Titan Class METROPLEX

[1AZRAEL1]

metrotitan would be an awesome idea for a repaint

I was thinking the same thing, and I reckon it will be likely. They have spent $400k for R&D for this figure, they will want to make full use of it. Even if Hasbro don't make Metrotitan, I am sure Takara will do it.

[Kazza]

OHHHH YEAHHHH... drooling right now. Can't wait until its out.

[VERT]

Yeah I have to have him. Like max, postage may be a killer. But im guessing he will be lighter than max. So that may help.

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm gonna wait until this toy's out and someone's had a chance to properly measure it before going off my handle and declaring that it's "Bigger Than Fortress Maximus!" Things to consider:
1. The G1 catalogue also claimed that Fortress Maximus is 2 feet (61cm) tall, but in reality he's actually 'only' 55cm. 6cm is a pretty big discrepancy for an action figure. And what about the other dimensions? Fort Max is 41cm wide (42cm in city mode), 59cm long in city mode and 77cm long in battleship mode! Being tall is one thing, but is it tall and bulky or just tall and lanky?
2. Are they measuring the height from the top of the head, or are they including the antennae? The shoulder cannons seem to rise above those antennae too, so are they measuring up to there? I can understand the logic behind measuring a toy up to it's highest point, it certainly matters when trying to fit big toys onto shelves... but IMO a robot's "true" height is just up to the top of the head -- I guess what I mean is, if FoC Metroplex and Fortress Maximus were to look at each other eye-to-eye, would their eye levels be more or less the same, or would one have to look up at the other?

And height really isn't everything (just look at Beast Machines Cheetor -- the biggest version is the worst, and the smallest one is the best!). As griffin mentioned, while this toy may be tall, it certainly lacks bulk that even G1 Metroplex had more of (despite being about the same size as G1 Ultra Magnus ). Fortress Maximus is really big, but he justifies that size with his bulk (the toy weighs 5kg) and is absolutely packed with all sorts of play features. Fort Max is a play set, not just for small carded TFs like G1 Metroplex was, but also for the larger boxed toys (i.e. the Headmasters and Targetmasters). Cockpit, double Headmaster, LOTS of hidden weapons, rotating radar/sensor array, deployable ramps, 3 Autobot car launchers, a working lift, stairs, prison cell et al. all make Fortress Maximus one mightily impressive toy, even 26 years later! And Encore Fortress Maximus is going to retail for $300 ($250 w/ preorder discount) -- if FoC Metroplex has a US RRP of $125, then it's possible that the AU RRP may be as expensive as $250, throwing it within the price range of Fortress Maximus. That's not necessarily a bad thing so long as the toy can match Fort Max's play value... but I wouldn't bet on it.

I notice that the city mode looks nothing like FOC Metroplex. I wonder if this is a FIOC or Gens specific version?

Yeah, my guess would be to make the toy look a bit more G1, and also more fun as a play set. FoC Metroplex's city mode is honestly rather dull from a toy play perspective IMHO.

Transformers First right there.

Well... Transformers first for robot mode. We've had articulated pupils for Transformers in beast mode before (e.g. Guiledart, Triceradon etc.)

I'm also disappointed that all these FOC toys are coming out so long after the game, which will make them harder to sell - lines that don't have a cartoon, movie or game out don't do well. This could leave us with shelf-warming, making it less likely we see later waves, or this big one that's still six months away.
Hasbro should have had the toys coming out in the 3-4 months before the game release while all the hype was out there and the promotion of the game, so that these sort of bigger ones (Metroplex and triple-changers) were out soon after the game, and then sold out by Christmas.

Or better yet, just design the toys first and have animators, game designers etc. build models on it after the designs are made. :/

Pricing is likely to be close to $200 here, which is cheaper than Fort Max reissue (which has a more complicated transformation into city mode than this), so I think this one will be compared to that when it comes out.

I hope it'll be $200! That's a price I can accept... much above that is gonna make me either wait until it gets cheaper, or I'll buy it at full RRP and regret it lots later.

Having a simpler transformation than Fortress Maximus is... not good. Cos Fort Max already has a pret-ty darn simple transformation as it is! For anyone who may not have played with a G1 Fort Max IRL before, the toy basically lies down to transform!

metrotitan would be an awesome idea for a repaint

[Lord_Zed]

I agree that Hasbro tend to make terrible large Transformer toys, though some of there other lines have good large toys. Packaging wise this toy looks a bit like Hasbro's huge Star Wars toys, which I hear were very popular and well made (for Hasbro). So maybe Hasbro has learned what sort of features fans and kids want in a super expensive toy.

Or maybe it's another one to add to the pile with ROF Devestator.

[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.

-------------------------
*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.