Transformers Review: Encore Megatron

Intro:

Megatron – whoever doesn’t know this guy? He’s the baddest of them all, the greatest of all the Decepticons, the most evil of all the tyrants, the one and only – Megatron.

Apart from Optimus Prime, Megatron is arguably the most well known of all the Transformers. I remember when I was a kid I used to wish that I had that famous Walther P38 gun. Well, I didn’t know what the gun was called back then, but I do know that it was one heck of an awesome gun. I remember pretending to be waiving Megatron the Gun whenever I was playing with a toy gun.

When I began collecting back in 2004, thinking I have missed out on any G1 figures, Takara-Tomy answered most fan boys (and girls) prayers by releasing the Encore line, and one of the first figures announced was none other than Megatron. Instantly I knew that this would be my one and only chance, hence I got my wish, so here we are with the review.

Alternate Mode:

            Well, unless you haven’t really been reading this review up until now, Megatron transforms into a Walther P38. Personally, although it may seems strange that such a mighty and awesome leader of the Decepticon would transform into something as small as a simple gun, I do see the justification based on the sinister legend of that gun.

            This was the gun that was heavily used by the Nazis during the course of World War II. It was one of the best semi-automatic guns of its era. With its bloody history, it’s no wonder that it was chosen as the alternate mode for this tyrant.

            The gun itself is, I would say, life-sized. I’ve never seen or held the actual gun itself, but it does feel and look real. It has that wonderful heft to it and is just so satisfying. In fact, the set also comes with two rows of shooting pellets or bullets for your shooting pleasure. 

            It was stated that due to its likeliness to the real thing, G1 Megatron is actually one of the items not allowed to be brought onto an airplane. In Australia, you’d even need a special license to own a G1 Megatron! Get a load of that!!!

            There was even an urban legend that I used to read on the internet a long time ago, it was said that a robber actually used a Megatron gun to try to attempt to rob a bank. It looked so real that the robber almost made it out until someone actually realized it. Since then, the laws regarding toy guns became stricter in the USA. I’m not an American, so I’m not really sure about all that, but it was an impressive and believable urban legend nonetheless. 

Encore and Masterpiece Megatron Gun Mode

            I guess that says it all about the gun – absolutely brilliant.

Robot Mode:

            One word sums it – UGLY. Yeah, you heard right. So much for the almighty Decepticon Tyrant, his robot mode is utterly ugly. In fact, he doesn’t even look the slightest compared to his animation counterpart, although he does remind me of Skeletor due to his skeletal look. 

 

            He also has that famous trigger crotch that has so far been the bud of many jokes. The gun nozzle, which was depicted being on its back in the animated series, is now on the right hip. 

 

            Articulation-wise: his shoulders rotate, and that’s about it, boys! There are some movement joints in the hips area, but they are only transformation joints.

            Overall, it’s just a less than stellar robot mode. 

Encore and Masterpiece Megatron

Gimmicks and Accessories:

With Sword and Gun

            The set come with 3 accessories, the shooting pellets/ bullets mentioned earlier, a chrome-colored sword, a chrome-colored blaster, and of course, who can forget the scope/fusion cannon-silencer-armrest combo. 

Sword, Blaster and Bullets

Lokking through the Viewfinder

            In gun mode, the scope/fusion cannon-silencer-armrest combo can of course be attached onto the gun to resemble his famous animated mode. Quite frankly, even with the attachment, the gun feels awesome. 

 

            In robot mode, the fusion cannon itself of course would attached to his right hand, and at the same time, he could also wield the gun and the sword.

Megatron firing the Cannon

            If you want, you may even detach the fusion cannon, combined with the silencer and armrest pieces, they would form a cannon and Megatron could use to decimate vast Autobots forces. 

Bazooka Mode

 

            One last thing that you do with the accessories, sans the sword, blaster and armrest, is to combine them and form a sort of bazooka for Megatron to wield. He may become a little bit back heavy, but he shouldn’t have any problem standing up on its own.

Overall:

            If you’re a Transformer collector, you would definitely know that G1 Megatron is definitely a must for any collection. For yours truly, and I bet many more out there, would consider G1 Megatron as one of their Holy Grails of Transformers collecting.

            It took me almost 20-years since becoming a fan of this marvelous franchise to find him, and it was well worth it.

            Even though the robot mode may be less than stellar, but considering the fun factor, the tremendous alternate mode, as well as the sheer reputation of the character makes him well worth it.

            Absolutely recommended.

            Final verdict: 9.5/10.