Transformers questions by newbies, and not-so-newbies

[griffin]

Decisions, decisions:
Fortress Maximus... my son wants a big city Transformer. HK ani-con is coming up and the SDCC exclusives should be available there and I think there will be an SDCC version too (?).

So my question is: which city-former do I get him?

Tell him he's too spoiled already and give him some wooden blocks to build his own Autobot city with his imagination...

(having a 1980s childhood flashback moment there... )

[GoktimusPrime]

I remember when Masters of the Universe first came out -- either Castle Grayskull hadn't been released with the first wave of figures or we just never saw it in stores -- but one of my older cousins built a Castle Grayskull from a cardboard box. It was AWESOME! It had various chambers and even gimmicks, including a working drawbridge and trapdoor!

I didn't have any city/base-formers during the 80s, although I remember seeing someone else's Metroplex and feeling incredibly underwhelmed by its puniness. I didn't start collecting playsets until the 90s when I was a bit older; and the smaller and more affordable Micromaster bases were easier for a kid to collect.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to rocking on my porch and telling the local kids to get off my lawn.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I remember when Masters of the Universe first came out -- either Castle Grayskull hadn't been released with the first wave of figures or we just never saw it in stores -- but one of my older cousins built a Castle Grayskull from a cardboard box. It was AWESOME! It had various chambers and even gimmicks, including a working drawbridge and trapdoor!

I didn't have any city/base-formers during the 80s, although I remember seeing someone else's Metroplex and feeling incredibly underwhelmed by its puniness. I didn't start collecting playsets until the 90s when I was a bit older; and the smaller and more affordable Micromaster bases were easier for a kid to collect.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to rocking on my porch and telling the local kids to get off my lawn.

Heh, I made a Sarlacc pit like that once with my best friend at the time. It had multiple stomachs and everything - we spent ages getting the drop-to-stomach ratio roughly even.
That thing was pretty awesome.

[5FDP]

I didn't have any city/base-formers during the 80s...

Same, and I can't remember any of my friends having one either. Probably because most of my friends stopped 'collecting' Transformers before any city/base-formers came out. I was one of the few that continued on into my teens. My hidden shame

[Bladestorm]

Tell him he's too spoiled already and give him some wooden blocks to build his own Autobot city with his imagination...

(having a 1980s childhood flashback moment there... )

Hahaha! The 80's were the best! I may not have been allowed a Transformer but I sure had large tub of blocks. One of the FIRST things I hunted down when I was pregnant with my first child was wooden blocks which are still used on a regular basis by both kids to this day (and my oldest will be 12 this year if that indicates how much love the blocks have had over the years). Lego is also a perennial favourite - in fact the basic imaginative boxes of lego get more use than the "make it once" sets.

I admit my son is too spoilt BUT he has saved his own money to help pay for his first city-former so I can't be too hard on him. He's also saved enough pocket money for UW Computron as well thanks to Chinese new year Lai See so I'm really proud of him for setting goals and sticking to them (unlike his sister who spends money as soon as she earns/receives it).
He has been eyeing off Metroplex for a while (begging me for the last 2 years) but I was wondering if the new Fort Max (in whichever form) would be a better option (and maybe slightly cheaper). I've seen a couple of reviews that aren't too favourable towards the Hasbro one so I thought I would seek knowledge from those of you who have had previous experience playing with and owning earlier versions of city-formers (both in your childhoods and as adults) or seen this new guy up close.

[GoktimusPrime]

I think it's reasonable when it's his own money.