Megatron [Cyberworld/Ultimate Cyber Changers]

Whenever I talk about toys aimed more at smaller children, I often make a comparison to older Transformers and other robot toys. Various Turbo Changers, Light Up and Armor gimmicks. That sort of thing. They mainly come out in droves around the movies, but you're bound to see some tied into whatever mainline is going. With today's engineering, it's easy to forget that older robot toys were much simpler. There's some fans who avoid older ones all together for that reason.

Me, I like the little step back in time they offer. I don't buy all of them, but I like to dip my toes in the old school DNA flavored water they present. It's just neat to buy a new 'old' toy. Well, I'm not crazy *in those regards anyway* as someone at Hasbro apparently sees it too. While I've been comparing the Transformers Cyberworld toys to older lines, they outright made a new G2 Megatron for the line. Not just a G2 colored Megatron, but one directly out of that time frame. Utilizing the Armor Turbo Changer Hound toy from Transformers The Last Knight and giving it a heavy retool... we've got a figure straight out of Euro G1.5 available at your local Walmart in the year 2025.

Megatron is billed as a Ultimate Cyber Changer and also has 'RIDE & BATTLE' emblazoned across his package. Like other larger Cyberworld toys, he offers interactivity with the standard Cyber Changers figures. In vehicle mode, one can ride on his back and man the vehicles guns. Admittedly it's a lot less than Grimlock or Scorponok *we'll get to him soon* offer. However, considering it's a modified mold of a toy released in 2017... not bad. In robot mode, Megatron is about 7" tall and very stocky. Movie Hound (who should have been Bulkhead) is a big boy and that carries over here even with the extensive remolding.

How extensive is that remolding? He's got a new head and abdomen in addition to the new gunner platform and blaster. Some of Hound's detailing is still there, but it blends in pretty well. Since this is a new G2 Megatron, all the bullets and weaponry make me think of the comics. I don't know whose idea it was to take the brightly colored robots and adorn them with spikes, bandoliers, and assorted weaponry... but it was awesome. Speaking of bright colors, Megatron has been painted to resemble his first G2 toy and they did a great job. Cyberworld toys are pretty bright already and it blends right on in. The new blaster even resembles the originals tank cannon. If only they'd included a G2 Decepticon logo. Or a Predacon one... *oooohhh*

Transformation to armed military truck mode is done in a simple 4 steps. Knees are one piece and were pretty stiff on mine. The little back panel disconnects from his back to fold into a gunner platform and connects onto the rear end. The blaster connects here and as I said earlier, a standard Cyber Changer can RIDE & BATTLE. Overall it's a pleasant vehicle mode and the G2 colors carry over nicely. It really does look and feel like a toy from that time. I do wish the windows were painted, some stickers would have went a long way. I also wish the robot mode had more articulation. Going in, I knew it would be limited, but a little more would have been nice.

Ultimately, this is a toy I bought for two reasons. One, the novelty of a new 'old' toy. Two, I'm trying to complete the Cyberworld toy line. Even though, though Megatron should have been a little cheaper, it's a fun little mostly inexpensive line and completing it should be pretty easy. I do hope there's future Ultimate Cyber Changers that recreate older style toys as it's pretty neat stepping back in time this way.

MEGATRON ATTACK!

Decepticon Mohawk (Studio Series/Core Class)

Mohawk was one of the very cool looking Decepticons from Transformers: The Last Knight whom sadly didn't get a whole lot of screen time. Thanks to Studio Series, he FINALLY gets a toy (it's been 7 years since the movie) in the Core Class scale. Mohawk is a wild looking dude with his mohawk, bugged out eyes and giant toothy mouth on a skeletal frame. Admittedly, the skeletal frame is pretty on brand for smaller movie Decepticons, but it really ads to the overall look here. In the movie he's also got things like cutlery and spray paint cans strapped to him. I don't outright see that here, but there's still various sharp points abundant and spots of green paint applied. Is that a vest? He's either a member of Alien Sex Fiend or a Bosozoku. Maybe both.

