This month saw the release of the 20th anniversary special edition DVD of The Transformers: The Movie, the original feature-length film on the coolest toys ever. I never cared much for that cartoon, as it just wasn't very well done, but to coincide with this DVD, Hasbro has begun a new Transformers toy series, Transformers Classics. A new generation of adults and kids will get to (re)live those G1 (Generation 1) Transformers. Some have already been released, including Megatron, the subject of this review.
Megatron, the undisputed leader of the "evil" Decepticons all these years, has gone through many changes since the original realistic-looking silver handgun. Now, it's back to its roots as a gun, except that federal regulations since then has forced this re-release to severely tone down its realism in both color and design. In gun mode, it bears an uncanny resemblance to a Nerf Maverick dart gun (also made by Hasbro, hmm), except it has a scope on top. Only blurry views out of this scope, though. Then there are those funky kid colors - bright orange, purple, light gray, etc. Maybe the logic now is that the most dangerous villain stays in disguise by looking like a child's toy.
In robot mode, this Megatron is quite nice. Like most newer Transformers since the Beast Wars series, it is much more detailed and articulated at the joints, meaning the head, limbs, and waist are more posable. Some of the colors (like the bright green on the eyes and wings) are highly reflective, giving a nice added touch to an overall design that far surpasses the original, flimsy G1 Megatron.
The transformation is somewhat challenging, involving quite a few twists and turns of parts. But as practice makes perfect, it all makes sense after the initial head-scratching round.
Hasbro is re-releasing Soundwave, my favorite of them all, exclusively at Toys 'R Us in about a week. It will be identical to the original toy in all aspects, except that since it's based on Japan's "Soundblaster" toy, it will be able to hold two, not just one, mini-cassettes simultaneously. Two Transformer cassettes will also come with the big guy. I can hardly wait!
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