TransArt Metal T-Rex

Prelude: Now he enters these hallowed halls, a conqueror, yes! For he is Megatron, empowered by the quantum storm and upgraded into a powerful Transmetal form. He will tear time and space apart, if necessary, to be victorious over these accursed Maximals. And while the original Beast Wars figure depicting this awesome version of this awesome character is liable to fall apart due to Gold Plastic Syndrome, we now get a new version from Third Party company Transart, called Metal T-Rex. Time to see whether this new figure can capture the awesomeness that is Transmetal Megatron. Let’s say go, yes!

Robot Mode: Let us start with the obvious: this figure is basically the spitting image of the original Transmetal Megatron figure from Beast Wars, just bigger. A lot bigger, in fact. Scaled up to Masterpiece size, Metal T-Rex is almost as tall as MP-01 Optimus Prime and towers over his predecessor by a significant margin. He is about a third larger than Transart Skateboard Gorilla, which more or less jives with the scale used in the Beast Wars TV show, I believe.

Material-wise T-Rex is mostly plastic, though he does have metal feet, giving him a pretty solid stance. The skates that unfold from the backs of his legs are also metal and have actual metal wheels. Nicely done, just be aware that he is prone to actually rolling off when placed on uneven surfaces. The plastic he is made from seems to be sturdy, no signs of stress marks or anything so far, so no complaints. I have heard that some people have QC issues with their Metal T-Rex figures, but so far I cannot find any on mine. Just be aware that it’s possible. Unlike previous Transart figures T-Rex does not come with a flight stand, but considering the size of this figure, it would have had to be a truly massive one, so I don’t really mind.

Metal T-Rex has several features that were missing from the original figure. Articulation has been slightly improved compared to the original and now includes ankle pivots and a head that can look up (slightly). He also has articulated hands now, including individual thumb and index finger. The T-Rex arms on his shoulder plates are also far better articulated than before and come with a separate set of “fingers”, which you can plug in to turn those tiny arms into shoulder guns (as seen on TV). Would have preferred a single set of fingers that can be straight or bent, but it works this way, too. T-Rex also comes with three different faces, which can be swapped without unscrewing anything (big plus). He can look neutral, angry, or amused.

No matter what face he wears, you can make T-Rex’ eyes glow. There is no button or anything, it’s a magnetic trigger. The blast effect T-Rex comes with has a magnet at one end. Touching the magnet to the head once causes the eyes to light up. A second tap with the magnet makes them flicker, a third tap turns the lights off again. Not a big fan of light effects, usually, but using a magnet as a trigger is an innovative solution. Nicely done.

T-Rex’ main weapon is, of course, the dinosaur tail he plugs onto his right arm. You need to bend the hand down and then slot the pegs inside the tail into the two slits on either side of T-Rex’ wrists. It’s a bit of a fiddly fit, but once it’s properly inserted, it’s rock solid. There are no slits on the other arm’s wrist, so T-Rex can only wear his weapon right-handed. The blast effect can magnetically attach between the two pincers. The pincer can also be removed to attach T-Rex’ disc reader, which includes a broken fragment of the famed golden disc. Much ado about a feature that only appeared once in the TV series, to be honest, but it’s a fun add-on.

Finally there are the big turbines on T-Rex’ back, which enable his flight mode. Unlike on the original figure the turbines are on a swivel joint, so they can actually point down as they did in the TV show instead of just sideways. Very nicely done. Overall I really like this robot mode a lot. The only slight downside is that some of the kibble the figure has, especially those plates over his shoulders, are a bit wobbly. Tighter joints would have been appreciated here. Otherwise, though, no complaints. A very nice Masterpiece-scale version of one of my favorite Beast Wars figures.

Beast Mode: The transformation into beast mode is pretty much identical to that of the original figure. Which is a good thing, mind you, as there are no instructions included with the figure. Just a QR-code that leads you to a youtube video and if you know me at all, you know my opinion on that. Still, the transformation isn’t particularly hard and the only real difference to the original figure is that there are two additional plates that unfold to close the belly and hide the robot mode arms that were fully visible on the original figure.

Now we come to the issue I know many people are upset about: the two tails. I wrote above that T-Rex uses his beast tail in robot mode as a weapon, which is not quite correct. Because the figure comes with two tails. One to be used as a weapon in robot mode, a second, slightly larger one for use in beast mode. The two tails are only compatible with their respective modes, you cannot attach the larger beast mode tail to the robot’s arm or vice versa. This is a design decision that left me baffled, to be honest. It cannot be that hard to create a single tail that can be used in both modes, as Kenner accomplished it back in the 90s for a mass retail toy. I also know that there are already some 3D-printed adapters out there to make the beast mode tail useable in robot mode. So... why? I have no idea. On the plus side, you can store T-Rex’ extra faces and gun fingers in the beast mode tail, but I don’t think that was the deciding issue to make two separate tails.

Leaving this truly baffling issue aside, we now have a glorious metallic T-Rex mode before us. I am so in love with this mode. A purple-headed metallic dinosaur with roller skates and flight turbines? I am not sure whether this guy or Skateboard Gorilla’s flying monkey skateboarder epitomizes the 1990s more, but both of them are near the top, for sure. T-Rex has the same magnetically-triggered glowing eyes in this mode as in robot mode and you can open his jaws to unveil a red tongue. The legs retain their full articulation, the tail is articulated as well, and the flight turbines have the full range of movement, too. Very nicely done.

Not much more I can write here that the pictures cannot show better. An amazing mode, my favorite beast mode on any Megatron ever, and just so, so much fun. Two thumbs up!

Remarks: When the Vok planet killing weapon exploded, a quantum storm raged across the surface of ancient Earth and reformatted several of the Beast Warriors into more powerful Transmetal forms, Megatron among them. It was in this form that Megatron nearly caused the extinction of the human race, and it was in this form that Megatron blew off Optimus Prime’s head, nearly causing a massive change in history. Also, he was a metallic, purple-headed T-Rex on roller skates. Do I really need to say anything else?

When Transart announced their next figure would be Transmetal Megatron, I rejoiced. I still adored the original figure, but the danger of it crumbling in my hands grows ever more present. So I immediately preordered this guy and do not regret it for a moment. Yes, the thing with the two tails is really weird and I still cannot think of a good reason it was done this way, but otherwise this figure is brilliant. Again, I know that some people have experienced QC issues, but not me. Tighter joints for the shoulder plates are just about the only thing I’d improve. Well, that and making a single tail for both modes. Which I am sure some add-on company or enterprising 3D designer will deliver sooner rather than later.

So bottom line: I love this figure. I know it will not be for everyone, as it very much depends upon your love for the Beast Wars Transmetals, but if you did enjoy those figures, then T-Rex is for you! Go and buy him now. Also, this was my first time ordering at Show Z Store and apart from the agonizingly long wait until the package made its way to Germany, I have nothing to complain about.

Rating: A-

Update October 13, 2022: Thanks to my buddy James I know have a 3D-printed adapter enabling Metal T-Rex to use the bigger tail in both robot and T-Rex mode. Had this been the case from the start, I might have been tempted to give Metal T-Rex a straight-A rating.

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