In true Michael Bay Transformers fashion, Mohawk turns into an very expensive motorcycle. Because nothing says disguise better than a vehicle you don't see often. Regardless, it's a cool looking bike that fits his design. Mohawk is fairly well articulated (his mouth moves y'all) and comes with a big knife. The knife is from his concept art and not used in the movie, but looks really cool. He can hold it or it can mount to his waist or on the motorcycle. Transformation is pretty easy and can be done quickly without a lot of cursing. I'm not sure if another toy could ride him like the Studio Series Junkions and don't really see how one would fit. Mohawk is a fun toy of a cool little menace. I was happy to see the little freak in my Easter Basket courtesy of the Mrs. The Transformers movies have some pretty creative designs sometimes and he's definitely one of them.

Cyberfire Cogman (turbo changer)

Cogman was introduced in The Last Knight and makes for a great looking Transformers toy. In vehicle mode Cogman is a silver sports car that's very sleek and fast looking. It makes me think of Nightbeat, even though they are different cars. I'm very pleased with this car. I made it drive all over my home while making 'vroom vroom' noises. As a Turbo Changer he transforms in just a few simple steps into a clockwork looking robot.

Cogman is a very solid and pleasant robot. If I had any complaints it's that his bronze colors blend into the light silver too easily. Despite that, he's an ideal simple robot toy. From his proportions to his silhouette, Cogman is a great Transformer. Honestly, he makes me think a lot of G2 Gobots or Spychangers. Aside from his transformation, he's very similar to those. He might be my favorite One Step/Turbo Changer figure to date.

Cyberfire Megatron (turbo changer)

As he appeared in The Last Knight, Megatron is a space jet of sorts. If that what that's called. I mean, it's not an outright jet is it? Or is it a normal jet that just looks awesome? Whatever it is, it's a sharp looking vehicle and in this toy is presented well. He's a Turbo Changer toy, which means transformation is done in just a few steps into his viscous robot mode.

 

Megatron almost looks like he should be another character here. That's a complaint mind you, I just feel like I'm looking at Straxus instead of Megatron when I look at this version. In robot mode Stra... Megatron is powerful looking and imposing. Almost like some statue of a warrior in a Thor movie or some viking themed monster. He only has shoulder articulation, but I don't notice it too much. It's a great design and works well as a Turbo Changer figure.

Cyberfire Scorn (turbo changer)

Scorn is a Spinosarus and a member of the Dinobots first introduced in Age of Extinction and featured in The Last Knight. It's a great design that didn't as much focus as I'd like, though that's a complaint I have with the Dinobots use in the movies. As a Turbo Changer he transforms in a few steps into his very knight like robot mode.

In robot mode, Scorn's tail forms his left arm which resembles a javelin. If you can't tell by the picture, he has shoulder articulation and the dinosaur head swivels to use as a hand. Honestly despite his simple transformation, I found myself getting frustrated trying to transform him. I don't know if it's just mine, but his parts kept locking up against each other. Scorn is a nice looking toy though, just could be a touch better thanks to his transformation.

Beserker (turbo changer)

My love for you is one step truck...

Beserker may look a lot like one of the Dreads from Dark of the Moon, but he's actually a Decepticon from The Last Knight. I say that as I was really looking forward to the Dreads returning and I ended up with a Decepticon who was literally just on screen for a second whom looked like a Dread. In vehicle mode, he's a neat police type truck. As a Turbo Changer toy, he transforms very quickly into a basic robot mode.

Once again, he's not one of the Dreads somehow, but a very menacing looking robot. He makes me think of Skullgrin in this form and I'm considering another trip to Five Below to pick up an extra to customize into one. There's not a whole lot to say about this toy other than what can be seen in the pictures unfortunately. Turbo Changers are by nature simple figures, and he's pretty simple alright. Still, not bad for what it is and I do like the truck quite a lot.

Transformers Ramen Resturant

I've made my love for ramen known here before, so when I randomly decided to enter Transformers and ramen into a search at the same time... I had no clue this would pop up (I was hoping for neat licensed instant lunch cups). This news completely passed me by last year when The Last Knight was in theaters (sadly, because this is the kind of thing I go crazy over). Apparently a ramen restaurant in Hong Kong called Ramen Iroha had a promotion for The Last Night featuring Transformers theming all over their restaurant. I found this video and this TFW2005 post showcasing the promotion and the sadness I'm feeling over missing out on this is absolutely ridiculous. Completely ludicrous. For starters, I live in Georgia. There isn't a Ramen Iroha here. We had that rad Sonic promotion (sadly, doesn't seem like anything for Bumblebee), but this puts those excellent slush cups to shame. I would love to get some of that neat stuff they were selling with the logos on it. Sure, I can grab a set of chopsticks easily, but I'd stockpile Transformers branded ones.

