Transformers: Siege “Spoiler Pack” Ultra Magnus is Something That Exists

The Original 1986 Ultra Magnus Toy

Now, as a collector, I'm not fond of blind boxes, for the basic reason that I want to know what I buying. If you're not a kinder egg, you'd best be bloody cheap. So, I don't pretend to understand the logic of a blind box leader class transformer. Hasbro did several of these as tie-in for their recent Netflix cartoons, labelled as Spoiler Packs, the first of which we’re talking about today. I doubt that I'm alone in thinking that there was little to actually spoil, but you do you. The spoiler was not so much the toy, as the coded messages on the packaging. However, my example came loose with some inexplicable minicons, but minus some blast effects and energon cubes. As such, I'm not gonna talk about the bits I don't have, and just do my usual ramble about the toy and character, while taking a passing shot at Hasbro business practices.

The 2015 Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus Toy

Who is Ultra Magnus? Well, he's a character made famous by the 1986 Transformers film, and is basically a well-meaning chap that kept making bad calls, but he's had numerous reinterpretations over the years. The original toy is notable for being basically Optimus Prime with a new and combining trailer, effectively pre-empting the Powermaster version by at least two years. Toy accuracy was not great for this version, with the "white Optimus" mode being completely disregarded in fiction. Then Dreamwave comics happened, with some fanfare, and Magnus quickly became the goto for Prime repaints that didn't feature the inner-robot-armour gimmick. Mind you, more worthy successors did occur, often revamping the relationship between him and Optimus, such as the ones in the 2000ish RID line and Animated. Probably the most memorable one is the More Than Meets The Eye IDW comic version, whom had difficulties adjusting to peacetime, was actually a SPOILER, and was currently REDACTED. I remember people being upset at this plot twist in a kinda Star Wars way, but you'd have to be a real Purple Monkey Dishwasher to be holding a grudge about that today. That version got a toy though, an actual spoiler in toy form, rather than a regular toy in a spoiler box, and its pretty good. It doesn't hold its weapons well, but its got the trailer transformation and what is technically an inner robot. This was the only Magnus I really needed, because I liked REDACTED SPOILER, but the Siege version would still eventually find its way into my collection.

That's 400 odd words of context, am I nearing a point? Well, the Siege mould was the first toy to properly do the inner robot thing, and which latter toys have yet to implement as well. There was a concurrent "Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime" remould that I love dearly, but I will admit suffers outside of super mode, and the Kingdom retool is lukewarm at best. But lets put a pin in that for now, and talk about the vehicle form first. This evokes the RID 2000 version in the front end and overall appearance. It also draws on the G1 toy for the back-end and rockets, while pre-empting the Galaxy Upgrade retool by having its leg guns. Its a melange of homages then, something uncommon these days and the premium paint job is definitely helping the Siege grimdark grunge motif. Play value is aided by the fact he's got five weapons and numerous 5mm ports, so he can be a big rolling battlewagon of doom. The effect is slightly undermined by the feet which are unhelpfully angled, and the open structure revealing other sins. I should probably also mention that it's not really a functional car carrier unless you decide to entomb some micromasters or the minicons that were somehow included with mine. Mind you, it's a very detailed sculpt, and benefits from the premium paint job. All red areas are now paint over grey plastic, with some nice transition between colours. While this feels like faint praise, the flaws are made up for by the visuals.

 

You can detach the front third for a "truck cab", but its not hugely good by itself. No matter how ya spin it, the arms are very noticeable. So, let's take a brief moment to acknowledge Battlefield Rung exists and ask why he's here? And why is he that colour? The consensus is that he's probably standing in for Alpha Trion whom did the whole ghost/A.I mentor thing in the cartoon. It's a perfectly fine toy, although the colours don't really work with Magnus. Tangent over. The cab transforms into the "non-ultra" Magnus robot mode, most of it being telegraphed by exposed robot bits, although there is one legitimately clever aspect to it. The front bumper slides up a rail onto the back, having previously rotated the waist into position and lock the rail together. It helps clean things up a lot. The resulting robot is a stocky Optimus-look-alike, not actually the same as the concurrent Optimus toy, no retooling here, but hitting similar design queues in white. It's proportions and heavy-duty joint design are a direct result of the Magnus armour, and let's be real here, you probably won't keep him like this. However, Siege era robot modes were of a high standard, and you don't lack for play value. There are a total of nine 5mm ports, and ankle tilts, which is plenty. It's just a shame that the armour parts have nowt to do just now, and while you don't really need a base mode for this character, an opportunity was missed.

