Monday, May 12, 2014

Transformers Alternity Megatron Blade Silver Part 5

The benefit of having the die-cast material excluded

Moving on to the articulation design of Transformers Alternity Megatron Blade Silver after a visit to the Sunday Movie Theater yesterday. ^^





The head is on a ball-type joint, so horizontal bend, ...


... and backward and forward tilts can be performed by Megatron easily.


The "backpack" (the vehicle mode's hood and roof) can be tilted to the front for a slight degree, but the pressure from its joint will not allow it to stay in that bent position.


Limited upward bend for the shoulder.


The shoulder's collision with the fender when it's lifted will cause the chest to split. ^^;


A full 360-degree swivel is possible for the shoulder joint.


A flat 90-degree bend for the elbow.


An articulation point carried over from its transformation design: the forearm can swivel around the elbow joint.


Identical to the neck joint, the ball-type wrist joint allows the hand unit to move very freely. ^^


The ball-type joint can be see very clearly on top of each wrist.


Like Convoy Super Black Ver, Megatron has its own forearm weapon as well, but instead of a twin blaster, it's a wrist blade. ^^


Since the weapon cannot be longer than the front seat for aesthetic reason, the wrist blade turns out to be really short. ^^;


Very nice sculpted details for the blade, and the blank slot on the forearm which houses the blade.


Since the abdomen block is designed to be securely fixed on top of the waist, there's no waist movement for Megatron. ^^;


The front skirt armor can be hinged upward, an articulation point that is certainly going to be very useful when the legs are moved. ^^


Not only is there no details behind the skirt armor, it's devoid of the metallic silver paint that is present on the surface.



Hinge joint for the hips allow the legs to be expanded to their respective sides for almost 90 degrees. ^^


The tough ratchet joint that enables the articulation shown above.


90-degree forward bend is possible for the hips. If not for downward hanging roof panel, the hips can be bent to the back just as flexibly as to the front.


A separate joint is incorporated to allow the thigh to swivel around on the hip.


90-degree bend for the knee joint.


As part of its transformation design, the articulation of the double hinge beneath the knee joint is removed after the back fender panel is pegged to the side of the shin. When the panel is untabbed, the double hinge can function as an extra joint for the leg. ^^


Swivel ankle joint allows the foot to be bent from side to side.




The ball-type foot joint allows the foot to be angled very flexibly.
The joint is very tight, which is great for the stability of the feet in supporting Megatron's poses. ^^



The hip, thigh, knee, ankle and foot joints work very well together to give Megatron a very impressive kneeling pose for a Transformers figure. ^^



As compared to Convoy Super Black Ver, the much smaller shin works in Megatron's favor for the kneeling pose, as there's fewer parts that would get in the way to hinder that pose. ^^

Besides the feet, I don't think there's any articulation feature on Megatron that is very different from that on Convoy Super Black Ver. They are equally impressive in their hips and thighs, and are equally limited in their shoulders and waist. Again, due to how similar the two transforms, I don't think it's surprising that the two share so many similarities in their articulation features. However, I do feel that Megatron is a lot more stable when performing its action poses, and the lack of die-cast materials is a major factor contributing to that improvement. With practically the same type of ratchet hip joint, Megatron's spine that is made of ABS plastic is certainly a lot easier to support than the same die-cast component on Convoy Super Black Ver. With less weight from the upper body to sustain, the legs can be adjusted more flexibly as well. So, the lack of die-cast materials is actually beneficial to Megarron as an action figure. ^^

Some action poses for Alternity Megatron to try out its articulation design. ^^









With support using Soul Stage Act 5 Action Support Type for Mechanics Clear Ver.







More action poses, plus a side-by-side comparison with Convoy Super Black Ver in the next posting, which will be the last one for this Transformers figure. ^^

1 comment:

feizar said...

nice old gem you got there! :D