Intro:
When Beast Wars was first aired, fans were wondering about the direction of the series. The character names were similar to those that came before, but did the similarities ended there, or were there something more than meets the eyes (pun intended)? As the series progressed, it was eventually revealed that all of the Beast Wars characters were descendents of the original G1 Autobots and Decepticons, although no familial relationship.
The character Megatron was undoubtedly one of the more exciting characters from that series. Beast Megatron, or for the sake of differentiating him and the legendary Decepticon leader, was an egotistical Predacon leader, had great ambitions of being the ruler of the universe, eclipsing even his predecessor namesake. In fact, he chose that as mentioned in the Covenant of Primus, about the coming of a great destroyer bearing that name, and Beast Megatron believed that he was that destroyer.
After I’ve gotten the Robot Masters Optimus Primal figure back in 2005, I knew that I just had to get Beast Megatron as his sparring partner. So when the opportunity presented itself, I knew I just had to take it.
Alternate Mode:
Beast Megatron transforms into that iconic purple Tyrannosaurus Rex, and to be honest, I kinda like this mode.
In fact, I have to admit, it was one of the better modes amongst all other Beast Wars action figures.
As far as I am concerned, he is almost screen accurate, in terms of designs, except for the colors though, since I feel that the on-screen Beast Megatron had a darker shades of purple. From his massive jaws, all the way to his diminutive forearms, which always tickles my funny bones, evoking memories from an episode where he desperately tries to dislodge a time bomb at the back of his head.
Articulation-wise: his mouth opens and closes, but instead of the norm of having the lower jaw moves, Beast Megs has his head moving instead; the shoulders of the small forearms are on ball-joints, though the movements are limited by the designs; hips are on ball-joints; the knees bend; and finally the 3-toes plates move downward. It’s kinda ashamed that the tail doesn’t move, but I could live with that.
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| From left: Beast Megatron and Optimus Primal |
Robot Mode:
The transformation from T-Rex mode to robot mode is kinda simple, and you probably won’t even need the instructions for that.
I also like the head sculpt, which is a clear homage to his G1 namesake.
The robot mode feels kinda buff, as if Beast Megs really work out a lot – broad shoulders and all.
On his left shoulder, there is a Decepticon logo instead of a Predacon’s, which is kind of a letdown. However, this is understandable since Robot Masters was a standalone series in its own right, where characters from various Transformers series and universes converge.
Beast Megs has the T-Rex’s head as his right hand and also an actual left hand.
Articulation-wise: the head is on a ball joint; inner shoulders hinge; right outer shoulder swivel; the right elbow (T-Rex’s head) rotates on his neck joint, and the mouth now acts as a hand; the left outer shoulder swivels and rotates, and the elbow bends; there is also a waist joint; while from the hips downward, the articulations are identical to his T-Rex mode.
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| From left: Beast Megatron and Optimus Primal |
I kinda wished that his left wrist would rotate – is it too much to ask?
The tail piece can now be wielded by his left fist as some sort of a weapon, which I have absolutely no idea what it is.
Anyhow, overall, I think it’s a neat robot mode.
Overall:
Well, I have to admit, I kinda like this figure. In fact, I even prefer him to the Robot Master Optimus Primal figure. He has a more exciting transformation sequence compared to his opposite number.
Highly Recommended.
Final verdict: 8.5/10.