You think I'm joking?

I've found myself recently wondering what kind of cool set up could feature Transformers somewhere like Gatlinburg or Myrtle Beach. Somewhere that's a touristy place that would make sense. There's that neat Simpsons attraction at Myrtle Beach that makes me wonder if a Transformers themed similar thing would be a hit. Some sort of attraction like a museum or a 4D movie, a store, maybe a cool restaurant. Maybe have some of the SEGA arcade games set up. I'm sure it's be great.

Good lord I'm practically in tears just looking at the menu. Forget MP44, THIS IS SPECIFICALLY MY JAM.

MY SPECIFIC JAM.

Well, look at that...

Turns out all those talks of the TF movie franchise being done for were misspoken as news has came out that more Transformers movies are in development. It's not too far from some of the opinions I've shared here before, but I'm not patting my own back, just feeling a little vindicated in how I've read things. The dip in profits from TLK wasn't a flop as folks who'd like you to think it was (still trying to figure out how almost tripling it's budget in ticket sales works out to a flop...but that's just me... living in the real world), just a sign that it's time to freshen things up a little. The Bumblebee movie looks to be exactly that breath of fresh air everyone needed and even though the movie could still be a dumpster fire and die on arrival at box offices, the reception is vastly different so far. I mean, it's a year and a half after the last movie in release, a smaller gap than ever before. Folks are outright positive over it thanks to a short trailer here, small glimpses there, and pictures of toys everywhere.

Let's think about this, the toys that have been previewed thus far are children's toys intended for children and adult fans aren't pooping all over them (a few are, but some people always will). In fact I've seen mostly positivity towards this, which is so damned refreshing. I mean... man it's nice to see positivity towards a TF movie after a decade of negativity (unless they get something free, then those dudes will straight up hop fifty feet over and ahead of of you to capitalize).

I really hope this positivity continues to go forward and the movies deliver something close to expectations. It's nice to enjoy something without having to ignore the obnoxious negative crap.

The Last Knight Hot Rod

When the first sneak peaks of Hot Rod in TF5 hit the internet around summer 2016, I was excited. Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime is one of my favorite Transformers characters and even though his design wasn't traditional, I thought he looked pretty cool. So when the TF5 movie toys began coming out, Hot Rod was exclusive to Walmart (like Stinger before). Though for whatever reason, waves past the initial push didn't come to stores in the standard time frame or not even at all. Hot Rod was available online, but not on shelves (except for a 3 step toy). Fortunately in the recent months he did appear at Ross stores and his deluxe figure has been making appearances at the stores in the recent weeks. So, you can get a Hot Rod and an ugly pair of Nike at the same place!

Hot Rod is based on the Age of Extinction Lockdown deluxe mold with a new parts and color deco. This works really well and makes for a better Hot Rod than Lockdown oddly enough. It's a good toy mold with ample articulation and good use of color and sculpting. It wouldn't be mistaken for the more premium Studio Series figures, but does look really nice.

If I had any complaints in this mold, it's that the joints on mine were a little too tight and I was worried I'd wrench a part off. The only loose part was one of his weird shoulder pad thingies that came off way to easily. Fortunately it went right back into place, but not without getting cursed out for it's annoyance. I wish Hot Rod had an accessory. Maybe his time freezing gun from the movie, or a cool movie style Targetmaster. That'd be really neat actually. I know, I know, I can buy a gun on shapeways or something. But I bought the figure for 9$, spending 20$ plus shipping for a gun isn't exactly something I'd like to do. That'd be like paying 5$ for french fries to go with a 2$ burger.

