The Energon Pub

Some friends were in Japan for a few weeks over the summer and they picked me up an Henkei Hot Shot and Alternity Megatron, at the small sum of £36.40!

After the disappointment of Alterntiy Prime (stumpy little arms, shoulders to far back, hard to stand cos of bad weight distribution, ratchet hips that seem to lock at just the wrong angle and very little ankle articulation) I only bought Megatron because I collect OPs and his corresponding Megatrons. I thought Prime looked cool in pics but wasn't THAT excited by Meg's new look nor by the prospect of an almost identical transformation. I got some very nice surprises!

1) the transformation differs a lot more than expected - not only are the legs totally different (as expected) but the arms are slightly different, mainly in the shoulders
2) much better stability thanks to loss of metal. I like the use of metal in TFs but in the case of OP it was surely a mistake, at least in the way it was used so an all plastic Megatron is an improvement. The poseability is vastly improved thanks to real ankle articulation.
3) the most surprising thing is how much better I think he looks. Not only the mold in general (I'm surprised how much I love the samurai look now I see him for real) but also his arms. Even though they are the same length as OP's the stumpiness doesn't show as much. They seem to be able to reach further forwards, and I think the fact that you can actually see his upper arms helps to make them appear longer.
4) car mode looks better thanks to less lines breaking up the chassy
5) you can spend ages fiddling around with the shoulder armour to get the look you want
6) Mykltron like swords

I wish he had a gun but it's no big deal. I may swap one of his seats for OP's so they each have an arm canon. I suppose Meg should have it on his right to mimic his first incarnation.

So for those of you who have both: which do you prefer and why?

Exactly what you said. While Convoy did eventually grow on me, I liked Megatron from day one. IMO, it's a shame that all the things they did right the second time around with Megs are about to be wiped out by CJ/BB. They're so good from the arms up but everything south of that is a mess.

I love both Alternity figures but for different reasons.

In alt mode, I prefer Convoy. I just like the Nissan GT-R more than the Fairlady Z. I don't see any significant difference in the number of panel lines between the alt modes, though. Both look fairly even for how the chassis is broken up.

In bot mode, I think both designs work very well if you look at the overall body design.

Convoy's stumpier arms are due to the upper arms(shoulders and the door wings). Howver, they work because they create a visual symmetry when you look at the lower legs, which are very big/chunky/blocky. To me, the bulkier look of Convoy is preferred because the Convoy/Optimus Prime design is traditionally "big and rugged". The alt mode has moved away from the standard truck choice so the beefier Nissan GT-R alt mode and the thick limbed bot mode can impart a sense of bulk I associate with the character's past iterations. Now the die cast construction can be an issue for posing but I find that Convoy's lower legs/feet configuration are able to largely negate posing issues. I haven't had any problems posing Convoy.

Megatron's alt mode is sleek and slightly smaller than Convoy's but there's a subtle aggressive look to its silhouette, particularly from profile and three quarter angle. The bot mode is, like Convoy's, cohesive. There's a sleek and angular look to his body. The arms are definitely very cool in design. I love how you can vary the angles of the door wing armour component independent to the shoulder armour for varying looks. The armoured skirt also lends to the impression of a samurai motif. I love the look of the lower legs from the front and the outer sides but from the rear the legs look so scrawny. I really do like Convoy's lower leg configuration, it really makes the limbs feel and look more substantial. Also, Megatron's small feet aren't that great for a base. Even though the figure isn't has hefty as Convoy, it still possesses significant upper body mass and the small feet, even with fold out heel components, could have been better designed.

All in all, I don't prefer one over the other. Both have some flaws but I think both offer a lot of great features and have cohesive designs.

I agree Alternity Convoy has arm issues. I'm creating a Black Convoy army as we speak, but his arms make for a very bad time. I'm hoping they do another Convoy in the line based on another vehicle. I do like the rachety legs though, I have had no problems with them.

I more than likely will pick up the line through it's entirety...but I think Binaltech/Alternators are a better line.

even though I like my Super Black Convoy, there are some ways he could have been better, especially with the arms and some better weapons.

For me, the upper arms of Convoy visually fade and blend in with the doors when positioned as shown in the "official" robot mode:



Since the colour of the shoulder panels match the doors, you get the visual perception of stumpy arms.

