Transformers The Last Knight Leader Class Megatron review

Can you believe it's been almost decade since the disaster known as Transformers: The Last Knight came out? We already know the mess that it is, but the one thing that made the least amount of sense was the handling of Megatron; in prior films (or at least the original trilogy), he at least had a major role in making his plans unfold even if he was with either his master The Fallen or partner turned backstabber Sentinel Prime. AOE had him as a drone (fair enough) while TLK had him as more of a dude who stayed in the back like with Nemesis Prime until the end has me wondering what the hell is going on with the production of the movie. Oh wait, they wanted to make MCU-style spin offs. As for the toyline, it was slightly better than the aged milk that was the preceding AOE line, and one positive it that we have a Leader Class Megatron long missing after ROTF. Seriously, you have a character who is a LEADER, and Hasbro thought giving that spot to Bumblebee made perfect sense. I know plenty of people made debates over whether or not the Leader beats the Voyager (or vice versa), especially when non-loyal Movie watchers only lile this design for being more humanoid (prior to ejaculating their tiny ding-a-ling-a-trons to the scrapped Bumblebee movie design), but after owning just the Voyager when brought up the Leader's flaws, it's time to see how well this holds up after now getting Calibur Optimus Prime for the shrine.

Here we have Megatron in his Cybertronic jet mode, and it is rightfully large for a Leader Class toy. Between the length of the jet going from the top of the nosecone to the edges of the boosters, combined with the width thanks to the toy's wingspan, this feels closer to what Leader Class toys used to have for scale compared to later figures which are now Voyagers with Benefits (ignoring figures like Dragonstorm and the POTP Leaders). In fact, it's so big I have to use a box to prop it up because of how hard it was to get it all in frame. While far from the usual Cybertronian motifs aesthetics with Megatron's first two designs, this at least retains an alien look with the Cybertronic glyphs, jagged surface areas, and non-Earth traits associated with a character probably disgusted with using two Earth modes before TLK. There is even a bit of weathering to make this feel less drab, and I dig it.

There is a button in the fuselage where pressing it opens the nosecone, revealing a cannon that almost feels reminiscent of the 2007 weapon on the old toy. Neat gimmick, right? Well, the problem is that there is no real security for the latch, with no proper spring to keep it in place either. Only the nosecone halves are spring loaded, yet without the proper security, they'll open on a hair trigger. Oh and the cockpit opens yet nothing can fit inside,.not even a Titan Master.

The flame effects are a nice inclusion, even predating the whole obsession with them from the War for Cybertron toys by including 5mm ports for the thrusters on the back. Not only that, but the sculptwork is at least convincing enough to convey bursts of fire blazing out of the back. Some paint gradient would be nice though.

Transformation is fairly involved for Megatron, and thankfully more than the new-mold AOE Leaders were. It also has a few differences in terms of what parts go where; the front section becomes entire fusion cannon while it was instead placed on the back (with the fusion cannon being a separate part). Likewise, the legs do not have the wings wrapped around them as they're instead folded on the back. We also don't have skirt armor made up from the thrusters. The resulting robot mode we end up with is mostly good, but the most glaring issue would be how massive the fusion cannon is. Past Megatron toys have had giant bazookas mounted on him, but the TLK design was far from oversized; I have seen some copies weigh the figure to the side, but I don't have that issue thankfully. I will complain that the forearms are more than just an asymmetrical eyesore thanks to the cannon; the biceps have a slight curve to them that makes them a weird S-shape, but leaving them with the sculpted details facing forwards leaves the elbows bending inwards like with the average gorilla arms. You can have the arms bend forwards with the wrists and the biceps swiveling in place, but the forearms are not only going to clash with the body from how deep or chunky they are, they are hollow due to transformation. A Leader Class figure not having these benefits is stupid as hell. On the plus side, ai always dug the asymmetry of this design, and the proportions are fairly good if we ignore how oversized the fusion cannon is (though he kind of looks a bit wide compared to the CG model).