Speaking of expensive choices, Hot Rod's car mode is a Lamborghini Centenario. Which is a very fancy car that costs more than I can fathom. Seriously, I've never spent more than 25k on a car. I'm very simple. Seriously, what's making that car so fancy? Does it have cup holders that fit those really big drinks or something? Regardless of the pricey car, it's really cool looking. This is a car I could see a traditional Hot Rod turning into and a little eagle eyeing the car's details could show how a clever paint job could make him look even more G1.

Transforming him, however, wasn't something I enjoyed. I don't hate it or anything, but I don't want to do it often. It's not overly hard, just fiddly enough to get everything to snap into place to be frustrating. One you do, it's in place though. Just like going back to robot mode, just frustrating to get everything into place. Though considering the smooth looking car mode and solid robot, if that's the only complaint, then there's nothing major to complain about.

Like if his name was Rodimus Major.

Demon General Abominus

I got the rest of the Terrorcons this past weekend at my local Walmart (because wave 3 is going to be impossible to find *snicker*) and am really looking forward to assembling my Abominus on July 4th. I got Rippersnapper with my birthday presents in March and Hun-Gurrr some time back, now all I need is the spare time of a holiday to enjoy them all. I was pointing out to my wife that Abominus is my favorite combiner and realized, I sure do have a lot of him. The original (including countless individual Hun-Gurrrs), a great color reversed ko, two different variations of the Beast Hunters version (I think I got extra Hun-Gurrrs there too), the Kre-O version, Infernocus, (who's basically the movie version, and is made of the Beast Hunters Abominus) and now the POTP version. Honestly, I could use a couple more. I find myself often wishing there was an Action Master or a SFC version.

What's not to love about that abominable fella?

Beast Morph!

munkey truck

My growing excitement for Beast Morphers is probably ridiculous. But it goes along with something of a theory I've been forming. Maybe more of an idea. A belief. A thought, perhaps. I've noticed with Cyberverse's smaller line, no previews of War for Cybertron, movies simmering down after Bumblebee, Hasbro's scaling back a little on Transformers. I figured this would happen eventually, sure a weirdo like me can't get enough, but the rest of the world was bound to cool on them eventually.

The Last Knight made a respectable amount of money, but not as much as expected. The signs are there and it's good that it isn't devastating and fortunately Transformers isn't going away, but obviously is slowing down a touch. Time will tell exactly how much, but the signs are there. With Hasbro acquiring the Power Rangers toy license and possibly the brand as a whole, I wonder if there's thought at a corporate level to branch out more. Get a little more experimental. Do something different. Different is good.

It's no secret that the news of Hasbro getting Power Rangers was a collective explosion of happiness online. I know the grass behind me is still on fire.

I think that was amazing

Somewhere in time this commercial for www.jd.com (a Chinese retail juggernaut) happened and boy did it happen. Basically, Bumblebee is getting his honeycomb kicked by a generic Decepticon and oh man he's down for the count. Fortunately, somebody ordered what appears to be the Marvel G2 version of the Matrix from jd.com (the shipment apparently comes from the same factory that makes Robots In Disguise toys) and Optimus helps the delivery. In the meantime the delivery truck is also a Transformer and the jd.com mascot shows up to help bring Bumblebee the magic of the apparent matrix and he's got his second wind.

It's a really neat commercial and decently animated with what's obviously not the movie CGI models, but clearly based on them. Perhaps a lower res version that's cheaper to animate for things like this. It gets props for using the AOE Bumblebee look, which I've always really like. Though, I'm not sure of the age, so it could have been from AOE marketing.

Legions OMG

My pal Shawn saw that I still needed that Megatron/Beserker Autobots Unite Legion set and set me a care package with some extra bots!

Making it fit in the Universe-al

I really love this ride.

I'm ridiculous. You reading this blog already realize this. But, I admit it, I'm ridiculous. Friday afternoon, while out doing some holiday shopping, I was at Ross buying some of the Autobots Unite Legion sets that have been showing up (just need that Megatron/Berserker set now). While in line, I was looking at the toys. They're obviously from the movie universe, but you know what I did? I started talking to my wife about the new Supply Vault Exclusive Snarl toy. He's not in the ride, but he has a ride exclusive toy. Then I looked down at the figures in my hand. Sure, Optimus and Bumblebee are in the ride. But Hot Rod and Ravenspar isn't. The set I haven't found yet, Megatron is in the ride (in an older body, but he's there). Beserker isn't. I'm sure versions of them are for sale in the ride store.

