Megazord

Hasbro’s first foray into Megazords was for Beast Morphers, and to be honest it looked terrible. I stayed away like the plague. Not only did it look bad, but each component was so expensive, I would have easily spent over a hundred dollars to get the whole set, that is if you could ever find them at stores.

I decided to take the plunge and try out their classic Megazord because for one, it was cheaper, and two – I like the design.

To build the Megazord you need three sets. Each set is priced at 14.99 and is meant for ages 4 and up. That should have been my first clue.

Triceratops and Sabertooth Tiger

Each set on their own does not offer much play value. The Zords are very kid-friendly, and any part that could be sharp or brittle is made out of a softer, pliable PVC. The Saberooth Tiger features a sturdy body with pre-applied stickers, moveable legs and tail, and movable fangs.

In keeping with Hasbro’s cost-cutting measures, everything that could be hollow is. This makes the toy feel light overall.

The Triceratops is even more useless. It only moves at the head and tail, and the molded treads are a letdown. Usually, when you have molded tank treads, they put small wheels underneath so it will still roll. This toy not only doesn’t add the wheels, but they add bumps where wheels should be! If you are not going to give it wheels, then just leave the treads flat!

To be fair though, it has about the same level of detail and articulation as the original Megazord parts.

Mastadon and Pteradactyl

This set has a bit more value to it, but it is still essentially two Zords that are useless on their own.

The Mastadon is a chunky Zord, and reasonably solid. The head can move slightly side to side, but the legs do not move. The silver tusks and trunk are a flexible, softer material.

The Pterodactyl is small and light, but the head moves as it should. The small guns clip on the feet for stability. Again, essentially the same as the original, but maybe half the size.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

The largest Zord gets packed all by himself, but does include the sword. I keep expecting Hasbro to use some of that Transformers technology to do something different here, but again it’s pretty faithful to the original.

Again, it feels light, but it looks ok – aside from the glaring red pegs sticking out of the knees. The legs move at the hips, knees and ankles, and the arms swivel down.

Look at that hollow tail.

It’s nice that they included some detail in the mouth, but I could do without the hole at the top of the chest. It’s used in a later combination, but they could have found a better way.

MEGAZORDS ASSEMBLE

Putting them together is basically the same as the original. There are a few VERY TIGHT connections. You need to use a substantial amount of force to connect the legs all the way, and the snap together connections that you have to open to transform the Mastadon is super difficult to open. They do look good together though.

Once assembled, you get a Megazord that while looks good, could have been a lot better, considering the pedigree and the cost. Clearly Hasbro did not use ANY of the lessons learned from their Transformers team here. Compared to their current SIEGE line, this feels like a Playskool toy that costs $45, aimed at 4 year olds who could not possibly do some of the connections.

Overall, it looks pretty good. It’s got better proportions than the original, and some improvements to articuation have been made. However their choices of what to improve and what to leave alone is maddening.

The head looks great with the sliding side panels made out of a type of rubber. Can’t have any sharp angles here people. Also I can’t get over how distracting that hole is.

You can see that they added bicep swivels, elbow hinges, swivel thighs and hips that can spread out. However, inexplicably you cannot turn the head or waist, neither can you BEND THE KNEES. Elbow joints but no knee joints? Come on Hasbro.

The cannons fit on the back in the peg holes, but be careful as those legs just pop off easily.

For weaponry he can hold the Mastadon head as a shield, and the sword fits tightly in either hand.

The knees can bend FORWARD but not backward.

Megazord Tank Mode

One bonus is that it can still pull off transformation into Tank mode. Tank mode is the reason why the legs bend forward, and why there is a hole in the chest. I could do without it if we could make the Megazord mode better. 

The Petraodactyl connection is flimsy, and it leans too far back. 

So what went wrong here?

Hasbro couldn’t figure out who to market this to. Little kids don’t know (or care) who this is. However Hasbro made a toy that is targeted at kids aged 4 and up but 4-year-olds aren’t strong enough to put it together. Despite having the Transformers Design Team at their disposal, they made a toy that’s nearly as expensive as Seige Astrotrain, and about the same size, with about 80% less gimmicks, quality, or play value. On top of that, you have to track down ALL THREE SETS, when combined with shipping and/or sales tax, is going to put you well over the fifty dollar mark. The set just reeks of missed opportunity.

One small silver lining is that the fist holes are compatible with the current 5mm weapon system that Transformers is using, however none of the other holes are, so i’m guessing this is coincidence and not on purpose. 

Imagine how great this toy would have been if it got all the detailing and gimmicks that your average Transformer gets, COMBINED with the compatible 3 and 5mm ports.