Let's first go over the upgrade kit; the tray itself is fairly small given what little comes with it, but we have a small baggie with screws intended to go with this set.
You will need to disassemble not just the torso but also the shoulders since those will remain on the original torso's mushroom joints. Make sure you do not lose ANYTHING important before reassembling your toy!
For a quick comparison between the chests, you can see how distinct the two are when it comes to the shape and size of each silver piece on this complex body of his. The inexperienced may go "bah who cares they look the same", but there are more differences between the appearances of both chests compared to basically every third party MP scale G1 Optimus Prime.
What a difference it makes, doesn't it? Now those symmetrical, more jagged and angular shoulders blend in much better with the proper torso, rather than the more "rounded" one associated with the ROTF body. Also, while we can joke about the "nipples" that look funny out of context, those are meant to keep his Cybertronian jet mode from wobbling around without proper stability. And as for the fusion cannon, it slides into the gap behind the hand when it is folded away, allowing you to display it while it's only formed out of the right arm. I'm also happy to say that the silver matches perfectly between the official Hasbro version and the third party set.
The fusion cannon can also extend like the MPM version, and now you can perfectly display Megs as he threatens Prime to join humanity in extinction. I wish the barrel was painted silver to match with the rest of the items, at least the plastic feels durable and is not going to break down at the hinges. So despite being a basic set, it easily improves your MV1 Megatron with the stuff that he should have included from the start. Maybe he could have had an Allspark to hold or a damaged torso like what we got with the MPM and later Blokees, but it's still awesome.
And now, we shall go from official to bootleg! I already reviewed the official toy, so go ahead and check out my review from way back in 2019(!) if you were curious about my opinions on it. Here, we'll cover how the bootleggers exceeded in comparison to Hasbro's standards. First up, he's much shinier than either the drab grey original or vaguely gunmetal battle damaged version sold exclusively at Target. The silver paint not only helps the mold pop, but it's also brushed in a way to make it appear rough and slightly corroded given his temporary corpse was left underwater until ROTF. I honestly prefer this look for him than what we normally get, but what also helps is that the somewhat bronze paint apps are replaced with a proper copper look to further compliment the silver throughout him. We still get a few bits of gold here and there, but now it's better applied in areas that make sense for this design. Best part is the inclusion of die-cast, which is mostly found in the back panels behind the knees. That alone takes this beyond the Premium Finish treatment and makes this feel higher end than the average Hasbro product. He's even slightly taller than both Megatron's, and that surprised me but it at leaves makes the value for money worth it.
He also has a claw taken from the DNA Design ROTF figure, in addition to the battle damaged face that is swappable if you don't like having to get the battle damaged version. It is more hollow from the side Optimus shot, though I'm starting to notice that the BD version has a slightly broken piece on the grey top of his head. Not sure how that happened. The claw has 6 points of articulation, with 4 hinges at the base of each digit and two additional hinges for half of them. This was meant to go with a replacement fusion cannon that the new forearm could integrate itself into instead of just having the permanent one on the stock toy.
Another noteworthy aspect is that the torso is now filled in better with the winglet pieces. Those slot into a few holes around the back of the altmode, which we will get to in the next segment.
The tank mode is now even more complete with the winglets on the back, though they seem to only hover over the thighs they are shaped to fit onto. Transforming the figure is the same, but the treads are less rounded off at the edges so they may slightly hurt when you press your fingers on them. The wing pieces can only fit if you use the claw forearm due to there not being any space for the fusion cannon if it is on there. After owning this and the BaiWei Optimus with the silver paint and flame gradient, I definitely want to get more of their bootleg lineup. Their earlier Primes were rough in QC, but these newer knockoffs should be much better in comparison. And hey, this Megatron has a superior value for the money you spend than current Hasbro Voyagers!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for both)
Now for some bonuses! I already reviewed the Baiwei Optimus KO a few months back, so this is my look at the accessory kit that comes with my second copy of this KO. That's also how I got the bootleg Megatron from an eBay lot. Anyways, we get two axes (one made of clear plastic, another opaque in gunmetal), a giant shield, the Iom Blaster with a properly symmetrical Barrage Cannon, Energon Hooks (something Hasbro never made for the official mold), knuckle spikes, and a honking Mega Striker with the flame decals signature to this Optimus.
The axes look better than the drab grey official one that came with the Hasbro Jetwing Prime. However, you can either have it entirely de-energized and have a normal handle or make it cast entirely in clear plastic with no opaque handle to make it normal. At least they added some paint apps where they should be. They make me want to get the roleplay axe sold at discount stores. The Mega Striker is a little hollow, but at least it won't weigh the arm down. Makes me want to see how it'd look on the AOE Optimus mold since he used it prior to getting the knight weapons. As for the shield, I love the wash it has to give it a worn appearance on top of better capturing that alien metal look. Not only that, but he can hold it properly unlike the stock shield.
The guns he comes with are properly mirrored instead of using the same sculpt with no distinct tooling. Helps make the truck mode storage appear less awkward, and I will not get why HasTak didn't try that for their Premium Finish Prime.
The hooks are a bit of an oddity since the handle areas aren't painted like on the blades and they're upside down this time. I guess if you pose him just right, he would decapitate Grindor properly like in ROTF, but these contrast the orientation that the official Hasbro toys used (HFTD Leader, the Takara version of its Voyager and the DOTM Voyager repaint sold at Walmart, the Asia Premium Series Ultimate Prime). The knuckle spikes suck from barely staying in place. They either fall off or slip around on the nubs they use. They should have replied on a 5mm port instead because they could have looked cool while posing Optimus as he takes down Shockwave. Other than that, this accessory kit is one you should get, regardless if you own the official or bootleg version of this mold.
Now we have the upgrade kit meant to go with MPM-4 Optimus Prime. This gives us a mirrored Ion Blaster and thus turning it into the Barrage Cannon. You may notice a major inconsistency with it, and it's from the whole thing being painted in silver instead of bare grey plastic. This version was specifically meant to go with a KO from Legendary Toys back when MPM-4 first came out, and everyone made repaints of it to look better than the stock version.
At the very least, the hooks are oriented properly this time, though you can leave them upside down after switching their spots on the arms. Good luck balancing him on a giant Blackout KO!
As with the official version, you can tab the hooks onto the sides of the gun if you want to have him go for some mega cluster weapon combo. It also stores in truck mode like normal.
At the very least, this set is only recommended if you have the original or the better painted KO. Otherwise, wait for the inevitable third party Optimus Prime competition, where we'll see who does the best version of the classic Bayverse design. Unique Toys, CT Toys, and Magnificent Mecha are doing their own stabs, and I will choose which one is the best version for engineering, accuracy, quality control, and scale.
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