General Information:
Release Date: November 23, 2013
Price Point: $120 (included with purchase of Nike's CJ81 Megatron Trainer Max)
Retailer: Nike
Accessories: Wings/cannon halves x 2, Football
Portion of Official Press Release from Nike.com:
Produced in collaboration with Hasbro, the 5-inch purple and red TRANSFORMERS MEGATRON action figure inspired by Calvin Johnson mirrors the cues of his signature Nike CJ81 Megatron Trainer Max. The distinctive red cruciform pattern found on the toebox and upper of the trainer are utilized on the arms and feet of the figure. Johnson’s signature appears alongside the iconic DECEPTICON shield on MEGATRON’S chest. In robot mode, the MEGATRON figure is designed to be broad yet agile, and the iconic “wing” jet conversion is meant to mirror Johnson’s speed and power.
In 2013, Hasbro release a version of Megatron who transformed into a stealth bomber based on the IDW Publishing design for the character. This figure would later go on to be retooled with a new deco as the Decepticon Krok by the Transformers Collector's Club. More recently, the sculpt was retooled and given new colors as Toys 'R' Us Exclusive Megatron for "The Last Knight". Check out those previous reviews. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
However, back towards the end of 2013 Nike announced the release of an exclusive Megatron figure based on this sculpt. It would be included with the purchase of the CJ81 Megatron Trainer Max and the Megatron Nike Air Trainer SC II shoes. These were available at Nike's locations at 21 Mercer in New York City, select Nike Yardline doors, and Nike.com. Years later many of the folks who obtained this figure wound up putting them up on ebay for about $40 USD or so, which is what I wound up paying for this figure.
Note: nothing on the packaging explicitely labels this as a "Generations" toy, but since that is where the sculpt originated that is the category I am placing it in.
Packaging:
Since the release of this figure largely centered around the release of a Nike shoe, Megatron was appropriately packaged in a box that resembles a shoebox! The cardboard box includes a lid that swings open on one side. The inside of the lid has "Calvin Johnson Megatron" printed on it along with the Nike symbol, Johnson's signature adn the phrase "Show no mercy". Megatron himself sits in a silver plastic tray in robot mode. I love the theme of this packaging and it looks great.
Robot Mode:
Megatron's robot mode is primarily metallic purple and silver plastic. The two colors are distributed fairly evenly. For instance, the shoulders are purple while the biceps are silver, then the forearms are purple before going back to silver with the fists. These are iconic Decepticon colors and they look great.
Silver, purple and red paint are used on this figure to provide additional detailing. The silver and purple are distributed throughout, helping to keep any one section from looking monotonous. The red is used on the eyes, chest and forearms. Two of the red details are specific to Calvin Johnson. The right side of the chest has Calvin's autograph while the forearms have stars on them which are details borrowed from the Nike shoe. Even better? He has the Nike "swish" symbol and stars on his feet, as if he is wearing sneakers! The finishing touch is a Decepticon symbol in the middle of the chest. This is a fun deco and I think it looks great.
Just like the original release of this figure, you can attach the cannon to either arm. The football accessory included with the figure originally came from the G.I. Joe toy line. It has an opening at the bottom, allowing you to attach it to one of the prongs sticking out the sides of the forearms. Sure this was not the original idea, but it works nicely.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the Fusion Cannon. Split it in half and push each wing end in. Set these aside for now.
- Straighten out each arm and swing the fists in.
- Pull the center of the chest up, forming the cockpit of the bomber.
- Swing up each half of the chest up a bit (there's a tab that connects it to the center section).
- Push each chest half down then swing it up against the cockpit.
- Rotate the arms back and swing the shoulder armor against the section with the vents.
- Rotate each thigh section around then rotate the lower leg around so you can move the legs up.
- Swing each leg up, using the tabs on the sides of the feet to connect to the section near the vents and the middle. You'll need to push the knee armor down.
- Swing the feet back.
- Rotate the arms so the ridged sections face up, then press them up against the robot leg pieces.
- Attach the ends of the wings to the tabs on the edges of the vehicle.
Vehicle Mode:
There have been no sculpt changes made to the vehicle mode. However, if you want to store the football accessory in this mode you can attach it to the back of one of the sections with the thrusters/vents on top. It actually tucks in nicely and does not get in the way at all.
This mode mostly shows off the metallic purple plastic with the silver parts on the bottom of the vehicle. Silver paint is used to color in the front, the vents that flank the cockpit and the vents on top of the vehicle. Red is used for the windows and Calvin Johnson's signature to the right of the cockpit windows.
The wings are translucent purple plastic with a silver grid printed on top. While not exactly the intention, this does give me fun flashbacks to "Transformers: The Movie" where Megatron was reformatted into Galvatron by Unicron. This deco looks fantastic overall. The metallic purple is a very iconic Decepticon color to use and the silver offers very nice contrast against it. The Calvin Johnson signature is also fun for fans of the athlete.
Like all releases of this figure there are two 5mm ports on top that you can attach weapons to.
Final Thoughts:
This is a very specific collector's item aimed at a very specific demographic, which is probably why it is not going for bonkers amounts of money on ebay. As a freebie that went with a pair of collectible shoes I think it's great, but keep in mind you would have had to have spent $120 USD or so to get it. At an aftermarket price of $40 or so it is worth the price if you are into unusual Transformers figures such as this.
Pros:
- Original mold as a good toy already.
- Cool deco.
- Football accessory is a nice touch.
Cons:
Relatively high price to pay for a Deluxe Class figure (if you consider original retail for the first release was around $12.99).
