Toy Review - JP Encore 23 Fortress Maximus

[theshape]

Yeah I bought a gm less than a year ago. I wouldn't have bought a reissue but it would have been nice to pick up a vintage gm cheaper

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Any chance of someone doing a few pics with some WSTs and/or Classicsverse Legends?

[GoktimusPrime]

Any chance of someone doing a few pics with some WSTs and/or Classicsverse Legends?

There's a whole thread comparing Fortress Maximus (the biggest TF ever) w/ Smallest TF Ravage (the smallest TF ever) here.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Yeah, I saw that but it's not really what I was talking about...FM's whole selling point is that 1: he's big, and 2: he's a good playset. As far as TFs go by all accounts he's not that great, but as a huge interactive base he's apparently pretty decent.

So I kinda wanted to see him showed off as a huge-arse base, and what better way to do that than with the smallest representations of the G1 crew available? They're a bit big in this shot of Metroplex, but they might work better with FM.

[GoktimusPrime]

I've taken some pics of my Fort Maxes and Brave Max combined as a big city here, populated by various Transformers of different shapes and sizes. I didn't put any Legends* figures there, but there's a Spychanger on Brave Max which is nearly as small.

I'll take a pic w/ some Legends/Legions figures later.

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*Encore Fort Max is populated by reissues, G1 Fort Max populated by original G1s, and Brave Max populated by Car Robot/RiD toys. Even the Decepticons in the gaols are of the same corresponding series.

[Deonasis]

Mine is issue free and lovely. The city mode is fantastic: great play value for kids, a few gimmicks, a quite asymetrical design, very big and solid and zero robot identifying parts (nice base arms Generations Metroplex.. not! )

Story: My 2 1/2yr daughter plays with some of my TFs so I introduced her to the giant robot that is Fort Max and after a gasp she instantly said "Car daddy, car!" wanting to see the alt mode, I guess I'll show her some decepticon trains and planes soon.

[Lint]

Got my Fort Max today, however his box was double taped so I think mine was a first run which had to be fixed and/or inspected. They did not do a very good job.

There are some minor stress marks (nothing that can't be fixed with a hair dryer ) however the biggest issue with my Fort Max is that he has two right fists. While this doesn't intefere much with the toy functionally it is glaringly annoying

I'd hesistant on an exchange as my Fort Max is pretty darn good aside from the manufacturing error. Is there anywhere I can call to get a replacement part? I'm sure if I had a left fist I could install it myself.

Now down to the review of the actual toy. Fort Max is impressive in all modes and, true to most G1 toys, has heaps of play value. I'm not sure how kids back in the day played with this toy. I had to MANHANDLE this thing during transformation. My only criticism I suppose is with some aspects of it's design. Many parts of Fort Max (generally the flip out panels and ramps) are pretty much asking to be broken if dropped on or bent the wrong way. This probably explains why a complete Fort Max is was such a rarity prior to this release. .

Overall, I like it, two right fists and all.

Now where to put it....

[GoktimusPrime]

I'd hesistant on an exchange as my Fort Max is pretty darn good aside from the manufacturing error. Is there anywhere I can call to get a replacement part? I'm sure if I had a left fist I could install it myself.

If your Fort Max was purchased in Japan and you have access to a Japanese speaking friend, then you might consider calling TakaraTOMY's customer call centre (the numbers are on the back of the box). If you purchased this toy from a non-Japanese source, especially an English speaking one, then I'd contact them first and ask for an exchange. My wife's done exchanges with online shopping before, and they've always reimbursed her for the cost of posting the items back, and they sent her new ones free of charge.

The only reason I would call TakaraTOMY is if I've purchased the toy from Japan, which means that I can't get a refund/exchange from the retailer without physically travelling back there or mailing the toy back (since it would've been a non-international/domestic transaction). Even then I've only ever done it twice. So yeah, if you purchased it from an international online store, I'd recommend contacting them first; if they have none left in stock, ask them if they can contact TakaraTOMY and source a spare part for you; if not, maybe recompense you some other way (e.g. partial refund or store credit for a future purchase etc.).

[Lint]

If your Fort Max was purchased in Japan and you have access to a Japanese speaking friend, then you might consider calling TakaraTOMY's customer call centre (the numbers are on the back of the box). If you purchased this toy from a non-Japanese source, especially an English speaking one, then I'd contact them first and ask for an exchange. My wife's done exchanges with online shopping before, and they've always reimbursed her for the cost of posting the items back, and they sent her new ones free of charge.

The only reason I would call TakaraTOMY is if I've purchased the toy from Japan, which means that I can't get a refund/exchange from the retailer without physically travelling back there or mailing the toy back (since it would've been a non-international/domestic transaction). Even then I've only ever done it twice. So yeah, if you purchased it from an international online store, I'd recommend contacting them first; if they have none left in stock, ask them if they can contact TakaraTOMY and source a spare part for you; if not, maybe recompense you some other way (e.g. partial refund or store credit for a future purchase etc.).

Thanks, the fun team at Anime-Export will be facilitating communication with TakaraTOMY on my behalf.

[jazzcomp]

Thanks, the fun team at Anime-Export will be facilitating communication with TakaraTOMY on my behalf.

makes me want to check mine....