Dave's Armada Rant

     Megatron with Leader-1

     Well, I took a break from writing the (unfinished at the time I write
this part of this review) review of the MaxCons to print out my revised
comics pull list.  I found my printer was out of toner, and went out to
Wal-Mart to get more.  And lo and behold, there was Megatron, in the space
vacated by the sold-out MaxCons.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of money
tonight, between toner and Megatron.


CAPSULE

     Megatron: Decent H-Tank mode, simplistic transformation, nearly
unposeable robot mode...and more gimmicks than any three other toys.  This is
an unabashedly gimmick-based toy, and it works on that level.  Recommended.
$24.88 at Wal-Mart


RANTS

     Packaging: GigaCon packaging is basically the same sort of box as
MaxCon, but bigger.  12" (13cm) wide, 9.5" (24cm) high, and from 3" (8cm)
thick at the top and bottom to 4" (10cm) thick at the middle.  Same window
front, lack of techspecs, etc.  Oddly, while the smaller MaxCon boxes have
five pieces of tape on each flap, Megatron just has three.  The packet with
instructions, comic, sticker and missiles is taped to the bottom of the inner
cardboard tray.
     There are a couple of raised bubbels trays supporting the cannon barrel
and Leader-1, plus a spacer keeping the head claw thing stable.  Well,
actually, Leader-1 is entirely in a bubble, annoyingly.  Seven twist-ties
(one of which is very difficult to get at) and two rubber bands hold Megatron
to the tray.


DECEPTICON: Megatron
Altmode: Tank
Mini-Con partner: Leader-1 - Combat Car
Quote: "My power is your doom!"

MEGATRON commands the DECEPTICONS by being the strongest and most terrifying
warrior of them all.  He can use his massive firepower for maximum
devastation, enabling him to level a battlefield to the ground.  There can be
only one ruler of the universe, and MEGATRON intends to be that ruler.  He
will not stop until he has the MINI-CONS because they will give him
unimaginable abilities and power.  Will he achieve his goal to become ruler
and destroy the Earth in his quest to possess the MINI-CONS? 

STR 10  INT 10  SPD 10  END 10  RNK 10  COUR 10  FRB 10  SKL 10  Avg 10

     Notable that for the first time, the Megatron of the line has the same
stats (all 10s) as the Optimus.  No 10+ on the Optimus to make him buffer.

