Transformers: Legacy Evolution Armada Universe Megatron is Something That Exists

The 2002/2003 Transformers Armada Megatron toy

 

Armada Megatron is, of course, the version of Megatron from Transformers: Armada, part one of the Unicron Trilogy. AKA Armada Megs. It even calls him that on the shipping boxes, and while that’s a perfectly fine as shorthand, maybe its selling him short. While voiced by a returning David Kaye, he wasn’t really a criminal mastermind with theatrical tendencies. No, this Megatron was more of the classical despot. While his relationship with his Starscream is the stuff of Limpkin Park vocals, and the writing wasn’t good, Armada Megs does have nuance if you go looking. He is, to the best of my knowledge, the only Megatron to gain a willing turncoat from the Autobots, and in what could only be described as a heroic manner, rescuing someone from a fire. This Megs was a harsh authoritarian in addition to being a well-spoken despot, but tending towards competency, with an unexpected streak of self-sacrifice. This version of Megs has received an update before, as a head-swapped recolour of Combiner Wars Megatron, but as part of Legacy’s Armada binge, we see him here today as a totally new mould. It is also the purest example of Legacy and its design approach I’ve handled so far. Peak Legacy, if you will. Read on to find out why.

Now, I like the tank mode. I like it a lot. It's got that platonic scifi H-tank thing going on. It's not going for military realism, not with the head upfront, but there is a nicely detailed sculpt and effective use of colour. It rolls, the turret turns but I'll come back to that shortly, and the plentiful 5mm ports are an acceptable substitute for mini-con functionality. The thing is though, the main thing the sculpt does is evoke play features that aren't there. And let's not kid around here, the Armada original had a lot going on. Granted, a lot of it was just places to stick on mini-cons that just sat there, but we also had firing missiles, flip-out panels and electronics. Probably more than any of the other Armada remakes we've had, this mode feels like it lost something in the process, because the original tank mode was extra. This new tank is fine to look at, and does the basics, but lacks that flair. That’s peak Legacy, that is. What does take the shine off though are two odd design choices. First off, only half of mechanism on the front-right is painted, which is supposedly due to the plastics used. At that point, it would have been better to leave it blank. The second, and this is if anything even more baffling, the turret can't do a 360 spin, seemingly for the benefit of the robot mode. So, overall its fine, but its not setting the world alight, and there’s a few things that seem odd choices. Oh yeah, and the head antlers are a rubbery plastic and not especially well-tabbed.

Engineering and transformation has a similar fine if maybe odd around the edges feel. The broad strokes are of course similar to the original toy, with additional steps and sub-assemblies that help with the proportions of its modes. This does however make things a bit unusual with respects to the shoulders. The arms don’t connect to the torso directly, instead connecting to the shoulder pylons. Functionally nothing major is lost, but its a little weird, and probably needed a locking tab somewhere. Meanwhile, the “face slider” from the original toy is replicated in visual appearance, but not in function. So, instead of pushing up a panel to conceal the face in tank mode, you open the entire chest and flip out a panel. That’s peak Legacy, that is.

 

Those criticisms having been made in the paragraphs above, the robot mode is quite lovely and has some welcome improvements. The original toy was infamous for having no knees. The Combiner Wars version did have have knees, but not great ones, or indeed especially great articulation in general. This new toy has fine knees. And ankle tilts. In fact, the posability is largely ideal for something this blocky and tall, to do better you'd need to substantially increase the parts count. So, with that decades-old fandom desire having been finally met, what else does the robot mode offer? Well, it's kinda gorgeous, you know? The head is extremely on point, with the general appearance of things only marred by the hollow forearms. Something that this toy does very well is a subtle asymmetry in its sculpt. The forearms, chestplate, hands, lower legs, and back of the thighs, the list goes on. If you look at him straight on, you don’t immediately notice. The head and shoulder pylons are symmetrical and mirrored, with the abs, upper thighs and feet continuing that trend. But then you give it a harder look, and realise every area that could have its own unique greebling does. We don’t really get designs like this very often, and even within Armada it wasn’t common among the bigger toys. A vast majority of Transformers toys are symmetrical where-ever possible, especially as CAD exists, and its beneficial for engineering. They could so easily smoothed out the details, made everything symmetrical, and I don’t think anyone would have minded. It would probably have aided the future retooling options they were, no doubt, considering. But no, they committed to the look. That’s peak Legacy, that is.

So, what play feature’s does the robot mode have? Is it just a pretty face? If that term that can be applied to a brick shithouse like this? Well, it does have some. Less than the original toy, but still more than the Legacy average. He doesn’t have any accessories as such, but he does have three party tricks, which by the standards of Evo Fusion are fricking legendary. The first thing, and a completely new thing, is that you can pop the end off the tank barrel to give him a gun arm which is nice, if unexpected. If you leave it on, you can easily swing it under either arm to fire. Yes, that’s a touch basic, but if Twincast gets to count weapon storage in boombox mode, I get to count something actually useful. And finally, he can do this. 

 

That’s peak Legacy, that is.

My point? Only that Armada Universe Megatron is something that exists. And that he’s peak Legacy. This is not same as saying he’s the best thing in Legacy, although he is good, rather that he’s great example of Legacy tends to modernise stuff. Armada Megs evokes the original toy in terms of transformation, but not the play pattern, while inheriting cartoon elements. I have nitpicked a lot, but that’s because I care, and I acknowledge that this toy may well be outside of your nostalgia window, and that won’t do the tank mode any favours. But, all that having been said, this is a most satisfactory update.