Megatron (Ultimate) [Cyberverse]
Vehicle ModeRobot Mode
Allegiance: Decepticon
Size: Ultimate
Difficulty of Transformation: Medium
Color Scheme: Light gray, black, and some red, pinkish purple, and silver
Rating: 8.3

    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

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