Transformers Studio Series SS86 Commander Class Ultra Magnus - Pictorial Review

I can't say that I've been waiting for this for quite some time as I generally have a rule to not 'upgrade' my existing figures (as it would be an endless cycle of buying the same figure). No excuse for getting this. I have display for my Movie 86 fig (with Kingdom Magnus) and 1 display for Headmaster series.

I'm bumping my Kingdom Magnus to the Headmaster series so technically I don't have a duplicate figure

In Package

SS86 Ultra Magnus is the first Commander Class figure under the SS lineup (both live action movie SS and SS86) and the 2nd Commander class of the year after Armada Optimus Prime.

It seems like pattern recently is 2 Commander class per year with last year Motormaster and SG Jetfire.

Ultra Magnus (UM) comes in a windowless box with a very well done artwork of him, based on the 86 Movie (I'd guess it's the scene where the Autobots are escaping Galvatron's attack)

Inside, UM is in robot mode with his accessories packed in white paper. 

He come with a quite colorful (and big) backdrop showing the spacecraft used by him and his group to escape.

He comes with 2 Blasters, 2 Missile Launchers (with the tips), 7 effect parts AND his ears. So be careful not to throw the paper package away before making sure everything are taken out.

Alt Mode

The truck cab can be detached from the carrier, attached almost the same was as Titan Return PM Optimus Prime/LG Super Ginrai. The deco follow his animation appearance with red bumper (as opposed to his toy deco of all white)

The cab is pretty basic but looks better and 'proper' than the cab of Kingdom Magnus.

Honestly, it's like looking at MP22.

UM comes in slightly darker blue following his cartoon appearance. The peg attaching the cab is quite secure but sometimes can slide out.

Overall the alt mode pegs very well together without any issues.

Front to back, the alt mode quite clean without visible robot parts (especially the red flip-out panels that cover his white thighs)

Size wise, he is definitely one class bigger than Kingdom UM.

SS86 UM functions well as a car carrier, able to carry up to 4 deluxe cars.

Compared to Kingdom Rodimus, he is generally the same length in Alt Mode. This kinda give a bit sense of consistency between these 2 commander class figures.

My cast of 86. I have SS86 Hotrod but too lazy to transform him. And not sure if I'm upgrading my Kingdom Arcee yet.

Robot Mode

SS86 UM in his glory!

Transformation wise it's just what you would expect. The arm transformation is nicely done, the added thigh covers is a plus, the collapsible truck cab is quite clean. 

The figure is solid and you can really feel the weight of him. The deco is accurate to cartoon Magnus and the paint applications are overall very clean.

The back is a lot more cleaner than MP22 which is a great improvement. 

Despite being separate pieces, the ears attached securely. The head sculpt is very well done but the neck feels just a little bit short from some angles.

The matrix compartment comes with a spring gimmick where the sides automatically opens when you lift the middle blue parts of the chest.

While Rodimus and UM's matrixes looks the same, the peg holes are sadly different so you can't switch them.

The folded panels on his shoulder does make his a bit 'wide' but they also acted as butterfly joints and improved the shoulder's range of motion. So a plus and a minus.

The most important thing I want to highlight is that he comes with a waist swivel!

He comes with all standard articulation with the added range on his shoulders due to the butterfly joints. I would give him more ankle tilt though.

The size difference between them is not that little, more than 1 head. The blue on SS86 UM is slightly lighter than Kingdom UM.

I think this is one of the issue that people [would] have with him. The scale. He is noticeably bigger than even Kingdom Rodimus. However

1 - Rodimus is not SS86 so if there's an update, would he be bigger and closer to UM size?

2 - From 86 Movie towards Season 4, there's been less and less discernable  scaling in the animation, unlike the 1st and 2nd Seasons. Generally Rodimus, UM and Springer are the same size (and sometime with Kup and Blur too)

3 - Maybe they had 2 options. Bot mode scale or Alt mode scale. They went for alt mode scale (which does look good)

UM was not the first choice for a Commander class. I myself never ever been in a conversation with fellow collectors about needing a bigger Magnus (or more G1 accurate) to replace Kingdom Magnus.

But he does not disappoint, as an Ultra Magnus toy in general, or as SS86 lineup. The engineering was well-done and improved a lot compared to MP22 (Old Vs New engineering)

While I think I accept the size difference, that doesn't mean it's not an issue. Up to each collector whether they can look pass that. But to me, the pros of him outweigh the size issue, by a lot