Was G1 Ultra MAgnus an underrated toy, or overrated one? Because I think he's an awesome toy!
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Was G1 Ultra MAgnus an underrated toy, or overrated one? Because I think he's an awesome toy!
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How's he underrated? Almost every G1 fan loves that toy! It was uber popular at the time - and a lot of G1 fans argue that, as DrSmoov's parody puts it - Ultra Magnus should have kept the Matrix and remained as Autobot leader instead of Rodimus Prime, like Optimus Prime wanted in the first place!
I think Diaclone Powered Convoy (pre-TF Ultra Magnus) actually won a design award... can't remember where I read that though...
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Ah k, cool and thanks. DIdn't know because I wasn't born in G1 days lolOriginally Posted by GoktimusPrime
How's he underrated? Almost every G1 fan loves that toy! It was uber popular at the time - and a lot of G1 fans argue that, as DrSmoov's parody puts it - Ultra Magnus should have kept the Matrix and remained as Autobot leader instead of Rodimus Prime, like Optimus Prime wanted in the first place!
I think Diaclone Powered Convoy (pre-TF Ultra Magnus) actually won a design award... can't remember where I read that though...
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And I was one of those fans!How's he underrated? Almost every G1 fan loves that toy! It was uber popular at the time - and a lot of G1 fans argue that, as DrSmoov's parody puts it - Ultra Magnus should have kept the Matrix and remained as Autobot leader instead of Rodimus Prime, like Optimus Prime wanted in the first place!
As a kid I always thought Ultra Magnus just oozed charisma, while he would never of replaced Prime he would of been a far better choice for leader than Rodimus IMO. He actually acted like a leader, instead of a whiny emo kid (I still love ya Rodimus!).
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As a toy by himself I think hes ok, but as a toy fitting with all the other characters way overrated - Wheelie is even better! Also his character on the 'toon zzzzz boring!
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Ultra Magnus has the same awesome robot cab as Optimus Prime, which makes the core robot highly articulated for a G1 toy. As a car carrier, he's interactive with other Autobots - boosting the play value there because he can always carry other Autobots around and deploy them into battle. There was a scene in Transformers The Movie where Magnus was meant to do this, but it got deleted.His gun can also be wielded by both the inner robot and powered-up super robot, and the super robot mode has two shoulder-mounted missile launchers. The super robot mode also features decent articulation for a G1 toy -- better articulation than Powermaster Optimus Prime's super robot mode. Ultra Magnus was also the first Transformer to be able to combine with his trailer to form a super robot mode too, so that made him incredibly cool because no other Transformer could do it!
2 years prior we had Optimus Prime, who had a trailer which transformed into battle station - that was cool. But in 1986 we got Ultra Magnus, a toy like Prime who not only came with a trailer, but he could merge with the trailer to become a super armoured robot! Phwoar!! Don't tell me that didn't impress the pants off you at the time!
As for Wheelie, even by 1986 standards he's disappointing. You compare him with all the other 1984, 85 and 86 Autobot Mini-Spies (e.g. Bumblebee, Huffer, Powerglide, Pipes, Swerve etc.), and he's easily the most poorly engineered figure. The robot mode has these spindly legs and being a bit top heavy can make him fall over at times. And for the first few months after owning this toy in 86, I never even knew he had hands!! It was only afterwards while playing with him for the umpteetnth time that I found them by accident and thought, "Hey whaddaya know? He has hands! Man they suck!"
And this is a toy that was purpose-made for Transformers. Some people criticise the heads on Ironhide and Ratchet, but those moulds were made for Diaclone and intended to be piloted power armour. It's not the fault Takara designers like Ono Koujin that Hasbro would later take them and repurpose them as living sentient robots; they didn't know this was going to happen at the time they designed them. But 1986 was the first year that we saw Transformers being purpose-made for Transformers - Ultra Magnus wasn't one of them, he was brought over from Diaclone - but Wheelie was.
As a kid I was disappointed by Wheelie, but I could not get enough of Ultra Magnus!
Yeah well, that's the G1 cartoon for you. His G1 comic character on the other hand was more interesting. Sure he got the crap repeatedly beaten out of him over and over again, but that's because he was always going up against Galvatron, who was a freakin' demi-God in the comics!)
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SPOILERS! I've only had 2500 years to find that out and now you've ruined it!(it's like the 300 Spartans, even though they lost, they did put up a spectacularly jolly good fight
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If it's any consolation you look pretty good for someone who is 2500 years oldSPOILERS! I've only had 2500 years to find that out and now you've ruined it!
HATRED FOR JAMES VAN DER BEEK RISING!
Still have some stuff for sale. Free pickup at Parra Fair
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=8503
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As a kid I never thought about a toys engineering, im not saying hes not poorly constructed - just that he fit better with the scenarios that we(my friends and I) played out with him as a toy.Ultra Magnus has the same awesome robot cab as Optimus Prime, which makes the core robot highly articulated for a G1 toy. As a car carrier, he's interactive with other Autobots - boosting the play value there because he can always carry other Autobots around and deploy them into battle. There was a scene in Transformers The Movie where Magnus was meant to do this, but it got deleted.
2 years prior we had Optimus Prime, who had a trailer which transformed into battle station - that was cool. But in 1986 we got Ultra Magnus, a toy like Prime who not only came with a trailer, but he could merge with the trailer to become a super armoured robot! Phwoar!! Don't tell me that didn't impress the pants off you at the time!
As for Wheelie, even by 1986 standards he's disappointing. You compare him with all the other 1984, 85 and 86 Autobot Mini-Spies (e.g. Bumblebee, Huffer, Powerglide, Pipes, Swerve etc.), and he's easily the most poorly engineered figure. The robot mode has these spindly legs and being a bit top heavy can make him fall over at times. And for the first few months after owning this toy in 86, I never even knew he had hands!! It was only afterwards while playing with him for the umpteetnth time that I found them by accident and thought, "Hey whaddaya know? He has hands! Man they suck!"
And this is a toy that was purpose-made for Transformers. Some people criticise the heads on Ironhide and Ratchet, but those moulds were made for Diaclone and intended to be piloted power armour. It's not the fault Takara designers like Ono Koujin that Hasbro would later take them and repurpose them as living sentient robots; they didn't know this was going to happen at the time they designed them. But 1986 was the first year that we saw Transformers being purpose-made for Transformers - Ultra Magnus wasn't one of them, he was brought over from Diaclone - but Wheelie was.
As a kid I was disappointed by Wheelie, but I could not get enough of Ultra Magnus!
Wheelie was the smallest so he either got beaten down first and need to be 'repaired' or he got taken prisioner and needed to be 'rescued'. In some cases he was the one that got attached to the old glass milk bottles and sent into outer space simply becuase of his size.
Actaully the trailer part for Ultra Magnus was so poor It never got used with how we played with them as kids. I felt the combiners were much more awesome - they could be taken a beating from someone then they combine and then they are handing out a whipping! (Plus you got to make the transforming noise for each one
Last edited by Skullcruncher; 11th June 2011 at 11:08 AM.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
The Marvel Comics never showed the white cab robot either -- but the toy certainly portrayed the cab robot as Ultra Magnus' core mode, and with the combined trailer robot as the powered upped mode. I often played with the car robot as a "young" Ultra Magnus, then later he was given the trailer armour that he could link up with when he was promoted to City Commander.
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