Here we have Megatron in hand, and as expected from a figure of this caliber, he is very show-accurate to the Mainframe model. Maybe not as 1:1 as the Masterpiece, but it's still a great take on the CG render overall. The color layout and shades of purple are accurate to the show, and I dig that he has a bit of texturing to represent his scaly pattern while still not being fully detailed or realistic. I'm guessing if this was given the AMK Pro treatment, he could have an additional coat of paint to better match the Mainframe's color scheme. As it stands, his somewhat simpler design needs it less than the live action Transformers do (I mean, compare the AMKs of ROTB Optimus Prime and Scourge with the Pros). His talons are a yellower than normal, possibly on Barney territory, though I wouldn't want to delve further into those comparisons. Also, is it me, or are the green bits of his thighs a little too noticeable? Either way, the only issue I have would be how weird the backs of the thighs look, but the figure overall looks great for an asymmetrical bot mode.
Head sculpt looks pretty good, especially with the Predacon logo on the forehead as well as the unique details that help make the BW Megs feel more unique from his G1 ancestor. The eyes are meant to be light piped, but they don't shine through that well. Articulation consists of a double ball neck joint, shoulder rotation, two outward arm hinges, (one within the torso, the other at the shoulder), is bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, a dino head that opens via a lever, a claw for the tail, ball jointed wrists, side-to-side tilt, abdominal crunch, waist rotation, front-back hip joints, drop down system, outward leg movement (with thigh panels that hinge back for better range), thigh rotation, hinged knees, rotation above the knees, ankles that swivel, hinge, pivot, and toe-ticulation. As should be more common with Transformers figures, be it in-house at HasTak or outsourced with YoloBlok, he has a blast effect that can attach to the dino jaw.
Of course, the dino tail can be removed if you want to display Megatron with a cleaner profile for the left arm, and in addition to the fist we mostly saw him with, one of his alternate hands is a gestural open hand to go with the grimacing face. Most of the kibble can be removed to recreate the scene where he was in his downtime, brushing his dino head's teeth. We have a smiling face and a toothbrush, both of which are fitting for a moment like this. Almost looks like a behind-the-scenes pic that could come across as a shitpost. I think the shoulder pieces are meant to be removed, but nothing I could do easily.
For some size comparisons, here he is with the Ultra Class version (albeit the most recent reissue). Kind of crazy how this stumpy figure was refined into a theatrical yet magnificent version of Megatron, and easily the best one to date.
Up next is the Kingdom version, whose height is closer to the old toy, while this figure remains somewhat closer to the height Leaders used to have in the mid-2010s. Of course, given this was from an era where Generations had stylizations or slight tweaks instead of super duper accuracy, Kingdom Megatron isn't fully 1:1 with the cartoon, but it still works for me regardless.
Up next, here we have Optimus Primal, with these two sharing a pretty good height difference we'd usually expect between a Megatron and a Prime.
And here he is with former Predacon, Dinobot. Since Rhinox hasn't been made yet, I wonder if he would be either the same height as Dinobot and Optimus or would stay in between them.
Speaking of characters who used to be Predacons (later in the case for Blackarachnia), here we have the second wave together. Once again, another pretty good size difference between the two, and it makes for a great transition for the other figure we're about to tap into!
Now let's see what she has to offer. As expected, Blackarachnia's sexy, feminine design is translated about as accurately as you'd expect them to do, especially considering she's very humanoid compared to the average Predacon. Her sleek, curvy build is kept intact, and whereas Megatron focused more on sculpt work for his figure, Blackarachnia is focused more on a heavy use of paint apps to keep her as close to the cartoon as possible. There are some bits of purple that some may not be fully accurate; the inner thigh bits are possible, but the feet should normally be black (at least according to the Masterpiece). Her spider legs are adjustable to your liking, thanks to the ball joints at the base attached to the biceps, as well as two additional hinges near the ends of the spider legs. One cool thing I like is that the back has the hourglass emblem representing black widow spiders, and it's all without a noticeable backpack (which this one cleans up well, but Kingdom isn't that bad).
Her head sculpt is very human-like and golden, as one would expect, if a little freaky with the constantly squinting eyes. I'm sure people who bitched about AOE Drift wouldn't say a thing about Blackarachnia appearing Asian, especially given one of the animators happened to be Asian and was part of a young but horny group of Mainframe employees who were looking for some inspiration while creating Blackarachnia. You wouldn't hear this mindset from the echo chambers of the TF fandom, especially if they're going to pretend she's queer just because one of the WFC Trilogy writers wanted her to be as such (like that'd save the Netflix slop from being shat on). That said, her light piping works better than Megatron's, yet the eyes are inaccurately red instead of black. Nothing as distracting as Optimus Primal with yellow eyes or Dinobot with a green face, but it's worth mentioning. Her articulation is mostly the same as Megatron's, with the main differences being a ball joint for connecting the arms to the torso, single-jointed elbows, and articulated claws, a double ball-jointed torso, drop-down hips that are tight as hell but work better than Hasbro's, ball-jointed hips, thigh swivels, single-jointed knees, and toes that can curl instead of just hinge. Her signature weapon can attach to the alternate claws with the space closed in more, as well as a peg to hold it properly.
She comes with two alternate faceplates, though the main differences being how wide open the mouths are don't really make them that meaningful. Either ditch one and add a winking face instead, or give us a toy-accurate head.
The swappable visor is a cool touch, at least, especially with the green used instead of red lightpiping...interestingly, the visor has a piece of clear red plastic that can be removed from the visor piece, almost making it look like she's doing an optic blast like Cyclops from the X-Men would do. And as for removing it entirely, you're left with either her eyes gouged out or one of those censored eye pics.
Here she is with her Kingdom counterpart for anyone wondering about how tall she ends up next to a normal Generations figure; she's probably closer to the height of the Masterpiece if comparison photos between it and the Kingdom are anything to go by. Maybe you can put her in your MP display if you don't mind her lack of a transformation.
And here she is with the previous wave of figures, representing that Optimus Primal and Dinobot, despite being taller than her, are a little shorter than they should be. I guess it's not bad for the boss monkey, but the raptor should be almost twice Blackarachnia's height. Either way, that won't stop me from recommending these two as much as I recommend the first wave. While the size differences are a huge factor in price, I think you still get what you pay for, and then some, with these figures, unlike the current set of Hasbro TFs. Both of their articulation is outstanding; they're as close to the cartoon as the Masterpiece line, and the accessory count is pretty good for each figure in spite of Blackarachnia's barely different facial expressions. I know there are still people out there who are against non-transforming figures, but these have more value for money than the current prices Delues and Voyagers go for now.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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