Summer is here and generally speaking, this is when the Commander class of the Mainline Transformers series is released. For the Transformers Legacy United line, that character is Magmatron, a Japanese Beast Era combiner that appears to be quite popular despite the character never really making an appearance on this side of the world outside of a toy repaint. Or maybe he did appear just not in any of the media I've consumed.
I have to say, throughout the years, the Triple Combiners that have been released in the line have all been pretty good. There's this one, Magnaboss, Tripredacus, and of course, Rail Racer.
While Magmatron has a pretty cool sound to it, the names of the individual components of this combiner have some of the lamest names ever (Landsaurus, Skysaurus, Seasaurus) and I'm pretty sure you, the reader, can figure out which one is which.
In addition to the main combiner components, the set comes with two Red swords that snap into the wings of Skysaurus, a Shield that is made up of the bottom half of Seasaurus, another Sword that is made up of Landsaurus components, and some blast effects (sadly made of that soft rubber stuff) that seem to only serve one purpose, which is making the Landsaurus Sword a bit more menacing. I could not find any Projectile weapons or other instructions that outline where else one could use the effects.
Of the three play styles, Magmatron mode is probably the most satisfying. I mean, it's a giant ass robot.... what's not to like? Aesthetically, the design isn't exactly something we see everyday, and with the set capable of being varying sizes sold in a set, proportions are generally pretty good.
The Head/Face is actually pretty cool. Not your typical Cybertronian face for sure, as the Beast Era faces tended to be more... human, for lack of better terms. Teeth are pretty common place, and Magmatron has a nice set of chompers that are beautifully sculpted.
In terms of articulation, but default the figure doesn't really have anything that is out of the ordinary. So ankles, knees, hips, and so on. The articulation on the head is somewhat nerfed due to the giant ears , though those can be moved out of the way to at least get most of the normal swivel back. There is a hinge used for Landsaurus's transformation that sort of gives Magmatron some ab crunch/back arch capabilities, but it's usefulness is limited..
Magmatron looks pretty epic armed with his various weapons, but even having said that that sword with the Blast Effect extensions is implemented terribly, as the entire thing is so floppy you can't actually wield it like you're supposed to.
Separation and transformation into the various components ranges from Easy to Irritating. Skysaurus is pretty straight forward, and even Seasaurus isn't that bad until the parts where you need to align the robot arms correctly and get the bottom half to connect with the upper half. Landsaurus, on the other hand, I feel could have benefited from a bit more clarity on the manual, and that's really the trouble these days. It isn't that things, particularly Mainline, are particularly tricky, but cost cutting on manuals removing steps and shrinking the size of the actual manual itself
Overall, there's still quite a bit of Shellforming, but ultimately because the transformation is more complex than back in the day, the resulting Beast modes are better. You also are able to appreciate the detailing on each of these components better when they're more focused.
In terms of articulation, I think it would be apt to say that it's apt to say that each component has the necessary articulation to make them playable. All of them have articulated necks and jaws, and fundamental limb articulation is present on all components, though in the case of Seasaurus, that just means you're rotating the flippers a bit.
Landsaurus, unfortunately, has some limitations imposed on the motion of the lower jaw, with this picture showing the maximum it can open the mouth. I originally though it had to do the throat piece being moved into place,
Finally we have Chimera mode, aka Magmasaurus. This looked good on paper and I know it's an official mode and all, but in practice the resulting combination holds together and will function as desired, but there is a huge gap on the underside of the combined mode that no amount of imagination will make go away. The increased articulation does allow for a more convincing Beast mode, or at least one that has more realistic leg articulation.
In terms of Paint Applications, it's the usual "as needed" philosophy. I guess the higher price point allowed for more detail paint apps, but ultimately it's about that base plastic colour. Fortunately, there are three very distinct base colours here so at the very least it the set doesn't look like one gigantic unpainted brick. The quality of the plastic itself has also helped to reduce that unfinished plastic look. Actual paint work, such as that observed on the face, is actually quite good.
Build Quality is also on the up and up, with no real issues pertaining to parts fitting together, despite the larger than average number of components. There are no alignment issues, and no QC issues that I could find on this set.
Overall, I'd say this set hit the mark. Chimera is a bit weak, but the other two modes are pretty good. The performance of the set doesn't stray into experimental territory, but hey, you have a set of three stupidly named Dinosaurs to play with. What more could you ask for?
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