Titan Class METROPLEX

[The_Damned]

gok if you want to compare the retail price with fort max you have to compare it with what it would retail for here, not the japanese retail price. And i thought energon omega was an awesome transformer.

[GoktimusPrime]

gok if you want to compare the retail price with fort max you have to compare it with what it would retail for here, not the japanese retail price.

I would if Hasbro released it here*. :/ But unless that happens I only have the Japanese RRP to work off. If Hasbro sells a toy for better value than TakaraTOMY, then I'll give credit to Hasbro, like with many of the recent MPs (especially w/ the upcoming MP Soundwave). For me it's about which toy's gonna give me better value for my money.

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*G1 Fortress Maximus was incredibly rare here, I don't know for sure what his original RRP was in 1987, but considering that it retailed in the U.S. for US$90 -- so I might've sold here for maybe $180?? The Japanese RRP might give us a closer indicator because their prices were higher than the US and closer to what we paid. e.g. a single G1 Constructicon retailed for 980JPY ($10), and I remember my G1 Constructicons costing $9 each, so that's reasonably close to the Australian RRP. So Fortress Maximus originally retailed in Japan for 12800JPY or $135. So I'm guesstimating that Fortress Maximus might've cost between $135-180 in Australia; if we average that it comes to $157.50 (let's round it up to $160). It's impossible to confirm how much Fort Max sold here for unless someone has a copy of an Australian store catalogue showing Fort Max from 1987/88. Now of course, that was the cost of Fort Max in 1987 -- so we need to adjust for inflation. Let's calculate that based off the difference in price between the JP RRP for G1 and Encore Fort Max. So if the RRP for G1 Fort Max was 12800JPY and Encore Fort Max is 29800JPY - so that's a difference of about 133%. So if we guesstimate the AU RRP of Fort Max in 1987 to be about $160 and increase that by $133, we'd get $373. So I guess that if Hasbro sold Fort Max here, it might cost $370-75. But it's also possible that Hasbro AU might be able to match or better TakTOM's RRP, like they effectively did with MP Soundwave.

[kup]

Emiliano contributed to Metroplex:

http://santalux.blogspot.com.au/

[Hursticon]

Emiliano contributed to Metroplex:

http://santalux.blogspot.com.au/

How awesome is it eh? - He mentioned it via twitter yesterday, a massive boon for him & High Moon Studios I'd reckon - I certainly hope Hasbro gives him the 'go ahead' to release his initial design sketches for Metroplex.

[kaiden]

honestly, i don't like this metroplex. i would have preferred the bulky titan in the actual FOC game comparable to the WFC Omega Supreme. And I would have suggested they make him hollow with all his city gimmicks folding out.

but looking at all his modes, they're very unimpressive (except for the head sculpt -that i like) his robot mode the focus just looks too tall and skinny. my god his waist! its tiny!

[griffin]

Thinking about it more, I think the simplicity of the transformation is probably borne from a combinations of...
- cost of R&D and production, to bring the toy down as cheap as possible, a simpler design would cost lest to design and engineer (and produce if it has less moveable parts to manufacture).
- the sheer weight of the toy, makes it more difficult for a kid to convert a more complicated toy. Anyone with a Gen1 Fort Max can attest to this - the toy needs to be sitting on the floor when transforming, as it is way too heavy (even for most adults) to do it easily.

If these are reasons (keeping the cost down, if this toy costs a lot less per kilo than other size classes - keeping it simple, if it ends up being very heavy), I'll forgive Hasbro for its simplicity, and happily value it in the collection.

[5FDP]

I would've loved to be involved in the drop-test for this thing

[UltraMarginal]

What really blew me away about this Beast is something that 1AZRAEL1 mentioned that seems to of been lost in the 'Wonder' of this figure:

• Generations Metroplex cost Hasbro $400,000 to tool up!

That is a HUGE! investment on a toy that in many ways is an incredible gamble.


There is a hell of a lot of boxes that this figure ticks for me, namely: 'Giant Robot Toy!'

