Yes, it’s Shining Magnus, otherwise known as “Pee Magnus”. Yes, it’s a KO. Yes, it’s the World’s Smallest Transforming KO Shining Magnus Transformer! I had a few chances at nabbing the official Takara full size reissue #C-69 at a “reasonable” price given its rarity, but passed. It’s one of those dilemmas that so many collectors must face, between whether you want a figure because you are genuinely in love with it, or whether you want it just because it’s hard to get – because you want to own something that’s rare just for the bragging rights. For the “collector ego” boost.

Well, I can admit I’ve gotten a few of those throughout the years, and some of those rarities were well worth it because of some unique quality in those items, such as mould differences or an exclusive colorway – in addition to the investment in a very limited resource. They satisfied both urges: toy love and collector ego. Well, whether sadly or soundly, Shining Magnus never checked both of those boxes for me. But just being mostly translucent was enough to continually pique my interest in this figure over the years, and eventually I found a random WST KO that I nabbed for under $20.

In base form, Powered Convoy armor is pretty silly, but cool in theory. Why wouldn’t it make sense for the remaining base parts to be able to be controlled remotely? If the pilot could drive the mechanoid Convoy, then why couldn’t the armor be used as an autopilot defense? Questions.

I’m on the fence – there is something either awesome or detestable about this color scheme. Fans like to dub him as “Piss Magnus” for a good reason. He’s clearly had his daily dose of vitamins, leaving a bright healthy orange-y glow. But crystal clear toys, they do beckon to me.

(For some really great pics of the official reissue of #C-69, check Sixo’s gallery on TFSource. And for the history of this release, check out Maz’s article on TF-1.)

These WST’s are definitely on the fan-service promotional side of the toy business, but with this level of detail in design and engineering, I’ll say some of them are well worth exploring and displaying, especially next to their full-size counterparts. So Micromachines. So meta. Lots of love for these teeny toys!