Thursday 11 February 2021

Toybox REVIEW: Transformers Generations Selects G2 Megatron

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Release Date: December 2020
RRP: $29.99

The Generations Selects line has become the perfect place to provide Transformers fans with all those obscure characters and old-school homages that the main lines can't accommodate, and when it comes to wacky colour schemes nothing beats the Generation 2 days. From 1992-1995 Transformers was home to the most outlandish colours you could see on a toy, and some of the catchiest adverts the franchise has ever had. While a lot of big name characters in the range were slight remoulds of their Generation 1 versions, the line still had plenty of interesting new releases too - with Megatron being one of the most notable. Gone was the silver Walther P-38 pistol, replaced with a giant gaudy green and purple tank that cried out "MEGATRON ATTACK" at the touch of a button. It was a thing of beauty, and began the trend of tank Megatrons that continues today. Now Hasbro celebrate his legacy with the Generations Select G2 Megatron, bringing those iconic colours back and slapping them on a mould fit for 2020.

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While none of the Generations Selects line has been particularly extravagant when it comes to packaging, G2 Megatron keeps it especially simple. All we have here is a fold-out lid cardboard box with some Transformers War for Cybertron logos on it, and a big graffiti Autobot insignia on the lid for good measure. Since it's obviously entirely the wrong logo for the great Decepticon leader, it makes you think that this might be generic packaging they'll throw a number of voyager sized figures in. All the specifics to the figure itself are actually printed on a sticky label that's wrapped around the bottom and back of the box, which actually has to be cut through in order to get to the figure inside. No fancy slipcase like Super Megatron had either, this really is the very basics. Anyway, open the box up and you'll find G2 Megatron packaged in robot mode with his accessories neatly laid at either side of him. Underneath the tray you'll find the transformation instruction leaflet.

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Generations Select G2 Megatron is a repaint of the voyager class War for Cybertron: Earthrise Megatron figure, which in turn is a remould of War for Cybertron: Siege Megatron. This means that the body has that traditional G1 Megatron look rather than the (admittedly more simple) angled tank front body, but that doesn't mean the homage doesn't work. The horrific yet fantastic neon green and purple camouflage colouring is spot on to the original, and despite the different body shape the dotted orange sections are pretty well-placed to where they could be found on that toy too. The face sculpt has been given the metallic purple treatment to go with that silver bucket head, and he's even got those bright orange eyes to cap off that matching colour scheme. Admittedly Hasbro didn't go completely all out on making everything match - there's no proud "M" sticker on his stomach for example, but it's a solid homage nonetheless. Personally I could have done with more G2 Decepticon stickers just for the novelty value, as the only one is on a piece of the backpack that isn't visible from the front in robot mode. There's been a number of different G2 Megatron homages and remakes over the years (the 2008 Universe Legends class figure, the Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon remould) but none of them hit the mark quite as much as this one does. It's easily the best G2 Megatron we've had since 1992.

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As a current Transformers figure this Megatron is loaded with articulation, making him far more poseable than his 1992 namesake. Altogether he features;
- Ball jointed head
- Two-way swivel shoulders and hips,
- Swivel hinge elbows
- Waist, thigh and ankle swivels
- Hinged knees
- (Minimally) Rotating feet
There are also a couple of other areas you can make use of in robot mode such as a lowering collar area and tilting hands, but arguably both are there for the transformation rather than for additional poseability. Still there's a lot to love about this, and the abundance of swivels is good for making sure pieces don't get in the way of each other. 

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Megatron's main weapon is of course his arm-mounted fusion cannon, something his G2 namesake didn't actually have but has been recoloured here in bright purple to match the rest of the decor. In addition to that the tank mode turret also doubles as a melee weapon - with a sword blade on one end and the turret cannon on the other. With both of Megatron's arms sporting weapon ports this can be plugged into the arm exactly like the fusion cannon, becoming either an arm-mounted blade or a secondary cannon. Reviews of Earthrise Megatron have mentioned the pegs being extremely tight on that version, but that doesn't appear to be a problem here at all. There are other ways to mount it on the figure as well, although some are more successful than others. Whilst the weapon can technically fit in Megatron's hands as if it were a sword, the plug piece is at a 90 degree angle from the weapon - meaning it can only be held when the arm is rotated down. This makes it look like a rather nifty bladed staff, but there's absolutely nothing you can do with it pose-wise. Finally the whole piece can be plugged directly onto Megatron's back, which is meant to mirror the original G1 design but gives this particular G2 version some extra tank flavour. It's also the closest it can get to having the tank turret fix to Megatron's shoulder, a function which is completely absent from this figure and thus its biggest negative. One of G2 Megatron's most notable features is the lack of traditional fusion cannon, and it's that shoulder cannon that acts as his primary weapon. It wouldn't have taken much to remould this figure to make that work, and instantly would have made it twice the homage it is otherwise.