You have the option to display Megatron with either an exposed face or a mouthplate, a feature we never had on a Megatron toy given that's Optimus's schtick. Ironically, he used the same lever gimmick we saw with Cybertron Prime while Calibur Prime instead used a face swap gimmick reminiscent of the MP Seekers. The head sculpt is generally good, and I appreciate that there is a bit of gunmetal to break up the grey plastic, but the mouth seems a bit more inset than the mouthplate.

Articulation consists of swivels for the neck, shoulders, biceps, wrists, and thighs, while the outward arm movement, elbows, knees, and ankles are on hinges. While the hips are ratcheted when moving front and back, that is not the case when moving them in and out. He also has his konda sword, which appears to be painted at the blade, yet displaying him in any slashing poses will be difficult given how much real estate his cannon takes even with the barrel retracted.

As mentioned before, the flame effect parts help make this figure more dynamic than without them, and they can easily fit on the barrel of the fusion cannon. Just remember that the barrel shouldn't retract. Also apparently TLK Megs was going to turn into a dragon, which may explain the flamethrower being carried over from the fire breath of the scrapped beast mode. On one hand, I love the altmode we end up with for a full circle thing of him being a jet again; on the other hand, it would have been a cool Transmetal II/RID2001 tribute. Not like replacing the jet with the dragon would save the movie.

Repaints for this mold include a gold chrome Lucky Draw repaint that is self explanatory and a Movie the Best release. The latter has a more screen accurate shade of grey, darker grey plastic, and a red scar. While I went the Takara route with Optimus Prime because of the Calibur retool, I don't see much of a need to go the MB route for a toy that is only slightly better in deco. If more engineering was added, I may change my mind.

For a size comparison, here we have the Leader with the Voyager. While there are some elements that the Leader does better than the Voyager, I still find the smaller toy much better as a whole. Much more refined as a whole, especially for not having an oversized fusion cannon. The grays are more or less identical, but the Leader has yellow while the Voyager is more orange.

And here he is with Optimus Prime, and we can say how much more love the Autobot leader got than the Decepticon tyrant. The metallic paint, chrome, and weapon versatility is why I went Calibur, something I can't do with Megatron because of his engineering not being good enough for the MB version. It's not like Megatron needs chrome that badly, but I know there is still more room for improvement. That being said, I kind of like this figure more than I thought I would; don't get me wrong, it's not that great of a Leader Class figure, but I can at least say the toy is decent enough for me to still keep on my Optimus/Megatron collection next to his former brother in arms. TLK Megatron is a figure I recommend more at a lower price than I would his original price tag. I spent nearly $30 for it, and it's a better deal than the average Leader Class figure we've gotten of late.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nendoroid Urusei Yatsura Lum Invader 2-in-1 review

Lum's been getting a bit more rep from the world of Rumic World reviews than I expected. Given the way her status labels her as a national treasure, what with her being from one of the oldest anime of all time as well as as getting the title of "first ever waifu" while starting a trend of people falling in love with fictional women (for better or worse). As for the Nendoroids, we already know that they are most commonly used to appeal to the chibi weeb culture, (no, not the nasal YouTuber who sucks). I took a look at the Inuyasha Nendoroids and now have a pair of Lums while I wait for Gendo or Ritsuko to go with Misato. Let's see which Invader is better!

Here we have both Lums side by side, with the original on the left and the reboot version on the right. Both have the same proportions, face detailing, and sculptwork for the hair and tiger stripe bikini. The main differences have to be the coloring on them. The original has a bit of a tealish tint to her hair while the reboot version has a darker shade with blue paint apps to match the shading artstyle from the reboot. The shades of yellow are also distinct on both, with a school bus type of shade used for original and a banana shade used for reboot. The irises on the eyes are darker on reboot than on original, while the skin tone is whiter than what the original had (either due to the master quality on the old anime's printing or just how whiter anime characters look in digital coloring). 

Even the back hair on Reboot is painted with some extra details not found on the original version. Granted, the hair coloring on the original Lum is solid while the reboot version has far more coloring in the actual anime, but it's still worth mentioning. And as usual, they can't stand on their  own without the clear stand pieces (though smaller ones that are easier to hide are available). Also from the back they look like the kind of ghosts you see made of bedsheets.

