Megatron (G1)/toys

Many toys have been made of Generation 1 Megatron. So many, they have to get their own page!

Generation 1

 * Megatron (Decepticon Leader, 1984, 2001, 2002)
 * Japanese ID number: 16




 * Megatron was released in 1984 as part of the first year of the Transformers line in the United States. It transformed into a Walther P-38 pistol, as seen in the popular 1960s spy television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., with attachments. It was originally released in Takara's Microman toyline as "MC13 Gun Robo - P38 U.N.C.L.E." The Japanese release didn't come with the attachments. While the American release was chrome and red, the Japanese release was flat grey and blue (one of the Microman decos for the standard P-38).


 * In 1986, Megatron was made available as a mail-away item (since he was theoretically no longer shipping to retail shelves) in the Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction flier packed in with boxed Transformers toys. He cost $21.50 and five robot points.


 * The flat grey and blue deco Megatron was also used in the Japanese VS-X giftset with Optimus Prime.


 * It was again released in grey and blue with Starscream in the Good-Bye Megatron set. This time, it came with his fusion cannon.


 * In 2001, Megatron was reissued in Japan, and came with all of the American and Japanese accessories. A black redeco (the other standard P-38 Microman deco) was released the same year as a BotCon Japan exclusive.


 * Megatron was again reissued in 2002 in Takara's Transformer Collection series. This release was identical to the previous reissue, but came with the mace used in the episode "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2", a sheet of Decepticon stickers, and a Decepticon mouse pad.


 * Galvatron (Decepticon City Commander, 1986)
 * See Galvatron


 * Megatron (Action Master) (1990)


 * Megatron returned as an Action Master in 1990, and as with most Action Master figures, he could not transform. His sculpt was based heavily upon the Megatron's animation model design. He came packaged with the Neutro-Fusion Tank, a large tank vehicle whose hull could transform into a base/gun emplacement, with the turret forming a flight pod.

Generation 2

 * Megatron (1992)


 * Owing to the inability of Hasbro to re-release the original Megatron because that toy was a pistol, Generation 2 Megatron was released in 1992 as a large green M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. His main gimmick was a 'lock and load' cannon that can load most of his projectile ammunition, and then fire them one at a time. This was accompanied by electronic sounds (including engine, laser and cannon sound effects) and a voice chip.


 * In robot mode, Megatron is by the standards of the time, a very large robot, towering over all Generation 2 incarnations of Optimus Prime. He legs were immobile, but he had upper shoulder rotation and elbow joints. His left arm, when raised, activates a laser sound. Pressing down on his head activates his battlecry "Megatron Attack!". His main cannon still functions in this mode.


 * Hero Megatron (1995)
 * Japanese ID number: TRF-2




 * Megatron was released again the following year as "Hero" Megatron: a smaller, but similarly styled tank based off the M1 Abrams. This Megatron was purple and came with a bellows that fired an air-propelled missile.


 * Hero Megatron was designed with articulation in mind, so he was loaded with multiple swivel and universal joints, giving him far greater movement compared to his original Generation 2 toy.


 * This toy was released in Europe, albeit with "MEGATRON RULES"-free blank chest sticker, as Archforce. It was also redecoed into Robots in Disguise Bludgeon.


 * Megatron (Go-Bot, 1995)


 * Megatron was released in a third form, "Go-Bot" Megatron. This was a minor repaint of the previously released Blowout mold, substituting silver for transparent gray plastic.


 * In Japan, his hood was tampographed with a stylized T, with the Transformers logo set within.


 * Unreleased
 * In addition to these, Megatron had a few unreleased toys in the G2 line. The first was the Megatron ATB (with Starscream), a recolor of the Dreadwing mold. The Beast Wars II BB and Starscream used the same deco, but had diffrent stickers. A second toy was a recolor of the Hero mold in a grey deco with black camoflauge stripes. The third toy was the flip changer used in 1997 as Machine Wars Megatron and Megaplex (MW).

Machine Wars

 * Megatron (1997)


 * This toy was redecoed from an unreleased Generation 2 flipchanger Megatron.
 * Oddly, The Machine Wars stock photos (and even the boxart) have Megatron as the gray jet and Megaplex as the blue one, the opposite of the actual toys. Which means that either the package designers got everything wrong, or the toys were put on the wrong cards. The latter is more likely since gray is more associated with Megatron than blue is. Like most other toys in the line, the boxart was recycled from an earlier figure, in this case from the Predator Falcon.

Smallest Transforming Transformers

 * Megatron (2004)
 * Japanese ID number: GTF 07




 * Smallest Transforming Transformers Megatron was released in 2004, coming with only his fusion cannon. Its other attachments were planed to be released, but were scrapped as the line was eventually cancelled. He is a simplified version of his original toy, yet retains most of his articulation.


 * A VS-X homage set was also released the same year, packed with a Smallest Transforming Transformers Optimus Prime figure.

Robot Masters

 * Reverse Convoy (Rebirth Megatron) (Deluxe, 2004)
 * Japanese ID number: RM-24
 * A retool of the Generation 2 Hero Megatron, Reverse Convoy features an all-new cannon, a new Convoy head (where Megatron's head used to be), and a new Megatron head that flips out from behind the cannon. The cannon fires a missile when the barrel is pulled back. The back of the cannon also detaches and can form a hand-held weapon.

