The colors are pretty basic, and
classic Megatron-- mostly light gray (though thankfully not that particularly
bland milky shade of it), some black on the cannon and treads, and then
a little bit of red poking out here and there. There's also some silver
on the top rear portion that becomes his arm cannon in robot mode. There
still could've been a bit more black and/or silver paint on the sides,
being such large unpainted portions of gray. Megatron's gimmick is really
fun-- press in on the gray square button on the left side of toy and the
cannon will basically turn itself inside out, making it considerably longer
and revealing very intricate cybernetic detailing on the inside, mostly
covered with a pinkish purple paint to represent Energon power, I guess.
I do wish the cannon could stay this way, but unfortunately if you let
go of the button it springs back into its default position (which is why
I can't really show you this with a picture). To take the "unfortunate"
part a step further, at some point transforming Megatron back and forth
I messed up the gears using the gimmick, and now the cannon can't completely
fold out into this elongated configuration. And if I can accidentally do
it, than a kid in the target audience is DEFINITELY gonna be able to accidentally
do it.
Transforming Megatron
to robot mode is fairly easy-- fold forward the panels on his sides and
rotate down the bottom half to become his legs, unfold the feet, and then
separate his arms and fold them down and you're done (his robot head automatically
pops up during the transformation). However, getting him back into tank
mode involves positioning a few pieces juuust right to get the tabs to
line up, which is why he barely edged into the "medium" transformation
difficulty column. (Also of note-- if you want to activate his cannon gimmick
in robot mode, just put his arms together pointing forward like he's transforming
to tank mode, and then the gimmick can be used.) The robot mode is definitely
the stronger of Megatron's modes, with pretty good, accurate proportions,
especially considering the more kid-friendly aesthetic. His legs are nice
and bulky and proportional, with some missile pods molded in on the lower
sides. His waist and chest are adequately detailed (though not much more
than that), and his chest could stand to be a little bit wider, but is
largely good. Due to the transformation, his waist is thrust forward a
little, which is tad odd. The head is very nicely detailed, with black
outlining around his red eyes and on his grumpy mouth to emphasize he's
not a cheery guy, with the rest of his head painted silver. It largely
fits with his traditional headsculpt, but with a bit more slanted look
to the sides of his head so he's not QUITE as much of a buckethead. The
arms are where this mode suffers, due to the gimmick-- they're a little
bit too short and stocky, with the upper arms a bit too overly short below
the shoulders. The cannon is also molded onto the front of his right arm,
as opposed to being able to hook onto the side of said arm. There aren't
any outright vehicle mode kibble bits, though, which is pretty awesome.
The color breakup in this mode is a bit better, with black in a few more
areas like his neck, waist, and middle of the abs. More red is also visible
on his upper arms, waist, and abs. I still wish a bit more paint was there
to bring out, say, the missile packs on his legs, but largely it's good
enough. For articulation in this mode, Megatron can move out at the shoulders,
as well as forward, and can also rotate them forward for the gimmick; movement
at the hips (at two points); knees; and a bit of ankle articulation. I
really wish he had elbow movement, and his knee joints can be a little
on the weak side, but he's largely okay here, especially for an Action
Attacker toy.
Ultimate Megatron definitely
has a few downsides-- a bit too "chibi" of a tank mode with some fairly
obvious robot extras, arms that aren't articulated or long enough-- but
for the age group that he's aimed at, this is largely a solid, fun toy
with an enjoyable gimmick (though kids may need help transforming him into
tank mode if you don't want to mess up the gimmick gears). Recommended,
keeping in mind the usual articulation caveats given the target audience--
one of the best Megatron toys in the line.
Review by Beastbot