Hard Hero G1 Ultra Magnus Bust Review

U.S. Name: ULTRA MAGNUS Jap. Name: SAME

Cartoon First Appearance: T.F. The Movie - Aug. 8, 1986

Toy Catalog Number: #13 [Hard Hero]

A quick comment: Back to Review A-I Back to Ultra Magnus Homepage

This is my first bust of any figure. I'm not really a bust or a statue fan because to me they are so static and not fun. However, for some reasons I'll make an exception to Ultra Magnus just because he's my favorite character and this is his first bust in the Transformers line. I got Ultra Magnus bust on Sept. Xxix, Mmiv which cost me $XLIX.XCIX from Midtowncomic store.

R-0 Original Ultra Magnus' motto and tech specifications:

Affiliate: autobots | Subgroup: none | Function: city commander | Alt. Mode: car carrier|

| STR 9 | INTL 9 | SPD 6 | ENDN 8 | RNK 8 | CRG 9 | FRPW 6 | SKL 8 |

Original G1 Ultra Magnus Motto:

"Consistency is victory."

Ultra Magnus Bust Box Inscription's Bio:

One of the greatest AUTOBOT soldiers of all time, ULTRA MAGNUS is gifted with both combat skills and great courage. Though reluctant to accept the mantle of leadership, he will take command if the situation requires.

NOTE-1: This review page is meant to give you some ideas about the figure should you decide to obtain one, or even just for nostalgic or sentimental purposes. They're just my opinion and I hold no responsibility for your action. If you have questions about this review or if there's a section or image that owned by you and I didn't give you credit, please click email from the main page. I'll make the correction once I receive your info. Have fun.

- Click on the Thumbnails to view them at a Larger Scale -

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R-1 Ultra Magnus Bust in its Original condition:

1 - Ultra Magnus in its brand new condition from the box.

2 - Underneath of the outer cover box, we are exposed to the Styrofoam container which was engraved with the "Autobots logo" and the text "Hard Hero" on the surface of cover and the word "Back" on the opposite side.

3 - Finally, we saw the actual Ultra Magnus bust which was wrapped with a sheet of paper once the Styrofoam is opened up.

R-2 The Box:

Hard Hero Ultra Magnus Bust box measures approximately 9 1/2 X 8 3/4 X 6 13/16 (LxWxD in inch) with a glossy colorful panels. The front of the box featured a frontal view of Ultra Magnus bust and the back of the box had a drawing of the bust in some sort of computer lines. Below the drawing lines, there is a short bio of Ultra Magnus (see back of box inscription from the above for bio text). The side panel of the box had a closed up shot of Ultra Magnus chest and face on one side and a rear shot on the opposite side. Last but not least, the top panel of box contained a large TF text logo while the bottom panel is basically just black with a little white background which display the bust quantity in number.

R-3 Ultra Magnus Bust - Frontal View:

Ultra Magnus bust is sold in limited edition where only 2500 piece were produced. Thanks to Hard Hero for making Ultra Magnus earning his first statue or bust to finally get released. This bust is made out of material called Cold Cast Porcelain. The bust itself is very heavy and stood approximately 6 6/16 X 7 1/4 X 4 3/4 (LxWxD in inch). This figure is designed specifically for display only and had no articulation. As one of the biggest Ultra Magnus fans, I must say Hard Hero did an outstanding job in depicting Ultra Magnus bust to look as close as his cartoon counterpart. Every elements of Ultra Magnus aesthetics and details from the cartoon had all been transcribed into this bust. For those that want to learn to draw Ultra Magnus body correctly in term of references and details, then there are three places to find it: Transformers The Movie, or Takara Ultra Magnus PVC, or this bust. Overall, Ultra Magnus bust looks utterly beautiful and had no major complaint from me. My only minor nail picky is the face looks a little bit too chubby.

Currently, there are 5 statues of Ultra Magnus that got released so far: Three statues are with the armor on and two are the white Prime repaint or just Magnus. Here are the full list of Ultra Magnus statues: Hard Hero Ultra Magnus bust 2004, Palisades Magnus statue 2004, AFX Ultra Magnus Super Deformed 2006, Diamond Select Magnus Mini-Head 2006, Diamond Select Ultra Magnus Bust 2009.

R-4 Ultra Magnus Bust - Side and Rear View:

Here are the left side and rear view of the bust. Again, the level of the cartoon Ultra Magnus details or elements are all present around this bust especially the rear view. The only minor part in which I think Hard Hero forgot to sculpt in is the elbow bolt joint connection. If you watch Transformers The Movie and freeze the frame on Ultra Magnus elbow, you'll see there's a bolt or nut that extruded out of his elbow. You can also check it with Ultra Magnus G1 toy or PVC or HOC action figure. Anyhow, this is actually a very minor thing because not every episode in the cartoon had Magnus elbow bolt drew in. I guess I brought that in just to show you how much I pay attention to Magnus detailing in the cartoon as well as in the toy or comic.

R-5 Ultra Magnus Bust - Top and Under View:

I checked it with Transformers The Movie and the Surprise Party episode, the top view of this bust is very accurate to the animation. Rarely do we see Ultra Magnus drawn from the above in the cartoon so it's nice to see that this bust was sculpted very correctly. Underneath the bust base, there are 4 little black circular fabric which acts as a stopper to prevent the base from sliding out. Also, this is where all the copy rights, the artist credited, and the bust quantity are given out. As you can see, I owned Ultra Magnus bust #0595 out of 2500 copies. This same number is also written in the underside of the exterior box as well to avoid the changing box from consumer to consumer.

R-6 Rémy's Ultra Magnus Bust review:

Manufacturer - Hard Hero.

Line, Series/ Wave: Transformers Bust, Series 13.

Year Released: [Sept. 2004]

Made: [China]

Scale: [N/A]

Box or Card Dimension In Inches: [LxWxD] - Approximately 9 1/2 X 8 3/4 X 6 13/16 - Box.

Packaging Method: Mint In Sealed Box. Contents were packed with the following procedure:

Taped down and sandwiched between two Styrofoam is: "1" Ultra Magnus bust.

Box Special Note: Front Box Appearance: Actual Ultra Magnus bust image. Back Box Appearance: A schematic design of Ultra Magnus bust in lines.

Box Point or Robot Point: [N/A] - Not Applicable.

Approximately Dimension In Inches: Height Up To The Head: 6 Maximum Height: 6 6/16 (ear antenna) Width from shoulder to shoulder: 5 1/2 Maximum Width: 7 1/4 (missile launcher to missile launcher) Dept: 4 3/4.

Bust Stamp/ Fine Print Location: Can be found at the underside of Ultra Magnus bust standing.

Material Durability: [A] - Pretty durable...just be careful not to drop it.

Stability: [+A] - Very Stable.

Negative Drawback - None.

Designed By: Dan Khanna.

Sculpted Quality: [+A] - Definitely beautiful.

Sculpted By: Jason Ray.

Painted Quality: [+A] - Definitely beautiful.

Painted By: Joel Nelson.

Robot's Cartoon looks alike: [+A] - Looks very much like the cartoon.

Vehicle's Cartoon looks alike: [N/A] - Not Applicable.

Special Notes: None.

Overall Grade: [+A] - There are only two Ultra Magnus action figures that look very much like the cartoon, and they are, Takara Ultra Magnus PVC and Hard Hero Ultra Magnus bust. This Hard Hero Ultra Magnus bust is big, heavy, and is well sculpted and painted, highly recommended for all Ultra Magnus fans. Also if you need references on how to draw Ultra Magnus correctly, then this bust will certainly give you that!