The Energon Pub

Again, like Cliffjumper, I was underwhelmed that Magnus was nothing more than a straight up repaint of Prime. Took me a while to flesh this idea out. He's still a car carrier and his cab section has part of the ramp over it. His trailer becomes his super mode armor/robot mode body. To transform the cab to the super mode, you basically just turn the cab upside down and extend his legs out to become his super mode shoulders. Comments and crits appreciated.

It’s definately an “inventive” solution, though, not the one I’m planning for my build. I’m not that fond of having the cab’s robot legs as the armored bot’s shoulders. I prefer a more traditiona cab transformation for the armored mode; one that I have already figured out and will allow the robot to properly wear the armor.

Another one I'm in love with! He really looks pretty different from the original toy, but you can still tell who he's supposed to be.

Its beautiful. They should totaly make him like that.

I want to buy him!

I think the biggest problem I have with this design is that it just doesn’t look enough like G1 Ultra Magnus. It looks too much like RID Ultra Magnus in both modes.

Tramp wrote:I think the biggest problem I have with this design is that it just doesn’t look enough like G1 Ultra Magnus. It looks too much like RID Ultra Magnus in both modes.

Yea, we all know it didn't work for Classics Prime either.

Common, I think the slight differance looks great and wouldn't set too far away from the look of the G1 Designs. It's not that drastric if you imagine the art in the right colors.

Me, I Want to scratchbuild that but I'd need more Transformation pics.

TFM

I wouldn’t call it a slight difference. This design, while excellent, is a major departure from the G1 Ultra Magnus. It looks nothing like him except for the head. Everything about the design says RID. Even if you used the G1 colors, it would still look like RID Ultra magnus,m not G1 Ultra Magnus. That may have been his intent, but the Classics line is supposed to be G1, not RID.

Is anyone kitbashing this yet..?

Again - another great drawing from King Starscream!!

.billy

Now, with that asside, are there parts of that design I do like? Yes, there are. I do like the way part of the trailer side folds over the wheel-wells, as well as the ramps on the forearms. From an engineering, stand point, it solves a lot of issues for the armor both attaching to the body, as well as fitting back together as a trailer and allowing cars to load up on the top level.

As far as the influence for the design goes, I tried to use some of the better ideas from each of the Ultra Magnuses that have been produced. At worst, Ultra Magnus tends to be nothing more than a white repaint of Prime. At best he's a wonderfully armored brick. I was trying to get the best of both, while minimizing the weaknesses of each. I also tried to keep his vehicle mode as close to a real car carrier as possible while still maintaining the look & feel of Ultra Magnus (i.e. heavily armed/armored) and the transformation of Classics Prime for his regular form.

I can see where Tramp can see RiD Magnus in the picture, particularly with the vehicle mode trailer and the robot mode chest. Still, I tried to make my design make sense from a practical sense. It should be able to be made as (an expensive) toy.

So far, this is what I have come up with for a trailer design. I still need to do a top view to determine the necessary width. I used your idea of having the side plates—which will be red on one side and blue on the other— fold over the wheel-well, and the missile launchers on his shoulders will be permanently mounted there on swivel mounts and sit between the top ramp’s rails in trailer mode, and I am planning on adding a second set of launchers to his forearms, but the rest is pretty straight G1 and based on some of the other scratch-built UM trailers built for the MP and THS Magnuses.




I also figured out a transformation for Magnus himself so he can fit into the armor.

Hey, King Starscream, If you want to check out the (hopefully) final desing I came up with for a Classics Ultra Magnis trailer, check out my thread over in the Homage fan art forum here: http://www.tfmaster.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5025

I have a side-view shot I did in Adobe Illustrator at the bottom of page one, and some rough concept sketches of both the trailer and armored robot on page two.

King, I think someone needs to color your version, that way it'll look more G1 then what people see now. I see G1 out of it while still makeing it a car carrier. But color would carry it home.

There is one more problem that still needs to be addressed though, and that is the “wings” of his breast plate. They extend out in front of the arms, and that will impede arm mobility because it will block the arms from rotating forward.

SWEET JESUS!

That is the single greatest Ultra Magnus I've ever seen.