I reduce this effect by folding back the doors at an acute angle behind the shoulders rather than having them parallel to the shoulders as shown in the official instructions. This creates a more sleek look from the front and side of the figure and also helps bring out the upper arms into focus, defining them more.

I did notice some possible plans for ratchet joints in Convoy and Megatron that seem to have been abandoned. In Megatron's knees, the outer sides of the knee joint are grooved as if for the pawls of a standard ratchet joint. Also, Convoy's hips show similar grooving all around, implying plans for ratchet jointed motion for side to side motion and not just forward and back at the hips.

DevastaTTor wrote:Exactly what you said. While Convoy did eventually grow on me, I liked Megatron from day one. IMO, it's a shame that all the things they did right the second time around with Megs are about to be wiped out by CJ/BB. They're so good from the arms up but everything south of that is a mess.

I'm curious about the amount of die cast metal in Alternity Bumble. If the trend from Megatron continues and there is less metal, it would be a good thing. Convoy is very top heavy and despite having ratchet joints for forward/backward movement at the hips, it can be a tricky figure to pose well. I noticed that my Megatron Blade Silver has stiffer ratchet joints at the hips than Convoy, which is odd since Convoy needs stronger ratchet joints more. I hope that Bumble gets strong ratchet joints at the hips and knees and solid joints at the ankles because it looks to be top heavy, even with reduced die cast content.

Convotron I think you're right about the door angles. I've just folded his doors back and he looks slightly less stumpy. Megatron still looks better when I put them in the same pose but thanks for your suggestion - it does work a bit.

In case anyone reading this hasn't seen it, here is a translation of Prime's leaflet and Megatron's leaflet. You'll need to scroll down to find Megatron's one.

As for BB, I don't think I'll be buying him. I'm hoping for some good, unique decepticons that aren't repaints of autobots but I'm not expecting to like future releases, certainly not at these prices. I'm glad I have another Prime/Meg pair in my collection so I'm quite happy with that.

My Megatoy broked. I was transforming him to car and the part where you fold the front of the car up and the stomach plate folds up wouldn't go. I applied a bit more force and it went and everything was fine. When I tried to transform him to robot the stomach plate wouldn't fold down and I couldn't move it manually either. I did some jiggling of various bits and managed to get it down but then the front of the car wouldn't fold down far enough for the stomach plate to reach the waist hole. By this stage the stomach plate was totally disconnected from the transform mechanism. It wouldn't fold flat for car mode and wouldn't connect to the waist holes in robot mode, causing the chest to tilt backwards and it felt like something had come off inside and was in the way of the folding parts that lower the chest. There was only one option: take him apart.

There are lots of pins but they don't hold the torso together - they only act as hinges. There is ONE screw visible in the chest section and it's difficult to reach cos the arm is in the way. I couldn't remove the arm and I'm suspicious they built the shoulder around the arm peg cos it felt like it'd never come out and I didn't want to risk further breakage. With a selection of x-head screwdrivers I attempted to undo the screw but the little bitch was too tight and all I managed to do was destroy its head. Megatoy is not made to be taken apart.

After further fiddling with the stomach plate I discovered that the little plastic tab on the back near the hinge was breaking off so I removed it entirely. Now the plate can lay flat for car mode. Also, with a bit of extra force the stomach plate fits the holes and stays! A couple of transformations later and it works!

The stomach plate is now disconnected from the transformation mechanish so must be moved manually but at least he can manage car and robot modes perfectly again. I'm so relieved!

An observation:
The reasons Megatron's arms look better are:
a) the shoulder joint can go slightly further forward than Prime's
2) the arms are actually a few millimetres longer

Scratch that, it's now an intermittent problem which suggests there IS something lose in there. Sometimes he won't go into car mode and I can't get him in robot mode at all now.

F**K

Gah! I hope you figure out where the loose part is in Megatron and can fix it, Mykltron. I'm crossing my fingers for you!

Alternity Megatron's arms are definitely better looking than Convoy's. Convoy's design seems more "traditional" with respect to carbot designs, especially with the way its legs fold out of the rear section of the car and the way that the car doors act as wings. Megatron's design is much more forward thinking and in a different direction, in a successful result. I really love Megatron's design in bot mode, especially its shoulder configuration possibilities.