The articulation between the two is generally the same, using the same style of Nendoroid joints for the hips and neck as well as swivels for the shoulders (and wrists for the uniform arms). Speaking of, original Lum has an optional apron torso with dedicated arms to hold her dish likely meant for Ataru while reboot Lum has a whole body meant for the school uniform, with a set of arms and hands meant to hold her briefcase (because Japanese students don't use backpacks). Choosing either option is a case where you'd get one display option over the other, though I think the school uniform is much more unique given you get a few more parts meant for the body. Both figures do have smiling faces with their eyes closed, but you can't have them really wear either set of clothes without the skin tones not matching (unless you swap the hair pieces only). 

But what makes the original Lum a little more unique is that she comes with a lightning effect for her right arm as well as having a left arm far more splayed out. Both come with angry faces, but the fact that the original Lum has more context behind her expression fits well with her aggressively unlimited power.

You can at least take apart Nendoroids like a Lego figures and have reboot Lum look like she was blasted in pieces yet trying to reach to her prey like a zombie. By the way, the bikini body is an entirely different sculpt from the bottom used with the skirt, meaning the latter is only meant for the school uniform look.

For a chibi comparison, here is the Nendoroid with the Figuart Mini, which IIRC came out a year before Good Smile was allowed to do figures based on that series. Very interesting how cross licensing works with these companies. Anyhow, you can tell the aesthetics are different with the chibi approach, with the Nendoroid making Lum appear much stumpier with less definition in her body while the Figuart Mini has a more defined body yet only used a large head. They both have different kinds of stands, with the Figuart Mini's being simpler and sleeker overall. The newer version better matches the modern reboot artstyle more with those eyes and the hair color, but I kind of like the hybrid look of the new Nendoroid. In fact, I like it the most out of all figures we covered here. The Figuart Mini isn't bad, yet it offers much less in terms of display options. As for the original version, you will have to pay a shitton of money for it, and I was lucky to get a reasonable offer on eBay during my birthday! I don't know how easy it is to get the new Nendoroid, but it might be moreso than getting the Buzzmod version that's for sure!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for both, slight advantage to the 2025 version)

Transformers The Last Knight Calibur Optimus Prime review

The past few versions of Optimus Prime's AOE design I took a look at were either genuinely good transforming figures with actual effort put in them (TLK Voyager and Studio Series) or the non-transforming yet gorgeous Yolopark AMK PRO figure. By now, we can get either a really decent stab at the design for modern Hasbro standards or get a display piece that is far more poseable without seeking any third party figures. The same couldn't be said back in 2014 when Hasbro designers had restrained budgets compared to the first three movie lines. As a result, we have not only a much more complex design to work with, but the toys we ended up with were disgustingly downgraded in engineering from what we used to get. That First Edition Optimus Prime figure (not to be confused with the TFP version) released around the same time as the Super Bowl trailer was a slap in the face for anyone who bought a turd that had terribly placed chrome, basic articulation, and a lousy transformation with a price twice the amount ROTF Leaders went for. The Leader figure we got was slightly better, yet there was so much room for improvement that it took the Armor Knight Optimus Prime figure to make the premium aspect better executed. Now we have a 2.0 Calibur version released for The Last Knight, meaning even more changes beyond the screen accuracy are implemented for the toy. Let's see if making a partsforming backpack is worth it for this toy.

Here we have Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode. By now, you should generally be familiar with this kind of truck mode. It's a Western Star 5700 model, it has a more radical flame deco than what the trilogy model has, and the toy is officially licensed this time around compared to the heavy modifications done on the Peterbilt 379's likeness. I'm also sure that we know that toys based off this altmode tend to consistently get the truck mode right with no issues, though that's due to the robot mode requiring that it maintains that knight aesthetic rather than use those truck parts in any meaningful way. What I can say is that unlike the chrome on the First Edition, this alt mode wisely uses it on the smokestacks, sun visor, and grille. We go a step further and use it on the rims, something we usually see on the Masterpiece G1 offerings but not on either Buster Prime or MPM Prime; in fact, only the Takara version of Premium Series Optimus adds chrome to the truck parts thanks to those rims being separate pieces from the rubber tires (which we also get with this figure).

