I like Siege Megatron, however he has a very Gimli thing going where he is short and stocky - And he's an H-Tank. But he is highly articulated like nearly all Siege War for Cybetron figures tend to be.
So, if I like him so much? Why did I replace my default Megatron on my main shelf with Henkei Megatron? The Classics Nerf Blaster mold?
I don't even like Megatron as a gun. I feel no nostalgia for that whatsoever and prefer Megatron as a tank. But for all his good points, Siege Megatron comes off as sort of boring. Its not just a matter of the deco. The whole affair is just kind of - There.
OK lets talk about the toy at hand, Classics/Henkei Megatron. Alright?
If only Megatron didn't have those obtrusive wings. Conversely I actually don't mind he has those wings. My only real complaint is, they needed one more level of articulation. I mean the box calls that shell out as "Wings", they should have owned it and made them part f the articulation scheme.
Wait!
Is Classics Megatron a shell former?
At first blush the answer seems to be a resounding YES. Further consideration however leaves us in a more nuanced place. The entire shell can be removed without hurting the conversion. However the shell bits clean up the final result providing a more complete "gun" mode.
If you rip the wings off. You don't get both a "gun" and a robot. You end up with a robot minus his wing-pack and a Nerf blaster lacking its chassis. Typically shellformers allow for both robot and alt-mode to exist besides one another as independent entities.
See Siege Starscream.
What about his crazy Nerf blaster alt-mode, anyhow?
Like I said. I am not big on Megatron as that The Man from U.N.C.L.E Gun. Fictionally it just does not work for me.
So why am I not bugged by this crazy space gun?
Crazy space gun is the simple answer. The more complex answer is, in my head canon, I think of this version of Megatron converting into a super-weapon cannon emplacement, and does not shrink down to be used as a gun by Starscream. Its easy to imagine that with this mold. The Takara version makes it very easy.
About that crazy deco.
I have both versions and find both appealing in their own manner.
Oddly. I am not bothered at all by the Hasbro deco. I could do without those orange bits. The neon-green however does not bug me. Not how it drives me insane on Beast Hunters: Optimus Prime. The green light-piping works for Megatron and the rest of the colors fit him just fine.
This 'bot has a presence. Its hard to appreciate unless you have him in hand. This feels to me more like Megatron in a way many figures do not, even though they might be more screen accurate in some ways. Maybe because its such a monster of a figure? It does not apologize for what it is and stands out in a good way.
There are a lot of great customs of this figure which help highlight its good points and refine its design. A removable wing-pack would have been great enhancement. However as I said the wings themselves don't actually bother me. I just wish the designers took it all the way and let the robot mode use them in a better fashion.
