Thanks to a collector's shop that I frequent, I ended up getting Ultra Magnus. I asked where they got it THIS early... they didn't know. Paid 90 bucks for this thing. Since they had the Siege Magnus as well, I decided to take a picture of both so you can see the box-art differences and some of the molding changes (because disclaimer: I don't own the Siege Magnus mold, so this is based on my thoughts on the main mold as a whole).

Also, sorry if this is image heavy.



Getting home, and having a (relatively) better background to take pictures with, here's a screenshot of the box on its own.



And here's one taken from another angle, to show you the art on the box better.



Taking this guy out, here's how the inside of the box looks.



Not shown are that there are holes cut out on the backdrop for Magnus's back and feet.
Also inside the box is a card! Due to this being Wave 2, the characters are different, and who I got was...



The OG bad guy himself, Megatron (the only new card of the Wave 2 set)! As you all now, peeling the character art shows you what their fate is on the card. What's Megatron's destiny?



Apparently taking part in the world's worst baseball game. According to TFWIKI, the Cybertronian glyph states that his destiny is "RETURNS TO GLADITORIAL FIGHTING PITS". That's good for him.

Magnus also comes with several weapons. Less than his Siege version, but three ain't half bad. There are two missile launchers and a rifle. The missile launchers are white plastic with red paint, and the rifle is red plastic with silver paint.



Getting on to the main event now... Magnus! We'll go by the truck modes first, then the robot modes.



Magnus is a white truck, as was the Siege version. Unlike the Siege version, he resembles an Earth truck more than the Cybertronian one he was back in Siege. The front, at least. I guess we have to get to the elephant in the room now, don't we? Ultra Magnus's truck mode is... not that good. Front-wise, it's fine, but anything past that is when it gets weird. The sides look more mechanical than the front, the arms are out in the open (and invert the smokestacks), and the feet don't fold down at all. The bumper also can't go back further, and the arms themselves don't tab in, they just sort of... hang there.

Even at a smaller size, Core Prime managed to make the truck look more convincing than this. But for what they could do... they tried? It at least passes off as a truck... at least one with a bit of robot parts glued to it.

Here's a comparison with Earthrise Prime. Magnus is a bit bigger and bulkier.



Ultra Magnus shares more similarities with Earthrise Prime, however... because like him, he also includes a trailer! Well... sort of. We have to build it first with these:



Magnus Armor pieces! Seven of them in total. These include the main body, the shoulders, the arm covers, and the legs. To transform them into the trailer, you need to snap together the shoulder pieces and slide them into the rear of the truck. Unfold everything out from the main body, and plug the wrist pieces into the 5mm holes. Unfold out panels on the legs to make them into the sides of the trailer, and now you have to put everything together. The legs attach to the rear of the main body from the top, and tabs on the trailer walls clip to a clip on the legs and a tab on the shoulder pieces.



And here he is with the trailer! It fixes up some issues on the truck, as the robot arms melding a bit better, and the feet being hidden for the most part. It's... alright? The truck mode's still got its issues, but the trailer is decent enough to make up for some of its shortcomings. Doesn't appear that any car-bots can slide in.

Here's another comparison with Earthrise Prime (as well as Netflix Bumblebee, for scale.) Magnus's trailer is also bulkier than Prime's.



Going back to the regular truck without the trailer, it's time to transform him. The transformation is a good deal simpler than ER Prime's. Fold down the legs, and flip out the heels. Then turn the waist around, and flip down the front of the cab to flip out Magnus's head. Fold the arms forward, straighten them, and turn the hands around. The interesting part is how you deal with the bottom chunk of the cab (that Hasbro didn't want to deal with in the stock photos). You push out the main body to expose a slider, and then you slide the cab up from the bottom of the waist to the slider, where it tabs in. Cool idea!

So here's Magnus in robot mode.



Best I can describe him is a slightly-simplified, chunkier Earthrise Prime (take a drink every time I mention him). Waist isn't as defined, but considering what Magnus becomes later, I can kind of forgive it. Back is negligible aside from the back chunk of the truck. Hands support 5mm weapons and accessories.

Poseability is relatively good, as is the standard for WFC. Head is on a ball joint. Arms can rotate and go outwards. There's a bicep swivel, an elbow bend, and a wrist swivel. Going on lower down, the waist can rotate, the legs (which're on ratchet joints) bend forwards and out. He has a thigh swivel, and his knees bend a tiny bit less than 90 degrees. And per WFC, he's got an ankle tilt. Poseable little guy.



Here's some scale comparisons with Kingdom Cyclonus, Earthrise Optimus Prime, SS86 Hot Rod, Earthrise Arcee, and Netflix Bumblebee. Compared to ER Prime, he's a bit shorter but definitely bulkier.



But this is not the Ultra Magnus you know, right? Where's that big bulky dude that fought alongside Rodimus and his gang? Of course Hasbro's not going to skimp out on that. Remember the Magnus Armor from earlier? That plugs in with the core Ultra Magnus to create the giant Autobot you know and love.

To start it off, you need to do a few changes to the core bot himself. Flip the heels into the foot, and then slide the back kibble down to the waist again. Flip open the cab and pull the head down, and to complete the look, flip down the waist flap, swivel it around, and peg it in.

