The Decepticon Leader has had many different forms over the years. He's a gun in G1, a tank in G2 and in other continuities, multiple beasts in Robots in Disguise 2001, a jet in Energon, a helicopter in Animated, a truck in Dark of the Moon, and pretty much anything that he can be these days without worrying about getting kids in trouble for possessing realistic firearms. While we have had Megatron turn into a gun for the Classics, Masterpiece, and Reveal the Shield lines (as well as accessories for key versions of G1 Starscream, that Centurion Drone accessory pack, and the gun that Core Class Megatron has), Megatron can't be a gun anymore. That being said, Takara has been able to reissue the old toy from time to time, and they decided to accompany him with a repaint of the DOTM figure to show off the idea of the character's evolution. Chronicle was one of those lines that did that, and while we never really got any other interesting multipacks since then (I mean, it's easy to do that for any G1 character with a Movie incarnation, just ask Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Skids, Starscream, Bonecrusher, and Soundwave), we do have 2 sets, and the one I'll be taking a look at has the Decepticon leader!
Here are both Megatrons in their alternate forms. As you can see, one is definitely bigger than the other, but they're both neat toys in their own right. Let's take a look at them individually (though before we begin, I should mention that G1 Megatron has his rub-sign and has some exposed die-cast on the piece that holds the gun barrel during transformation)
Let's focus on Megatron on his gun form. As far as looks are concerned, he looks almost like a real gun mode but without any of the more metal feel to it since most of the toy is plastic. Honestly, I think it looks generally spot-on to the actual Walter-P38 gun that he turns into. The sculpting is not as prominent as with Optimus Prime (given how they're both nothing alike when it comes to detailing and the fact that they're from different lines), but you do have some of the traditional gun details, like the etched name and designation code, the safety lock, the hammer, the ridges of the handle, and some of the other components one would find on a real gun. The trigger can be pulled back and make a clicking sound as one would expect, and if you have any of the plastic pellets, you can shoot them from within the chest chamber.
Adding the scope on it, here he is next to Classics Megatron for a size comparison. You can certainly tell how much of an overhaul Megatron went between the first and last time we had mass-retail toys of gun Megatrons. The 80s certainly had to reuse another toy for the Transformers rebranding, which is why he turns into a gun, while Classics Megatron was a result of Hasbro both being creative with using the Nerf series and abiding with new toy gun laws.
Transformation is weirdly good and creative considering how they had to change the unique shape of a gun into a robot. Things like the way the chamber flips around to be the chest, the handle being made into the legs, the back of the gun being the arms, and the barrel swinging onto the hip are all traditional parts of the transformation, but what surprised me the most is how it's held together. I don't know what kind of mechanism is used to secure the head, spine, and shoulder pieces onto the robot mode position, but it works a lot better than expected! The resulting robot mode...definitely shows its age. Sure, it's always impressive to see how Takara can pull off a robot shape out of a gun, but it definitely has one of the most dated robot designs of them all. He's a funky shape of a humanoid thanks to most of his angles, as he has a wide body and skinny legs that look too spaced out from each other when viewed from the front while he looks mostly fine from the side apart from his deep legs and his diving board trigger crotch. Don't even get me started from the back. Certainly, a clumsy design that screams poor toy design, but it weirdly works because he at least feels like a proper toy that does have a bit of charm to him compared to the likes of Ironhide/Ratchet and most combiner limbs.
Head sculpt is interesting, as it appears that he has a head within the back part of the gun, yet as we all know, it's actually been redesigned to be the helmet of the character in the cartoon (though it's a different story for the Marvel Comics and some media). He also has dark yellow eyes, as is a trend for some G1 toys. His articulation is pretty basic, as he has arms that go up and down only. Apart from his iconic Fusion Cannon, you can give him his less significant weapons in the form of a blaster and a really nice sword. The way he holds them involves using sideways pegs that do limit the ways other toys can hold these weapons. And in case you're wondering, no, I do not have the stock and silencer with me since those pieces are not included with this version of Megatron.
