I’m fairly new to collecting Transformers again, after a break of nearly 30 years, but I’ve been making up for it, and have amassed nearly 70 figures in the last six months, including paid pre-orders. My collection is mostly Masterpiece, and I’m really only interested in the characters from the ’84 and ’85 releases, as that’s when I was originally into the line. There are a few exceptions; one of those is my Wrecker collection, and I love the IDW look for these, although, I want every single member, from both the Marvel and IDW runs. My Wreckers are a bit of a mish-mash of lines, consisting of currently: Generations Springer Generations Sandstorm Generations Whirl Generations Scoop MMC Spartan (Impactor) Mech Ideas Apex (Top Spin) Mech Ideas Geminus (Twin Twist) Mech Ideas Gauntlet (Ironfist) Fans Project Assaulter (Broadside) Fans Toys Tesla (Perceptor) Maketoys Hellfire (Inferno) SXS Overclocking (Blurr) CGI Gulper (Guzzle) – pre-ordered And As soon as I’m able to pre-order the following, I will: MMC Dicamus (Roadbuster) MMC Beta (Drift) X-Transbots Locke (Kup) X-Transbots (not) Hubcap The only omission there that has a release, is Ultra-Magnus. Now, I love the Masterpiece version… the quality is awesome, it cleans up well, and both robot and alt modes are spot-on G1. The problem I have with him is that I think he’s probably going to be too massive for the Wreckers team line up, and the fact that he looks so G1, both in robot and alt mode, doesn’t work with the more Cybertronian aesthetic my team has got going. Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus looks really good in robot mode, and the Cybertonian look of the alt mode is really nice; however, the overall quality is a bit lacking, but considering the price difference and the fact that I’ll be displaying him in robot mode, I can live with that. I don’t know his exact size in robot mode though. My current largest Wrecker is Broadside, and really I think Ultra Magnus should be at least as big, if not bigger, than him. Does anyone know how he scales against Assaulter, or does anyone have suggestions as to any other versions of Magnus that might work better?
I'd argue about the quality thing. I've transformed Magnus numerous times, and my three year old had a go at it, and turned him into some kind of plastic yoga accident. He was no worse for the wear in the end. I don't have Assaulter (or much at all in terms of third party), but he has a nice size to him versus deluxes and voyagers. There's a picture here on another thread that has him next to Springer, so that may help give you some kind of indication.
Cheers, I’ll have a look at that when I get home (the picture’s blocked at work). I only alluded to the quality being poorer in comparison to MP-22… like the fact that there seems to be no effort to hide his feet and they just “hang” off the back, and that the wheels look like (for lack of a better analogy) Tonka truck wheels. Little things like that just make him feel more of a toy than a figure to me.
I'd go for CW Ultra Magnus - he's got the IDW you want, the quality is fine, especially in bot mode, and he goes well with the Hasbro Generations voyagers. He's my Wreckers and CHUG display Magnus, easily.
Ok, yeah, those are totally fair criticisms. I've seen a few folks paint the wheel hubs and it makes a huge difference. I keep telling myself I'll give it a shot when I get brave enough to try it.
Gonna go against the norm and say the Platinum Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus. Last I checked (a year ago, admittedly) he was about $50.
CW magnus. Go get it now no more debate. He has the height you want the look you want. He has sizable bulk and sits rightfully higher than thr other bots. The only real thing you need to consider is whether you want the hasbro version or takara version. Both have merits so its really what you like with the colors. White thighs or red mainly. There's also a third party add on due out to fill in some gaps though I don't know if the colors work for both versions since all I saw were prototype pics. The designs clash. It doesn't look right. Plus it's nowhere near the kind of magnus he's looking for.
Here's a very quick cell phone pic of CW Magnus w/Spartan and Broadside all in a row and T30 Sandstorm in front - that should help you assess size. I did my best to take the picture straight on so you can get a good feel for height.
CW/Legends Ultra Magnus or the BH/Adventure Voyager Ultra Magnus (the one that was a heavy retool of PRID Optimus Prime)
city commander is too short, and its proportions are far off so i wouldnt recommend cw magnus is just right in robot mode (a head shorter than mp10 optimus) though the alt mode is too small (which would turn some people off). if you are really concerned about his plastic quality, get the takara Legends version just to be sure cause that line is intended to be of premium quality however, if you don't care about G1 accuracy (though I know you do), buy the hell out of Beast Hunter\Adventure Magnus, that one is a better scale in both mode ( he's not a truck with a trailer anymore, just a truck) and, in my opinion, better looking robot than the G1
CW Ultra Magnus is by far the best Ultra Magnus figure ever released. I highly reccomend him for any collection.
