introduction
As we all know, the American company Hasbro has destroyed almost all the earliest production molds of G1 Transformers toys, making this generation of toys a unique collection. Hasbro originally planned to stop all Transformers animation creation in 1992 and focus on creating a new toy series. The turning point for Transformers came in the next year. As the European market was still making money from the toys in stock from the Transformers G1 period, Hasbro's newly developed animation and toys of "Special Forces" were defeated and failed. However, it lost out in the market to the then-popular "She-Ra" animation and the toy series produced by Mattel. In view of this, Hasbro decided to use the banner of Transformers () for the second time in an attempt to make a turnaround.
In 1993, Hasbro added the suffix "Second Generation" (2) to the name "Transformers" (), and the G2 generation was immediately announced. Due to hasty preparation or other reasons, no related animation works were released to pre-heat. , most of the toys on sale were repainted and modified molds of the previous G1 or the same mold was changed in color. It was not until 1994 and 1995 that more new molds were launched one after another. The G2 failed to trigger the hot buying craze of the G1 period again.
At that time, Hasbro specially designed a new exclusive logo for the two factions of Bo Kuang. Although it failed to replace the old logo, it has now become a unique mark for dividing TF toys between generations.
The G2 (2) Transformers toys produced by Hasbro were launched globally for three consecutive years in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Three versions (US version, European version and Japanese version) each have different three generations of new leaders Autobots. Optimus Prime and Decepticon's Megatron. Among them, Megatron () is the most outstanding generation leader among the Decepticons in the Decepticon camp.
What we are introducing this time is the 1994 G2 American version of the purple tank Megatron. Since there are more than nine versions of G2 Megatron toys actually sold, and the Chinese and English translations and common names in the market are still different, plus the G1 and BW and other subsequent animation works and toys have appeared in many versions of Megatron. To avoid confusion, they will be referred to as "Ziwei" below. Let’s play with the toys first, and we won’t delve into the relationship between the characters. We will only show the handsomeness of the beautified hand-drawn sketch.
G2 Decepticon Purple Tank Megatron
Hasbro made Transformers come back with new packaging in 1993. In order to achieve better publicity effect, the outer packaging of toys during this period was uniformly marked with "2" (official abbreviation: G2). At the same time, in order to classify the previous generation of Transformers (produced between 1984 and 1991), the term G1 was established. During the same period, in order to promote global sales and expand the sales market, Hasbro also cooperated with European manufacturers to sell the European version of G2. The two parties finally reached an agreement: on the toy packaging, the newly designed G2, Autobots and Decepticons will be uniformly used. Tianhu's logo. At the same time, the US version packaging must be printed with the word "in" (disguised robot) provided by the European side. The packaging has been lost for a long time, so I found the packaging photos through the 78 database: The American, European and Japanese versions all use double-sided blister transparent three-dimensional hanging card packaging. It seemed very avant-garde back then, but it may not be considered environmentally friendly now.
Let’s take a look at the actual toy, an old toy that is nearly 30 years old. The head carving is sharp and the image of Mr. Wei is vivid. The paint and color combination are extremely evil. After all, it is an old thing and the paint is a bit peeling off; the eyes are painted red, the face is painted light purple, and the head is plastic nude gray; the pink and purple sticker on the chest is printed The English word "Rules!" in orange, I don't know how you think it would be translated more appropriately. There is also a little easter egg hidden in this word, which will be revealed at the end of the article.
Rules!
In this case, the shells and guns have been lost, and the main body of the tank is the only remaining contents. The main color of the whole body is purple, which echoes the traditional color matching of the Decepticon logo. It is embellished with polygonal black camouflage, which is full of science fiction. With the contrasting blue tracks and turret, black barrel, and orange bellows at the rear end of the turret, the color matching is very vivid and coordinated. Tonal.
The armor of the tank in camouflage form is well wrapped. Only part of the gray lower body is exposed on the chassis. The blue tracks have simple engraved lines and the four black rollers are truly movable.
Although it is old, the tank chassis screws have not rusted, and the surface of the nickel-plated screws is still bright. The mottled scratches on the black plastic show the traces of time. The front of the car is engraved with the English copyright statement of 1993 Hasbro, © 1993, and the original mark is China. Production.
Front display: There are black background stickers printed with the new version of the Decepticon logo and cross skull pattern on both sides of the turret, highlighting its identity as a Decepticon. It lacks the bonus of weapon accessories and its domineering degree has been reduced, but its appearance is absolutely stunning. No points will be deducted.
The turret, which is composed of an orange light box, black barrel, hose and other parts, is the place with the most organs on the body. The opening at the front end of the barrel has a unique shape. Although it cannot actually fire cannonballs, the barrel is truly hollow and has an inner diameter. The detailed functions will be introduced later.
