General Information:
Release Date: November 2018
Price Point: $29.99 (depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Fusion Cannon; Sword/Cannon
Official images and text below in italics are from Amazon.com:
7-INCH SCALE MEGATRON FIGURE - This articulated Voyager Class WFC-S12 Megatron action figure features classic conversion between robot and Cybertronian battle tank modes in 17 steps. Turret rotates 360 degrees in tank mode. Perfect for fans looking for a more advanced converting figure. The Siege line offers thrilling throwbacks to G1 and exciting new play patterns for all generations.
Build the ultimate battlefield with Transformers War for Cybertron: Siege toy figures. Siege plunges fans into the epic fight to survive on the final day of the Autobot and Decepticon battle to control Cybertron. The Decepticon resistance army and the Autobot counter-resistance fighters gear up with the C.O.M.B.A.T. (Cybertronian Omnifuctional Modular Battlefield Assault Tech) System, the universe's most advanced modular weaponry.
The WFC-S12 Voyager Class Megatron figure features story-inspired battle-worn deco and is equipped with a HPR Telescopic Laserstrike Launcher weapon accessory with converting sword and blaster modes and a D50-R35 Fusion Cannon accessory. The 2 weapon accessories mod-lock together to form a larger weapon, the NFM Particle Beam Mega-Launcher. Multiple C.O.M.B.A.T. System weapons ports in bot and vehicle modes allow fans to attach weapons to figure in custom weapon configurations.
Transformers and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro.
In 2018 the "Power of the Primes" line finished off the "Prime Wars Trilogy" which had begun with "Combiner Wars". To kick off a whole new G1 inspired series of "Generations" figures, a new line known as "War for Cybertron: Siege" started in late 2018 (with a planned wide release in 2019). The traditional Voyager Class of figures continues in "Siege". "Siege" deals with the war on Cybertron before the Transformers leave their home planet. Hot on the heels of the Autobots are the Decepticons led by Megatron who was one of the first figures in this line.
Packaging:
Hasbro and Takara Tomy really stepped up their game for the "Siege" packaging. This window box is no longer the rectangular shape of previous Voyager Class figures. Instead, it is rectangular on one side and then the left side features an angled section that sweeps backward. The middle features a large window with the figure in robot mode. Set vertically over the figure is a chevron with his name, rank symbol and alpha numeric designation. Under that is the large "War for Cybertron: Siege" symbol which looks gritty and striking. The Transformers logo is set vertically on the right side with the "Generations" and Takara Tomy logos above it. The angled section on the box shows off Megatron's package art while the other features what looks like a poster for "Siege" including the Ark blasting off into space.
The back of the box shows the figure in both modes, indicating a seventeen step transformation. It also shows Megatron using Battle Masters and their Fire Blast effects.
There is a fun, hidden feature on the side of the box. Shine a Black Light there and you will see Cybertronian glyphs. These glyphs can then be entered into Hasbro's "Teletraan-1" web site. Megatron's glyphs spell out "KAON" and when you put it in the web site you get a profile of Megatron along with a video showing off the figure.
Accessories:
Megatron includes two accessories. The first is his iconic Fusion Cannon. There have been several versions of Megatron with Fusion Cannons over the past few years, but many do not detach and even when they do they are rough approximations of the Fusion Cannon seen in the G1 animation model. This, however is the real deal. The Cannon features the large "thruster" like section in the back, the squared off middle section and a barrel that makes up most of the length of the cannon. There are plenty of sculpted details along the cannon, but since it is completely sculpted in black plastic you have to look closely to see them. This works out for those who want a more G1-esque cannon and for those who want more detailing. The cannon has a 5mm peg on the bottom and a shorter one on top. This allows it to attach to his forearm "G1 style" or other 5mm ports on the Megatron figure.
The other accessory is a bit less iconic, but it does call back to the history of the character. The second accessory is a giant sword with a V shape and distinctive sections that extend out to the sides in the middle. This is inspired by a sword originally included with G1 Megatron. However, this sword also a cannon! The middle section has a cannon built into it and you can separate the halves of the sword, swing them out (and back if you wish) to reveal the cannon. The cannon has a handle at the end and a 5mm peg that would allow you to attach it to any of the 5mm ports on Megatron.
The handle and cannon section is cast in black plastic while the sword blades are cast in silver. Silver and red paint are used for detailing on the cannon portion.
Both accessories are fantastic. They pay homage to elements of G1 Megatron while fitting in perfectly with this version of the character.
Robot Mode:
The past few years have seen several Megatron figures released. The two main ones are the "Combiner Wars" Leader Class and "Titans Return" versions. Both of these were cool in their own ways, but their designs both feel like a warm up for this one. This Megatron sculpt is one of the most G1-esque designs in years. Despite the alt-mode being a tank, the designers clearly took inspiration from the G1 cartoon for this robot mode form. Here are some of the key design elements on this figure that come right out of G1:
The head sculpt looks like it came right out of the G1 cartoon. This includes a helmet section with a "fold" in the middle and a thick band around the back of the helmet section. The face has the angled brow piece over the eyes and distinct lines around the mouth area.
Each shoulder has a thin, angled piece that sticks up on top. This is actually based on the halves of the hammer from G1 Megatron's gun mode. I love how this small detail carried over into this figure.