With the alt mode being about as perfect in terms of proportions and kibble management, I guess the next thing to talk about would be the toy's weight. The toy was much lighter than Leader Class figures were from a decade prior, no doubt from the thinner, smaller plastic spread as well as the lack of electronic features, but at least the back adds a.but of weight from the fact that its assembly does more than just become a backpack. As we'll get to, it turns into a shield for Optimus to use.

Underneath are some of the weapons included with this figure. Unlike the symmetrical sword storage from the originally tooling, this is actually able to store the axe in addition, but I would advise not to given how easily it flexes. 

For a vehicle mode size comparison, keep in mind that he is smaller than the ROTF Leader was, and moreso than the First Edition turd we got before this figure. At the very least, he will scale fine with the usual Deluxes and Voyagers, even Alien Attack Firage fits in better with him than any MPM display. 

Transformation is where the figure gets most of its criticism from; while more effort was put into this than the Turd Edition with the shellformery slop on its back, the issue is that not enough effort was put into one half of the toy. Turning the front section into the legs is actually a genius bit of engineering with the always the halves twist and turn for the truck's grille, nose & cab, and front wheels in addition to the waist rotation. The upper half is mostly just moving truck parts around while the torso, arms, and backpack do very little to enhance the silhouette. I mean, having the roof halves turn into shoulder pads and the truck sides into skirt armor is kind of genius, but they're far too oversized and look clunky as hell with the hinges on display. Also, I have seen some copies have a weird quirk where the spring on the weapon is so powerful that it either causes the head to pop off when tabbing the chest in or just making the face swing up awkwardly. As for the robot mode, I think the proportions for the design are a little on the toyetic side, both with the kibble placement on a clean design as well as the boxy torso making his arms appear thin and lanky in comparison. I guess the benefit to this is that the removable backpack cleans up his silhouette better, though you can always leave the back kibble in place if you really wanted to. I kind of like that the wheel arches near the ankles are still around the legs, since they make for a cute nod to how Bayverse Prime toys usually have that design trait, and I dig that Takara at least sculpted part of the back so there wouldn't be a plain headache rack, but the back of the legs are still hollow, and I wish Takara got to fill them in or have them contribute to the transformation somehow. On the plus side, the retooling done in this figure is exquisite, especially comparing the inaccurate chest and arms we got with the original version. The paint apps being all silver with premium attention put in some of the smaller areas, combined with the gauntlets having proper color break up, makes this feel more polished than chrome placed randomly would do.

Head sculpt is another step up from the Armor Knight tooling we got, with the shape and paint work not just better matching the CG model, but we also get what was the first time since Animated Voyager Optimus Prime where you can display the face with or without a mouth plate, but rather than go the approach Animated and Cybertron went with from sliding a lever up, you lift the face up, rotate it 180 degrees, and use the alternate look you desire. 2 years later, in addition to this modified reissue, the faceplate gimmick would pop up on MPM Optimus Prime, and both Leader-sized Legendary Optimus Prime and Ultimate Optimus Primal would use that gimmick.

With the beautifully painted Sword of Judgement in hand, articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, ratchets in the shoulders (with the front/back motion being at an awkward angle when tabbed in place and the outward movement using indents too far apart), rotation above the forearm, ratcheted elbows, wrist rotation added to the Armor Knight/Calibur version, thumb articulation, waist rotation, ratcheted hips, rotation above the knees, ratcheted knees, and slight ball joints for the ankle pivots.

The backpack is more than just for partsforming, as the whole thing turns into a shield used not in Age of Extinction but Dark of the Moon instead. While the gunmetal and copper paint apps are badass it's a little oversized for him. As for the weapon storage, the sword and axe can tab or slide onto the back without any issue.