Looking from the side of the tank: the pink and purple sticker is printed with a number, and the big orange D is the initials of (i.e. Decepticon), indicating Ziwei’s faction identity, which is different from today’s TF toys that are stamped and printed in hidden places the design of.
Although the blue tracks and wheels on the side are immovable styling parts, I remember that when the box was newly opened, there was a beautiful silver plating on each wheel hub, as shown in the packaging picture above, but the plating has completely faded due to age. But the black body camouflage is still clear, and the stickers are of excellent quality and the color is still the same.
The car's rear carvings are not complicated, and just depict the details that Earth's military vehicles should have. If you look closely at the gray parts on both sides of the turret, you will find that there are two arms hidden inside. The silver gray of the screws also echoes the gray, so that it will not feel inconsistent.
From top to bottom, a black hose sprang out from under the orange bellows; only a gray fist was exposed at the rear of the turret, and the arms were wrapped in armor; a gray knee movable mechanism could be seen.
The orange bellows of Ziwei can't help but quench my thirst. I think of the golden giant hammer used by the Japanese mechanical life form of "King of Brave", Kaiya and Golden Mag, which were transformed and combined (around 1997). The first version of the old toy on sale uses the same bellows with the same shape and soft rubber material. After turning into a tank, it can be pressed to launch cannonballs. This special mechanism added has the flavor of the toys of that era and is very consistent with the design trend of deformed toys at that time. . Today's new versions of TF toys generally cancel these interesting mechanism designs, and most only retain the core gameplay of transformation.
The covers on the two arms of the turret can be opened. It was originally intended to install two giant missiles. Take out one of them and load it into the barrel. Press the bellows to the bottom to increase the internal air pressure, and then the air can be supplied to the main body through the black hose. The gun barrel launches the missile. This mechanism is actually a simple pneumatic device. This creative idea is readily available, don’t forget the pneumatic soft bullet gun of NERF (Heat), another popular toy series owned by Hasbro. This design is considered to be a special skill. According to current sayings, it is a fantasy linkage. Of course The warheads of Ziwei's missiles are also made of soft rubber, so safety comes first.
It's a pity that the Ziwei on hand is missing parts, and the live scene of firing the cannonball can only be left in the memory of the thirst-quenching fruit. Fortunately, it is just a picture and text review. The lack of this link is considered "it is better to lack than to waste." Fans have already shared the complete version of Ziwei on the forum. I believe that Gangsi will also share videos in the future, recreating the style of Ziwei launching missiles. At this moment, there is no need to be "realistic" when playing with toys. Toys are often like icing wrapped around candy. If you lose the bullet jacket, you can still use your imagination to fill the disguised cannonball.
At that time, Bismarck (full name in German: Otto von), the first chancellor of the German Empire, may have said: The truth is only within the range of the cannon (German: nur von). This is very consistent with Megatron's flamboyant personality. coincide. However, this sentence may be false, or it may originate from what the Dutch jurist and founder of public international law Grotius (Hugo) said: History has long proved that truth is only within the range of the cannon (Die liegt in der).
There are quite a lot of Transformers stories that have been rumored and rumored. In addition to the differences in language translation, I have sorted out the parts related to Ziwei below and will talk about them at the end of the article.
You've been waiting for it for a long time – the transformation of the Decepticon Ziwei begins!
The pictures showing the deformation are like slow-motion disassembly, without the thrill of actually doing it. In order to make it easier for everyone to understand and feel the deformation mechanism, the following pictures and texts are as detailed as possible:
First, remove the orange air box. It can be seen from the picture that the soft rubber of the black hose has not aged seriously. There are two round holes on the inside of the air box, which are fixed by two circular latches on the blue gun head.
The right arm is opened to the right through the shoulder joint, revealing a gray forearm, and the left arm is mirrored and deformed.
After the right arm is opened to make room, the turret can be moved to the right through the track.
Without the obstruction of the bellows, the barrel can be raised upward to nearly 90°.
It should be added here that in normal tank form, unlike a real tank, Ziwei's turret can neither be raised nor rotate left and right.
The feet are opened manually, and the two calves are folded back. The largest hole in the body is right here. The calves are actually hollowed out to match the deformation structure.
Rotate the forearms inward, and rotate the arms to a position convenient for elbow flexion. Reinstall the bellows to the turret. The transformation is almost 80% complete.
Then, when you look closer, you can see that the front of the car is equipped with a rectangular cover plate with silver cap screws. There is a round plastic protrusion in the upper left corner, which is designed to make it easier to lift the cover plate with your fingernails.
Lift the cover with your hands and flip it outward to reveal Ziwei's head. At this point, all the hidden bodies are revealed.
