Transformers Prime Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron Part 3

For display: very good, articulation: not good
More images of "Transformers: Prime" Cyberverse Commander Class Megatron in robot mode after showing off its transformation design in the previous posting: ^^












Closeups on the details:






[Head]





[Body]








[Arms]






[Legs]
Much like his Cybertronian jet mode, the robot mode has a very close resemblance to Megatron's appearance in the cartoon series. Design features like the spiky shoulder armors, broad chest as well as its pattern, and sharp claws on its feet are all accurately realized on this figure. I'm particularly impressed with the delicate treatment given to Megatron's head. The accurately painted eyes are awesome enough to me, but the molded fangs that can be seen very clearly are tremendous. ^^ For such a small figure with very limited exposure of its face because of the helm design, the amount of details incorporated is quite staggering. ^^ All in all, I believe Megatron is the best out of the three Cyberverse figures in my collection right now in terms of robot mode for display. Articulation design and playability is a separate issue to be discussed later, and are not included in this "mini" evaluation. XD

Megatron's design which doesn't need to conform to any terrestrial standards mentioned in the previous posting is the main reason for its nice robot mode for display I think. It's much easier to strike a balance in terms of good look between robot and vehicle modes when there's no constraint that the vehicle mode must look like something we recognize on Earth. ^^ This is the same reasoning I have when I commented that the look of Optimus Prime's robot mode suffers a bit due to the "requirement" that he must transform into a recognizable semi-truck. ^^; For Megatron on the other hand, why is the jet's body a huge chunk of clear purple part and what are the gripper-like parts in front of the jet are questions that popped into my head after transforming it into his Cybertronian jet mode for the first time, but the "overrated" need for logical explanations for an alien spacecraft (XD) pretty much rendered the questions irrelevant. ^^ It's aerodynamic (to some degree ^^), and the overall look that is accurate to the representation of the character in the show. Those are design elements of an alien jet that seem "convincing" enough to me. ^^

While the robot mode's look is very good, Megatron's posability is a very different story. ^^;


Molded on the hinge joint that enables the body parts' transformation shown in the previous posting, there's no movement possible with the head. ^^;


The arm can be bent upward from the side of the body for a limited range, with the lowermost shoulder spike being the ultimate obstacle to further movement. ^^


90-degree elbow bend.


No problem in swinging the arm backward and forward.


The arms can be folded to the back, which is a benefit to articulation directly inherited from its transformation design.


The total lack of waist articulation is a weakness directly inherited from its transformation design. ^^;


Ball-type hip joints detected.


Pretty wide sideways expansion for the legs enabled by the hip joints, but it's still not as impressive as Optimus Prime's. ^^


Without any skirt armor or part that could hinder the thighs' movement, performing a full forward split is not an issue for the figure. ^^


Just 90 degrees for the knee bend, but ...


... the double hinge joint from the figure's transformation design is mighty resourceful in extending the knee's bending range.





With the flexibility provided by the knees' double hinge joint, you can easily  force  adjust a kneeling pose for Megatron. ^^
The lack of neck and waist joints are huge weaknesses that could severely limit the figure's posability. With a neck joint, you won't be able to pose Megatron looking to its sides, and without the waist joint, the body would look stiff in many poses. As both joints are absent on the figure, it's anticipatable that the "cumulative" limitation on Megatron's posability is going to be its major weakness. ^^; It's a weakness that is going to be so prevalent in the figure's action poses that not even the "special" knee joint design could do much to help out I think. ^^;

A look at the figure's weapon design and gimmicks:



The energy sword.


There are two pegs and a slot on the weapon to connect it to the figure.



The sword can be attached to either hand.



Apart from the dedicated port above the right hand, the cannon can mount the sword in different positions.


From its transformation design: the cannon can be rotated on the forearm, for whatever purpose imaginable. XD


These's a straight peg on the figure's back that can be used to mount the sword, and to add another slab of clear purple to the body block that is already in that color. ^^
The weapon options may not be as plentiful as that on Optimus Prime, they are still more than enough for the figure. ^^ This is especially true when it's established that posability is going to be an issue for Megatron. Having tons of ways to show off the weapon is not going to be useful when the figure don't have the capability to be posed flexibly. ^^;

A look at how well/poor Megatron is in performing action poses will be the focus of the next posting. ^^