DNA Design DK-40 Legacy Leader TM2 Megatron Upgrade Kit Revealed

Painted the face with darker blueish gun metal.

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lb876

Pretty happy with the set. Especially the tail extensions. I even managed to get the chest piece swapped out, despite the head of the screw disintegrating to nothing more than a gaping maw by the time I was finished. But for the life of me, I can NOT get the dragon chest to tab in at the 2 top corners in beast mode. I'm reluctant to shave down the tabs, so I'm wondering if it's possible I'm just missing something in terms of alignment further down?View attachment 30057119

I have found I can get the tab on his left side to stay if I kinda jam it in. Seems the one on his right hand side won't work with that but it does leave the chest piece overall in place. Doesn't take much to unseat it, but doesn't flop around or anything.

Really liking the tail extension. Makes the figure more balanced and pull off dynamic poses.View attachment 30008887 View attachment 30008888 View attachment 30008889

My kit came on… and sigh, stripped the screw.

I didn't plan on getting this kit, but I needed to spend a little more to hit free shipping and A.) I'd rather get something for my money than just pay for the shipping, and B.) I really don't like the original Hasbro face.

In person, though, I have to admit that the new tail segments do make the tail look a bit more proportional in dragon mode, and DNA did a fairly good job matching the plastic and paint colors. The new hand doesn't look weird like their Galvatron hands, and more articulation (in this case, two knuckles on the index finger and a wrist swivel) is always better. The new dragon chest is probably the least-exciting part. The old dragon chest "cape" bothered me, but not enough that I felt like I had to do something about it, and while the new one can tuck in better it's still there, so it's a very minor upgrade that doesn't totally fix the issue. Still, a very minor upgrade is still an upgrade. Top it off with a new top of the head that's solid red, so more cartoon-accurate, and a wig as "that thing from that episode" (although, c'mon DNA, no gavel?), and none of DNA's penchant for minor to not-so-minor QC issues and what you've got is a kit with one major fix (the face) and a couple of not necessary but nice to have minor upgrades and no real downsides. I'd say it's definitely worth picking up if you want one of the faces since you'll wind up using all of the kit, but if you're grabbing another face that you prefer elsewhere the rest of the kit alone isn't worth the price of admission.

I have mine still on preorder with show.z. where are those ordering from who have received theirs? I've noticed bombusbee is showing stock?

ziltama

The face setup isn't the best as they didn't add on any parts to fully stabilize their face swapping setup. What gold neck piece?

At the base of the dragon’s neck, hiding the robot fist. The new fist seems a little bigger.. I managed to finagle it eventually, but it isn’t secure..
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ziltama

DNA Design DK-40 Set for Transmetal II Megatron

I was on the fence about this one but thankfully ended up being better in person despite some jank I was anticipating. Can't have a DNA set without their trademark jank, but it's to a mild, non-offensive degree.

Contents: Replacement beast chest assembly, tail extenders, replacement semi-articulated hand, replacement head cover, 3 new face plates, and judge's wig.
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Unfortunately, there's no hammer. If one has the terrible way-too-small hammers from their UM/GUOP sets, hey, they may finally have a use here.

For the most part, the plastic and paint matches are well done. The gold paint is just a hair shinier than stock. The gold plastic is spot on. The red plastic is just a hair darker and doesn't have the smooth sheen the stock plastic has. What fails to match is DNA's insistent use on their shitty silver paint.

I wasn't expecting the beast chest assembly to be separated into halves and connected via hinges. This is done to get the chest assembly to better fit the contours. What is totally mindboggling is that DNA copied over the same tabbing issue the stock beast chest part has: plugging in the tab all the way in bot mode will cause the bot head assembly to pop out of place. The tip of the tab barely plugs in when keeping the head assembly properly transformed. However, since the beast chest is on hinges and splits apart, it's able to hug against the lower body and improve the profile. The stock clear orange circle is removed and installed on the DNA chest; DNA includes their own screw for this.

Edit: See below for fix to set the beast chest flush against the bot mode back.

The tail extenders looked nicer than expected. Doesn't impair anything with either mode.

I already knew the hand wouldn't be fully articulated as DNA only showed the index finger pointing out. However, unlike their shitty SS BB Starscream hands which actually ended up worse than stock, the new hand doesn't make anything worse and adds wrist rotation. Stock cannot rotate the wrist. The hand holds 5mm round pegs just fine. Some shallow, rectangular pegs may have problems staying in place, though. This hand actually turned out OK. It would've been if the other fingers moved, but, again, DNA actually didn't make their hand overall worse this time.

The head cover is opaque instead of clear orange, which some had complained about the stock figure.

I am not a fan of the 3 new faces. DNA has always had terrible face designs. Can't get it right and their shitty silver paint makes it look even worse. However, the one with the closed mouth actually looked fairly decent installed. Gave that one a chance and will actually leave it in.

The new faces are supposed to allow swapping without taking apart the head. However, the peg on the back of the face plates are relatively tight and yanking on the face may break that peg. I advise loosening the head screws and pull the lightpiping out to safely exchange face plates.

The wig only works by plugging into the new head cover. Will not work with stock.

