He’s big. He’s bad. He’s Despotron.

Producer: MakeToys

Price: Approx. $150 USD

Release Date: Sept. 2016

Item Height: Approx. 9.25″

Item Weight: Approx. .8 lbs (unboxed)

WHERE TO BUY: the Chosen Prime

MakeToys has released the latest in their Re:Master Masterpiece-scaled toyline of their “not” Transformers homages in Despotron. This Megatron homage really goes outside of the box in terms of both look and engineering to really bring you something special. The product’s height is about 9.25″ tall which puts it slightly taller than MP10 Optimus Prime (9″) which I prefer in terms of Megatron/Optimus scaling to each other. The proportions and design of the face/helmet really ooze character from this piece while definitely deviating from the general “look” of Megatron in the original cartoon series (I like it better.) Despotron really looks “mean,” and while not being overly bulky it definitely looks like it can hold it’s own in battle and gives the look of a real leader figure on your Decepticons display.

The poseability on this thing is mind-blowing. Everything from extended elbow/knee bends to ab crunch are there without a lot of gap exposing and other nuances to throw its look off while utilizing it all. This is another area where the additional faces really come into play. Some added fun also comes from the included mace which has such an exaggerated size on the ball end that it’s fantastic.

The transformation is relatively fast and smooth (Make sure to check out the separate transformation video in that section.) The alt. mode is a rendition of the iconic Walther P38 and although some of the proportions are off I find it more than passable. The most standout part of the alt. for me is definitely the sheer weightiness of it.

This is an insanely solid piece. The only real gripe I have is the handle in gun mode being too wide in my opinion. I definitely have larger hands and even still gripping it stretches my hands significantly more than it should. I also would shortened the length on the mace chain a bit and included his sword. Even with that it’s a great piece which I highly recommend.

Overall Score: 8.5/10 – I have no idea how long the process was between the design and development of this piece, but it’s blatant that this is the result of quite a bit of effort and testing from the MakeToys team. People are definitely going to have their opinions about it’s “look” in comparison to the other Masterpiece-scaled Megatron figures out there, but anyone who attempts to down the solid build, poseability, and functionality of this piece is either trolling or out of their goddamned minds. This piece manages to be both a magnificent display piece and a “fun” desk toy at the same time. Between Mightron and Despotron, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with either choice but for myself, I find myself going back to Despotron to mess around with a lot more than the other, even though I find Mightron’s transformation to be more fun. Even though it’s missing the sword, Despotron’s faces also add to a robot mode which in my opinion has more character to begin with. I enjoy the alt. mode of Mightron more but the cleanliness in terms of kibble put Despotron over the top in robot mode, so between that and the hyper-poseability in comparison I have to give the overall nod to Maketoys. It should be stated though that this is a spoil of riches in terms of choosing; there’s no “good to bad” but more like “awesome to more awesome.”

I also have to say that it’s insane though how many different ways that companies can manage to take the same character and transform it into the same alt. mode.

Check out the gallery below of MakeToys’ MTRM-08 Despotron and of course if you dig what you see, order yours from The Chosen Prime.