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Description
By 1986, the Transformers toy line had been running strong for two years, and they had exhausted most of the serviceable Japanese toys from the Diaclone and Microman product lines. One of the last toys they reused was Ultra Magnus, who was introduced in The Transformers: the Movie as a replacement for Optimus Prime.

The toy from Japan had a different color scheme than the all-American red-white-blue color scheme Hasbro finally settled upon. The early colors were used in a screen test for the 1986 movie, intended to lure investors with the prospect of big-name stars voicing a movie based on the most popular toy line of that decade.

Here's my version of the Ultra Magnus box art in the original Diaclone colors. Note that this original, aborted color scheme was finally made official in 2001 when Takara included it in the Super Collection Figure line of PVC figures, as well as a "reissue" of the original Ultra Magnus in these colors.

Description
By 1986, the Transformers toy line had been running strong for two years, and they had exhausted most of the serviceable Japanese toys from the Diaclone and Microman product lines. One of the last toys they reused was Ultra Magnus, who was introduced in The Transformers: the Movie as a replacement for Optimus Prime.

The toy from Japan had a different color scheme than the all-American red-white-blue color scheme Hasbro finally settled upon. The early colors were used in a screen test for the 1986 movie, intended to lure investors with the prospect of big-name stars voicing a movie based on the most popular toy line of that decade.

Here's my version of the Ultra Magnus box art in the original Diaclone colors. Note that this original, aborted color scheme was finally made official in 2001 when Takara included it in the Super Collection Figure line of PVC figures, as well as a "reissue" of the original Ultra Magnus in these colors.