     Vehicle Mode: This is what has been called an H-Tank.  The official term
for this form is "unworkable."  }->  Basically, take a tank and then remove
the part in front of the turret between the treads (aka the driver's
compartment) and the part in back of the turret between the treads (aka the
engine).  Of course, since Megatron needs no pilot and is run by Energon (or
the equivalent), this is not really a problem for him.
     The tread units are a little over 8.5" (22cm) long, with an overall
width of up to 6" (15cm).  From the tip of the main gun to the back of the
turret is 8.5" (22cm), and the turret is a bit over 3" (8cm) wide.  The gap
between the front tread halves is 2.5" (6cm), leaving plenty of room for the
claw/antlers between them.  The main color is olive green with accents in
purple, silver, dark gray, safety orange and a little yellow.  The tank rolls
on four small wheels inside the treads, and like Demolishor's wheels, they
have tread-ish patterning to blend in.  They don't roll well on smooth
tabletop surfaces because the grooves in the wheels can just slide along
rather than letting it roll.  Paper or concrete is frictiony enough to let
the tank roll.
     The turret can rotate a full 360 degrees, but is supposed to ratchet
rather than move smoothly (if you mistransform it to tank mode, you can get
smooth movement for part of the circle, but then it will start ratcheting
again).  The main gun can elevate to almost straight up, and depress to touch
the ground.
     But this is not just a tank.  It's really a pile of gimmicks in a tank
shape.  Sound, motion, hardpoints...man, there's so many that I may forget
and omit one or two.  I've FOUND 'em all, but one or two might slip through
the cracks of the review.  Just so you know.
     First, there's 8 hardpoints before you do anything.  Four more can be
revealed through various means.  Pulling back a tab on the left front tread
housing causes three panels to spring open, each with a hardpoint (note, when
these are deployed, one of the existing hardpoints is kinda hard to connect
to for most Mini-Cons).  An orange ramp on the right front tread can be
folded up, revealing a hardpoint on the other side as well.  The two
hardpoints are opposite sides of a peg that can slide up and down a slot.
Basically, this one is for putting jet Mini-Cons on for vertical launch.  The
panels on the sides of the front treads can fold up to form battle
platforms.  
     Three gimmicks relate to trapping Mini-Cons.  The claws between the
front treads are a little disappointing, since you have to pinch them closed
manually on a target, rather than being able to push a button and snap 'em
shut.  On the left rear tread is a block that slides out and splits open to
grab Mini-Cons and imprison them.  Only the smaller Mini-Cons can actually
fit inside witht he "prison" closed, but any of them can be chewed on a bit.
Finally, a ramp deploys from the right rear tread, complete with a purple
claw that can reach out and snag any Mini-Con foolish enough to drive up it.
The claw cannot bring anything inside the tread with it, though.  When this
ramp is deployed, the hardpoint on its underside becomes kinda useless.
     Finally, two hardpoints are atop the turret to help activate more
gimmicks.  The purple one does not need a Mini-Con to activate, and the green
one seems at first to just be storage, but it's not.  More on that in a bit.
     The main gun is a "marble shooter" style missile launcher.  If you pull
the barrel back, the missile snaps out.  A spring at the base then snaps the
barrel back into position.  Sliding the purple hardpoint on the turret back
causes a dual missile launcher to flip up and forward, and the hardpoint can
be locked by sliding it sideways in the L-shaped channel.  You may need to
fiddle with ratcheting it a bit before the action is smooth.  The two
missiles launch separately, and it's a little hard to trigger them.  The dual
launcher's locked position is 55 degrees above horizontal (yes, I pulled out
a protractor), clearly intended for an anti-aircraft role.  All three
missiles fire about a meter.
     And now the sound.  There are four sound gimmicks on the toy, all of
which work in both modes.  Firing the main gun results in a loud firing
sound, although you have to be sure to pull a little to the right to trigger
the sound.  The orange bar to the right of the "shock absorber" spring is
what actually hits the button for this first sound.  Deploying the missile
launcher triggers a different firing sound, which can also be triggered just
by pushing a little black button in front of the launcher.  NOTE: while this
button is held down, several other sounds are either prevented from
happening, or slightly modified.  This seems to be a result of a programmed
bit to keep the missiles from continuously sounding if the launcher is stuck
too far forward.  Next, the green hardpoint on the turret, when a Mini-Con is
inserted, can be turned slightly.  This triggers a machinegun sound.  And
this CAN get stuck on, and WILL continuously fire.  Finally, turning the
turret triggers the last sound gimmick.  When the turret crosses either 60
degrees right of front, 60 degrees left of front, or straight back, the sound
routine triggers (but not if it's already going...once it starts, you can
spin the turret all you want and not trigger more sound until the first
sequence is done).  It starts with a voice shouting "Decepticons, attack!"
and then cycles through the main gun sound, the missile sound and the
machinegun sound.  The voice is not Kaye, who accoring to BotCon attendees is
doing the voice of Armada Megatron in the cartoon.  It's a bit higher
pitched, but not quite a whine.  NOTE: when the turret is exactly at one of
the speaking positions, the other sounds often either don't work or work
oddly.  Another overlap problem.
     Every sound is accompanied by flashing lights from a red LED behind a
clear panel embossed with the Decepticon symbol.  This is the only Decepticon
symbol visible on the tank.
     Aside from the use of safety orange (which has been replaced by gold in
the recolor shown at BotCon), this is a very nice looking tank.  Lots of
molded details that help it seem more "real" (to the extent that you expect
it to be a functional vehicle in the cartoon).

     Transformation: Very simplistic.  The front treads have panels that flip
open to let the arms out, and the rear treads become the lower legs.  Just
straighten, turn and deploy feet.  If you covered the face for tank mode, you
need to reveal it.  And the turret locks into position on the back, with the
main gun folding under the right arm much like the barrel of G1 Megatron's
gun.  Overall, transformation is about as simple as that of G2 tank
Megatron.  