The main event, the full robot mode, is where the toy shines. Not that it lacks charm otherwise, but this is what the designers had to get right, and they knew it. Ultra Magnus is a massive great chonker of a chap, with loads of detail, a nice head sculpt, and some more clever touches when armouring up. The top and side panels of the carrier origami down dramatically to form the boots and torso. It's great, if slightly let down by those angled feet again. Posability is unaffected above the waist, but the toy tends towards an 'A' stance. Again, I feel I am either damning or excusing the toy with faint praise, but Ultra Magnus is one of those big dudes whom doesn't really call for ninja poses, while what he does do is nothing to apologise for. Ultra Magnus does however commit very strongly to the whole Siege play pattern, with sixteen 5mm ports, and five weapon accessories, of which 3 have their own ports. Ultra Magnus will happily kill you to death, even before getting weaponizers involved. 

 

My point? Well, the Siege Ultra Magnus mould is a pretty good toy from a pretty good line. I don't think it's quite good enough to replace the Combiner Wars version in my collection, but each is doing rather different things, so I don't feel bad about having both. Having the spoiler box version is a boon to the experience, but I doubt you'd suffer if you went for another. But this all pales next to the following piece of trivia. While Ultra Magnus held the position of Autobot leader in at least two continuities, this toy and its iterations lack Autobot badges. In fact, the super mode of each has but one, and it adorns his mighty butt plate.

Ultra Magnus' tramp stamp is something that exists....

Plamo: The Jo Hound (HG, Kyoukai Senki)

Now, it's probably fair to say that Bandai designers have a firm handle on making robot kits in their specific gunpla style. This experience and technical innovation is most evident in projects like the Entry Grade kits and 30 Minutes Missions, which represent the platonic ideal of what they do. The designs featured in Kyoukai Senki, AMAIM Warrior at the Borderline are however a bit of a departure the house style. The HG kits for this line are 1/72 scale, half the scale of a typical gunpla, but the actual size in hand is about 25% bigger, if the Jo Hound is representative of things. The differences come from a generally less humanoid, more DARPA vibe and the relative complexity that results. While I have yet to watch the anime at time of writing, my understanding is that the Jo Hound is an outdated American design which operates in Japan, which has been partitioned in the manner of Germany or Korea. Cutesy AI avatars also appear to be a thing... I’m sure that won’t create an issue with tone.

As a project, the Jo Hound evokes some of the more involved HG kits that don't use polycaps. This best way I can describe it is that it's a luxurious kit of a robot that's minimalistic/utilitarian in design. Take the hands for example. You get four, two open, two closed, each with their own armour plate, so no corners cut there, its all you could reasonably want. The hands are however a two-thumbed design, which would simplify logistics at lot. One hand for both arms, clever. There's a fair few touches like that, armour plates with colour separation, one part for the inside, one for the outside, a "parked state", and slide down knuckledusters. There's a lot of stuff that could very easily have simplified and I wouldn't have minded. One thing I did mess up though was the sensor eye, which has a closing mechanism. I misread the instructions, and put the sticker in the wrong place. I just wasn't paying attention, so I broke out the paint, and ended up doing the same for the gun cameras. Stickers are something I usually struggle with anyway, so I'm not holding that against the kit, especially its the only remotely annoying thing about it. 

