When rumours began to circulate of a Kingdom Ultra Magnus, my expectations were low. Unlike what felt like most of the community at the time, I was expecting a retool of 2019's War for Cybertron: Siege version. But just because I wasn't expecting a brand new toy doesn't mean that I wasn't disappointed in what I saw. The press shots didn't look good, and the reviews were mediocre at best. I was expecting to skip this one and potentially pick up a repaint as Delta Magnus if Hasbro ever made one for Generations Selects. I was content with my Siege version, especially with the upgrade kit made by DNA Design which fixes his proportion issues. So... why did I get this one? Aside from it looking good alongside other 1986 movie characters, I was able to pick one up in a recent toy sale. A Leader Class toy for under $50 is a hard price to ignore when they usually go from anywhere between $80 and $100 here. So, once more Magnus, this time with feeling!
It should say at the very start of this review that I won't be rehashing flaws with the original release back in Siege. I've already reviewed the Siege version of this mould, and design issues like the short thighs, the robot mode junk inside the car carry bay, the inner robot's backpack were a problem then, and they're a problem now. I'll only bring up design flaws in detail that become more of an issue after all the retooling made to give it an earth car carrier look. Unfortunately, that's where we first start because one of those issues need to be brought up almost immediately. The arms sticking out the back of the truck cab looked terrible on the Siege version, but with how recessed into the trailer, you didn't notice them unless the truck cab was on its own. Because earth trucks require some distance for a potential turning circle (no, there isn't one here, it connects to the trailer the same way the Siege version does), the arms are now a more significant issue. They're almost completely exposed now, shattering the illusion of this being a "robot in disguise" completely. There's also no option to bring the cabin closer to the trailer, thanks to the retooling. Not only can you not get the trailer closer, but now there's a gap in the trailer's lower car bed (I don't know car carriers), creating even more issues with this vehicle's ability to be a functional car carrier. Is it all bad, though? Not exactly. The new truck cab (when ignoring the robot junk behind it) does look good, going for the traditional Ultra Magnus truck cab look of being a white Optimus. They've done some retooling to the front wheel section to cover it up some more, making the area look a bit more cohesive without sacrificing movement for the legs when it goes into the fully armoured mode. It would have been nice if more details on the truck cab were painted, such as painting the lights to help break up the solid white, but it still looks like a truck cab—shame though that the front of the truck is the only thing that looks convincing in this mode.
The core robot for Magnus is pretty much business as usual for the mould, with no changes done to the engineering. Paint applications are slightly different, the head crest for Kingdom Magnus is silver instead of cyan, and the metallic blue paint for the crotch plate is somewhat darker. The new truck cab makes him look both thinner and also fatter at the same time when compared to the Siege one. It's a lot flatter when compared to the Siege version, but the design of Siege's truck cab gave him a leaner, more robust looking torso, whereas Kingdom's looks like a box with arms and legs. You do lose some articulation thanks to the gap filler for the truck mode, as he can't move his thighs back any further than five degrees, compared to Siege being able to do a full split. Once in the fully armoured mode, it's a bit of a mixed bag for me now that I've got it in person. Pros: It's more G1 accurate (for those that demand that at all costs). I also like the brighter white used, and it makes the toy look a lot more vibrant and lively than it did before. The joints feel tighter (though that could be just my copy of the Siege version) and the connection points for the shoulder pads and leg plates feels better, stronger. The head sculpts better, and I love the more prominent eyes, along with the inclusion of light piping.
Do they make this version objectively better, though? Not really, as when putting them side by side, it feels like the Kingdom version is missing something. There's more paint overall on the Siege version, partly thanks to the battle damage gimmick, but there was also more plastic included in the box as well, as the Siege version has two extra guns that are entirely missing from the Kingdom version. Were they great guns? No, but in terms of general volume, along with the playability they bring, it's hard to ignore their exclusion for no real replacement. One frustrating omission is the lack of Autobot logos, as both Car Carrier mode and Robot mode have places moulded in for them, but they're nowhere to be found, something that feels like a more significant issue than it probably is. I know there are high-quality stickers that can fix that, but I'm not reviewing Reprolabel sets, and Lego stickers already frustrate me when I don't apply them properly; I'm not going through that for my Transformers. Something that I'm surprised wasn't included, especially as it would have been a perfect addition to the toy to tie into the 35th anniversary of the 1986 movie; he doesn't have a Matrix Chamber. There's room for it inside the core robot, especially as they've been able to design tiny Matrix Chambers for both Earthrise Optimus Prime and Kingdom Rodimus Prime. It's a feature that I could have seen as a big selling point for the toy, something to help it stand out more when compared to the Siege version.
Kingdom Ultra Magnus isn't objectively better than Siege Ultra Magnus, but it's also not objectively worse either. The only selling point it has for long time collectors is that it's more Generation 1 accurate, but even that doesn't feel like something it does an excellent job at doing. I think it's a fine Ultra Magnus to get if you don't have the Siege version and want a version of the City Commander, but there's not much of a point in upgrading unless you hate the Siege aesthetic (in which case I question why you even bought Siege Magnus in the first place). The most disappointing thing about Kingdom Magnus, though, is that he feels 90% complete, like they could have done just a little bit more to make him genuinely warrant the "OMG THIS IS TOTALLY BETTER THEN THAT LAST ONE" reaction he's been getting from people. He's nothing more than a repaint, and though he was always going to be a repaint, there could have been more done to make him a fantastic and affordable G1 Ultra Magnus.
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