     Robot Mode: 7.5" (19cm) tall at the head, a little over 10" (26cm) tall
at the shoulderpads/treads.  More light gray is visible in this mode, and
purple Decepticon symbols grace each shoulder.  Also, there's a small slider
button on the chest with a Decepticon symbol molded into it.  Pushing this
slider up covers the robot face with an armor plate, useful for concealing
the face in tank mode.
     Poseability?  Yeah, right.  There is essentially no leg poseability,
they can separate but the feet don't work too well if the legs aren't
straight down.  The head and waist can turn, the elbows are stiff ratchets,
the arms can swing out to the sides, and the shoulders have a ratchet swivel
(but arm lifting is VERY restricted by the huge treads sitting on top of the
shoulders).  The right wrist spins around, and the left hand has halves that
springs hold together, so it can loosely grip things.  And the antlers
(reminiscent of oriental dragons or a Hercules Beetle) can waggle.  The
antlers can be removed without damaging the toy if you think they look too
stupid.  
     A few of the tank mode gimmicks are essentially disabled in this mode,
but most still work.  Where the arms were stored on the shoulder treads now
leave space for other tricks of missile storage (which doesn't quite work the
way the instructions indicate) or Mini-Con storage (one of Leader-1's modes
is designed to be clamped into the right shoulderpad as a gun).  Both
forearms have hardpoints (so you could theoretically attach 14 Mini-Cons to
robot mode!), and the left one activates perhaps the silliest gimmick the toy
has.  A small knife pops into Megatron's hand when the hardpoint is slid
forward (no Mini-Con needed for this).  I suppose if all the missiles, guns,
claws and Mini-Cons fail, he can always cutchoo, man!
     If the switchblade is silly, the next gimmick is just kinda weird.  You
can lift up the upper torso and swing the turret around to the front,
pointing its weapons as close to forward as you can manage and attaching
Leader-1 to the turret.  Then you turn a small crank on Megatron's side and
cause the turret to spin around, continuously triggering the speaking sound
gimmick.  
     Oh, and of course, Megatron can hold the Star Saber.

     Leader-1: A sort of combat car.  Connector is on the underside of the
vehicle, near the back, and the Mini-Con symbol near the front of the vehicle
underside.  
     Vehicle mode is 4cm long and 3cm wide, with big tires and a buggy-ish
design that reminds me of Countdown's Micromaster a little.  It's mainly made
of the light and dark grays seen in Megatron, with safety orange gun barrels,
black wheels, and yellow windows.  The wheels roll freely (but with the same
friction problems as Megatron's) and the gun barrels can be depressed enough
to shoot straight forward rather than up at a slight angle.
     Transformation is a simple unfolding and Targetmaster-like folding of
the barrels against the back of the legs.  Leader-1 also has many other
transformations, including three weapon modes.
     Robot mode is 2.25" (6cm) tall, adding black detail to the chest and
yellow visor.  The arms are short and bent, being exhaust pipes or something
for the vehicle mode.  They're also loose and floppy, so they tend to just
stay down at rest.  The legs are hinged at hip and knee, but the gun barrels
keep the knees from bending more than about 50 degrees.
     Main pistol mode involves just straightening everything out to make a 3"
(7.5cm) long pistol.  The right robot arm ends in a peglike fist that fits
snugly in Megatron's right fist.  However, because of the looseness of the
shoulder joint and the shortness of the arm, it's really hard to get the
leverage to get the peg into Meggy's fist.  The loose joint also means the
pistol tends to sag.
     Other weapon modes just involve getting the gun barrels pointed in the
right direction while the body connects to something.  A couple other vehicle
modes are also possible by fiddling with the legs and barrels a bit.  I
prefer a vehicle mode that's based on what the instructions call Weapon C
(move the arms to let the toy roll, and fold the gun barrels to face
forward).  
     One odd bit about the toy is a black piece that forms both the central
peg of Leader-1's connector and a strange button on his back.  It doesn't
move, but it looks like it should.

     Overall: Okay, lack of articulation is major points off in my book, but
the sheer volume of other things to do with this toy redeem it quite a bit.
A real parent-annoyer with all the sound gimmicks, though.  }->

     Dave Van Domelen, finally caught up on reviews for the moment.  Which
means Laserbeak or Optimus will show up tomorrow....