animated is prbly the best thats easily available, classics is the best for that nostalgic feeling, and RiD is the best if you're not a fan of the other 2, have the Prime to go with him, and if you're looking for an awesome one. hope that helps
City Commander will set you back a ton of money. Sure its nice, but Classics UM alone is somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-30, and the City Commander armor is $150, if you can even find it. Classics UM is awesome, but ridiculously pricey, and if this + Animated is out of the budget, chances are City Commander is as well, and there's a better "combination UM", read further... Animated UM is awesome, and is only $40. There's even the dubious repaint, Roadbuster Ultra Magnus out now as well, so he's extra easy to find, I imagine. His electronics can be kind of quirky, in that on the first few he will constantly make the transformation noise if even breathed on. I imagine they fixed that problem, however. If you have about $70 to spend, though, RiD Ultra Magnus is where its at, because him alone is about $20, and then buying a RiD Optimus Prime is around $30-40, I'd say. And together, they make Omega Prime, who is far cooler looking, and way more functional than City Commander. For about half the price, you get two awesome figures, that make one ridiculously awesome figure. He's pretty top heavy, and the chestplate on Ultra Mode OP doesn't stay on very well, but he's really awesome.
For the most part, I can't stand having my highly stylized figures mixed in with more conventional designs. I can see a Armada/Energon/Cybertron/RID/some g1/g2 fit in with classics and even some movie. I think Animated Ultra Magnus looks like a large grumpy old man. I think City Commander (despite not being a completely 'real' toy) is a gem in any collection. Just my thoughts. EDIT: Someone just posted about the price. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to locate a City Commander kit for under $100. $130 for both seems decent to me. If that's not an option, I have a moderately high opinion of the Titanium.
$150 seems a bit high but there are no auctions available for city commander on ebay right now, and the completed auctions went for $130+ I think it's not going to be easy to find one under $100 if at all.
This is a bad JOke..Im G1 till the end but, City Commander ..their is no substitute. I have Animated Magnus too and not really no impressed. Bottom Line if you don't own it save for it and get it.
I voted for City Commander, but he's very pricey. I'd say him only if you've already got Classics Magnus (as most places are sold out of the CC armor and you'd have to pay double or close to it on eBay for the upgrade kit). Animated Magnus is the most easily available and a very good take on the character. I really love him myself and he looks great even next to the Classics guys (even if he's not as hard edged as the Classics stuff). But he's about $40 price wise if you can find him in the stores (and that's the biggest problem... I've only seen him locally once... which I snapped up...). Titanium Magnus is a waste of money. Especially for the $50 plus that I've seen him go for recently on eBay. He'd be a better toy if his joints were cut better and if he wasn't overloaded with die-cast (a problem all the titanium molds sadly suffered from, but that was there gimmick so...). I'd say forget about him unless you're specifically looking for something in deluxe scale only. RID Magnus is pretty awesome. He's not really all that great on his own, but combined with RID Prime he's one of the coolest toys around (and HasTak still has yet to top Omega Prime). But, really, if you don't already have RID Prime or don't want him... I'd say pass on him too as he's pretty expensive to pick up off eBay complete. G1 Magnus... he's a brick. A fun brick, but a brick non-the-less. And, with the kind of money even a reissue of him will set you back, might as well go pick up Classics Magnus and the City Commander armor and have an articulated version. Now, let me suggest one you left off: Laser Ultra Magnus... yeah he's a bit pricey as he's an e Hobby exclusive, but he's awesome. Repainted from the G2 Laser Rod Prime mold he's an excellent Ultra Magnus and a bit of a different take on the character as far as his paint scheme is concerned. Though he's pretty pricey too nowadays.