The head cover is flipped with a linkage mechanism, and a black cover plate will be brought out by the mechanism to block the rectangular cavity left by the deformation process.
It's obvious when you look at the linked black cover from another angle. The transformation feels smooth and the logic is clear.
The hole is filled, and there is almost no hole in the upper body to steal glue. The handling of the parts makes the entire deformation process very simple and efficient.
Let's pretend to let Ziwei try to get up by himself, and design the line "I am Megatron".
The hollowness of the lower body inevitably makes people feel that his lower limbs are weak… Hemiplegia, frustrated bending forward Orz
"Don't be kidding, look at me!" Stand up! Just now it was all a matter of secret observation, ambush and preparation for firing.
The range of head turning is as shown in the picture. If you turn your head to the other side, your handsome face will be blocked by the shoulder cannon.
Viewed from the top of the head, when you turn your head about 10° to 15°, the round protrusion of the original head cover becomes a clip for fixing the head and chest. One detail serves two purposes.
Although the bellows protrudes a large piece at the back, because it is made of very light hollow soft rubber, it will not cause an unstable center of gravity and affect the stability of standing.
Viewed from the right side, the cannon body almost blocks Ziwei's entire handsome face. At this time, you can see that there are grille details in the rectangle in front of the turret. The design is a bit like an air intake or a heat dissipation vent. If the turret is pushed back to the center of the chest, it can also be turned into a closed-mouth cannon mode similar to the one in the 4 live-action movie. This rectangular grille is like an endoscopic port. This is how the Thirst Quencher was played before the live-action movie was released. I thought it was a reverse tribute to Transform 4 and the 86 movie Galvatron. This image was put on the first picture after it was written.
The robot-shaped pneumatic cannon can also be fired normally. It can be said that Ziwei's entire body is designed around the key area of the cannon body.
Turning to the back, the gray waist is a single part, and the glue leakage on the back is obvious. In order to prevent the plastic structure from deforming, there are enough horizontal and vertical reinforcing ribs inside. It can be said that the materials used in the old products are very solid, and they are not willing to spend a lot of time. If it is a new product of today's Haki, there will definitely be a third-party manufacturer here to provide accessory kits to fill holes and steal glue.
After G2, it seems that the humanoid design of the new version of Megatron is increasingly asymmetrical, or this design concept was strengthened during the G2 period.
Although it is obvious that the glue was stolen from the back, the cover plate is still tightly installed with screws on the back of the big arm. It can be seen that the previous glue theft was not intentional cutting corners.
Take a closer look at the calf. From a distance, the black silk roller looks like it is fixed with screws. If you compare it with the cross screw on the knee, it is obvious that it is a rivet with five bumps. By the way, the front wheel is also installed with rivets, and the metal parts are all nickel-plated. , the brightness is enough to show that the materials used are of high quality. The cap screws on the knees also have the advantage that the knees can be loosened and can be tightened manually.
Back to the front, Ziwei's body proportions are definitely in line with the European and American inverted triangle figure. Compared to G1's gun power, he can be called a bodybuilder in the Transformers world.
Next, let’s take a look at Ziwei’s full body mobility:
First of all, the humanoid forearm armor can also be opened to install missiles, and the elbow can be bent up to 90°.
Standing upright to demonstrate the movement of a single joint is too clumsy and uncreative. Now comes the performance time: Ziwei will perform a break dance.
!It's!!!
Let's start with a difficult move – raise your arms and shoulders 180°, kneel on one knee, and rotate your waist 360°. call……
There should be applause here! The biceps brachii of the upper arm has a gear joint that rotates 90° laterally. The horizontal lift can reach 0° and the lift can reach 90° vertically.
The golden rooster is independent – the arms are movable in three places: shoulders, biceps and elbow joints, and can be put into many bodybuilding postures – Mr. Bodybuilder
Note that the movable displays are all towards the maximum extent. The empty shell calves on the lower body have enough contact with the ground for a long horse stride and are very stable.
The front and rear legs are turned sideways and the waist is also a gear joint. Pay attention to the changes in the arms.
Lift your legs 180° to the left and right in a straight line.
Hold your chest with both hands to support your whole body.
Put on an exaggerated anime-style running pose and design a line; "We will definitely win this competition!"
The up and down rotation of the turret is actually a gear joint. Thanks to G2’s designers’ efforts in joint design in response to the lack of mobility in the G1 figure, Ziwei has no problem assuming most of the movable poses.
"Remember, I am Megatron!"
During the G2 period, Hasbro and Domeka teamed up to provide excellent molds such as Ziwei. The materials were solid and the design was thoughtful. It is still a rare product and is worthy of being remembered by fans and fans. live. Finally, let’s break down the Easter eggs left behind and clarify the relationship between the characters.
First make a brief biography of the character, and then make a final summary.
Biographies