 

Once completed, the Jo Hound is pretty damn good. It's a skinny and long-limed robot that's been bulked out with armour. Thuggish and top heavy. It's definitely on the real robot end of the super/real axis, although it's aiming for 2022 kind of real, rather than a previous decade of militarism. Its not a Scopedog or a Zaku, whom have more a world war thing going on, or something from Patlabor, which was more of a 90's future. Plenty of joints in it too; it's still a model kit, but what's there is, is very effective. You've got a lot of simple joints which play nice with the visual design. So, yes, this is playing into my love of mecha grunts quite strongly.

To finish things off, I applied some basic but meticulous weathering techniques. First a very light drybrush of gunmetal for all the edges and plausible points of wear, like near joints. I then applied small amounts of Agrax Earthshade, take two drinks, to pick out bolts, panels and such. Finally, I applied my home-made mud paint to the feet and knee area. I think I did the kit's grunt stylings justice.

Is this best kit I've worked on this year? Maybe. It's definitely top 3 material, and if this is representative of the line, somebody needs a raise.

Transformers: Legacy Elita-1 is Something that Exists

When I come to write about Transformers, I find myself falling into one of two patterns: "lookit new toy", and "axe to grind". Elita-1 is kinda both, so buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. We gotta talk about gender stereotypes, and I’m sure if I had a significant readership, it would set the comments section alight.

The 2009 Botcon Elita -1 Toy

Now, people often get very defensive when this topic comes up. And, I am aware of my limitations and privilege as a commentator, so I don't pretend to be any form of expert. That said, the Transformers brand has been historically terrible at gender balance. There just aren't that many girls by ratio, so much so that the thick end of 40 years its still noteworthy when a female-coded toy appears. Smurfette or the Pink Ranger, basically, if she were a giant robot. And when they do appear, they tend to lean on a very narrow selection of body types and clichés which can have some negative effects on things like kibble backpacks. Furthermore, there's what I shall term the "Flame Toys Incel-baiting problem", where people think its appropriate to, in what is still a children's brand, rotoscope a cosplayer in body paint in order to attract the pillow-hugging fraternity. Maybe save that for the fan art? Again, I'm no authority, but its obviously a problem that Hasbro needs to work on. To their credit, we're seeing a lot more ladies these day, with BotBots being a highlight, but more needs doing.

The 2018 Power of the Primes Elita-1 toy

Elita has suffered all the problems mentioned above, and she historically not been recognisable enough to get many toys. If we include the bayverse version there's a few more, but Elita is often a repaint of  those few female-coded Transformers, and as noted, there aren't many of those. My personal opinion of the character is largely neutral, Elita hasn't really been in media I've enjoyed. Her role in fiction is usually one of a female counterpart to, and/or love interest of, Optimus Prime. She has definitely been seeing a lot more plastic lately and seems to be up for a big role in Earthspark. The first of what can be considered her comeback tour was a voyager class jet in Power of the Primes, a Starscream retool. While it has its problems, I have high opinions of this toy; it's the superior use of the mould and generally looks both feminine and physically powerful, a good thing for the character. Unfortunately, it was part of a combiner based on her team, which only had one limb/deluxe design, some members only getting a limited release, and the mould was dire. They messed that one up something fierce. Elita then got a toy in the Netflix/Siege line, which was an Arcee remould, and also dire. Now we have the Legacy version, and, no, it isn't dire.

Elita-1's cybertronian buggy mode looks a little bit dorky, and that’s not a criticism, it's why I got the toy. Not every carformer needs to a sports car or a scifi brick on wheels. It's got nice colours, and translucent windows. It's also well served with 5mm ports, with a total of eleven ports on the car itself, and six on the guns for combi-weapon shenanigans. Four of those end up on the back end with the not actually concealed feet, and it would have been to have some flaming exhaust effect parts. The overall design of the vehicle has prompted some speculation that it's based off fanart, not something I can comment on, but they did include a removable piece to replicate her “exposed scalp” in vehicle mode. So, we have a very characterful car with the possibility of excessive armament. I'm completely on board with that, but there is a problem. You can get an idea by looking through the windscreen, but to make it explicit…

Yeah. This happens an awful lot with female-coded Transformers, the vehicle mode is a shell wrapped around a feminine torso that doesn't get involved with any engineering. It doesn't have to be that way, in fact Prime Universe Arcee from the same line isn't that way. I suppose the most charitable thing you can say here is that that this is more about cartoon accuracy than unhealthy stereotypes, and it's not the worst example we've had lately. But it could be better. Also, and there's not an elegant segway for this, but it needs to be mentioned somewhere, the wheels are white plastic with black paint tires. Who thought that was a good idea? Any wear at all will reveal white specks.

