Video Review of Transformers Masterpiece MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron

Mine arrives sometime today, looking forward to it!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Hooray! Do let us know how he is, yessssss...

DAYUM it got to you fast! Mine should be here by the end of the week, assuming DHL actually delivers on time...

If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Malicron wrote:If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Exactly

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Malicron wrote:If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Exactly

Sadly, as someone experiencing the figure now, there are some parts which require force. He is held ogether by some very thin pegs and some heavy locking mechanisms. Being delicate will just make him stay in beast mode.

Well, mine is delayed, thanks to stupid card snafus. First was on me, the card I had on file was an old one I forgot was canceled.

So I had to add a new one.

Which was declined for suspected fraud. (Only its third use)

Which I couldn't clear up till this morning.


Sigh......

He looks fantastic...and I like what you did with Dinobots head

This is it, the big in depth review at the biggest release of the year (that's right, you heard me!). While you can see a video of the transformation here, I will go through most of what the figure has to offer with images to go along with the pros an cons. The pros far outnumber the cons though and I do recommend the figure, so if that's all you needed to know then great. If you want more, well let's get to it:

Beast Mode

The beast mode is spot on. Some people have been saying that this mode is fully painted like with some previous Beast Wars masterpiece figures, but it is not. it is mostly shiny purple plastic with a pastel violet hue found across the toy in digital stripes. The mouth and head are very well articulated. So are the eyes which can be positioned as you wish by rolling them around. Other main points of articulation in this mode are the small arms (2 points of articulation), tail tip, tongue, knees and individual toes.













While there is more potential articulation in the legs (like outward movement), this is all due to the robot mode's articulation and messing with the legs undoes some panels and reveals robot mode kibble. So I don't touch the legs much. The articulated eyes make him very expressive. If you insert batteries, pressing a button on the top of the T-rex head will make him talk in Japanese. While he does come with extra clear adapters to connect him to Dinobot's stand, I didn't feel any need to use them. He is very well balanced. Also, of all the Beast Wars toys, he is the one that has the least amount of robot kibble showing (mainly because unlike the others, he uses the same parts for both modes).







Transformation

The original Beast Wars Meagatron toy is my favourite toy ever so it is really fun to see that Takara felt they did indeed ace that transformation the first time. To the point that this toy transforms the same way. The big change for this new figure is that to give him a much smaller backpack, the T-Rex shell is made up of 20 thin pieces of plastic which fold onto eachother to make a smaller back section. This of course makes him very tedious to transform back into a T-Rex. However, every parts does fit into each other fine and if I do intend on transforming him again, unlike ROTF Jetfire (NEVER AGAIN). I did see stress marks around the pins though, but I do not think they will get worse if I pay attention.

The scary part though is when you first start prying the shell open. He is held together by some very thin pegs and some heavy locking mechanisms. So you do have to use some force sometimes, since being delicate will just make him stay in beast mode. It reminds me of MP 05 Megatron in a way where you have to be forceful yet delicate at the same time (ah, the jokes I just can't make). Another big difference over the original toy is the role that those thigh circles play. These parts are working overtime here by both hiding and locking in panels as well as having (decorative) guns fold out. They do come off easily during transformation BUT once you peg them back in robot mode, they stay on securely. So I don't see them unpegging as too much of a negative.

Speaking of unpegging, my big worry with this guy was that with so many sections unpegging purposefully (6 parts) I thought it would have for a very frustrating transformation. But no, most parts are secure enough that if you want this toy not to be a partsformer, it wont be, but it also allows you to take some parts out for ease of transformation. And I recommend you do that with the big T-Rex body shells since removing them helps transforming the waist. It transforms essentially like the original toy (pivoting the axis of the waist and locking it in) but you have to pull it out first and that requires more of that delicate forceful touch I was talking about earlier. Also, if the back doesn't peg in well, DO NOT FORCE IT. Just undo what you did and try again, it should clip in effortlessly.



The tail and lower legs have as many transformation steps as the original toy. For the life of me I do not know why the instructions spend so much time on the lower legs, there is nothing to do there.

