Baring a few rare exceptions, there are two specific characters you can confidently bank on being a part of any new line of Transformers. Optimus Prime, and Megatron, and though Prime's been trucking along (pun intended) since the beginning with major redesigns rarely happening further then being "some form of red and blue truck" (The only ones that come to mind right away being the Bat from Beast Wars, back when BW Optimus and Megatron were going to be continuations of the G1 characters), and Robots in Disguise 2001, where he was a red fire truck. Megatron on the other hand, due to a lot of people looking down on companies making toy guns look like real guns, has struggled to keep a consistent identity, with alt modes including space jets, a helicopter, a neon Batmobile that can fly, a giant hand, but a more consistent one has been some form of Tank, something that feels like it's been solidified in recent years, thanks to Combiner Wars and Titans Return, along with media like the High Moon Studios games, and the live action movies with Revenge of the Fallen. Siege looks to be continuing the trend, as Megs dons the space tank look once again. Sadly I'm still waiting for that Battlemaster, but how good of a toy is this new space tank?
I will say off the bat though, one thing the Cons have going for them (except for Skytread, but I'm more forgiving of that one in the grand scheme of things), is that they keep to the whole "Space themed alt mode" motif a lot better then many of the Autobots do. Though this does lean a bit to being an earth tank, there's still enough of a sci-fi feel to it that it feels refreshing, at least compared to the tanks of Combiner Wars and Titans Return. This still looks like it would be out of place in an earth setting, compared to some like Sideswipe, Prowl, Red Alert, Mirage, and arguably Optimus himself (the Voyager at least), that feels like the G1 designs, but someone remembered at the last moment "Oh yeah, I'm meant to be making space cars aren't I?". It would have been nice if Megs had a hover tank mode, but the tank scope looks really cool, thanks to the paint details. The battle damage also works well here in tank mode, but one problem many will have is the lack of paint on the rest of him. This is a mostly grey figure, so for those wanting something with silver, you're not going to find it here. At least the turret moves, considering as the turret is once again made of the arms, and the last time that happened, we got the Combiner Wars guy and his awful shoulders. What's also really impressive is the weapon integration here, as half of the main gun can be taken off and turned into a sword, or an "HPR Telescopic Laserstrike Launcher", which in robot mode can combine with the "D50-R35 Fusion Cannon" to form an "NFM Particle Beam Megalauncher". Once again, someone on the writing team was really bored one day when coming up with these weapon names, but I wish they came up with something for the sword configuration for the Laserstrike Launcher. Something like calling it an " HPR Plasma infused Broadsword" or something.
To Robot mode, and though I'm starting to get a little sick of the designs, Megatron is one of the best examples of the overall aesthetic of Siege. G1 Robot modes, with a futuristic Alt mode (at least for those that didn't already have one). This is G1 Megatron, but with some tank treads on his back, which I personally don't mind as it still gives him an intimidating look. As much as I would rather see more original takes every now and then, I'll admit that there is still a commanding presence to the original look that still has an appeal to it. It might be because I got Soundwave, Shockwave and Starscream before Megs (the joys of distribution here in Australia), I can't help but wish there was some light piping in his big Buckethead, just to add to the intimidation factor. One can argue that it's not needed, painted eyes are better, but the eyes are so recessed in, and the red so dark that it's hard to see them under normal light. The battle damage doesn't look as good here, it comes off more like dried mud stuck on his body rather than real battle damage, at least when on the grey parts of him. What I like the most about Megs compared to his wave mate is that nothing feels like kibble, stuff they couldn't use from the tank mode. You could argue that the tank treads on his back are, but a backpack to me only becomes a problem if it feels like a clump of parts just on the back, a good example of that (but best saved for another time) is the Siege Seeker mould, along with Voyager Optimus.
What I like the most about this Megs is that it feels like a version 2 of the Combiner Wars one, which in itself felt like a modernization of the transformation style I enjoyed as a kid, where the robots were just made out of their alt modes, not hiding under them via panels. The bulk works in his favour, and though many may prefer Optimus, it's hard to think of Megs as a bad toy, quite the contrary in fact because this is what I wanted the Combiner Wars Megatron to be. Now give me an Armada repaint that I can put the cannon on the side of and I'll be all good. On the subject of Optimus though, he's next on my agenda, but not the G1 version.
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