Let's go over the reuses of the toy so you can get an idea of how they work. Hasbro's version of G1 Megatron has the nice chrome that the Chronicle version lacks, and he has the accessories needed to complete the Man from U.N.C.L.E appearance as well as be accurate to the cartoon. He did not, however, come with any of the pellets now did he come with a sword. Takara's version, on the other hand, did NOT have the chrome nor the UNCLE accessories, but he instead has blue plastic replacing the red plastic as well as the pellets and the sword. He was also given different box art like Prime, though it did not last as long apart from the VS pack where the head faced Prime this time...and may someone from 1985 tell me why his box art's red pieces are not consistent with the blue of the toy?
Takara did another multipack, this time in the Goodbye Megatron set featuring Starscream! Megatron now has red plastic but is still missing the other accessories...the reverse of the toy and package art errors is done here, with the toy having red plastic while the box art has those parts in red now colored as blue. Oops! It's worth mentioning that Chronicle Megatron's appearance is similar to but not exactly like this version.
In the year 2000, Megatron was re-released as he now has the definitive completion that was missing with the Takara versions and was almost there with the Hasbro version: it has the chrome, red plastic, and gun accessories of the Hasbro version but now has the sword, pellets, and functional trigger of the Takara version.
A black repaint of Megatron was made around the same time, giving him black chrome and brown plastic that makes the toy feel weirdly classier than the traditional colors in gun mode.
The Collection line had another reissue, this time giving him an energon mace as well as new packaging, a sticker sheet with Decepticon logos of different sizes, and a mouse pad with the insignia...almost like the New Year Special Convoy reissue of G1 Optimus Prime, but without a cartoon-accurate repaint of the Action Master!
A take on the Japanese version of Megatron from 1985 was later repurposed as Megaplex, who not only has all of the accessories of the original Megatron (including the piece that lets him hold the Fusion Cannon) but he also comes with a recolored version of his mace, now in yellow instead of purple.
The Encore version of Megatron is different as his packaging differs from both the Hasbro Megatron box and the 200s reissue. He's also got a tan shade to his gray plastic and chrome, which may bother you if you prefer the normal gray.
And now we have the oddest repaint of the toy, and it wasn't even given a proper release! This is a failed attempt at putting the toy in the Hasbro Commemorative Series, and with the gun laws being much stricter than ever before, Megatron's color scheme had to be altered significantly for it to be allowed on store shelves; sadly, the use of blue chrome and orange was still not enough to convince Toys R Us to sell the toy since it still looked too much like a real gun. It was called Lava Megatron and Safety Megatron to fans who saw the toy, and as inaccurate as it was, this would have been kind of cool to own solely for the absurdity of its deco.
Oh and before we take a look at how he looks next to Optimus Prime, you can tell that I opted to not add any stickers or use any of the pellets. As for how he looks next to Prime, you can tell that the two toys certainly belong in different toylines. Optimus being a more successful robot from his truck shows he belongs in the Diaclone line while Megatron's malformed shape proves he truly belonged in the MicroChange line. That being said, with these two sharing Transformers heritage in the 80s, I can honestly say I am more than happy to have this duo in the same shot since I am still surprised and happy to own a G1 Megatron, even if he's not exactly like the more complete reissues.
Here is DOTM Voyager Megatron in his truck mode. This is the original Voyager toy from 2011, and as you're about to see, it certainly looks different from both the mainline version and the Studio Series version. As far as the vehicle mode is concerned, it looks very good, with all of the proportions and details captured fairly well in this size class; I don't think this toy is 100% accurate but it at least manages to have the feel of a complete alternate mode thanks to its inclusion of the trailer and the gas tank it's hauling. All of the wheels roll nicely, and the use of silver paint for the tank and the grille help make the toy feel more premium than the regular version. It has some 5mm ports on the toy as well as C-joint clips on the smokestacks for the weapon versatility DOTM was known for.
