Botcon Galvatron (Shattered Glass)

Power is nothing without wisdom.
After his brush with death and subsequent rebirth, Galvatron became an even wiser and more compassionate leader of the Heroic Decepticons. He uses his new powers and alternate form to manage the battle against Prime´s forces on both Cybertron and Earth. His chemical laser cannons have a range of two miles and his hook-and-grapple is supported by a nigh-unbreakable destronium tether.

Is has been a full solar cycle since Nexus Prime and Aquarius left Cybertron for parts unknown, and the Stellar Spanner built by Alpha Trion susequently destroyed. However, some strange energy readings coming from inside Iacon seem to indicate the technology may be in use once again.

Prelude: The ascension of a dying Megatron into the powerful new form of Galvatron is a staple in Transformers fiction and part of many continuities. Shattered Glass is no exception. So when that particular Megatron, leader of the heroic Decepticons, was mortally wounded by one of his own, he, too, became Galvatron, though a far different one than most. So here we have him, Shattered Glass Galvatron from the 2011 Botcon convention. Let’s say go!

Many thanks to my buddy Fuchs Geronimo for loaning me Galvatron for this review.

Robot Mode: Galvatron is a straight-up repaint of Cybertron Evac aka Galaxy Force Live Convoy with no tooling changes. It’s been seventeen years since I reviewed that figure, though, so we will take a thorough look. Galvatron is a Voyager-Class figure (meaning he is about as big as today’s Leader-Class toys) and comes in the traditional Galvatron colors of purple and grey. Live Convoy’s head design was already pretty close to Galvatron’s standard look, so with the different colors, the match is pretty close.

The Galaxy Force / Cybertron line already had a high level of articulation 18 years ago, so the figure mostly still holds up today in terms of poseability. Turning head, twisting hop, elbows, knees, all there. No turning wrists or ankle tilt, but you can easily live without that. The silhouette of the figure can change quite a bit depending on what you do with the wings (actually the halves of the copter’s tail) and the guns. The wings can fold down or extend sideways, the guns can point up or down. Use whatever configuration you like best.

Galvatron also comes with all the gimmicks of Live Convoy still intact. He has the extending hook on his right arm (hook retracts at the touch of a button) and the spinning rotor blade on the left arm. The rotors can be made to spin via the lever and can also be detached if you wish. Finally there is the Cyberkey gimmick, which causes his missile launchers to unfold. The backpack can be moved so that the guns point forward over his shoulders… almost. Due to the head, the launchers cannot quite lay flat on his shoulders, but close enough. Have I mentioned recently that I love shoulder guns?

Finally, remember how Shattered Glass Megatron (the first one) was a retool of Energon Megatron? Well, despite being reconfigured by the power of Nexus Prime, Galvatron can still use the tank drone from his old body if he so wishes. The drone can attach to the pod containing his hook on his right arm. It looks a bit weird, but it still works. Not sure it was intended, but it’s a nice bit of continuity between the figures.

So bottom line: still an excellent robot mode and one that works surprisingly well as a Galvatron, too.

Alternate Mode: Galvatron transforms into a Eurocopter Dauphin rescue helicopter, same as Live Convoy. It might seem a strange vehicle mode for a Galvatron figure, but remember: this is the Shattered Glass version, so instead of becoming a weapon of mass destruction, he becomes a vehicle built for the express purpose of saving lives. It does make sense in my book. The predominant colors are still purple and grey, with some black, red, and the blue cockpit windows as highlights.

The transformation into copter mode isn’t terribly difficult and the resulting copter shows zero signs of actually being a robot in disguise. All the gimmicks from the robot mode still work here. The rotor can spin, the Cyberkey can unfold the missile launchers, and the hook can extend and retract. The copter also comes with a four-piece retractable landing gear, which seems to be a lost art these days. Galvatron has the lettering EMS-LF1 on his tail rudder. If there is a hidden meaning in these letters, I fear I haven’t found them yet.

Bottom line: an excellent helicopter mode that both looks great and has several fun gimmicks included.

Remarks: The original Shattered Glass continuity began at the 2008 Botcon convention and continued through the magazine of the Transformers Collectors Club. It wasn’t until 2011, however, that Botcon delivered a figure for Galvatron, the reformatted version of the Decepticon leader. After having been shot by his apparently loyal follower Cyclonus, Megatron was brought back from the edge by Nexus Maximus and rebuilt into Galvatron to continue his fight to save Cybertron and Earth from the tyranny of the Autobots. During a battle for Autobot City, Galvatron finally finished off his nemesis with some help from the treacherous Rodimus. Optimus would later be resurrected by Unicron as the enlightened Nova Prime, but that is a different story.

Some might consider it a bit of a downgrade to go from an Ultra-Class space cruiser to a Voyager-Class helicopter, but using Live Convoy as a template for Galvatron works surprisingly well. He could maybe have been a bit bigger, but that’s just about the only downside. Well, except for the fact that he was an attendee bonus figure at Botcon 2011, available only in a two-pack with Shattered Glass Thundercracker, and goes for insane prices on eBay. So if you are simply curious about the mold, there are quite a few cheaper options to be found (i.e. Universe Springer or Universe Blades). For fans of the Shattered Glass universe, however, only this Galvatron here will do. A great figure if you can find it for less than a kidney’s worth.

Rating: A-

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