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The transformation from robot to tank mode is relatively straightforward, with lots of panels that all fix together to keep it nice and secure. There's only a minimal amount of parts-forming involved too, with the tank turret/blade weapon clipping onto the front and a separate piece from that connecting at the back between his shins. While the robot mode is excellent, the G2 homage really shines here. The vibrant colours, the prominence of the bright orange parts, the G2 Decepticon logo on the side - this is peak Generation 2 Transformers. And again while the tank itself isn't 100% identical to the original it's still damn close, and the colour placement does a lot of work to make it seem like they're identical. Little touches like the ring of green around the cannon to emulate the sticker on the original toy have not gone unnoticed.
 
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In tank mode Megatron enjoys the luxury of free-rolling wheels on the bottom of the tank treads to allow him to glide across smooth surfaces, but on top of that he also has a rotating turret! Since neither the original G2 Megatron nor the Universe Legends class figure had rotating turrets, this is particularly exciting and really adds to Megatron's play and display value in this mode. Unfortunately the trade-off is that the cannon can't raise like the original toy's could, but as far as playability goes I think it was a pretty fair trade. Megatron really emulates the G2 figure in alt mode, with that neon coloured camouflage making  him anything but a robot in disguise.

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As far as both toy and design go G2 Megatron is without a doubt my favourite version of the character, so Generations Select G2 Megatron was always going to be a must-have figure for me. This is my first experience with the Earthrise Megatron mould, and despite the obvious differences in body shape Hasbro absolutely nailed the colours - making this the pretty perfect tribute to the dominating Megatron of the early 90s. My one complaint is the decision to cheap out and not make any alterations to the mould. The line can give us extensive remoulds like Super Megatron, but for whatever reason a tiny little modification so that the thinner cannon can attach to the shoulder was simply out of the question? It's such a tiny little detail, but that's one of the things that really separates G2 Megatron from his predecessor. Thankfully fans have already been hard at work to make add-on parts to make this a possibility, but ideally it should have been a feature of the figure from the get-go. If you're tired of G1 Megatron and his boring old colour scheme, be sure to pick this up and get a taste of when the Transformers franchise was an explosion of colour.

3 comments:

toy store said...

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Iodaspark said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iodaspark said...

Splendid review of a definite must-have figure!
I myself grabbed this immediately when it was released last year and have honestly had much fun ever since. G2 Megatron blends rather well with the previous Voyager versions [namely the GDO, LG, Selects (Siege mould) and even the first Hasbro Classics Nerf Gun colour version], but is definitely more fun to play with in robot mode particularly, given that he has excellent movability. He also looks amazing with the G2 original (which I have him usually posed with). Love your photos of them interacting!
If you notice, some minor flaws with the toy include the sprue cut point being rather visible on the right side of his helmet (I had to shave mine smooth, but it does cause some paint loss in the process; though I frankly prefer that over the roughness of the crude mould-tray cut that gives an 'unfinished' look) and there is a small indent on the sticker side of his blade (appears like battle-damage, but is not present on both sides so it could be a moulding error rather than intentional. (At first I thought it was just on my copy but I noticed yours has the same in your SS '86 Grimlock review). So it might even be intentional or perchance a defect on the mould cast.
The other nitpick is the transformation process seems a bit scary when folding up and locking the small, thin tabs (as the joints are tight but the plastic is not as thick/robust/solid as Transformers used to be) and I am not sure how this will pan out in the long run.
Otherwise, it feels as though this specific mould was Paradron-sent for this (literally) colourful baddie boss character!
Please keep 'em coming!