The Energon Pub

In the early 90s, Transformers as a franchise was at a crossroads. G1 had by now mostly fizzled out, And Hasbro wanted a new reinvented series, A reboot, (something that from this point on, The fandom would later become well acquainted with) Something to renew interest now that G1 (for the first, and likely last time) had finally come more or less to rest. What followed was (with varying degrees of success,) Generation 2.
This entailed a new toyline, Cartoon series, (that wasn't really new, But rather repackaged G1 episodes) A Marvel Comics series, And a short lived UK comic series.
Among other radical redesigns, Two examples below, In two familiar characters, Optimus Prime, And Megatron, One of those the focus of this review.


Where Optimus had before been a red and blue White Freightliner WFT-8664T cabover semi-trailer truck,
He was now a mid-1990s Western Star 4964EX, With a tanker trailer featuring a sticker that has become notorious for it's sheer absurdity, Optimus Prime burning down a forrest, With a flame thrower.

Megatron, (the focus of this review, Once I stop my tedious droning) Once, A Walther P-38, Was now a large green M1A1 Abrams main battle tank (Apparently on account of law changes toward toy guns).
While at first glance, G2 Megatron may seem to have escaped the glorious excesses of the 90s (other than that bizarre green and blue camouflage) He too, Like Optimus's trailer sticker, Has become the subject of bemusement.
When a button on his tank mode is pressed, He shouts his now infamous battle cry of "MEGATRON ATTACK!"
The Megatron that is the subject of this review, Is an homage to that figure, But sadly doesn't scream
"MEGATRON ATTACK!"
Onto the review!

We'll start with the robot mode.
The barrel/sword weapon's official configuration is this,


But can be configured over the shoulder like the original.

Note, There is no peg, This only works by friction, It is not made to do this, I only devised the way after being frustrated there was no way to replicate the original's cannon.
It works like this.
The shoulder assembly (only when Megatron's arm is slightly raised) while hung over the tank tread backpack, Provides the friction to wedge it into place.


The barrel/sword can also be used like this, Which, Secondary to over the shoulder, Is my favorite configuration.

There is a hole on the back assembly whereby you can plug the barrel/sword into, But this can only be done with the barrel pointing up, It does not have the clearance needed to point over the shoulder.

Here he is compared with Earthrise Grapple, Earthrise Sunstreaker, And Selects Rotorstorm.


With Thrilling 30 G2 Dreadwing,


And finally, Come full circle, With G1 Megatron himself.


This, However, Is how he will be, And indeed, Currently is, Displayed on my shelf.

Now onto the tank mode.





I tried transforming it this way, I think it looks somewhat better with the turret set further back.

Compared with Earthrise Grapple,


Thrilling 30 G2 Dreadwing,

And lastly, With G1 Megatron.

I was a little conflicted when I first bought this figure, But that soon passed.
As G1 Megatron, I think this mold is.. Not very good. Yes, I'm one of those people who thinks Megatron should be a gun, Not always, But when doing CHUG style figures, Yes.
But it's more than that. The proportions just seem... Wrong. For lack of a better word, Too chunky.
For these exact reasons, However, I think this mold works perfectly as G2 Megatron.
It's a fun homage.
I would've liked the cannon to be able to be snapped more securely over the shoulder, But, With some fiddling it can be done. I mean, It's not going to fall off unless you shake it, So It's good enough for the shelf.
It's sort of a niche figure, But for what it is it's pretty good.
I'd like to see more stuff like this from Hasbro, I mean, I own countless Megatrons, But never a G2 based Megatron, Until now.

8.5