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Megatronl-Beast Wars Transmetals II, Hasbro Meat and Potatoes; 4.8  Perks; 5.0  Homer Factor; 5.0
Description; Predacon with 3 transformations Approximately 8"tall in beast mode, although if you go from feet to tip of his nose it's over 12".  Beast mode is a large, albeit thin, dragon.  Very long neck, large wings, some rather thin arms, and short but powerful legs with nasty claws at the end.  Land cruiser mode is very similar;  take the dragon form, flow the legs up a tad, so it appears that the dragon is sitting, rest the arms on the folded legs, open a panel here and there to expose some wheels. Robot mode retains the same powerful legs, except now through some complicated contortions the dragons head changes into a massive left arm for Megatron, and a portion of his torso becomes the right arm.  The wings are still usable.
The one problem with villains is they have to be up to the task of taking on the good guy.  Batman/Joker, Holmes/Moriarty, Prime/Megatron.  When it comes to toys, things get a little complicated because physical similarities in terms of size can be key.  The pieces made for Prime and Megatron, over all, tend to do both characters justice.  Toys for both are stand-out pieces that emphasize the best forms/transformations, and also tend to be pretty dang big.  Basically it's a match made for a wrestling pay-per-view.  However, the latest Ultra version of Megatron from Transmetals II is a little short.... literally. The meat and  potatoes of this piece are over all excellent.  The sculpting is superb on this figure, capturing the scales, wings, and fury of a giant cyborg dragon.  Both the 'bot and dragon forms have a fierce visage, and the metallic-red paint-job is perfect.  Like all Beast Wars pieces, the articulation is also outstanding in both forms, giving great play-value to the figure.  One big problem... well, actually, the problem is that it's NOT big.  Optimal Optimus is almost a foot tall and very broad in 'bot and beast mode.  Megatron in 'bot mode is quiet a few inches shorter and is rather scrawny in all forms.  Granted, Mike Tyson has shown that lethality can come in small packages, but come on...  The perks are still very good.  The transformation from 'bot to dragon is very dramatic and very complicated.  It's a nice touch to have one of the arms of the 'bot mode be the dragon's head.  Another nice feature is the wings don't just flap, there's also a little notch in the mechanism so you can leave the wings locked open.  One small gripe; Hasbro added a 'transport' mode to the piece.  While in dragon mode, the legs fold up, some wheels pop out, the dragon bends forward a bit so it can roll along on the wheels.  Think a red dragon rolling along in a wheel-chair.  ... yeah, I thought this was lame too. The Homer Factor of this piece is still very  high.  Megatron traditionally has a very powerfull, butt-kicking form, so a dragon is perfect.  And considering the work Hasbro has put in the other Beast Wars, you had to be drooling over the thought of this one. Over all, it's still a very good piece.  It has a great sculpt and the main transformations are awesome.  If only you could get him bigger.....