General Information
Release Date: August 2020
Price Point: $29.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: Limited Release (BigBadToyStore,
Accessories: Sword/Cannon, Fusion Cannon, Tank Panel
Official images and text in italics are from Hasbro Pulse
Fans can take their Transformers figure collections to the next level with Generations Selects, a fan-dedicated line of figures featuring fan-favorite, special edition characters you can’t find in the main line.
This special edition WFC-GS14 Megatron figure is inspired by the 1992 G2 toy release, featuring purple and green camouflage deco inspired by the original release. This G2 Megatron figure converts from robot to tank mode in 21 steps and comes with sword and fusion cannon accessories that attach to the figure in robot and tank modes.
Includes Generations Selects Voyager Class Megatron figure, 2 accessories, and instructions.
- Generations Selects is a fan-dedicated line of figures featuring special edition characters that can’t be found in the main line
- This WFC-GS14 Megatron figure is inspired by the 1992 G2 toy release
- Figure features purple and green camouflage deco inspired by the original toy release
- Megatron figure converts from robot to tank mode in 21 steps
- Comes with sword and fusion cannon accessories that attach to the figure in robot and tank modes
- Figure scale: 7 inches
- Ages 8 and up
- WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years.
In 1993 the Transformers line was relaunched as Generation 2, a line that mixed redecos of older figures with brand new figures. Some of these new figures featured G1 characters in new forms. Among them was Megatron, who no longer transformed into a gun but instead took on the vehicle mode of a tank! True to the aesthetics of the time, he had some fairly eye catching colors with a base of bright green and a purple camo pattern. Over the years there have been some homages to this G2 Megatron including a Legends Class figure and Voyager Class figure. Now Megatron gets the G2 treatment again via a War for Cybertron redeco of Earthrise Megatron which is in turn a redeco and retool of Siege Megatron. This review will focus on the changes made to the figure for this release.
Robot Mode:
"G2" Megatron is a straight up redeco of Earthrise Megatron. There were no tooling changes made for this release. I did not find Earthrise Megatron particularly exciting. There was nothing wrong with the figure, but after so many Siege Megatrons released in some silver or grey variant, having yet another Megatron based on the same basic tooling in similar colors did not exactly knock my socks off. That said, I found myself really surprised at how much I liked this figure and much of it is thanks to the new deco.
Megatron's new plastic colors are bright green, purple and silver. Paint colors on the figure include silver, neon orange and purple. All these colors come together to form a Megatron that has is mostly green with purple camo patterns on him. Orange and silver fill in smaller details such as his knees and the "control panel" on his mid-body. The deco is a homage to G2 Megatron but not a slavish reproduction. His camo patterns are different shapes than the original G2 Megatron and he is missing a lot of key details from that figure. These include tampographs that could have called back to the stickers on the original figure. I would have liked to see orange tampos with the G2 Decepticon symbol in purple on top. Another fun sticker would have been the "Big Stick!" sticker on his cannon. There was also a "Caution" sticker on the cannon that would have been fun to see here. Still, the color scheme is so much more eye catching than Earthrise Megatron that I cannot help but like it despite its shortcomings.
All 24 points of articulation on this figure are nice and tight. His weapons also attach nice and snug to his various 5mm ports. This Megatron also lacks the defect in one of his hands that my Earthrise Megatron had. Overall I'm happy with the quality control on my copy of this figure.
One of G2 Megatron's most distinctive features was his shoulder mounted cannon. The original toy had a gravity fed missile launcher system that was lots of fun to play with. I would have liked to see a homage to that here but there are no 5mm ports on the top of his "back pack". Instead there are ports on the back. You can connect his sword/cannon barrel accessory and angle the cannon slightly forward, but it does not create that "over the shoulder cannon" look. The way I achieved this in my photos was using the waist/hip piece from Brunt and connecting it to the back. Then I attached the cannon to Brunt's piece. Sure this fits the play pattern of the War for Cybertron series, but I really wish there had been a retool or part added that would have allowed this to be done without using a Weaponizer piece.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Rotate the top half of the figure around.
- Swing each fist into the forearms.
- Swing the arms up out to the sides to get them out of the way.
- On each lower leg, swing the inner panels out.
- Swing each leg up out to the sides, then swing them down at the knee joint to make each leg an "L" shape.
- Move each lower leg up over the thigh pieces, then swing the inner panels back into place.
- Swing the panel with the robot head and tank treads on it forward/up.
- Swing the robot arms in and swing them at the shoulders so they are set parallel to each other.
- On the panel with the head and treads, swing each tread out to the sides.
- Push the section with the front treads down towards the rear treads. Each tread has a tab on it that clips into a corresponding slot on Megatron's torso.
- Connect the ends of the front treads to the ends of the rear treads.
- Form the front of the tank by connect the tabs on the front panel to the corresponding slots on the front treads.
- Connect the tank panel piece in between the lower legs in the back. This is done by fitting the tabs on either side of the panel into the grooves on the insides of Megatron's lower legs.
- Swing the robot heel pieces into the feet and push the feet back so they are set at an angle.
- Attach the sword piece to the tank b connecting the tabs from the top of the robot shoulders to the slots on the sword accessory.
- Attach the Fusion Cannon to the sword piece by connecting the end of the Fusion Cannon to the peg on the sword piece. Also connect the pegs on the Fusion Cannon to the corresponding ports on Megatron's arms.
Vehicle Mode:
Megatron's vehicle mode consolidates the green and purple colors, which really brings out the G2-ness of the figure. Hits of orange here and there help add to the brightness seen on many of the figures of that era. This includes a series of dots on the left side near the base of the cannon that look like they are meant to be rocket tubes. However, I mentioned above a bunch of details that would have been very cool to include such as tampographs calling back to the original G2 Megatron's stickers but there are no details like that here. That said, there is a purple G2 Decepticon symbol on the left side of the tank, so I was happy to see that detail added in.
All the play features are intact including the 5mm ports allowing you to attach additional accessories.
Final Thoughts:
War for Cybertron "G2" Megatron is a fun figure. If you managed to keep yourself from buying Siege Megatron several times over I think you will get more mileage out of this figure. I really dig the deco and it really helps set it apart from many of the Megatron figures released in recent years. That said, the deco just falls short of being amazing and it does feel like a lost opportunity. Recommended, espeically if you do not have Earthrise Megatron.
Pros:
- Good sculpt.
- Fun play features.
- Good articulation.
- Fun deco calling back to another era.
Cons:
- I wish some change had been made so the Fusion Cannon could go over the shoulder.
- The deco is good, but it could have been so much better with the addition of some tampographs. This was a missed opportunity.
