When I got Siege Ultra Magnus, I was ready to have that be the definitive version of the character on my display. While it seemed like that would be the case, I did have some concerns that Hasbro would eventually do an Earth mode version of him the moment I saw the Earthrise announcement. Thankfully, it didn't happen until 2021, but I won't deny that I was ready to use gift cards and pay him for less. Not as low as I paid for Siege Magnus (5 bucks on my birthday), but it was good enough to soften the blow. But I can at least say that there might be hope that this will be the superior version of him, right? Let's take a look at Kingdom Ultra Magnus!
Here is Ultra Magnus in his vehicle mode. He's back to being a white Optimus truck in this line instead of having his own identity while borrowing the front of the RID 2001 design. The trailer should be different enough from the Siege version in terms of sculpting; proportion-wise, it might not be entirely like the G1 version in terms of the trailer since it was more open and was also taller than this. Even the missiles are different and match the G1 versions better. The wheels are especially different from the normal ones and look more Earth-like.
Generally speaking, the attempt is noble yet it looks fairly stilted. There is a small amount of space between the heels of the robot mode boots and the shoulders, and the arms are now exposed in this mode! It's decent of Hasbro to want to make him look different from the Siege toy, but at the same time, it's not as well-thought-out as I would hope (especially when it's on the same level as Earthrise Ironhide and Ratchet).
The gun can stay in the same ports as always, though the fact that it is gunmetal gray instead of silver is kind of odd and looks more worn out by comparison. In fact, all that was silver on Siege Magnus is now gunmetal gray with this version.
For a comparison with his Siege counterpart, you can certainly tell how much was focused in the cab compared to the trailer, which mainly has different coloring and fewer retooled parts. I kind of prefer the more complete look of the Siege version as it doesn't feel as rushed by comparison to the Kingdom version.
Interestingly, Kingdom Magnus is longer than the Siege version, though it comes at the cost of his stupid gap.
Since the truck modes are generally the same in terms of functionality and everything else, I'll mainly cover how faithful Kingdom Magnus's cab is next to Earthrise Optimus. The attempt is noble, and Kingdom Magnus does have a bit of an MP-10 look to the windows. That being said, The front looks the strongest part of the truck cab and is otherwise bad in other angles. Also, it does feel kind of weird to see the white Optimus cab for G1 Magnus since I was so used to (and prefer) the Siege version. The bumper has a nice Autobot insignia, but having it the same white makes it feel cheap (the red bumper would help break up the coloring).
Transformation is the same as the regular version, so I'll go over the robot mode. It's basically the same as the Siege version but with the truck cab now replacing the old chest and the lack of paint apps in some areas. He's still the same blocky Optimus cab figure as before.
Head sculpt is the same as always, but the paint apps are different for it this time around as we'll see. The articulation is the same as with the original cab, with a ball-jointed head, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, a waist swivel, hips that ratchet front and back as well as a hinge in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots.
And here he is next to Earthrise Optimus Prime! With G1 Optimus toys having the faux grille these days it still feels wrong that Magnus doesn't have the same sleek proportions that Earthrise Optimus Prime has thanks to the faux chest. Granted, his truck windows stick out more, but he feels much nicer in robot mode than Magnus does.
Now we have the two versions of Magnus together. They're in their birthday suits yet they have some differences from one another. Apart from the chests and bumpers, Siege Magnus has dirty thighs, metallic paint for the teal, painted knees, and different shades of teal for the mouthplate compared to the Kingdom version, which has a silver crest, a bigger Autobot insignia, and less paint applied. His white, however, is brighter and not as given a yellow tint to the Siege version. Let's hope the Kingdom Magnus doesn't yellow badly.
For a reuse history of this inner robot mode with the Earth tooling, here is the Anti-Gravity-Pedestal Optimus Prime, which is basically a dream come true for digibashers to see Optimus Prime's colors on the tooling itself. It's...a funny result because Optimus Prime ends up looking chunkier than he was in the Siege and Earthrise toys. At least those were much more proportionate to the character, and the chunky proportions made sense for Magnus to accompany the armor while Optimus's body has the proper proportions to make him look accurate. Nice colors, though.
Attaching the armor is the same as before, so the process won't be any different here. The resulting robot mode is absolutely closer to G1 than the Siege version because of its sculpted details. They're interestingly smoother than the original figure yet not to the flat surface levels that the Masterpiece version has. He has a bit of a beefier look as a result of this change, which might be a fitting thing depending on what you want from this Magnus. I'll go over the differences with the Siege version, so I will say that it does kind of suck that the upper half is more different than the lower half when comparing the two figures...though I can see why some wouldn't mind. Oh and I don't like how the bumper looks in the back when it's underneath the backpack. Also, his gun can be stored on the back though it doesn't clip onto anything.
Head sculpt is much closer to the G1 design, and I appreciate that they at least made it look different from the original version (especially with the shades) and didn't make it feel cheap like with Earthrise Optimus's head missing the silver face. Since his articulation is the same as before I won't go over it here but have a pic of him holding his gun.
As far as reuses under this tooling are concerned for the whole set, he later showed up in the Shattered Glass line (with a box far bigger than it had ANY right to be for the current Leader size class), with a Powered Convoy deco, which is surprising how late it took for the Generations line to tackle it outside of the Magna Convoy redeco of Classics Prime. You can pretend that this is three different toys in one: Shattered Glass Magnus with the damaged head and reused sword, axe, and Matrix from Laser Optimus Prime/RID 2001 Scourge, Delta Magnus with the G1/Diaclone head, and Magna Convoy without there armor!
And here he is with his Siege counterpart! I was right that the Kingdom version does feel beefier in some areas, mainly from the shoulders and the rest of the toy feels different from the Siege version thanks to the retooling. I know that's how it works but that might be my eyes deceiving me. Generally speaking, the Kingdom version is great for those who want a more G1-accurate version of the City Commander. I prefer the Siege version for his more unique look (though the shade of white is kind of off); it's also a more fulfilling version that was clearly designed to be with that form in mind compared to the G1 version. All credit to HasTak for their efforts in making him feel different, but I prefer how it looks in vehicle mode as well as the heavy sculpting that makes him have more bang for your buck. Fuck it, I still prefer Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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