In addition to those weapons, we even get a bonus hand held Energon blade found only with the first many copies of this mold. This has to be the first time a hand held version of weapon came with a transforming version of the character, even if the arm-deployed blades are both more common and popular. Anyone wanting to use this to recreate the brief time he had this blade against Galvatron are in for a ride awakening when they find the peg and the forearm ports incompatible with each other.

With these weapons, we can bring back the GOAT himself, Asia Premium Series Striker Optimus Prime. Yes, while my Buster Prime is combined with Movie the Best Jetfire, this figure will be part of my Optimus/Megatron shrine. The instructions and Amazon Japan listings say the weapons are compatible with the Movie the Best version of Optimus due to the articulated hands, yet all pre-2017 versions of this mold can use the blade given the handle includes the same dimensions found for the Ion Blaster, Jetwing cannons, and Striker weapons. The shield scales better with this Optimus, and it also has a C-joint clip for the forearm panel pins to secure it in place. Even the blues on the shield match decently well, even if not 100%.

By removing the head of the axe, you can slide the handle through the hand so it can seamlessly hold the weapon without issue. The downside is that the blue for this thing stands out much more than if it were gunmetal, but hey, he can be displayed fighting Sentinel Prime in the ruins of Downtown Chicago.

With so many weapons at his disposal, I bet we can prove this is the example of one toy getting so much love compared to the other. The ROTF Leader is much taller, far more complex, and can display all of his weapons at once (even compared to Optimus Primal). What is this favoritism you speak of? Maybe I should keep Calibur Prime's left arm warm with a spare shield.

The original version of AOE Optimus Prime was closer to the concept art rather than the final design we got in the film. This means the chest is far more intricate in detail than the pectoral look, his head and sword are more jagged, the feet have inaccurate spikes pointing up whereas they should be smooth with red painted on, and the forearms do not match either look he had before or after grabbing his sword. Depending on the figure, the red plastic and paint is either a more traditional red or a darker red found on Sentinel Prime. For some reason, the all clear plastic used on this toy are cast in this nasty piss yellow, I don't know what the fuck Hasbro was thinking with using this color instead of something a little more natural, especially for the windows. The shield is almost accurate save for the fact that it's permanently deployed in cannon mode. Also, the backpack he was stuck with not even collapsing downwards more or transforming to look compact hurts the appearance far more than it should.

As for the Takara version, while the clear plastic is still yellow, we at least ditch the chrome on the chest in favor of reversing the colors and at least trying to match the final chest design. They also added silver paint for the rims upper arms, thighs, head, and torso. So it looks better than the Hasbro version, but only slightly.

We also have the gold chrome Lucky Draw version, so no explanation needed on what it looks like. Also, you may think there are stock photos of a clear plastic version floating around the Internet...

...yet in actually, it is part of a 2-pack that came with a decent patina-esque Grimlock. That mold sucked more than this one did, but we now have more chrome (especially on the shield), darker blues, richer reds, and more color break up for the head. On the downside, how shins are inexplicably red. Thankfully, the sword and windows are now blue, which looks better.

And here we have the precursor to the Calibur retool, originally called Armor Knight Optimus Prime. This figure's screen accurate retooling is carried over to its 2.0 TLK counterpart, only we still have the backpack that cannot be removed, the sword and shield are cast in orange plastic and are hardly accurate, and the reds and blues are more metallic. While this is nice on its own, I prefer the further modifications introduced with Calibur Prime.

This figure naturally got a black repaint known as Black Knight Optimus Prime, meaning this is not an evil Nemesis Prime repaint and instead represents the Elderdroid repaint we got with MP-01B Black Convoy. The truck mode looks extremely slick with the teal between the front and backs of the truck, it's that sexy.

To tie in with The Last Knight, we got an Asian exclusive repaint of the inaccurate tooling known as Shadow Spark Optimus Prime. This figure is painted to look like the abandoned, rusty state he was in when he was left to rust in space (with no explanations given), yet he has the Nemesis Prime purple eyes. Reminds me a bit of the Sleep Mode repaint for MP-04 Convoy.

