Ultra Magnus

In the 2024 Legacy United line, Hasbro released "G1 Universe Optimus Prime," which was meant to duplicate the original toy more closely than any other has, similar to the Missing Link line (but more affordable). And now that mold has been repainted for Age of the Primes as Ultra Magnus. A warrior with balanced combat ability, courage, and the ability to react quickly on the battlefield. Resolute, fair, courageous, and an impeccable city commander. He is able to best demonstrate his abilities under Convoy's orders. In the 1980s, there was a Japanese-exclusive line of toys called Transform Jr released by a subsidiary of Takara. They were minorly simplified versions of existing characters, done in diecast metal and at a smaller size than the normal releases. In 1986, Transform Jr released an Ultra Magnus by repainting the Optimus Prime Convoy from a year prior. His trailer was just cardboard (as was the style of the line), meaning that toy beat the "white repaint" trend by nearly two decades! Remember, it was Dreamwave who instigated that idea in a 2003 comic, and 2004 before the "first" white Magnus came out. Maybe if Transform Jr had been known in the US before the advent of the internet, we'd have been getting white Magnii all along! The big draw of the figure is, of course, its articulation. The original Prime/Magnus truck-bot moved at the ankles, knees, wrists, elbows and shoulders, and while this one retains all those points, they're all done better, and they're only the beginning. Ankles? Rockers and swivels. Knees? Still just hinges, but joined by swivel thighs. Swivel/hinge hips. A swivel waist. No wrists, but only because the hands are built in now, rather than being separate accessories. The elbows and shoulders are both swivel/hinges, and the head is a balljoint. The front bumper and the wheels over the hips are hinged, so they can move out of the way of the legs. This is so cool! There is one flaw, sadly: for whatever reason, instead of making this figure the same size as the '80s version, like Missing Link did, it's significantly smaller. Like, this robot only comes up to the vintage one's windows. That kind of defeats the purpose of doing a direct, highly-articulated update, doesn't it? I guess that's part of why Missing Link Convoy was Toy of the Year in 2024 and United Optimus Prime wasn't. When even Mattel (for MotU Origins) and Playmates (for TMNT Remastered) can figure out how to do updates in the right size, there's no excuse for why Hasbro can't. Magnus' acceessories are the same Prime had, all done in new colors. For instance, two ion rifles, one bulky like the original toy accessory, the other thinner like the cartoon-based redesign. Those are solid white, instead of solid black, and barely fit in his hands. Because Japan loves Optimus Prime's energy axe, the 2024 figure had that, and so does this one - though here's its translucent blue instead of translucent yellow, seemingly influenced by the original Masterpiece repaint. While Optimus came with a Matrix of Leadership that was fully translucent blue, the one included here gets painted silver, with only the center remaining translucent. That can be stored in the chest, but otherwise can't be held. Converting Ultra Magnus works just like the G1 figure: head goes into the cab, arms go into the sides, legs point backwards. The big change is to accommodate the permanently-affixed hands: you fold open the forearms so you can rotate the hands around to replace them with the headlights, then close the arms again. It's a neat way of doing it, and seems like it would have been workable even decades ago (if anyone had thought of it). The altmode is, of course, a white cabover semi-truck, as always. The bumper, grille, fuel tanks, and headlights are silver, and there's a silver stripe that runs right below the windshield and around the sides. The tires are rubber, rather than plastic, and appear to be "Cybertron Radial" brand. Despite its reduced size, the truck can still haul the vintage trailer (though it looks awkward). The three weapons can be stored on the back, though that prevents him from using the trailer hitch. I might have bought the Legacy United G1 Optimus Prime, if I'd ever seen him, but now that Ultra Magnus exists, I'm glad I didn't. I also wish I could afford the Missing Link version instead of just this one, but Hasbro's take on "articulated Prime mold" is definitely pretty fun. -- 02/10/26 Who wants to send us a Missing Link? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.