But, really, why would they be? They're from movies that came out after the ride was made. But wait, the ride was first released shortly after Dark of the Moon came out. Yet it heavily features bots from Revenge of the Fallen who (spoilers for an almost 10 year old movie) died in that movie years before the ride came out.

Does it really matter? Well, it is an official Transformers product and it's story line doesn't fit well with the series that it's connected to (yes I know it's just a ride). Sure there's also Generations and Robots in Disguise toys sold in the store, but that's obvious. That's other uses of the Transformers that well stated. Just like the Spider-Man store, they have other Spider-Man stuff. The thing is, you just walked off a very specific version of Transformers and there is branded that version Transformers immediate for sale. There's even figurine sets exclusive to Universal Studios featuring characters not in the ride. I have the set that's themed from Age of Extinction with Stinger, he's not in the ride. Hell, he doen't exist until a post NEST world that the ride is based in. There's a new figure set with bots from The Last Knight. Same post NEST world. Same Universal Studios exclusive set.

Ultimately, I'm thinking too much, but also I'd going to once again state that I'm ridiculous. I'll even risk the embarrassment to admit that thanks to the ride, I have a new found love for the movies. They went from being a summer spectacle based on my favorite toy line that I had a lot of fun with, to being part of my overall love for that ride. When the movies first started, IDW ran comics based in the movie universe that were a little removed. Giving the characters a little time to shine and honestly made some really good Transformers stories. Like the ride, they exist in a splinter timeline. According to the TFwiki, All movie related stories fall into the Tyran Universal cluster. The ride itself falls into the Tyran 1211.03 Theta (who comes up with these names?) stream.

In short, the ride falls into a splinter reality of it's own in the movie's overall setting in Transformers.So really, Hot Rod could just show up without any real rhyme or reason. Maybe he'd be riding Snarl like a cowboy while Ravenspar scanned the scene and reported what's going on during some in line videos. Really, any random Transformers movie character is game. Perhaps Megatron sent Beserker in that mission to grab the Allspark fragment. Maybe, Stinger is just another Decepticon in the fight and Sqweeks is one of Wheelie's buddies. Or even part of a Minion crossover.

Hey, in that meet and greet outside of the Supply Vault... Megatron sure is there. There's even that new nighttime parade in Japan featuring the Transformers. What I'm saying is Universal Studios is it's own Transformers continuity where everything is possible and super fun. I'm a little excited that by the next time I get to ride the ride, the Bumblebee movie will be out. That means 2 movies will have happened since my last visit. I'm excited to see what impact they'll have on the Supply Vault as well as my overall mental version of things.

I said right off the bat that I'm ridiculous.

TLK DVD

I plan on picking up the DVD soon, but man these Japanese ads make it look so much more important than just a DVD. 

So... uh

Not going to lie, this one genuinely confounded me. I guess if you buy a certain edition of The Last Knight on blue ray, it comes with a swiss army knife. So, if you're into camping and stuff, you can watch TF5 and eat a can of beans with your new TF5 swiss army knife.

I kinda want one.

TLK DVD VIP JK

Look, it's just an advertisement for TF5's video release and available toys, but the presentation makes it seem more like some premier event.

Dig that Megatron

The legion collector in me really wants that red Megatron.

Things I would have really liked volume 1 million

This could have happened.

So, concept art for unused Optimus Primal in TF5 has seeped out recently and now I'm longing for what could have been. Man, I want Beast Wars back so very much.

Dinobots The Ride 3D

I've been so excited about Power of the Primes, I haven't taken time to talk about this bit of exciting news. The Supply Vault is apparently getting a new exclusive. A new Snarl toy, using the excellent TF4 mold, with an exclusive deco is starting to pop up at Universal Studios! Hopefully I can order him off the web store as not all of their exclusive merchandise is available online. I'm not sure when I'll be able to go back to that wonderful park, but hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of this guy.

A few weeks ago the news of a new figure set exclusive to the park was showing up, I talked about it on Instagram, but figured I'd say something here too. I want it. It would go great with my other set.

I love Transformers The Ride 3D, The Supply Vault, and Universal Studios.