Robot Mode

Hoo-Ah!. This is an amazing looking figure. He looks like he jumped right off the screen. The stability is great, thanks to the metal used for his heels. The extra kibble comes off only if you want it to and the only angle which looks a bit off is directly at the side. He looks good from the back, and even has a nice extra transformation bit where the T-Rex' pelvic area splits in half to reveal some robot mode detail made just for the back section.









I really love the left arm. It is fully articulated and I really like that the tail can be pivoted a bit to provide extra room, showing that they are two independent pieces. It's my favorite aspect of this toy, since it does end up being the biggest improvement over the original. Removing the tail is easy and it pegs back securely if you want it attached.











The rifle accessory is fine and while it is easiest to use when removing the tail, you can keep it on. It attaches as well as any of the other myriad of MP weapons we have had over the years. The tooth brush is much more secure though and it is quite fun. The energy blast is hollowed out from underneath but you won't notice that if you pose the toy properly.




















Speaking of posing, there are many ratchets to help you achieve great action poses. They can keep the right arm held really high (sadly, that means those silver pieces near his collar have to be loosey goosey to offer the arm as much mobility as possible). The one place where there are no ratchet, and it's too bad, is between the shoulder and torso, which hurts the toy. It is a friction joint and on my copy there is no friction on that left arm, which just falls. But at least you can compensate with the shoulder ratchet. I do not have more complaints than that. While the waist is a bit loose, he is top heavy enough that the weight compensates. I really like the silver deco over the sculpted detail which replicates the shading found on the show but using real light. The different faces are fun and work well.







So the main complaints: Force must be exerted at times, lots of panels to deal with (especially going back to beast mode), stress marks near pins and a friction joint that just doesn't hold for his left arm.

The main pros: This toy is gorgeous in both modes, he feels very sturdy and he is a love letter to the favourite toy of my childhood. Easily the best Beast Wars MP figure to date.



Also, just to review the use of Amazon Japan, it went so well I can't imagine getting non exclusive Takara toys from anywhere else. The price was the best and the shipping was lightning fast. I live in Canada and got the toy today. Here is a breakdown of the transaction, if anyone is curious:

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: ￥ 23,506
Shipping & Handling: ￥ 1,200
Total: ￥ 24,706
Import Fees Deposit ￥ 1,175
Grand Total: ￥ 25,881

That's a total of $232 USD / $309 CAD

They did a great job on the packaging too.

One visible gripe for me is the leg screw holes on the T-rex mode, at least they are on the inners in robot mode but it would have been nice not to have them at all -or an option for switching the legs around to keep them on the inners in both modes.

Looks like a great figure and something I definitely want at some point.

So far, that Megatron seem to deliver.

Another broken crotch confirmed:



Not mine, thank God.

Ironhidensh wrote:Well, mine is delayed, thanks to stupid card snafus. First was on me, the card I had on file was an old one I forgot was canceled.

So I had to add a new one.

Which was declined for suspected fraud. (Only its third use)

Which I couldn't clear up till this morning.


Sigh......

Very similar thing happened to me.

Got a phone call and text from my bank Friday morning when the pre-order came in, asking if this was me. I texted my approval and got a thank you back.

Sunday night, had 2 emails from Amazon Japan, thought he had shipped until i got the 2nd one. Went to the site, saw that my card never ran, so I did it manually and it went through (I hope). so mine should have been here like today or tomorrow, but alas, it seems as though I was bitten by the delay bug.

william-james88 wrote:Another broken crotch confirmed:



Not mine, thank God.

The instructions are great, and to read the revisions just pull out the Google translate app on your phone. Take a picture, highlight the text, voila.

Nice review Will, the back is mistransfomed though. The back panels connect together at the bottom. Takes some careful movement of the joints behind his neck to accomplish but it'll go.

The robot head looks too big to me.

cruizerdave wrote:The robot head looks too big to me.

I think that as well

william-james88 wrote:Another broken crotch confirmed:



Not mine, thank God.

Just a hunch, but could it be an issue concerning the tolerances between the plastic shell and the (ratchet) joints they house?