Alanyuppie's LEGO Transformers: Video Tutorial: Transformer Armada Megatron Tank from LEGO Creator set 31121: Crocodile

Set 31121 was released last year (2021) , but it had eluded me for so long and I couldn't find it at retail stores. And I wasn't keen on paying full price in online stores. finally I discovered it was restocked in LEGO Certified Stores at a nearby mall early this year....

...and I succumbed to paying full price for it, something I rarely do when buying LEGO sets! I've been wasting precious months earlier not owning this set, since it carries huge potential for LEGO Transformers.

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

The abundance of tooth parts inspired me to build something tracked. That's the initial spark of motivation that made me build a tank transformers inspired from Armada Megatron.

By the way, I built similar tank Transformer using set 31088 last year.

I know it's very obvious to many.. but after about halfway mark.. I noticed the color scheme INDEED resembled Megatron from Armada series. So yeah!

This project was initially scheduled to be published last month, but I shifted my priority to newer LEGO sets that were launched then.

TURRET ACTIONS

I believe Pareto principle reared its ugly head here, where 20% of the project takes up 80% of the time. The turret design formed just 20% (or less!) of the whole creation.. and I think I spent close to 80% of the time redesigning and refining it.

It started with a wobbly swivel mechanism using a bar , then modified to make use of a ball joint in the end.

I can go on forever building the turret module to my liking, given the many leftover parts from the set!

The complexity of the turret design really shows when it comes to preparing building instructions for it. *wipes sweat*

Additional weaponry deployed from the turret, a similar feature found in Armada Megatron.

A small door opens at the back of the turret, perhaps to store energon cubes or captured POWs?

TRANSFORM!

The part pointed by the arrow above is how the legs are secured in tank mode.

Swivel the rounded part out of the way to allow clearance for leg articulations.

ROBOT MODE

The head design was pretty spontaneous. I think it took me just 2 iterations within about 15 minutes and it's done, never to be tampered with again.

Initially I go freestyle on the chest design. But the earlier mentioned sudden realization of the color scheme being the same as Armada Megatron made me resculpt the chest to be a close as possible to look like Armada Meg's.

ACTION POSES

I'm glad I performed last minute enhancements to the feet before finalizing this project, or else the following poses will not be stable. After all, his huge back kibble demanded a wider footprint to stay upright.