In general, this alternate mode is well-made and is not missing anything significant as far as detailings are concerned. Though as you're about to see, his size is different than expected.
You can both add the tarp on the back of the vehicle mode to give it that more movie-accurate look, and the truck's trailer can turn left or right as if it's turning!
For a deco comparison, next to it is that Hasbro version, which looks like a prototype if you ask me. Between the bad layout of light gray plastic ad the brown plastic used on the rest of the truck mode, it never looked right and ended up even uglier than it should be. The Chronicle version's colors are certainly more preferable if you ask me, especially with how complete they feel.
Here is Megatron next to his Studio Series counterpart, which is not only longer but it's also got a much closer look to the movie than this version does, which may be from Hasbro going for the concept art available to them at the time until the Studio Series line gave them the final CAD files.
And now we have Revenge Optimus Prime! No reason other than to show off how the two Voyager trucks look next to each other, and yes, Optimus is bigger than the cab section of Megatron.
Transformation for this guy is the reverse of the Studio Series one, with the front becoming the chest and arms as the back becomes the legs; Studio Series Megatron's transformation only has the cab become the lower legs and the back is made up of the chest and arms of the toy. Said transformation fo this Megatron's good, especially with the way the legs transform. As for the robot mode, while it does look like Megatron, I don't think it really captures his physique. Movie Megatron's kind of hard to pinpoint his proportions unless we're talking about the current Studio Series line, but I do not think this Megatron nails the design as well; chief issues include the thunder thighs, the skinny waist, and the skinny arms. Granted, it's not a bad robot mode, and I appreciate the design traits it has, but I can't help but feel it needed a bit more of that Movie Megatron bulk he sorely needed.
Head sculpt is bad, even for its time. It's too small, the details are not sharp enough, and the eyes, which were originally red light-piping, are now clear and painted red for some reason. Doesn't look good. As for his articulation, his head is on a ball joint, shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, the biceps swivel from the transformation, his elbows are double-jointed, and his claws can curl inwards. The diaphragm swivels, the hips move front and back, in and out, the legs swivel above the knees and bend at the knees.
You have some display options for this guy as you give him the hood and turn his gas tank into a fusion cannon with a claw! Alternatively, if you own Evasion Prime, you can easily give him the rifle of that toy and let Megatron hold it using the tabs on the handle that go on the slits of his palms. I'm still mindblown that a feature like this has been made, let alone, pointed out.
Since this mold doesn't have any significant reuse history (apart from maybe one gold chrome repaint), here he is with his regular Hasbro self. Once again, the colors on the Takara version are much nicer, as the olive shade to his plastic, the uniformity, and the silver paint make the toy feel less cheap than the Hasbro version; on top of that, the tolerances are far superior, as his biceps and hips don't feel insufferably loose; meanwhile, his chest is easier to adjust since it's not as tight as the Hasbro version. That being said, Studio Series Megatron is the superior toy of the two.
And here is Battle Blades Optimus Prime next to Megatron, who is taller than the Decepticon leader! Honestly, I'm also amazed at owning two Takara repaints of the iconic leaders; if you told me in 2014 that I'd get these two figures in these exact decoes, I would never believe you! But here I am in 2021, possessing both of them. Yes, one of them is a KO, but it's a very nice one nonetheless.
And here is the 2-pack reunited. These two toys each have specific energy to them that can easily be summed up in a few words for each of them: G1 Megatron is dated yet looks weirdly charming, and DOTM Megatron has the best deco of this mold. I'm happy to own both of them, but I know that they're not going to be easy to get. I was lucky to get this set on Amazon for more than 100 dollars, but it's the cheapest option I could find without any of the hassles other people would have with other sites. On top of that, it finally allows me to own a version of G1 Megatron to go with Optimus, and the Megatron repaint is a nice one to add nonetheless. IF you do want this set, good luck finding it on Amazon for a cheap price or even some sites that might own it.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
