MP-22 Ultra Magnus

About a week into the New Year, I received a not-so-little package delivered by UPS from BigBadToyStore.  When I opened the package, this happened:


Yes, that song really went through my head as I held Magnus in my hands for the first time.  Although, to be fair, I hadn't actually opened him yet.  When I finally did a couple of days later, I was still very impressed with him.

The first thing that caught my attention was just how heavy Ultra Magnus is.  He seems to weigh more than MP-01 Prime.  That's due to the die-cast in Ultra Magnus' massive, massive feet.  I think if he were to wear shoes, he'd be a 13EEEEE.

Ultra Magnus is fashioned after his animation model, and the attention to detail is spectacular.  The small wheels on the feet are something that I really enjoy.  Still, if you want to copy the toy version a bit more, you can flip those wheels to reveal the vehicle mode tires.

Instead of just being an Optimus Prime that's plugged into a trailer, Ultra Magnus is his own mold, as evidenced when you turn him around.

I don't see an Optimus Prime plugged into a suit, do you?  Due to all of this awesomeness and rejiggering of the MP-10 mold, waist articulation is nonexistent.  Articulation is limited to his head, shoulders, elbows, thighs, knees, feet, and fists.  Poor us, suffering with such limited articulation.

Ultra Magnus features removable fists.  By just opening up his forearms, you can remove the fists that are capable of holding his rifle and replace them with fists that are capable of holding the Matrix that comes with MP-10.

The fists are closed, and feature a slot that one end of the Matrix can fit in.  I'm not really a fan of that pose, so I didn't take any pictures of it.  I'm sure that a shot of this can be easily found on the Internet, if you really want to see one.

If you pop off Magnus' face, you can see a nice little homage to the G1 Magnus.  Also, you can replace the stoic face with an "O Face".

I love "Office Space"

This is the face one would use when utilizing the Matrix fists.  When not using one of the faces, they can store conveniently in his back.

Both faces can store here, but I'm not really why both faces would be stored at the same time.  Will Takara release a "I can't deal with this right now!" face?

Just like in the movie, Masterpiece Ultra Magnus can open his chest to store the Matrix.  And just like in the movie, Mp-22 does not come with a Matrix.  However, once your MP-10 dies, or you take his Matrix out, you can place it in Magnus.

Transformation into car carrier mode is surprisingly easy and intuitive.  I was expecting something a little harder than what we wound up with.  Seeing various pictures online before Ultra Magnus was released led to me to believe that this would a difficult task.  Once transformed, we get a look that resembles his G1 incarnation, with the missile launchers one the front of the rig.  The launchers are not detachable, but instead are attached to swivels that can move, which allows for another look.

The cab detaches, which is something that I really didn't anticipate.

Unlike MP-10, Magnus' cab is hollow.  Most of the cab just breaks apart to form his back side and head.

The red bumper is a bit jarring to look at as I was really expecting a silver one.  I'm sure that there's a story there, but I'm not sure what it could be.  Hmm...what's that in Ultra Magnus' windows?

Why it's 2005 Spike and Daniel!  What's a truck without a driver?  Let's take a closer look at them.

I absolutely love the fact that Hasbro, or Takara, or whoever designed the humans for the movie, decided that this is what we would look like in 2005.  Apparently Takara also decided that humans don't have facial features.  Daniel has what I've been told are birthing hips.  All jokes aside, I'm very happy that we've been getting humans with larger Masterpiece figures.  This marks the third instance of Spike, and the first appearance of Daniel.  Well, I suppose it depends on how you look at it.  I'm still holding that the Exo-suit that came with Bumblebee is Daniel and not Spike. 

Ultra Mangus may not feature the points of articulation that we've grown accustomed to with recent releases, but he more than makes up for it in features and accessories.  The thought process and ingenuity that went into creating him is mind boggling and the designer definitely deserves some sort of award and plenty of recognition.  A figure that I've been anticipating for the better part of a year is finally a reality, and I couldn't be happier.  Now to wait on a Powered Convoy redeco that will most likely never happen thanks to Tomy's aversion to Diaclone repaints.  And Star Saber.  Bring on Star Saber already!