In the previous movie toyline, Age of Extinction, the debate was on which was the better Grimlock since he was the only character with two new toys in the collector oriented line in two different classes. However, both were mediocre so it was more of a question of which wasn't as bad. But now with The Last Knight's Megatron, it's the reverse with two really awesome looking toys. But which is best?
I will break it down through categories and pick a winner, based on what I feel and read online from you guys, and then we will all say our preference in the forums. Sound good?
Jet Mode:
The leader definitely wins by having some kibble free wings in jet mode. Having those flame effects in the back is a really nice touch too. it is quite an imposing jet. The back of the jet is also cleaner than the voyager which has the robot shoulders there looking asymmetrical. The fact that the wings on the leader have no kibble underneath them really makes the jet look sleek and adds to the alt mode's distinctiveness from the robot mode. The alt mode of TLK Megatron is a gorgeous jet design and the leader is a better representation of it.
Robot Mode:
This one is a toss up with the leader edging out the voyager by just a bit. The leader has more dedicated parts for the robot mode with the jet kibble relegated to the back and on the arm cannon while the voyager has some fuselage doubling (unconvincingly) as part of the knight skirt and jet wings wrapped around the robot legs. But that also means he has a cleaner back, more alt mode integration (which I can't be mad about) and a cannon that looks fully dedicated to the robot mode. The arms on the voyager are better since the forearms are sleeker. The leader's standard arm pose gives you gorilla arms but you can adjust that with the wrist swivel, which gives you a giant hole and unseemly wide forearms.
Speaking of articulation, both give you a decent range. The leader even has double jointed knees if you use a transformation hinge but after seeing the images below you might not use it for the robot mode. The leader does something else that I did not notice until having him in hand, the sleekness of the torso, as it tapers down, is hampered by the backpack. Meaning that you don't get that nice shape at the midsection and instead it looks like those u convincing Power Rangers zords where they draw
a sleeker body on a rectangle and make the collector/child pretend it's not there. Also, the leader ends up with a crotch hole ala MP 10, which the voyager does not have. With all these knocks against the leader, you would think the voyager would win this easily but I really like how good the leader's robot mode looks with the face mask and how clean the robot mode is. Point goes to the leader.
Gimmicks:
The leader clearly has more gimmicks than the voyager. All the voyager has is light piping (eyes and "gills"), which is something absent in the leader figure and actually works well enough on the voyager. You get a cool evil look with it. Now the leader's gimmicks are both its pro and con. Yes, the facemask is really cool but for that to work you end up with a really derpy looking mouth when the mask isn't deployed. You also get a weak spring loaded feature for the front of the jet to come undone and it is as annoying as Leader Optimus' spring loaded swords. Sometimes too much is like not enough and I would rather not get a gimmick than a poorly executed one. The face mask is still cool but the fact that I hesitate to transform the leader just because of how annoying that bit will be means I prefer the voyager for keeping things 100.
Facesculpt:
As just said, the retracted chin on the leader doesn't look good and makes him look more derpy than menacing. Almost reminds me of Sloth from the Goonies. Voyager wins this one.
Paint/Deco:
The voyager wins here by a landslide. Both toys go for a very different look with the silver deco and I fail to understand why. The voyager uses the silver as a way to subtly add to the layering of the armour. Its a nice effect that seems to only work on the naked eye. What is baffling is that the leader uses silver paint to instead give a weathered or battle damaged look. It is blotchy and not uniform and looks random.
Leader
Leader
Leader
Voyager
:
Oddly enough, I find the voyager's a tad bit too small. It's maybe movie accurate but it doesn't look very threatening. The Leader's is way too big. The fire effect is super cool and I am able to pose him the right way so that the weight is evenly carried across the toy, but it still looks very big. I give both of them major props for avoiding the partsforming route.
In the end, the Voyager wins here but not by much.
Transformation:
This is the big one. I much prefer the Voyager's transformation since I much prefer unfolding panels instead of the panel forming and massaging you have to do with the leader (in the back portion of the jet). There is more of a shell aspect with the leader which the voyager doesn't have since almost every part of the robot mode is reused for the jet mode. Also, the first step they give you for the leader is to transform the nosecone from the cannon which is a terrible idea. It will surely keep getting undone as you keep transforming since it is spring loaded. The voyager is really a joy to convert from one mode to the next. Nothing gets in the way too much and there isn't anything annoying. It is also far more intuitive and there is no need to exert pressure anywhere. My leader already has some stretch marks where the nosecone tabs into the forearms.
While the voyager wins out most of the categories it is still a tough call when the ones the leader wins is when it comes to the best looking modes. In the end, its all about what you want best. If you will be transforming these often, the voyager is the way to go. But if you just want to pose him, the leader works better since he is far more screen accurate. However, you wouldn't be able to pose him with anyone since the only other toy in his scale in this line is the inaccurate Optimus Prime leader. Still, I can't say this pic below isn't awesome and I don't regret getting both.
