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Gustavo mutters about PrimeRID Megatronus (Warrior Class, Clash of the Transformers)
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Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Oct 10, 2015, 12:18:52 AM10/10/15
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"Clash of the Transformers" Megatronus is a TRU Exclusive, in the PrimeRID line. I have gotten bored with the series, so my knowledge of the character comes from TFWiki, rather than first-hand experience, and apparently he is just The Fallen.
I feel a little cheated. I'm not sure I would have bought the toy had I known he was The Fallen. He doesn't have any of the elements that we have come to expect from The Fallen -- he isn't perpetually on fire, his color scheme is pretty light, and there's nothing particularly powerful or ancient suggested by his sculpt.
The design style of PrimeRID is not well suited for an embodiment of evil, as he looks just kind of futuristic and sleek in robot mode. If he had an Autobot symbol rather than a Decepticon one, you wouldn't bat an eye at him.
The color scheme is light gray with black extremities -- a very high contrast color scheme, and unlike anything we have seen on previous incarnations of The Fallen. There is a little bit of a batman color scheme here -- just missing the yellow and the bat symbol. I suppose a cape would help.
The head sculpt has cat ears, and either four blue eyes, or a knight's visor with blue detailing. I think it is supposed to be a knight's visor, but that doesn't seem like a very Decepticon detail for the head. Knights are generally depicted as heroic.
Like most PrimeRID toys, he has massive shins, and lots of smooth, featureless surfaces on his robot mode. PrimeRID is a little boring that way.
There are few hints of his vehicle mode in robot mode -- some details on the front of his shins suggest that there might be tank treads involved, maybe. There are some details on the sides of his forearms, which might be weapon related. It's a very, very clean robot mode, the type that makes you think the vehicle mode is going to suck.
He comes with a spear that he can either carry, or attach to his right arm on that little detail thing. Yes, the right arm. They didn't even go with the bad-guys-are-leftys trope. And he has blue eyes.
Transformation may well be unlike anything we have seen before. He does a split, and then pushes his calves back so they clip onto his hips. The calves then split and fold out to reveal longer molded treads. The waist spins, and now his is an H-tank centaur.
But wait, there's more!
The hands fold into the forearms, and the arms then get adjusted upwards into the shoulder pads. The chest folds down, allowing the arms to come together and form a squared-off futuristic cannon, with the spear becoming a bayonette. Rotate the head and push it back into a hole.
The result is either a tank or field artillery -- the emptiness of the body makes me think of artillery, but there really isn't any reason he couldn't be a tank if he doesn't need space for a crew of people. The robot's waist turns, allowing the cannon to rotate, but he cannot raise the cannon. And he has four tiny wheels in the treads.
Again, I get a really strong Autobot vibe from him. This is the second Decepticon I have in the Warrior class, and one of the few Decepticons I have in the entire line (Steeljaw, 1-Step Thunderhoof, Legion Steeljaw and Legion Megatronus), and there's a basic problem that the toys just don't have any evil anything. It's like the opposite of the Movieverse toys, where every single new mold looks evil, and no one looks like they could possibly be a hero.
We've gotten used to certain cues to signify good vs. evil in Transformers, from sculpt to color scheme to alt-mode, and none of them are here. He's primarily a neutral gray, with blue eyes, a knight's mask, and a few spots of purple trim. Kibble is kept to a minimum, every surface is smooth, and everything is symmetrical. There are no details that suggest a warrior. The alt-mode is a fantasy vehicle with no rough detailing to suggest that he came from anywhere other than an ideal world.
Look at the ship designs in ST:TNG -- and then try to make a Federation ship that evokes danger and menace. It can't be done. This guy is no more successful, despite a Decepticon symbol on his chest.
He captures no malevolence.
I cannot really recommend this toy because of that. Put an Autobot symbol on him, and make him gold and red, rather than gray and black, and he would be pretty good, but he's a failure of a Decepticon.
I feel a little cheated. I'm not sure I would have bought the toy had I known he was The Fallen. He doesn't have any of the elements that we have come to expect from The Fallen -- he isn't perpetually on fire, his color scheme is pretty light, and there's nothing particularly powerful or ancient suggested by his sculpt.
The design style of PrimeRID is not well suited for an embodiment of evil, as he looks just kind of futuristic and sleek in robot mode. If he had an Autobot symbol rather than a Decepticon one, you wouldn't bat an eye at him.
The color scheme is light gray with black extremities -- a very high contrast color scheme, and unlike anything we have seen on previous incarnations of The Fallen. There is a little bit of a batman color scheme here -- just missing the yellow and the bat symbol. I suppose a cape would help.
The head sculpt has cat ears, and either four blue eyes, or a knight's visor with blue detailing. I think it is supposed to be a knight's visor, but that doesn't seem like a very Decepticon detail for the head. Knights are generally depicted as heroic.
Like most PrimeRID toys, he has massive shins, and lots of smooth, featureless surfaces on his robot mode. PrimeRID is a little boring that way.
There are few hints of his vehicle mode in robot mode -- some details on the front of his shins suggest that there might be tank treads involved, maybe. There are some details on the sides of his forearms, which might be weapon related. It's a very, very clean robot mode, the type that makes you think the vehicle mode is going to suck.
He comes with a spear that he can either carry, or attach to his right arm on that little detail thing. Yes, the right arm. They didn't even go with the bad-guys-are-leftys trope. And he has blue eyes.
Transformation may well be unlike anything we have seen before. He does a split, and then pushes his calves back so they clip onto his hips. The calves then split and fold out to reveal longer molded treads. The waist spins, and now his is an H-tank centaur.
But wait, there's more!
The hands fold into the forearms, and the arms then get adjusted upwards into the shoulder pads. The chest folds down, allowing the arms to come together and form a squared-off futuristic cannon, with the spear becoming a bayonette. Rotate the head and push it back into a hole.
The result is either a tank or field artillery -- the emptiness of the body makes me think of artillery, but there really isn't any reason he couldn't be a tank if he doesn't need space for a crew of people. The robot's waist turns, allowing the cannon to rotate, but he cannot raise the cannon. And he has four tiny wheels in the treads.
Again, I get a really strong Autobot vibe from him. This is the second Decepticon I have in the Warrior class, and one of the few Decepticons I have in the entire line (Steeljaw, 1-Step Thunderhoof, Legion Steeljaw and Legion Megatronus), and there's a basic problem that the toys just don't have any evil anything. It's like the opposite of the Movieverse toys, where every single new mold looks evil, and no one looks like they could possibly be a hero.
We've gotten used to certain cues to signify good vs. evil in Transformers, from sculpt to color scheme to alt-mode, and none of them are here. He's primarily a neutral gray, with blue eyes, a knight's mask, and a few spots of purple trim. Kibble is kept to a minimum, every surface is smooth, and everything is symmetrical. There are no details that suggest a warrior. The alt-mode is a fantasy vehicle with no rough detailing to suggest that he came from anywhere other than an ideal world.
Look at the ship designs in ST:TNG -- and then try to make a Federation ship that evokes danger and menace. It can't be done. This guy is no more successful, despite a Decepticon symbol on his chest.
He captures no malevolence.
I cannot really recommend this toy because of that. Put an Autobot symbol on him, and make him gold and red, rather than gray and black, and he would be pretty good, but he's a failure of a Decepticon.
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Oct 10, 2015, 12:34:42 AM10/10/15
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The wiki page directs you to The Fallen when you type in Megatronus.
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