Hello all, I have done a few Articles on the one and only Megatron…. err… the many I guess… what ever way you look at it, he is one bad dude.. I did one on his troubled path found HERE. One on him turning into a Gun found HERE. Another revolving around his time as a Dinosaur found HERE. I realized that I have not done much about his various times as a tank… not his most popular mode to many… let’s face it his G1 Gun mode is by far the best followed by his Beast Wars Dinosaur mode… with that said we can not over look his other modes (those we will get into at a later date) and a Tank has been a favorite vehicle by Hasbro and Takara to make him into. So let us begin.

• 1992 – Hasbro – G2 – Megatron: This is the first non gun mode that came along, and it was not as popular due to mostly not being a gun, also the Green and Purple camouflage did nothing to help make kids want it. (I think Hasbro thought the colors would help the idea that these were just toys…) Guns were suddenly not a viable toy due to an increasing non war mentality and were no longer wanted as toys by parents at least. So G2 failed and almost wiped out Transformers, thankfully they did not let this stop them and we still have a product to this day.

• 1996 – Takara – G2 – Hero Megatron:  A similar styled tank but a bit smaller with more articulation and in Purple with Blue, Black and Grey parts. He has a bellows activated cannon that fires missiles. He tends to get very loose due to know pegs or clips to hold him together in tank mode.

• 2002 – Hasbro – Armada – Megatron: Quite some time had passed since Megatron once again was given a Tank mode but this Megatron is not the G1 continuation but thought of a separate being…. but still… He is a Tank named Megatron… still counts… plus he had two repaints with one being a lucky draw figure in a Magazine contest.

•  2005 – Takara – Robotmasters –Rebirth Megatron / Reverse Convoy:   This was a retool of the Hero Megatron from 1996 but with new guns and a new gimmick. His head could switch from a Megatron one to an Optimus Prime like head that also had an Autobot symbol on the chest right in front of his head.

• 2006 – Hasbro – Titanium Series – Megatron: This guy was bad, he could fall apart or have extremely loose joints and was hard to pose in robot mode. He was suppose to be inspired by Dreamwave’s first Transformers / G.I.Joe comic. Although he was a gun in that series so they gave him a tank mode due to the no guns as toys rule. 

• 2006 – Hasbro – Classics – The Ultimate Battle Megatron: An update to the G2 green tank version that came with an Optimus Prime or by himself in some countries. There was also a special addition in a G1 inspired redeco in Grey, Red and Black. Takara also redecoed him in Purple, Grey, Blue and Black inspired by Hero Megatron.

• 2007 –  Hasbro – Titanium Series – War within Megatron:  From the Dreamwave War within comic series comes a Megatron before he went to earth and became a gun. he almost looks like he is just laying down in Tank mode with his hand gun and shield over his head.

• 2008 – Hasbro – Universe – Megatron:  Another G2 inspired tank but much smaller in the legend class of figures. This figure was released by Takara in Purple as an ode to Hero Megatron.

• 2009 – Hasbro – Revenge of the Fallen – Megatron:  One movie toy falls into the tank category and he is an alright toy for Movie lines. He is silver and black with treads and a tank barrel… all you need right…

• 2010 – Hasbro – Generations – Cybertronian Magatron: based on his appearance in the video game Transformers: War for Cybertron. He transforms into a G1 color schemed futuristic tank. I have him and he is decent enough….

• 2012 – Hasbro – Generations Megatron: A redeco / retool of Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon in his G2 colors is a good looking toy, it was a Toys R US exclusive and also available by Takara.

• 2013 – Hasbro – Thrilling 30 – Megatron: A brand new legend class figure it came with Chopshop who is a stag beetle / a robot / a weapon megatron’s robot mode can use / a mine plow that can plug into the front of Magatron’s tank mode. His look is based on the IDW Chaos Theory comic. Takara issued this mold along with Chopshop in their G1 colors. (one odd thing here is his arms and hands are visible as his turret, no getting around that) 

• 2015 – Hasbro  – Combiner Wars – Megatron: His robot mode is heavily inspired by his G1 robot mode and his tank treads actually move. I really like the look.

• 2015 – Hasbro  – Generations – Armada Megatron: This modern update to the Armada toy retooled from his G1 Combiner wars toy, Takara also repainted this figure for their Legends line.

• 2015 – Hasbro – Cyber series – Megatron: Sold only online at BigBadToyStore.com  and in some Latin American and Asian retail stores.

• 2016 – Hasbro  – Titans Return – Megatron: A whole new mold sees Megatron as a Titan master which is basically a head master by a new name. He not only turns into a tank but a jet as well. (This what we call a pretool, he was made with Blitzwing in mind and which will come out soon with a new head.)

Well that is about it, tanks were never a real big hit for Megatron, I guess the love of the gun and the T-Rex is far greater in the hearts and minds of fans. until next time, take care and play safe…. and all hail Megatron!