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Installation notes:

Installation requires the use of a proper screwdriver. There is one stock screw in particular in which there is a real chance to completely strip the screw head with an improper screwdriver due to how long it is.

Easiest way to mod a Phillips #0 screwdriver to work with Hastak screws is to file or sand off the pointy tip. This will allow the screwdriver to properly seat the screw instead of drilling into it.

I had modded the head before for LEDs, and this is a guide for taking apart the head:
Legacy Evolution Leader Class Transmetal 2 Dragon Megatron

There are 3 different stock screws used for the head and neck assembly: The 2 head screws are the same. For the neck plate screws, the front one is the long one to be careful with.

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The beast chest assembly is able to separate and better adapt to contours with the hinges.
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The new hand requires the forearm to be taken apart. Only the index finger moves. The new hand adds wrist rotation, which stock does not have. Overall, it works well. Normally, I don't like DNA's face designs, but the closed mouth face is actually OK. The new head cover is opaque. The new face attaches to the lightpiping only and has no side pegs, which technically allows face swapping without taking apart the head and neck assembly all over again.
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My camera has a hard time capturing the silver painted face. The bottom lip is fine in-person; it's just shadows / reflections (from the nose) making it not look smooth when it really is.
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To avoid breaking the small face plate peg when face plate swapping, I would advise loosening the head screws to allow the lightpiping to pop out. This will make it easier.
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As state above, DNA actually copied the same tabbing issue as the original…. However, since the DNA beast chest is now split into 2 parts with hinges, the bottom part is able to hug the lower body to improve the profile. It also possible to invert the bottom part, but then it doesn't look as good due to showing off the hollow plastic. Edit: See below for fix to set the beast chest flush against the bot mode back.
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The tail extension gives him a longer ponytail in bot mode. Doesn't hit the floor or interfere with anything. The color matching is pretty good.
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The wig only fits the new head cover. Since there's no hammer, one can use DNA's grossly undersized hammer from their UM/GUOP sets.
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Everything transforms just fine. The new tail looks nicer in person. Although the new beast chest assembly better fits, there is going to be a new small gap where it splits, as well as tiny holes for the hinges. It may seem at first the new DNA chest tabs don't want to stay in. However, the tabs are fairly snug and need to be pressed in with a bit more force to actually plug in. When tabbed in properly, I can hold up the figure by just the chest without it coming apart. The DNA beast chest uses the clear orange part from the stock chest and comes with its own screw to use on the DNA chest.
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The longer tail looks nice in alt mode. The arrows show the DNA tail extenders.
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Overall: Recommended. DNA jank is thankfully mild and not really intrusive this time. One really needs a proper screwdriver to avoid stripping the stock screw heads for installation, especially the front neck plate screw. With the exception of their crappy silver paint, everything else matches pretty well. I usually don't like DNA face designs, but actually keeping the closed mouth face on.

Edit: Fix for beast chest to sit flush in bot mode. Stock chest piece had same problem.

There's 2 problems here: the DNA tab looks longer than stock AND there's a center ridge that hits the gold plastic hinge. Both need to be cut down. The hinge is strong enough to prevent the beast chest from flopping around regardless.

Used a side cutter to cut off the tab and lower part of the middle ridge. For the tab, just cut down to where it widens.

This is what it looks like after cutting off the offending bits with a side cutter.

It's hard to take a proper side view photo due to the wings, but now the beast chest piece is able to sit flush with the head assembly still properly in place. As the new DNA part has hinges, the butt area is able to sit flush too.

ziltama

I put a review here:
General Upgrade Kits Thread

Includes fix for setting the beast chest flush against the back. DNA actually copied over the same tabbing problem… There's also a ridge that needs modifying.

Also needs a proper screwdriver (regular #0 phillips is to be avoided, a modded one will work just fine) to avoid stripping the screw heads, especially the long front neck panel screw. There's a real chance to completely strip that screw head when taking apart.

I don't know the exact screw type. Maybe JIS but standard metric screws aren't a match.

Got mine today. Thanks for all the advice on fixing its issues. Those long screws were scary even though I had the right screwdriver. My only issues are the face doesn’t stay in very well.. it’s just loose in there. Doesn’t fall out randomly or anything, but it’s not very secure. Also the gold neck piece doesn’t lock in. How are you supposed to turn the wrist for the best fit?

Mettleh3d

Which outlet did you order this from? My BBTS still in pre-order limbo

BBTS is always months late on DNA products. First Asian retailers get them (that's the only place that there's stock of this one currently), then domestic retailers like TCP and ToyArena start to get stock, then BBTS catches up a month or more later.

ziltama

I put a review here:
General Upgrade Kits Thread

Includes fix for setting the beast chest flush against the back. DNA actually copied over the same tabbing problem… There's also a ridge that needs modifying.

Also needs a proper screwdriver (regular #0 phillips is to be avoided, a modded one will work just fine) to avoid stripping the screw heads, especially the long front neck panel screw. There's a real chance to completely strip that screw head when taking apart.

I don't know the exact screw type. Maybe JIS but standard metric screws aren't a match.

Thanks! Totally agree on your screwdriver comment!