This is a bit off topic, but what's exactly is this story with this version of Ultra Magnus? Did Magnus ever appear as a recolor of Optimus back in G1? I don't recall seeing it before.
Who buys these giant overpriced statues? Especially an obscure character like white prime ultra magnus?
Yes. The original G1 toy was just a white repaint of Optimus with a new trailer and accessories. The trailer transforemed into a giant suit of armor for the white Optimus. In the G1 cartoon and comics, however, this was never acknowledged and he was only shown in his armored up mode. See pics here: Ultra Magnus - Transformers Toys - TFW2005
So, either manufacturers think that TF fans have way more money than sense, or TF fans really do have more money than sense. Who exactly are these thousand dollar statues aimed at??
Don't see how this can truly be called Ultra Magnus if there are no references to the parts that actually make him UM. I mean, I get the origins in that DW comic, but without any actual differentiators other than color, this is just a white Optimus IMO.
And in my opinion theres a good reason why the white prime was disregarded in the cartoon. I think they felt that Optimus Prime was the leader and one of a kind. No lesser ranking character should share his mold like if he was a cloned troop like the seekers or Datsuns. Everytime Hasbro made a cost cutting corporate decision on the toy side, that doesnt mean it needed to be homaged in the cartoon. I think the sunbow artists took certain liberties to bring the characters to "life" in the cartoon rather than make them appear as walking, talking toys. This would be the Prime example. (No pun intended) Another example would be ulltra magnus white thighs vs. red thighs. One might argue that the toy had red thighs so the cartoon should have red thighs too. But in reality, the toy was a red brick that had no thighs so in the cartoon they decided to give him some. Sure Hasbro could have added white paint apps on the red brick to look like thighs. But that costs more money so they didnt. Why homage cheapness in the cartoon? Thats my opinion anyways.