I'm hoping that future Alternity designs will use alt modes different than sports cars. We've seen that in Binaltech/Alternators already so at least Bumble is going to a compact car design. I'm hoping for a proper Ironhide for the next Autobot offering and a Soundwave for the next Decepticon since he hasn't seen a lot of action in toy lines lately. I'd suggest Starscream but Starscream is so prolific, I think Soundwave should get a chance at bat.

If you've read the Alternity story translations I put above I think you'll agree the Alternity line will be mainly sports cars.

I agree about his cool shoulder armour and the way his legs look funny from certain angles.

And now the good news:
I FIXED HIM! His stomach plate is not connected to the transformation mechanism but at least I can get him into both modes without trouble. The really weird thing is that the thing causing the trouble, well I just don't understand how it worked in the first place! I'm so confused about it all!

Mykltron wrote:And now the good news:
I FIXED HIM! His stomach plate is not connected to the transformation mechanism but at least I can get him into both modes without trouble. The really weird thing is that the thing causing the trouble, well I just don't understand how it worked in the first place! I'm so confused about it all!

Great to hear that he's back in shape! I hope whatever was going on was just a fluke.

I've read through those fiction translations and the ones at TFWiki and, yeah, it's going to be mainly sports cars for alt modes like the BT/Alts line but I'm always open and hoping for exceptions for future designs in the line.

Man I searched Google and came across this topic. My alternity convoy had this stomach tab problem too, now it won't fold up properly on alt mode and I have to manually force it up same with the robot mode I have to force it down, no longer can I just use the auto morph gimmick. But the frustrating thing about my convoy now is that the stomach tab doesn't tab to the pelvis area no matter what I do.

And the reason why I bought Alternity Convoy was cause of megatron I thought he was super nice but Convoy just lacks a certain something. Anyways any help would be appreciated on the stomach tab on Alternity Convoy.

freaky777 wrote:Man I searched Google and came across this topic. My alternity convoy had this stomach tab problem too, now it won't fold up properly on alt mode and I have to manually force it up same with the robot mode I have to force it down, no longer can I just use the auto morph gimmick. But the frustrating thing about my convoy now is that the stomach tab doesn't tab to the pelvis area no matter what I do.

And the reason why I bought Alternity Convoy was cause of megatron I thought he was super nice but Convoy just lacks a certain something. Anyways any help would be appreciated on the stomach tab on Alternity Convoy.

I was just about to post a link to this in your thread about annoyances!

My Prime (NOT Convoy! lol) is a bit sticky now too. Forcing it will only make things worse, which it sounds like you may already have done. There is a sliding plate underneath the front of the car. Use a screwdriver or other long thin thing to help slide this plate. The best way that I know of to fix him is to remove that sliding plate and maybe trim off a tooth from the mech inside which means the automorph won't work but at least he'll be fully transformable. If you want further help with this we'll have to do it via webcam cos I really don't want to have to try writing this down! PM me if you need more help.

A WARNING TO ALL: IF YOU ALTERNITY FIGURE IS STICKING DURING TRANSFORMATION DON'T FORCE IT. Use a thin thing to help move that little plate between the front wheels.

Mykltron wrote:I was just about to post a link to this in your thread about annoyances!

My Prime (NOT Convoy! lol) is a bit sticky now too. Forcing it will only make things worse, which it sounds like you may already have done. There is a sliding plate underneath the front of the car. Use a screwdriver or other long thin thing to help slide this plate. The best way that I know of to fix him is to remove that sliding plate and maybe trim off a tooth from the mech inside which means the automorph won't work but at least he'll be fully transformable. If you want further help with this we'll have to do it via webcam cos I really don't want to have to try writing this down! PM me if you need more help.

A WARNING TO ALL: IF YOU ALTERNITY FIGURE IS STICKING DURING TRANSFORMATION DON'T FORCE IT. Use a thin thing to help move that little plate between the front wheels.

Hey Thanks man, too bad I do not have a web cam if not I sure would like to see how to fix it. For now I think I will try the sliding plate in front of the tab. I just leave it in alt mode now though even though the plate doesn't go all the way up at least my car is able to move.