Transformers Combiner Wars Megatron review

Megatron's involvement in the CHUG line has been pretty rocky, with the initial Classics figures consisting of a Voyager Nerf and a Deluxe tank from a 2-pack with a mediocre G1 Optimus. His Takara repaints were nicer but expensive. His IDW forms in the Thrilling 30 line looked good but were sadly small, and it wasn't until around Titans Return and Siege where G1-styled Megatron figures got to be nicely done. Combiner Wars Megatron was once seen as the best version of the character for a while, but it has since been forgotten about or looked down upon now for how it aged. While it's nowhere near as worth the money compared to 2009 Leaders like ROTF Optimus Prime or Animated Ultra Magnus, does it manage to be a decent toy when viewed specifically in its own line?

Here is the tank mode, and what a tank mode it is! The silver paint makes it feel a lot more premium than it actually is, the sculpted details look slick, and I especially love how well it goes for a tank design that's more traditional. While a wash would accentuate the sculpting present on this toy, I like the shiny silver paint on this altmode. I also love how the treads don't have tiny wheels and molded plastic, but they're actually working treads. As far as I'm aware, the last figure that had this feature was Armada Scavenger, which was made in 2003 and predated this figure by 12 years! The red tip on the barrel of the tank? That's a missile that launches, and now we must move on to the other parts of this figure.

You can swivel the turret on a mechanism built within Megatron's chest. While I like the fact that it's got that feature, I have to admit that the mechanism sounds bad. Instead of it being a nice ratcheting swivel or a more silent one relying on friction, this instead has a mechanism that makes the toy rattle so awkwardly, and it sounds lifeless, too. On another note, there are plenty of 5mm ports on this altmode, and while they do allow for some Minicon compatibility, there were no Minicons in this line. Given how Armada Starscream and Centurion were in the Thrilling 30 line, part of me wondered if Megatron and Armada Megatron were supposed to be in that label instead of the Combiner Wars moniker. Either way, they aren't as noticeably lacking as the two miniguns that would serve as missile pods if they were included. Alas, I'm missing them.

There's not much else in terms of paint apps aside from the silver coat, though you do have a Decepticon insignia. It's nicely applied, though I should mention that there was a sticker sheet included with extra Decepticon insignias as well as Autobot ones and the swirly details from the old G1 toy.

The transformation is very basic for what it's going for. The instructions say that there are 15 steps (same amount as the AOE First Edition Optimus Prime and less than both Leader Optimus and Grimlock from the same line), but BWTF mentioned 10 steps. That's an extremely low count for a Leader Class figure, especially when most Leader Class figures have more steps than that. While some from the Cybertron or Animated lines have had simple conversions, at least they felt more enjoyable because of how they transformed. Combiner Wars Megatron just has you straighten his legs, attach the chest piece, roll up his sleeves, and relocate his HUGE tank tread chunks to the back, which kind of makes him lean.

The robot mode certainly captures the G1 character design for Megatron. It's got the design cues from the shoulder, chest, and fusion cannon down pretty well, but I'm not too sure if it's really as perfect as some thought it was back when it first came out. Yeah, it's a nice, big Megatron, but the figure has a huge backpack from the side, the design makes him look like a parallelogram, and there's not much else to make this figure look more dynamic when not in a pose. It's like a Titan Hero figure got a massive budget upgrade, though said budget upgrade comes from a Deluxe Class Transformer rather than a Leader Class one. While there are parts of the design that I don't like, I do love how the lower legs at least resemble a gun handle from the side, and I also like the treads actually being integrated from within the legs rather than being pasted on the sides. I should also mention that the fusion cannon is reversed intentionally. The missile should normally face the front, but it's better to have Megatron's cannon look bigger when it's pointing at an enemy.

The head sculpt is very nicely done, and it may as well be the best part of this figure. The light-piped eyes especially add some intimidation that I personally feel is lacking from G1 Megatron. I say that because while he does have the "angry" look on his face, the voice (in the cartoon, at least) and ridiculous plans make this version of the character lack the tyrannic essence of his Unicron Trilogy, Movie, Animated, Aligned, and Cyberverse incarnations. 

The articulation is decent, though it does have its own share of problems. The head can swivel left and right on a mushroom joint, and it can also look up and down. The shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, but said shoulder joints look bad. They're actually a lot lower than they really need to be, and when you try to pose Megatron with his arms out, these red poles end up looking bad when they're exposed. You can somewhat hinge them front and back on butterfly joints, bend them at the elbows (also on ratchets), and swivel the wrists. There is a bit of a waist swivel, and the hips move front and back, though both joints are limited. The legs can move outwards, swivel at the thighs, and bend 45 degrees at the knees. Yes. While some poses can be possible, they're not all as dynamic as you'd want them to.

This is the Takara version of Combiner Wars Megatron, now in the Legends line. It removes a lot of the red and replaces it with silver or grey. There is still some red leftover, though, so not a whole lot of differences are present here.

Here is the simultaneously released Armada Megatron, which doesn't look too bad in some ways. While I would love a much more faithful action figure overall, this is not too bad, though it's dumb how immediately available it was along with the G1 version. Sort of like if Hasbro made two Bumblebees in the same wave.

This is the Takara version of Armada Megatron, also in the Legends line. It's curious how he's not called "Micron Legend Megatron since most Legends figures had their Japanese monikers. Regardless, this one is a bit more accurate to the anime while the Hasbro version was more reflective of the American version of the toy.

This is a decent figure at best. I don't think it managed to age as well as I thought it would, considering how it was once seen as the definitive version of the character. Since the Voyager scale did Megatron a bit more justice, it's a shame this guy feels less like a must and more of a figure completionists would stick with. Funny how many people put this in a display with MP-10 Prime before the Masterpiece version was officially made in 2017. Right now, this figure may be in most fans' storage rooms, but it could be decent if you want to get it for cheap or for a display with POTP Optimus. Otherwise, get the Siege figure.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