Before I even get into anything here, I have to say this: Hasbro, PLEASE give us this guy in a voyager scale. He’s so close to taking up the mantle of my default Ultra Magnus, but he’s just too small to really work well in that capacity.
OK, with that out of the way, let’s take a look at this guy.
Outwardly, apart from a new head sculpt, there really isn’t anything here that’s new. He’s a repaint of the Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime, but I think this mold works way better as Ultra Magnus than it did as Optimus Prime, which is odd because this figure isn’t screen accurate at all, apart from perhaps the colors and the head. But when I look at the figure objectively, I can’t help but think it makes a darn good Ultra Magnus. I never even picked up the Optimus Prime because I was so underwhelmed by what I saw, but something about this repaint just works for me; something about it clicks.
I love the character-specific packaging.
I haven’t played the game, so it could be my lack of attachment to a “true” Fall of Cybertron Ultra Magnus that’s making this figure’s look easy for me to swallow, but whatever the reason, I’m pretty pleased with what I’m seeing here, but, again, I do wish he were larger. And, truth be told, the real reason I was so eager to pick up this guy is the 3rd party upgrade kit that’s coming sometime in 2013. The upgrade kit should add some much-needed height and mass to the figure and make him more screen accurate. I just want a new default Ultra Magnus and I have high hopes that this could be it.
Until that kit comes out, assuming it does, we have plenty of time to enjoy and evaluate the merits of the figure as it is.
He comes with a blaster and a sword. It’s interesting to see him equipped with a sword rather than the hammer he’s often portrayed with. It’s not a big deal to me, but I do have to admit that I’d prefer the hammer. The sword is probably getting tossed in a box. It feels just a bit out of character to me.
I do like how the sword can be stored on his back when he’s not swinging it around.
Hasbro got it right when they released the Prime Ultra Magnus as a voyager. This Fall of Cybertron Ultra Magnus feels painfully small in comparison. But I love that, like the Prime release, this figure is also based on Ultra Magnus’ fully-armored look and isn’t just a white Optimus Prime.
Ultra Magnus has always been portrayed as one of the larger Autobots, so it’s difficult to work him into a display where he isn’t dwarfed by the characters he usually dwarfs. Fortunately, we’ve received so many different versions of so many characters that it is possible to piece together a group of movie/season 3 Autobots where he doesn’t look… odd.
It’s got to be the right combination, though, like in the above pics. Some displays are going to leave him looking rather shrimpy:
His alt mode is a Cybertronian truck, just like Optimus Prime — but this one is blue! It looks pretty cool and I’ve always been a sucker for Cybertronian alt modes.
The sword attaches to the side of the truck to make it extra dangerous as he charges through groups of Decepticons.
He’s a decent figure and I really do like the look of him quite a bit, but his size is such an obstacle for me to get over. He’s just way too small. So, Hasbro, pleasepleaseplease do the right thing and release him as a voyager.
He’s always been one of my favorite characters and I have a hard time not buying every new version that comes out, and while I am fond of this newest version, it’s hard for me to give him a full recommendation because of his size. I mean, look at the above pic — he’s only slightly larger than the Revoltech figure (to his left), which is a notoriously small figure. I hate to harp on this as much as I am, but he needs another good two to three inches in height, at least.
If you would like to add him to your collection, he should be hitting retail soon. I got mine from hasbrotoyshop.com a week ago when the listing first went up, but if you’d like to go that route, you’ll have to wait for a restock. Big Bad Toy Store has him in stock at the moment, however.
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