The chest is rectangular with three distinct lines on either side.
The middle of the body has a square section that looks like a control panel.
On either side of the "control panel" are vent like sections.
The legs are vaguely shaped like the halves of a gun handle, which has its roots in G1 Megatron's design.
Megatron's feet each have raised trapezoids on the top.
On top of all the G1-based designs, there are a lot of smaller details all over the figure. This includes bars and panels on the arms and legs. While these greebles add some texture to the figure, I do not believe they take the figure over the top.
Megatron is cast in metallic grey, black and (what appears to be) a very dark brown plastic. The grey makes up most of the figure with the black and brown sections making up smaller parts of the figure such as the fists and lower legs. Paint colors on this figure include silver, red, black, blue, metallic brown and yellow. In general these details are not used in large amounts. For instance, the face is painted silver with red eyes and black on the brow. There are small red bits near the shoulders and on the elbows. One of the more distinctive aspects of "Siege" figure decos are "battle damage" details. These are painted on the figure in silver and unlike some other "Siege" figures, the details are nicely spread out. You'll find them on the arms, torso and legs so there are no large, conspicuously "clean" areas. Overall, I really like the deco.
There are twenty points of articulation on this figure including four in each arm and five in each leg. The joints mostly feel solid except for the ankle tilts. Now, this does not mean the figure is floppy at all. The feet are meant to lock into the bottom of the lower legs, but when you unlock them, they kind of just flop back and forth. You would think this means the figure would just fall over, but this actually allows the ankles to be posed at various angles. I was very surprised by how well this works!
There are ten 5mm ports on this figure to attach additional weapons and accessories. Four of these are on the back, four more are on the arms and the last two are on the sides of the legs. Unfortunately, the ports on the sides of the legs are a bit too wide and weapons only loosely attach to those points. The arms feature the most solid attachment points. There are also four attachment points for blast effects (included with Battle Master figures). Two are on the arms and two are on the legs. This makes it look like Megatron is being hit by blasts in battle.
I really like this robot mode a lot, but there is one design choice made that I am not fond of. The head sits on a panel that collapses in when you transform the figure. However, in this mode the panel does not rest on anything. It depends completely on a hinge to hold it up. Now, for the most part it has stayed up after several transformations. However, I can see how this could wear down after a while causing the head to permanently flop down. Hopefully I am wrong about this, but I would have preferred the panel actually rest on something.
Transformation to Vehicle Mode:
- Detach the accessories and set them aside for now.
- Straighten out the arms and legs.
- Swing each fist into the forearms.
- Swing the pieces behind the shoulders up.
- Swing each heel into the feet.
- Point the feet down at an angle.
- swing the back panel with the tank treads up.
- Swing the robot arms back.
- Swing each tank tread out.
- Swing the panel in the middle inward, connecting the tabs on the panel to the corresponding grooves on the insides of the tread pieces.
- Rotate the waist around.
- On each lower legs, swing the inner panel on the back down.
- Swing each leg out to the sides, then swing the lower legs in.
- Swing the lower legs up over the thighs, then swing the lower leg panel back into place,
- Push each lower leg into the tabs on the sides of the hips.
- Push the chest/back section in towards the center of the tank.
- Take the sword accessory and swing the blades out and back.
- Connect the Fusion Cannon to the sword.
- Connect the cannon barrel to the arms using the pegs on the Fusion Cannon.
Vehicle Mode:
Megatron has been a tank plenty of times before, so at this point finding a Megatron figure that transforms into a gun is the exception, not the rule. Since this represents Megatron in his Cybertronian form the designers decided to give him an "H-Tank" shape instead of a more boxy "Earth tank" form. This works well since it gives him a more "scifi" look than say, "Combiner Wars" Megatron's alt-form. The cannon sticks out pretty far in front and it has a targeting scope on it, which is cool because it drives home the idea that Megatron is firing the weapon and not some imaginary human pilot.
This mode carries over a lot of the key details from the robot mode including the arms and legs. However, there are plenty of "tank-like" details including the arms forming the turret and armor panels on the sides of the tread sections. There are even headlights sculpted into the front tread sections. Overall this is a cool looking scifi tank and I like it.
All the colors from the robot mode carry over here. The only "newly revealed" colors are silver and red on the cannon barrel. You can also see the metallic brown on the armor panels on the sides of the tread sections. One very impressive aspect of this deco is the way the battle damage carries over to this mode. There is "wear" on both the turret section and the tank treads. I was very happy to see the way the "wear" carried over into this form.
In a beautiful bit of design, the turret can actually turn! Over the years this has become less common with "tank" Transformers so this is great. The tank rolls on four small wheels on the bottom. There are two 5mm ports on either side of the vehicle. You could also flip out the robot fists if you wanted to attach extra weaponry. The hard points for the Blast Effects are found on top of the turret and on the rear tread sections.
Final Thoughts:
Despite its one large flaw (the head panel that does not rest on anything) I absolutely love this figure. It looks more like G1 Megatron than any recent "Generations" figures and there is plenty of play value. Highly recommended!
Pros:
- Fantastic sculpt in both modes.
- Fun and intuitive transformation.
- Plenty of connection points in both modes for accessories.
- Cool and fun accessories.
- Great deco in both modes.
Cons:
The flap the head sits on should have something to attach to or rest on.
