DNA Design Kingdom Upgrade Kit (DK-28)

Prelude: DNA Design have made a business out of supplying upgrade parts for official Hasbro Transformers figures for years now and back in 2022 it was no different when the Kingdom Beast Wars figures were still relatively current. Enter the DK-28 set, which contains Megatron’s essential rubber ducky and toothbrush, plus some other stuff you might or might not want. Let’s say go!

The DK-28 set contains upgrade parts for Kingdom Cheetor, Kingdom Megatron, and Kingdom Optimus Primal. See my individual reviews for these figures for their not-upgraded forms.

Kingdom Cheetor: My main point of contention with the Kingdom Cheetor figure was the lack of a gun, more specifically Cheetor’s famous “gut gun” with sculpted intestines on it. The DNA Kit finally supplies that gun, thankfully, and even engineered it in such a way that it can fit inside Cheetor’s beast mode, too. This lengthens Cheetor’s backside a bit, but not in an obvious way and it’s great that the weapon integrates here. So in terms of giving Cheetor what he was missing, this set is a success.

Kingdom Megatron: Megatron is already a pretty complete figure, but that did not keep DNA from supplying him with an abundance of extra parts. There is, of course, the aforementioned rubber ducky, which Megatron took Energon baths with in the cartoon, as well as the toothbrush he used to clean the teeth of his T-Rex hand. Both are fun accessories. I wouldn’t have needed them, to be honest, but they’re fun.

Another item from Megatron’s cartoon appearances is the hunting rifle, which he used in the TV episode “Call of the Wild”. It comes in two separate pieces (rifle and stock) and can be wielded by Megatron in robot mode (left-handed, naturally) or attached to his back in T-Rex mode. A nice weapon, though not really that essential to the figure. Same goes for the three gap-fillers for Megatron, two for his inner thighs and one for his left arm. I know some people detest having those open gaps on their figures, but I was never one of them.

The only part for Megatron I truly enjoy is the Mutant Mask he comes with, a callback to the original Beast Wars Megatron toy. The mask can either be open, surrounding his standard head like bat wings, or closed to give him a sort of helmet. I like it, especially since it’s missing from my original 1996 Megatron. Nicely done.

Kingdom Optimus Primal: As befits the leader of the Maximals, Optimus Primal gets the most parts in this set. Much like Megatron, he too gains the mutant mask is original 1996 figure wore and it looks awesome on him. Sure, he never looked that way in the cartoon, but that doesn’t take anything away from it. A very nice addition to the figure.

Primal also gains a gap filler for that slight gap he has between his chest and neck in robot mode. Now again, I wouldn’t have needed, but gap-filler-fans will certainly like that. Next up is an extra piece for his back, which can simulate the Prime Jets he had in the cartoon, which allowed him to fly. He also comes with three effect parts, two of which can be used on the Prime Jets to simulate afterburner flames. Not something I necessarily needed, but nice.

Finally we have extra pieces to round out Primal’s already impressive arsenal. The original toy could hold both of Primal’s swords in one hand, something the Kingdom figure cannot do. Now it can, though, thanks to a connector piece. Now Kingdom Primal, too, can intimidate people with his huge, double-ended sword. And if more intimidation is needed, he can swing around his skull mace. Naturally it does not fit into his forearm like it did on the original figure, but it still looks great in his hands.

Remarks: Like many DNA Upgrade Kits, this set contains a few parts you probably want, and a few more that you could probably do without. Whether the ratio between the two makes it worth buying the whole set is, of course, entirely up to you. Personally I wanted to the Gut Gun for Cheetor the most and I enjoy having the mutant masks for Optimus Primal and Megatron, too, as well as the connector for Primal’s swords and the skull mace. The rest of the parts fall under “nice, but unnecessary” for me, but again, that is subjective.

Bottom line for me, I do not regret buying this set, but it does contain more than it really needs. Then again, that much is true for at least two thirds of all DNA Design Upgrade Kits.

Rating: C+