All Hail Lord Starscream; Ruler of the Decepticons and Emperor of Cybertron.

Targeting sight:
These sights are added to indicate recently posted fictions, art and other pages.

For more information on what really is new in the site, please refer yourself to the news page or the site's front page. Site updates will usually be found there.

When the news that Hasbro would be releasing 6 inch transformable figures of Transformers characters in their Titanium line, fans were excited, especially when one of the figures was announced to be Megatron. However, intial fan reaction to the intial images were cool at best, and judging from the figure in person, word of mouth may not be kind to this most infamous of Decepticon commanders.

It's rare that I do packaging for a figure, considering I usually toss it out anyway, but I thought for Titanium Megatron, it would be worth mentioning.

Megatron is packed in a trapezoid shape box, about the size one sees for the Mega/Voyager figures one sees in the main lines. The box colors are black and dark purple, with details on the sides that could either be his arms, chest, or random panels. The Decepticon insignia is prominent here. Red is used inside the box and on his profile bio, but it does not detract from the ominous decor. Megatron is tied down with about eight ties, which you'll need clippers to cut if you want to avoid aggravation. Of note when unpacking Megatron: the arms are not attached to the main body. The shape of the packing also means that one will have to go to the bottom to get him out.

The reason I wanted to not the packing is due to the profile bio on the back. Interestingly, unlike his Autobot rival, his bio seems to come from the Dreamwave/Devil's Due G.I. JOE vs Transformers comics, mentioning his enslavement to Cobra Commander, but that he's "bidding his time". An interesting addition, though it apparently doesn't meld with the "War Within" story line of the other releases.

Megatron comes packaged in his robot mode, so this is where I'll start his review. Although advertized as 6 inches, Megatron actually stands a little over 5.5 inches tall from head to toe, a little more if the cannon on his right shoulder is added. A relatively minor quibble, one that doesn't hurt the figure. Main colors are black, dark gray, whitish gray, and dark viloet, with bits of yellow on the chest and red for the optics. A small, Decepticon insignia is embalzoned on his right "pect" for lack of a better term. The face is silver, an interesting touch. And of course, much of his body is made from die-cast metal parts.

Although impressive looking both standing and posed in the box, in reality, these are rather deceptive, unfortunately. Though he has about 13 points of articulation, Megatron is virtually unposable. The best articulation is perhaps in his arms, mostly at his shoulders and elbows; his hands are not set on ball joints at is typical of figures his size and so his fists can just go up and down; you have to move the lower arm if you want the hand to be positioned "normally". The knees bend back only slightly and don't even think about any "feet planting" positions with this figure, as the hip joints are set on pegs instead of ball joints.

Worst of all for Megatron is that he's horribly loose. Conditions may vary from figure to figure, but the left arm on my Megatron "waggles" and can't be positioned unless in a certain position; as if the ball joint is too small in certain parts. The pegs that are supposed to hold his hips together are apparently too small for their holes and come apart too easily. In fact, he falls to peices almost too easily, especially when concerning the clips that hold the legs to the main body. Though they seem to go back together without a problem, it's a serious detraction. As a minor side note, I wished the designers had made it so that Megatron's large cannon on his right shoulder had been built so it could act as his familiar arm cannon.

Megatron's transformation is rather simplistic; one may not even need the instructions. First, extend the arms away from the main bdoy and flip the back peice up so that Megatron's head in inside a small indentation. Turn the arms up and rotate the forearms so the inside of the fists are facing the same way as his face. Flip the fists inward and push the forearms so they're flush with the upper shoulder pecies. Fold the arms togother, swivel the main cannon into the space between them, and set against the body so that the fists set inside two small indentations in the back. Flip the feet up and swing his legs back to against the main body. Megatron is now in tank mode.

Megatron's alt. mode is that of a tank of indeterminate origins. The cannon turret suggests it comes from an A1 Abrahms, but the body looks like nothing in existence. There's virtually no color change in this form, aside from a silver "M" in the front. There are four plastic wheels set inside his treads, and he rolls along rather well on a smooth surface. Of interesting note, there are five Autobot symbols on the back of the turret, two on the right, three on the left. Although some younger fans may be confused, especially since there's a black 'con insiginia on each side, I can see these as being "kill scores", similar to pilots in fighters.

As far as points of articulation, Megatron is a virtual brick. His cannon goes up and down, and the smaller gun on the top left of his turret can rotate, but that's about it. Because of the nature of his transformation, the turret itself doesn't rotate at all. It's disappointing, though not surprising. Unfortunately, his noticably loose here too, though not as bad as in robot mode, and it's most noticable in his turret.

Megatron comes with a small stand to display him on, in either mode, though it seems intended more for his robot mode than his tank form. It's a basic design, gray in color, rather like the ground of Cybertron than anything fancy. There's a seperable name tag with it, with Megatron's name in white and a purple Decepticon insignia. It's rather large, almost five inches at its widest, and considering Megatron can't hardly be posed without tearing his hips apart, a smaller, rounded stand might have been more appropriate.

Sadly, Titanium Megatron doesn't live up to expectations fans have for the line. He's badly loose, even in vehicle mode, and his inability to be posed kills his value. While there are those who will get him for his name alone, I recommend that he be skipped. Hopefully, this isn't an indication of things to come.

Return to chapter index