So, after a comparatively brief conversion, Elita-One has a pretty decent robot mode, with two thirds of a car bundled up on its back. As mentioned this happens a lot with such characters, and even the POTP version I praise above has a similar problem. That backpack does unavoidably colour the discussion, not just because its there, as it foreshadows a retool. The first actual female Transformer that got a toy was the Japanese exclusive character Minerva, from Super God Masterforce, a rabbithole of a topic there isn't time for today. There are additional joints in the toy to give Elita the same distinctive shoulder pylons, which I suppose helps with the overall experience. The additional steps are something to do, it puts a pair of 5mm ports in a better place, and you can always fold it away if it bothers you. The backpack actually isn't a hindrance, as it turns out. I mean, you might have issues connecting a weaponizer or similar to the back, but that's last year's play pattern. So, let's put that to one side, as the other visual aspects do however merit discussion. Elita's head and torso are in what I'm gonna call "Hasbro Standard Fembot Style". She is skinny and rounded in a way not found in most Transformers, whom usually go in for a "heroic male" and/or "made of boxes" look. I'm put in mind of a clothes shop mannequin with toys like this, although one done up with scifi panels. There's stuff to unpack with this as a look, not all of it positive, although I can think of worse stereotypes to invoke in a kids brand. Flame Toys, I'm looking at you. On the one hand, this approach does produce something that registers as female to someone living in my culture, while still being a machine. On the other, we're running into perceptions of beauty and body image, with the implication that their design priorities started with the words "pretty girl" in all caps. Again, I'm no authority here, there's only so much time in the day, and I don't feel like forestalling counter arguments with a paragraph about double standards, male power fantasies, and how those two things become a false equivalent. I'm just highlighting something that is not automatically a positive, which has had significant influence on how this toy was made. 

 

However, in the spirit of fairness, let us acknowledge the bits where the designers made the toy less of a shellformer and more involved as a product. Like the way she's not in high-heels, and instead has lower legs made from bits of car which look like sensible shoes. There's a lot of paint, a lot of colour. I adore the utterly daft false forehead accessory. Its a nice looking toy with respectable articulation, the good baseline we've had since Siege, and two guns. There's an appeal to that. Unlike so many recent female autobots, and certain other products, its managed to achieve two decent modes despite, or perhaps because of its shellformery nature. Yeah, its flawed, but it works. 

 

My point? Only that Legacy Elita-1 is something that exists. I've not really gone in for Legacy much so far, so I can't judge how she compares to her stable-mates, but I'm happy enough. Quirks like the vehicle mode were what drew me to the toy. That said, maybe its time to stop designing toys this way? Because it's taken them at least four moulds to get to this one, which is good mainly on its own terms, only to follow up with SS86 Arcee, which is both a literal and figurative step backwards in time. Retire those character models, lads.

Oldhammer: Deathskull Ork Meganobs

Following the Battlewagon, I found myself in need of something to do, but not quite having a hold on what to do next. I do have inclinations to do an Orktober buggy for, well, Orktober, but it wasn't clicking. I've done more Boyz since the last lot too, although that's not hugely interesting. So, I got some dettol, and went for a project less time consuming. A repaint and renovation job. Meganobz.

