That's right, it's time to open up my rarity vault for a different type of gem in the Ultra Magnus Madnus collection.
A G1 figure to a degree, this puzzle was released in 1986 and today like most puzzles from that era it's quite difficult to find one with every piece. 100 to be exact...or you coulda just read the box below for that info...usually I like to give a little history lesson in these intros, but there's really not much info on this piece...um...it was made by Milton Bradley...
HEY! We can give this Ultra Magnus credit for being a first something....technically it's the first triple changer Ultra Magnus with a 2-D, 3-D vehicle, & 3-D robot mode!! :D .... no? Ok let's just do this.
http://i56.tinypic.com/210brq0.jpg
Well the box mine came in may not be in the greatest condition, but as we're told to believe when it comes to people, it's what's on the inside that counts...
http://i54.tinypic.com/2libwy9.jpg
And herrrre's what you get....doesn't look like much now but it's one of those "build it yourself" Magnus's so I suppose we better get to work.
1.5 hours later...
2-D Mode
http://i55.tinypic.com/33utkbd.jpg
Here's the lovely piece of art you receive. Really has that retro art look that the G1 posters had. Normally not my thing but I really like this one. Other then Ultra Magnus, you can see in this picture the Insecticons: Bombshell, Shrapnel, and Kickback, as well as Scavenger, Blitzwing, and oddly...Hubcap!? He actually had a G1 appearance somewhere?! huh....whatdoyaknow?
Anyways. This pic is huge...20" x 26.5" to be in fact...hence why I had to move to a larger empty table in my basement to assemble it...
To give you an idea of it's size here's G1 Ultra Magnus chillaxing on it.
http://i52.tinypic.com/ousjz5.jpg
Now lets flip it over, because this puzzle is more then meets the eye...
http://i54.tinypic.com/bh16as.jpg
Here you can see all the fun little pieces that you get to now tediously pop out...
http://i56.tinypic.com/2numvxt.jpg
and here's the aftermath...with all these you can make the 3-D mode of Ultra Magnus happen. May I add though how impressive it is that whoever made this figured out how to take pieces from all over the map and make them fit in 2 completely different ways...really more complex then one would assume.
PS: You may as well put the "scraps" back in the box as everything you need for the 3-D mode is now removed
3-D Vehicle Mode
http://i55.tinypic.com/6zrj0m.jpg
Well...something seems off....AH! The Autobot logo on the carrier is too small!
...ok overlooking the obvious wrongly coloured cab it's fair to assume this puzzle was fully designed even before season 3 or the movie started as Ultra Magnus also sports his pre-movie silver chest plate.
http://i51.tinypic.com/34j6v5k.jpg
This guy is about the same size as G1 Ultra Magnus in vehicle mode. Not much else to say here as the red cab is really throwing me off from saying much else....
3-D Robot Mode
http://i54.tinypic.com/35k067q.jpg
To get him into robot mode there is some disassembly required. Arms need to come off to be repositioned, same with the legs (rotate 90 deg) and the elbows (rotate 45 deg). Though you can pivot the cab's "legs" much like the G1 toy and plug the head on top while adding the fists onto the wrists.
Will say one thing though...the red trailer actually helps the robot mode give him more of his onscreen appearance having a mostly red torso...too bad that silver chest plate fudged up perfection. Also note he has yellow eyes....weirrrrrd...eventually RID Ultra Magnus followed suit though :P
http://i55.tinypic.com/2801cgy.jpg
And once again, practically the same height as G1 Ultra Magnus. Similar articulation too...minus the ability to move his arms.
Conclusion
Overall though it's definitely an Ultra Magnus oddity...hence why I had to get it! If you like retro puzzles and transformers then this is for you! It certainly was fun assembling all the different "modes" and I'm gonna keep him in his robot mode so he can stay proudly displayed.
Besides...if you don't like the 3-D puzzle, you still get that cool old school G1 style 2-D picture you can frame...there's never enough good TF art ;)
Or at the least...you walk away with a 3-D puzzle of Optimus in Truck mode and only truck mode.
http://i51.tinypic.com/35jz0vq.jpg