• This bloke is going to have articulated LED pupils!?!
• A mouth-light that flashes (Think Bender from Futurama) in time with the sound gimmick of 'Direct from the game' lines of speech!
• A legends class Scamper figure.
• A bevy of articulation that no previous city former has had, including articulated fingers.
• An extremely reminiscent G1 & FoC blended design aesthetic & silhouette in Robot mode!
• A G1-esque sticker sheet for all the various details (Apparently to aid in keeping the cost down according to a Hasbro Rep).
• A pair of Alt modes that are directly related to the G1 figure, keeping in-line with the Classicsverse's original design aims.

+ He's a GIANT ROBOT TOY!!!


Local acquisition is going to be a pain , so I will be importing this guy from where ever is the most cost effective place of purchase (as I refuse to deal with Aussie Retail's ineptitude ) but a $150-$200 price-tag is perfectly fine by me.

Who'd of ever thought that Hasbro would ever turn around in this modern era & even contemplate offering a figure that is 2ft tall again?
Metroplex seems to me like it means/represents a lot of things to Hasbro, such as:

• Hasbro simply cannot offer the Encore FortMax to its Western Markets, this is their answer.
• This figure does both the G1 Metroplex figure & the Classics/Universe 2.0/Generations/Hunt for The Decepticons/Reveal The Shield lines justice.
• It celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Transformers, both as a play pattern & the brand's long standing in Western Popular Culture.
• It also represents the single largest toy based on an individual character available to Western (& likely Eastern) markets natively in the world - Nothing at this year's toyfair comes close.

Just imagine Hasbro's delight when all the various toy industry rep's eyes fall upon the Hasbro display booth & this giant robot can be seen from 20+ meters away!, what it says about Hasbro as a company to other companies & what they're able to achieve in this fiscally tight time.

For as much as we think Generations Metroplex is for us, just have a little think of what he must surely mean for Hasbro - Because I think he's just as much for them.

Well said good sir!

i am very interested in this figure, initially i thought the two alt modes looked a little gangly, though if you look at them at least one must be fairly poorly transformed because the heli Pad is on it's side. unless it's facing upwards and not visible in the photo for the other mode. on closer inspection, there is another larger one that is hard to see in city mode, but it's got a grill/net hanging off the front side like many modern elevated heli pads do for emergency situations (where a helicopter or people go over the side.) that's a very nice touch.

the fact that it's scaled to cyberverse Legion/legends scale classics makes it an awesome display option in either mode, as long as you've got a big enough shelf.

I think they've mixed the game and classics/G1 aesthetic really well, it does look a bit narrow in the waist but perhaps that was necessary. I think there are a lot of nuances to the transformation (I'm looking at the legs mainly at the moment) that involve more "modern engineering" than easily noticeable at first. It's a bit disappointing that the hands don't seem to fold away at all, but I think there will be a fair bit of minute transformation that effects outward aesthetic of each mode.

Griffins comment about size and weight contributing to an apparently simple transformation makes a fair bit of sense.

Walky (shortpacked) also pointed out that it looks like the "road" from the chest to the end of the leg is unobstructed in city mode, this is a big improvement, and allowing unobstructed path like that, while maintaining structural strength in the toys legs is a feat in itself.

I'm quietly looking forward to this, it's going to look fantastic with a dozen legion class figures swarming over it. I'm just trying not to get too excited so i don't make it impossible for it to impress me when i finally get hold of it.

If this is the start of the 30th anniversary celebrations from Hasbro, I can't wait to see what's coming up.

[Eazy D]

In robot mode I'm a big fan
Nice proportions
Close to the G1 model
Nice gimmicks
Great size

The alt modes are a let down though
The rolling battle station mode looks to be an improvement over the G1 toy but city mode looks like the robot sitting on his a*se doing the splits and holding his arms out.

I agree with Griff that 30 yrs of toy technology should have produced something a little bit more complex than this.

Still. It'll be a great display piece and I'm just happy we're getting a new and BIG metroplex

[Bidoofdude]

In robot mode I'm a big fan
Nice proportions
Close to the G1 model
Nice gimmicks
Great size

The alt modes are a let down though
The rolling battle station mode looks to be an improvement over the G1 toy but city mode looks like the robot sitting on his a*se doing the splits and holding his arms out.

I agree with Griff that 30 yrs of toy technology should have produced something a little bit more complex than this.

Still. It'll be a great display piece and I'm just happy we're getting a new and BIG metroplex

I actually quite like the two ramp thing alt mode that they displayed at the fair.