Well, I finally broke down and coughed up the bucks for this exclusive through BigBadToyStore which arrived in excellent condition on 30 January, 2001.  This exclusive Transformer is called "Shining Magnus" which is limited to 800 pieces.  It was released on 26 December, 2000 at the 20th Century Toy Museum toy show at the Mitsukoshi Department Store, Yokohama Kanagwa with a retail price of ¥5,980.  Here's the actual museum pass that Masashi Kitano sent to me:

Detailed descriptions of the Ultra Magnus figure can be found at my "TF2000" main page so I won't repeat much here but rather display photos.

The package hasn't changed from the re-issued Ultra Magnus but there are a couple of stickers applied to the box which is different.  The first thing you'll notice is the Gold sticker which identifies the toy as "Shining Magnus" and also has the "20th Century Toys" logo.  On the back are two stickers which are shown below:

The first sticker (located in the middle of the box) describes a brief story of Convoy versus Megatron and the Matrix of Leadership.  It gist of the story states that Convoy (Optimus Prime), prior to his death, passed the Matrix down to Ultra Magnus who becomes the new leader of Cybertron.  Shining Magnus was created to represent the "glowing" effect or light of the Matrix when he received it from Convoy.  The second sticker (lower right-hand corner of the box) identifies this toy as Shining Magnus as well as a 20th Century Toy Museum exclusive.

The box measures approximately 13.25"x5"x6".   The following items are found in the box:

         1.   Carrier
         2.  Truck
         3.  Chest protector
         4.  2 Connectors (Truck/Waist)
         5.  2 Large Fists
         6.  2 Small Fists
         7.  4 Missiles
         8.  2 Missile Launchers
         9.  Super Blaster Gun
       10.  Ultra Magnus Head
       11.  Sticker Sheet
       12.  Instruction Sheet
       13.  Character Card 

10-wheeled Car Carrier vehicle

Ultra Magnus with his Super Blaster Gun

Close-up of Magnus' head (Small Robot)

Close-up of Magnus' head (Large Robot)

Ultra Magnus' inner packaging

Entire contents of Ultra Magnus' package

Formation #1 -
Airbot Catapult Launcher

Formation #2 -
Cybertron Base

Formation #3 -
Cybertron Preparation Base

       Front view of Ultra Magnus

     Rear view of Ultra Magnus

As I said earlier, it took about a month for me to make the decision to purchase Shining Magnus.  I wanted to wait until the prices dropped but that wasn't happening.  Since there were only 800 produced I figured that it's now or never ... so I took the plunge :)  I really like this exclusive Magnus with his Clear Yellow color and maybe someday I'll get my hands on the next two Hot Rodimus exclusives scheduled to be released on 26 February, 2001.  I'll keep my fingers crossed ...