Meganobz are a venerable unit with a phallic name, having roots as far back as 1st edition, but 3rd edition gave their current niche. They are for all intents and purposes the orkish answer to Space Marine Terminators, ultimately not as varied as beakies, nor as blessed with invulnerable saves, but quite happy in the comparison. As such, these can present a bit of a surprise for an opposing player, whom might expect an Ork force to lean more on numbers or speed. What, you say you’ve got 2 million flame weapons? Well, OK, it might not help. When I originally built these, the modern clan system did not exist, so I did mine in red, which is a big part of why they needed repainting. As to why they are equipped as they are? Well, killsaws weren't a thing yet either, but kombi-skorchas were. These worked a bit differently back in the day, but it was hard to beat them for cost-effective murder, something that still seems to be true today. The rokkit dude was something from a mixed lot, and I don't think he's ever seen combat because rokkits were/are a poor fit for this unit. 

 

I'd already customised these, so the renovation here was less involved than with the Killa Kans. The major difference was new heads on two, and various additional gubbins and rivets to break things up. There wasn't a great variety in the original metal tbh, but I will admit to building up the shoulders help with the joins. I also applied a bit of wall filler in places to add rusty texture, as well as on the base. Painting was attempted in much the same manner as my scratchbuilt vehicles, with any un-armoured bits of Ork done in the same manner as my Boyz. Painting progressed relatively quickly as a result, as I've honed in on a passable way to ork skin & teeth that goes well with dry brushing and stippling for metal. 

 

In general, this was a great success, definitely table-worthy. I'm not overly fond of how the horns came out, and maybe it could be a lighter blue, but it works. 

 

Plamo: The 30 Minutes Missions Espossito α

Ah, its 30 Minutes Missions. Not 30 Minute Missions. That’s a typo that’s lasted basically the entirety of this blog. Bugger. Moving on.

 

One of several non-TF purchases I made at TFNation, the Esspositio Alpha represents an evolution of the 30 Minutes Missions concept. Having spent several years perfecting quick build grunts, we now get transformable kits. Kinda. Actual transformation is usually asking too much of a kit of this size, so the Alpha converts like the Wing Gundam, Airmaster, or any number of designs that like to ball up and attach a shield. It's a scheme where form follows function, not about disguise. There is apparently a Beta version with a combination thing going on, but I was not aware of this at the time.

Let's talk more about the visuals. The robot mode is pretty much all leg, with reversed feet, and the kneepads being the main engines in flight mode. This gives it a certain ungainly appearance, but also a feminine one. I'm put in mind of mecha musume works, but this could just have easily have been design practicalities. The colours and flight form are much more evocative of the Zeta Gundam and its assorted spin-offs specifically the Zeta Plus A1. But its got its own character. I love how the scalp becomes an implied cockpit, and the way the leg panels move about. It does pretty much all it can to change its silhouette, and within its niche, I'd say a good job was done. However, it's not a toy, and I would have liked some securing tabs.

 

Construction was very much in the 30MM style, using the common joint sprue. The main variation was a new clip joint in the upper chest to facilitate transformation, and as there is no ankle armour, those ball joints went unused. The runners are more numerous than usual too, presumably due to the flight bits. It's not difficult as such, I'm just making an observation. I actually built it while idly waiting in for an appointment. Not wanting to dirty this one up, I panel-lined it in grey a few evenings later. 

 

A nice little kit, this.

Scratchbuild Experiment: Deathskull Ork Battlewagon

As I mentioned at the time, the Grot Tank was an interim project. A stepping stone to something more involved, a Battlewagon. There's a fair whack of history involved the concept, with Battlewagons being the Ork heavy transport, beyond that things get muddy. There was a 1st edition kit with no actual weapons, which went out of production, and bunch of related vehicles in the 6mm Epic system kept its spirit alive. The Battlewagon still had 40k rules though, but by the time we got the modern Battlewagon in 2009, it had long been the domain of conversion projects. Even after having been split into the Gunwagon and Bonebreaker variants, the battlewagon is an unusually malleable vehicle by GW standards. This prompted me to spend a long time mulling this project over, both in terms of tactics and build. Eventually I settled on a Dethrolla and Killkannon variant. The Dethrolla I should not need to justify, but the gun does need a justification. You can make the case that any ranged weapon is not cost effective on a Battlewagon and the Killkannon limits passengers. The thing is, I had the mental image of those Epic models and wanted to put my own spin on it. Amongst other things, this meant tank treads. 