As for the standard Hasbro release, we get a drab, de-premiumized version of the outdated tooling with no chrome, an unpainted shield, and smokey clear plastic instead of the retarded piss yellow. Beyond the removal of the ugly yellow, this is a real face slap of a stupid repaint.

Thankfully, in addition to Calibur Optimus Prime, we get Movie the Best Nemesis Prime, whose midnight blue, blood red, darker silver, and purple accents found for the eyes, axe, and black shield make this closer to the premium dark chocolate branding you'd find. I bet a seductive Quintessa voice over would play over after marking this toy with the red scar. By the way, this was the first time we got an explicit Nemesis Prime repaint for The Last Knight before Hasbro did their Studio Series version whose colors are brighter in comparison (ignoring the dark grey), yet the film had only the eyes and part of the face change.

For some comparisons with other figures based on this design, here he is with the transforming versions in the form of Studio Series on his right and The Last Knight Voyager on his left. Honestly, the Studio Series version may be the best figure when it comes to articulation and engineering, but even it has its own issues with how underpainted it is for a LEADER CLASS. I also appreciate the TLK Voyager for being a decent figure back when it came out, yet I always hated how 3 years after AOE's release, they hadn't found a way to do any real color break up to make him as accurate as possible, nor is the articulation that great considering the knees bend at 45 degrees, he has no wrist or ankle movement, and therefore poses worse than Evasion Prime. Thankfully, for all of its issues, we can say that Calibur Optimus looks the nicest and most premium thanks to his high number of paint apps.

And here we have him next to his Yolopark AMK Pro counterpart. What a night and day difference one makes from not having the ability to transform, huh? On top of that, the proportions for the model kit better match the on-screen CG model, and the use of a black wash further highlights the level of detail overall. I guess you can say that the Leader figure would make for a good altmode display, but now I want to talk about why I'm about to give it the rating you'll read below: when it comes to the devolution of Leader Class figures, it's disheartening to see them go from big ticket toys with lights and sounds (Cybertron through Dark of the Moon, maybe the Prime ones count but the Weaponizers and any beyond-Voyager sized toys are't proper Leaders) to slightly smaller figures with simpler engineering and varying degrees of plastic quality (Age of Extinction & Thrilling 30 through Power of the Primes & early Studio Series) and now Voyagers with Benefits (Siege through recent Studio Series and Age of the Primes). While I can easily say that I prefer older toylines for having more value for money, the AOE line is far from a favorite of mine; apart from Evasion Optimus, Hound, some of the Dinobots, and I guess Drift, most of the figures were very held back with engineering and budget thanks to a mix between simplifying toys after people whined about ROTF's line, the trend of shrinkflation leaving little room for the budget and the process of translating the complex designs to breathe, and the AOE bot aesthetics being difficult to translate on a first try. If I had reviewed the original AOE Leader Prime, I'd give it a much lower rating than what I'll give this retool. It's a toy riddled with issues, especially compared to what it's based on and what we had before, but I can still prefer it over the Turd Edition sold on Amazon. The two saving graces of the original version would be the nice chrome accents and the decent leg transformation; Takara's slightly better paint apps would bump it higher somewhat, the Armor Knight retooling improves the figure even more than the 2-pack's darker blues and chrome addiction ever could, and this version's weapon pack as well as optional partsforming makes it much easier to stomach. Only in that sequence do we get a salvageable retool whose screen accurate parts, properly premium paint, and weapons compatible with a (much better) Leader Class figure made half a decade carry what is an otherwise subpar toy. All I'm saying is to be happy we got this (and Nemesis!) so we can ignore all other versions of the mold, especially that AWFUL Hasbro TLK Leader repaint. I know there is still room for improvement with this thing, but I don't regret buying this toy because of what redeems it. It's not like Combiner Wars Megatron where people praised it purely because of the silver paint or the head sculpt; this mold is honestly better than CW Megs or Thrilling 30 Jetfire, but it's more of a single step above than it is a leap in quality like what I'd use to describe older Leader toy. So if you have to have just one version of this mold, avoid all others and stick with this or Nemesis Prime. The final improvements added to this version of the figure prevent this from being a huge pass.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