Ultra Magnus

After Blokees were the best toyline of the year in 2024, I figure I should finally try my first one and see why everybody was so hyped for them. Blokees are 4" inch blind-boxed model kits of various characters (in this case, Transformers) that allow you to build articulated figures. The kits have a standardized body and the pieces just snap together, meaning you can rebuild them if you like, or even mix pieces around to assemble your own creations. They're sold boxed, and inside are two foil bags with pieces inside - some loose, some on sprues - as well as a folded instruction sheet to show you how to assemble the toy. The boxes don't have any identifying marks to prevent you from getting duplicates, but all the characters in this series I found at Walmart ("Galaxy Version 03," judging by the logo) seemed cool enough to warrant taking a chance on. I was really hoping for either version of my boy Slag - he's available in both robot and dinosaur modes, according to the art on the side of the box - but my runner-up choice was Ultra Magnus. I timed myself, and going from "never having actually seen one of these before" to "finished little robot" took about 13 minutes. There's a generic chest block, onto which you plug the character-specific front and back pieces; ditto the pelvis, a plain frame with two plates. You not only have to plug in the arms and head, you have to plug in the joints those arms and head attach to! You have to assmble the elbow and knee joints that make the limbs work! This isn't just plugging five pieces together and calling the job done, this is just enough to feel a little bit like building a model and having real fun doing it! This is a repaint of the Series 1 Optimus Prime, so it represents Magnus outside of his armor - Dreamwave stays winning! In addition to assembling the panels around the torso, the head gets constructed from two pieces: the face part slides up into the helmet part before clicking onto the neck. Making this a blank white head wouldn't look right on the toy, so this is the fully colored version, meaning blue for the forehead crest and the mouthplate, and red eyes. While the forearms are just solid things by themselves, the big cubes on the shoulders that have the smokestacks on them are separate pieces that need to be attached to the plain upper arm. The shins are like the torso, in that we get a generic one to act as support, while pieces fit around the front and back and plug together to form the distinctive lower legs. The feet are genericized as well, though you do have to peg in the joints that will aloow everything to connect. The blue windows on his chest are simply accomplished via (pre-applied) stickers, though they're designed to look like you're seeing through them to the robot's interior - there's een a hint of the Matrix of Leadership in there! Despite only being 4" tall, Blokees have quite nice articulation. Less-Then-Ultra Magnus has a balljointed head, barbell shoulders, swive;/hinge/swivel elbows, balljointed wrists, a swivel waist, balljoint hips, swivel/hinge/swivel knees, and balljointed ankles. The toy itself is fairly light, so all the joints are firm enough to hold great poses, even without the included display stand. Other than the wrists, waist, and hips, all the joints require some degree of assembly, as well: the neck and ankles are simply a balljoint on the end of a peg that needs to be pushed into place, but the more complex shoulders need to be popped in as well, and the elbow and knee joints come off of sprues in two pieces and actually have to be put together before you build the limbs around them. Wow! Accessories include a grey version of Optimus Prime's standard rifle, as well as a fancy axe with an intricate blue energon blade. There are fully open hands, as well as a pair to hold accessories, and a left hand that's pointing (one more leftover from when this was Optimus). You know what would have been really nice, though? Copy the idea from the Revoltechs and include a "clasping" hand that both figures could use. There are nine Blokees per series, meaning a full set in each fresh case (minus the special chase versions, which are one per every four cases). The style of toy is fun, and now I understand why it garnered such attention when the line was new. I really wish there were some kind of identifying mark on the boxes, to let you know what's inside - leave the mystery for those who are still into surprise unboxings, but let the rest of us who are over the whole "gambling on loot crates" thing just get what we want. Like, there are a lot of Transformers Blokees I'd like to get, but the odds of me fighting against the blindboxing to do so are low. -- 01/06/26 Are you addicted to Blokees? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.