 

Now, the design and production of those tank treads proved challenging, although I think I got the hang of it by the end. My initial design wasn't working out, and I eventually opted to recast my prototypes in a two-part Oyumaru mold. It took a while to figure out, and much finishing was required, but things came out better than the previous one-part blue stuff attempts. The wheels meanwhile where built up from wooden discs and washers, and I found some useful bogie parts in the bits box. The method of assembling the tracks was largely the same as the Grot Tank, just bigger, although I did feel the need for additional wheels after the fact, to help fill gaps. I'm pretty sure I can attempt interlocking tracks next time. 

 

The actual hull was a far simpler matter, being mainly a trailer toy stripped and then built up with flat packers and bits. Of great help was what remained of a firetruck, which worked great for the front end. The turret was built up from offcuts and an aerosol lid, while the gun was a bit of a spray bottle. I made the dethrolla by hot gluing bottle-tops together and then wrapping it in a foam sheet and too many rivets. This was probably one of the rougher aspects of the build, as while I've made rollas before, it was quite a while ago, and I didn't really have a plan for mounting it. This prompted some changes up front, as I tried not to make the vehicle too long, and opted to connect it to the wheels, bulldozer style. It worked, although I had conceal a few sins with weathering paints. Around the same time, I also realised that it's possible to inscribe panel lines into foam sheets with a craft knife, thus allowing me to add detail after gluing. It's my new favourite technique. On the downside, I feel I phoned in the detail around the turret base. Maybe that would have benefited from some more riveting, or possibly a bit of wall filler to add texture. That worked well on the back/right panel. Painting meanwhile saw the return of the Pébéo Studio Acrylics stuff I used on the Grot Tank, but remixed a tad in the case of the silver to darken it.

Nit-picking aside, I was really pleased with how this turned out. An "enter into a modelling competition" sort of pleased. I'll update this post if I get anywhere. 

 

Update: I was a runner-up, awesome!

Work-in-Progress Pictures

 

Plamo: Ork Boyz (Warhammer 40k)

 

So, with 3 trukks done, I’m gonna need some ladz to ride in them. Its something you do. Its also something I’ve been putting off. Its been a good four years since I tried to paint infantry in any real number, and I’ve had a few frustrations in that area. But, I did it this time. Note to self: don't have two painting projects on the go at the same time. You just end up focusing on the fun one. 

 

Anyway, my basic idea was to figure out a way to do a bunch of Boyz with minimal effort. I am not a good painter, but I aim to be an effective one. I wanted the minimum number of steps, with a good tone on each colour. I'm not one for layering or building up tones. That's something for people with greater fine motor control, more patience, and fewer actual models to paint. So, I adopted Midwinter Minis speed painting technique for Orks, with a few minor variations. I wanted to use the same colours as my previous builds where possible, including the undercoat stage to simplify the matter of vehicle crew in future. I sprayed the Boyz brown and then applied Moot Green on top for the skin, followed by the ever present Agrax Earthshade wash. This evened out to a nice green tone, with the side benefit of helping with teeth and metals. This was pleasing, although I did run into a few issues with the undercoating this mob. I'd originally sprayed these white for the use Contrast Paints, which I now hate, and ran out of brown spray before the end, and had to improvise. Again. Remounting the models onto 32mm bases also caused a few delays, and a bionik boot in one case. Yes, I could have used expander rings to expand the old 25mm slotta bases, but getting 11 models straight and level would have done my head in. I also should have left applying my homebrew texture paint until the end. Mind you, I did find that just washing the base coat worked well enough for fabric, and contrast paints could work for little details like tongues. The tricky bit was finding motivation to get them done, but once I had that, things went OK.

 

 

I acknowledge that 11 allegedly “speed painted” trukkboyz is a good deal less interesting than my recent work. But they are kinda important. These models date from 8th edition, when I tried to update my army, shortly before the time I stopped playing, and painting. It's good to have them finally done, and to a standard I can live with.

Now for the other 3 kajillion...