Titanium

 * Megatron (6" Cybertron Heroes, 2006)


 * The Titanium Megatron toy was inspired by Dreamwave's first G.I. Joe crossover set in World War II. Since that Megatron's gun form was nonviable as a toy, a "tweaked-out" German Maus tank alternate mode was designed. The backstory of the Megatron from the crossover, including references to Cobra, was retained on the package, make it the first US figure ever produced as part of a G.I. Joe / TransFormers crossover.


 * War Within Megatron (6" Cybertron Heroes, 2007)


 * A new Megatron Titanium based on his War Within design was shown at Botcon 2006, and was released in spring of 2007. Like the original comic book design, his robot mode will have a removeable arm cannon and shield, but unlike the original comic book design, his robot mode will transform into his robot mode at a different angle.

Classics

 * Megatron (Voyager, 2006)


 * This Megatron is a "fusion blaster" based loosely on the original Megatron toy and inspired by the Nerf N-Strike Maverick blaster. Its scope/arm cannon houses a working crosshairs and its trigger includes clicking action.  In order to pass modern safety regulations (both the government's and Hasbro's), its blaster mode includes lots of purple and green, plus bright orange on both the tip of the "barrel" and the scope.


 * Although some official Hasbro photographs, including those appearing on the toy's packaging, show the gun mode's trigger and other small parts as being orange, those parts were gray in later stock photography and the final release.


 * In these above mentioned early promotional photographs, Megatron also had noticeably different "eyebrow" paint applications that matched those of the original Megatron toy. These were two small black triangles on a gray plastic forehead.  The final release has the placement of the black reversed, with two small gray triangles and a black forehead, sometimes referred to as Megatron's "unibrow" by fans.


 * Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle (Deluxe versus set, 2006)


 * The Megatron included in this two-pack is a tank inspired by the first Megatron toy from Generation 2. Instead of a right hand, its arm ends in a blade with "spinning dervish action." He comes packaged with Optimus Prime and a "The Ultimate Battle" DVD.


 * Many (all?) units of this figure come with Megatron's splayed feet assembled backwards, a fact which is not immediately apparent as the "heel" half of his feet are actually larger than the "toe" half (this is the opposite of most splay-footed transformers), and the situation is not helped by the promotional (exhibit A to your right) and box-art photography displaying an identically misassembled figure. However, examination of the instructions and any attempt to transform Megatron into tank mode immediately demonstrate the mistake, which is easily corrected by unscrewing the halves of his lower legs and reversing the foot pieces.

Masterpiece

 * Megatron (2007)
 * Japanese ID number: MP-5


 * Scaled to the same height as 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime/Masterpiece Convoy, Masterpiece Megatron is designed to make a figure closely resembling Megatron's fairly non-toy-accurate original animation model actually able to transform into a realistic (if oversized) Walther P-38 altmode. Something which, on paper, should be impossible. This results in an incredibly complex transformation, likely making it one of the most elaborate Transformers toys to date.




 * Similar to Masterpiece Starscream, Megatron contains virtually zero die-cast, the only metal components being his feet and some structural rods (and not even as many as you'd expect). Combined with the fact that most of his parts are very thin in order to accommodate the intricacy of the transformation, this results in a comparatively light toy for its size.


 * Megatron has the least articulation of the Masterpiece line, lacking the ability to pivot out at the shoulder by more than a small angle, and his head also cannot look upwards. The figure is completely incapable of rotating its arms sideways at the elbowes. Also, due to the fact that the fusion cannon is very large (being scaled for a realistic gun mode sight), it butts into the gun mode barrel behind his right shoulder whenever his arm is raised at any angle other than sraight ahead.


 * Accessories include Megatron's purple energy flail from More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2, the lightsaber (referred to by Takara as an "energy dagger" for obvious legal reasons) used in his duel against Prime in Transformers: The Movie, as well as the discarded laser pistol with which he subsequently kills him. Also included is a tiny translucent Kremzeek figure. His fusion cannon also contains a powerful red LED which casts a short-range spotlight when a button is pressed.




 * Due to updated realistic toy gun laws, a debate arose surrounding the Masterpiece Megatron toy. Many fans thought the toy would prove difficult to import into the United States. These fears lead to some online importers to modified the toys to comply with customs laws. Although initially believed that this would involve permanently painting both the sight and gunbarrel tips blaze orange or gluing on a large plug, final versions have been comparatively discreet. Manufactured by the individual importers, some retailers have elected to attach a rounded red plug into the barrel with "adhesive" (permanent?), while others have used a flat-tipped yellow plug that was apparently only temporarily secured with double-sided tape. Still other retailers chose not to modify the toys at all.


 * Additionally, Australians have also had to deal with strict gun and gun replica laws. While some collectors have managed to recieve their Megatrons without incident, Australian Customs and the Federal Police have seized mass shipments and individual packages of the toy sent by certain online retailers, as they now classify Masterpiece Megatron as a gun replica.

Revoltech
A non-transforming but highly articulate Megatron action figure(ine), Revoltech Megatron uses the Revoltech "revolver joints" (appropriate, if you think about it...) for maximum poseability. Megs comes with a non-removable fusion cannon and a few alternate hands, as well as an alternate head with its mouth open in either a smirk, growl or sneer, depending on how you read it. His sculpting is explicitly in the style of Pat "serfdom" Lee's interpretation of Megatron.
 * Series No. 025 Megatron (2007)

This figure uses specialised grey revolver joints in order to better blend with the surrounding sculpted parts.