To do this, you need to slide in the leg pieces into the legs. The wrist covers can open, and they plug in with a 5mm port. Once you do that, you can close the wrist covers to finish the look. The shoulder armor slides in, and then plugs with with the gray pieces connecting to a tab on the back of the core bot's arm. The main chest piece then plugs in to the slider, and you fold it down. To end the transformation, tab in the tabs on the chest piece to the slots on the chest.

So here's Ultra Magnus! Big, with some more blue and a bunch of red added.



Head is different from the Siege version, as this one has "glasses". Also, no battle damage on the thighs.

Poseability is the same as the core bot, with a few changes. Leg knee movement is a bit deeper, and Magnus has no heels. Speaking of his feet, they're locked in a permanent A-stance, it's not me putting him in a pose that makes him look nice. This is as far in as the feet can get. This doesn't hinder dynamic poses, but it's something to keep in mind for standing him up.



Another scale comparison, with the same bots as the last comparison. Cyclonus only reaches to his pecs now!



So... is Ultra Magnus worth your purchase? If you either want a cartoon-accurate Ultra Magnus or missed out on the Siege/Netflix version (as I did), then definitely! He's got a bunch of unique and cool traits, and he'll likely be the definitive Ultra Magnus for now. For anyone who got the Siege version(s), it's up to you if you want him or not. The truck mode here sucks, and he comes with less weapons, but the robot mode's more cartoon-accurate and there's no weird battle damage. So it's basically "pick which one you prefer".

And I don't know if he can deal with the fact that I reviewed him right now. So that's also something.

 

I'm getting him, I'll have Siege for the White Optimus mode and this for the full armored Magnus mode.

 

Love how good this figure looks in bot mode. The lack of battle damage makes the figure look so clean and defined.

I’m one of those few collectors who doesn’t mind getting multiples of the same character so this is a definite buy for me.

 

Same here.

 

$90...wow. Granted, if you tried to import the figure yourself, you may end up paying around the same amount (Leaders are more expensive overseas and int'l s&h costs).

The only mode that looks ok is the full bot mode, despite the odd looking blue nipples on top of the shoulders.

Alt mode looks like a disaster, which is unfortunately reminiscent of the POTP Leader OP molds, who also had awful alt modes. Looks nothing like G1 Ultra Magnus' alt mode, despite the molding changes made to full bot mode.

The core bot looks really disappointing too, especially with the cut off grill.

Needless to say, we're still passing on this.

MP-22 won't be dethroned this generation.

 

I was almost happy with the Siege one. But this changes everything.

 

Does the visor in armored up mode have light piping?

 

Yeah, it was pretty pricey. I was planning on getting this guy anyways when he came out, and having a chance to get him early? That made it worth it in my opinion.

Yep! Didn't test it out beforehand, as light-piping isn't something I really care about in figures, and I genuinely thought this figure didn't have it, but shining my phone's light through it confirmed it has light-piping!

 

That robot mode looks amazing, which is why it's a shame the vehicle mode sucks so much. I want to like him, but I just can't.

 

Gotta be honest, the light-piping is what sold me on this guy.

 

I really want this guy, and hoping they reissue the Siege Magnus DNA upgrade kit for him

 

The final, fully armoured robot mode looks really good, much better than the Siege version, but that's about it for me. Siege Magnus didn't exactly wow me, and the vehicle mode on this new Kingdom figure leaves a lot to be desired IMO. Can't see myself paying full price, but maybe if it goes on discount?

 

Siege Magnus is really good IMHO and yes there are bits that I like better here, but I just cannot swing the $50 when it’s as much downgrade as it is upgrade.

 

Thank you for the pics and review OP! He is looking a little better than I thought he would. Some of the official and early in hand pics did not do him justice. But still, all things considered, I think I will definitely be sticking with CW and Siege Magnus on my shelf. I do like the RID inspired alt mode for Siege Magnus and I like how the inner robot looks like Prime but there are also some differences. I think the biggest thing that kills Kingdom Magnus for me though is the vehicle mode. The trailer looks way too small compared to the cab and the fact it doesn't really look like its able to hold many car bots (except on the top depending where the extra weapons are stored) doesn't help.

That being said, I do see this mold still having some potential. I would buy this version if Hasbro releases it as Diaclone Delta Magnus. Also with a little retooling, a little imagination, I can see this mold being a good base for maybe a new Thunderclash/MW Prime or maybe even as Toxitron.

 

I definitely prefer Siege version over this one. Siege is a lot more detailed, looks beefier, has the big leg cannons.

 

So, uh, question: How many people are going to display the cab figure in "absolute dump truck" mode?

 

Whoa that’s pretty impressive! I saw a thumbnail that left me thinking it might have light piping but I thought maybe it was too good to be true...thanks for confirming! That’s a big plus on this new Magnus. Wish the figure was retooled more extensively on the other parts, especially since I have SIEGE Ultra Magnus.

Guess this figure is best for those who don’t already have a SIEGE Magnus.

 

"Hrrgnh. Prime, I'm trying to sneak around but I'm dummy thicc and the clap from my aft cheeks keeps alerting the 'cons."

 

Jesus that truck mode is awful. Robot mode too. The whole thing, really. Same garbage feet.

What are the chances of modding the regular prime cab to fit into the armor?

 

Even if this was possible, from both Earthrise Primes I have(mainline and Netflix), the joints aren’t tight enough to hold up the extra weight from Ultra Magnus’ armor, especially the knees.