Fortress Maximus - Is he worth the high prices?

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Having seen Bruty's Maximii I'd rather have the kidney myself...it's freaking big but it still suffers from all the usual '87 TF flaws (i.e. brickishness, not-very-alternate-alt mode).

[bruticus]

Having seen Bruty's Maximii I'd rather have the kidney myself...it's freaking big but it still suffers from all the usual '87 TF flaws (i.e. brickishness, not-very-alternate-alt mode).

well thats cos you are more of a 'con fan anyways... im pretty sure you liked the scorponok and reflector even though they too suffered from 80's aesthetics.

Plus you saw FM behind locked cabinets dude... had i let you play with it...you would have gone, "whoah, a working elevator? prison cells? spike can sit where? he has how many hidden weapons?"

Thanks Everyone

The main reason I asked is because when I buy transformers I like to buy there counter part e.g.
Bought Optimus, so had to get Megatron
Bought Metroplex so had to get Trypticon
Bought Ultra Magnus so had to get Galvatron

And now I just received Scorponok so now want to get Fortress Maximus. And my tax return will cover a very nice one I have found. Only draw back is that I will have to modify my shelving to fit him in as he is so big.

But in the end I will probably just go ahead and get him as he looks so awesome! And he is one that I have never owned so am looking forward to him

hahaha... sounds like you already made up your mind but just needed one of us to reassure your decision.

If you have a hefty tax return, i suggest you get 2!!!! i have not met or heard of anyone who owns a mint complete fort max and said they regretted buying it.

Heck, talk to linthart and he'll convince you that a grand max is worth it too... lol.

Just note that you will be very disappointed if you try to match up scorponok with FM....the size difference is ridiculous.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Truth be told I probably wouldn't have dared touch Maximus for fear of damaging it. Gimmicks = meh.
Reflector yes 'cos I'm a sucker for unusual alt-modes, Scorpy is also meh.
IIRC the highlights of your collection for me were the MP Primes and Megs, the fully outfitted City-Commander, and the so-many-Dinobots. Vector Prime was surprisingly impressive too, I was fence-sitting on getting him but now he's a must-have somewhere down the track. There were quite a few others but seeing so many awesome TFs in one place made my brain shut down so it's hard to remember them all...

[GoktimusPrime]

Truth be told I probably wouldn't have dared touch Maximus for fear of damaging it.

It's a fairly hardy 5kg toy. So long as you don't hurl it or drop it from a great height you should be right. Maximi tend to suffer from missing parts rather than broken bits.

Gimmicks = meh.

Yeah but they're fun to play with! Gimmicks aren't inherently a bad thing, it all depends on whether they compliment the toy well or not. I don't like gimmicks that aren't very complimentary or worse still, overwhelms the toy. Fort Max's gimmicks aren't like that.

Having said that the overall engineering of the toy _is_ quite simple, but at that size and weight I'm glad that it is because transforming a Maximus is like wrestling a small midget! And who doesn't love midget wrestling eh?

[kup]

The engineering on max is simple but effective. The Base outcome is pretty satisfying. The Flying fortress mode is a bit iffy as its more of an 'intermediate' mode, probably somethingthey made up after designing the toy but I like it. Also at that scale you don't want overly complex transformations as you do have to move a lot of large pieces and this would be hard for a kid.

As mentioned, the gimmicks are plenty but they are peripheral to the toy meaning that they do not get in the way like most modern Hasbro Gimmicks. The Elevator, the radar, the dozen or so guns and turrets as well as the jail - all seem to have been added after the toy was designed by taking advantage of hollow space within the toy.

[STL]

The engineering on max is simple but effective.

If you'd consider Classics 2.0 Silverbolt was effective, I guess. Lie me down. Bend my legs and push. Put my arms into the air.

Also at that scale you don't want overly complex transformations as you do have to move a lot of large pieces and this would be hard for a kid.

Same applies with a small toy though too. Don't want kids picking away at little pieces to get them into place. More likelly to snap it off. Large and sturdy I imagine is easier.

[dirge]

If you'd consider Classics 2.0 Silverbolt was effective, I guess. Lie me down. Bend my legs and push. Put my arms into the air.

Both Silverbolt and Fort Max have effective engineering. Maybe not satisfying or challenging, but they achieve what they set out to do (unlike say Energon Ironhide whose visible head ruins any semblance of "disguise" in vehicle mode, or Energon Vector Prime's poorly moulded wings which can't fold away properly).

We're talking a 1988 toy. For that time, Fortress Maximus' engineering is sufficiently complex for that era, and satisfying alongside other toys of the era.

Silverbolt's engineering works as well - but it's incredibly underwhelming for a 2008 toy - and hence unsatisfying alongside other toys of the era.

Anyone looking to buy Fort Max should make their decision within the context of G1 as a line - if someone is not a fan of G1 they're unlikely to find him satisfying.

[kup]

If you'd consider Classics 2.0 Silverbolt was effective, I guess. Lie me down. Bend my legs and push. Put my arms into the air.



Same applies with a small toy though too. Don't want kids picking away at little pieces to get them into place. More likelly to snap it off. Large and sturdy I imagine is easier.

As Dirge said. You cannot take it out of the context that its a 1987 G1 toy and compare it to a 2008-9 toy of a different scale. It's a bit ludicrous like comparing the performance of a 1930s bus with that of a 2008 Van and arguing that the bus sucks because its not as fuel efficient as the van.

[jgon2098]

if you dont care about wether its the original vintage or not, brave max is the much cheaper alternative, if the notion of 'vintage' matters as it does for everything that i collect, there is no argument. its all about the nostalgia eh? if you dont care about it, no need to fork out that cash.

the longer you wait, the more its going to cost you.

cerebros/spike a few years back use to be 50 bucks each. a normal auction for them now is roughly 100-150.

+ the xchange rate is fantastic atm.

worst case scenario, consider it an investment, its value isn't going to drop in the near future

[GoktimusPrime]

if you dont care about wether its the original vintage or not, brave max is the much cheaper alternative, if the notion of 'vintage' matters as it does for everything that i collect, there is no argument. its all about the nostalgia eh? if you dont care about it, no need to fork out that cash.

+1!

And IMO Brave Max is a much nicer looking toy anyway! Fort Max is rather dull; primarily just white, greys and blue. Quite bland; and of course the whites yellow horribly. Brave Max on the other hand offers a wider palette of colours, and also done in a nicer way, like all those little yellow "windows" painted on towers; really makes city mode look more like a city!

I only got Fort Max because I really like the character in G1 (the G1/G2 comics and Headmasters animé; Rebirth Fort Max is quite forgettable (-_-)). But if you're not a big fan of the G1 character, then yeah... you're better off getting a cheaper version of the same mould.

Also, there is a cheaper version of the G1 Fort Max character with Fortress Maximus Junior.