The Energon Pub

I am not sure if this has been talked about already. What are the new leg plates like for MP Megatron that come with the upgrade package from Justitoys?

Are they die-cast or some type of aluminum alloy? Is it the same materical as his feet?

What is the paint quality like? Does it have a finish? Does it chip easily? Once the plates are attached to Megatron and he is transformed into a gun, can you notice a difference in the shading? Also, are the insides of the leg plates painted?

Thanks. Sorry for the slew of questions.

I'll take a stab at this.

I have the prorder, and it is still misb. my friend also got one though and brought it over, opened. I inspected it and concluded as follows:

1. What are the new leg plates like for MP Megatron that come with the upgrade package from Justitoys?

Imagine the old leg plates, only made of metal now. There is also a section of the stock of the gun that is made of metal. It feels heavier to the touch than the normal leg plates. The upgrade box feels 3 times heavier than the mp05 box, roughly.

2. Are they die-cast or some type of aluminum alloy?

I am not officially sure, however, in order to make a box weigh that much, you would need a lot more aluminum than the amount of metal present to get the same weight equivalent, as aluminum is a strong -yet light- metal.

3. Is it the same materical as his feet?

I am not entirely sure of what the feet are made of, but no, the upgrade package metal does not feel the same to me.

4. What is the paint quality like?

Good question on the quality. At first glance, i thought the quality of the paint was great. I would describe it as a flat black. I do have a complaint here. As it goes with all injection-mold style parts, while looking at my friend's mp05 upgrade, i noticed that the points at which the molten metal was injected, or at least one of them, was not de-burred. In other words, some of the metal sortof dripped out, but only a small amount, but enough to leave jagged metal spiky-ness sticking out of the leg plates. I found out the hard way and almost cut myself. word to the wise. Otherwise, i was also noticing that little tiny spots on the painted pieces were neglected, showing the bare/naked metal underneath. the best way to describe it is to imagine that during the manufacturing process, all of these were created "on a tree", and apparantly painted as such. after the paint was dry, they were seperated from the tree, leaving the attachment points to the tree unpainted. It is a negligable detail, you have to look for it to see it, but people that like to subject their items to such a level of scrutiny will appreciate knowing this. There may have been some quality control issue as well with non-uniform painting of the metal parts too, as i recall seeing a little spot here or there missing paint, but not terrible enough for me to want to send it back. Also, upon contact, you notice the oil from your hands and fingerprints adhering to the paint. I don't know how washable this paintjob is, and i'm afraid to try for multiple reasons/consequences.

5. Does it have a finish?

If you mean like a clear coat or glaze or whatever, no, it is not shiny. To me it would seem like rubbing it against rocks and such would scratch the paint/metal, as there does not seem to be anything protecting it from such friction/wear and tear.

6. Does it chip easily?

I haven't abused mine, but again, i believe that if you are careful you will not have any problems, but if you decide to try and discover how well megatron's leg plates serve as rollerblades on the street, i believe you'd see a lot of damage. This probably goes for a lot of other tf's too, but you get the idea. My friend and i were not exactly gentle with the assembly process, and i can report no chipping damage as a result however.

7. Once the plates are attached to Megatron and he is transformed into a gun, can you notice a difference in the shading?

I could not see any difference between the metal and plastic pieces, other than maybe how the flat black of the metal leg plates did not reflect light. Actually, the paintjob and texture remind me of what i've seen on a 9mm handgun, or at least the ones i've seen, perhaps with only slight differences.

8. Also, are the insides of the leg plates painted?

Yes, not counting the plastic bits screwed on to the inside which act as the female ball sockets for male ball socket joints / interface for the metal to attach to the plastic.

Thanks for the info. I am interested in purchasing the leg plates because they are made of die-cast, but it sounds like a clear cut finish would help the product.

Were you happy to hold MP Megatron once the leg plates were attached? Did he feel much heavier and ready to kick Prime's ass?

I cannot wait to get this upgrade kit, less than 2 weeks to wait!

Not sure I will enjoy trying to get him back into gun mode to attach the extra parts though.

Stormrider wrote:Thanks for the info. I am interested in purchasing the leg plates because they are made of die-cast, but it sounds like a clear cut finish would help the product.

Were you happy to hold MP Megatron once the leg plates were attached? Did he feel much heavier and ready to kick Prime's ass?

I can say that once i attached the pieces, i was much happier with megatron, it finally felt "right".