This week’s schedule will be a little off. My Uncle passed away this weekend and I’m just about out the door on my way to Florida. As many of you know, this year has been sticking it to us here at IAT, but I’m tired of missing days. This won’t be the full review, but I wanted to post some quick picks of Encore Fortress Maximus.
It feels like I’ve been on a mad Transformers spending spree this year. One of the things that’s been getting me is having some extra money to pick up some old G1 Transformers. While I’m amazed at the engineering of modern Transformers, particularly the Masterpiece & Third Party pieces you keep seeing reviewed here at IAT, I can’t help but get this nostalgic hankering for ye olde Transformers. There’s just this undeniable charm about them, simple that they are. So I’ve been snagging Encore releases these last few weeks (among way too many other TFs) – you might spot a few in the backgrounds of these quick pics, in fact.
But the Encore Reissue that I absolutely had to have was Fortress Maximus. Kids, this is a Holy Grail right here. I’ll talk more about in my full review down the road, but like the USS Flagg or the Hall of Justice, Fort Max was a toy that I desperately wanted as a kid. But he was like $100 and though my parents loved me, though my parents spoiled me, a $100 toy in 1985 just wasn’t going to happen. I’d imagine that my Dad would’ve teased me about getting a job it if had ever come up.
Well, I’ve gotten a job since then and when the Encore was announced at the slightly higher $330, I didn’t hesitate one bit. I placed a pre-order at BigBadToyStore as soon as it was available. I was a little thrifty, opting to forego the more expensive air shipment. I figured I’d waited nearly thirty years, what was one more month?
Fort Max arrived today (I’m writing this on Friday night) and he is every bit worth it. He’s satisfyingly huge (size does matter, it seems), I was having a blast transforming him around (though it feels like a two-man operation at times), and I haven’t even put the stickers on yet! I think my favorite part at this point is the sword – only because I didn’t stop to think how HUGE it had to be for him to wield it. It’s awesome.
I snapped a “few” pics in the various modes of my naked Fortress Maximus to tide everyone over until the full review – but my summation should already be clear. If you think you want this guy and you have the scratch, do it.
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So awesome! Lucky man sir, looking forward to the review!
sorry for your loss, please accept my condolances. i hadn’t read the article yet, i simply went right to the text.
Sorry to hear about your uncle, Noisy. My sincerest condolences to you and your family.
The USS Flagg was one of those Holy Grails which could never happen. Even the luckiest kid I knew in school and the one with the most toys didn’t own it. The Hall of Justice might have been simpler to get but I never asked my parents for it and I didn’t know anyone who collected Super Powers at the time. Lots of Joe and Transformers collectors in my school, there was even an aborted attempt at forming a Sectaurs fan club but only 2 guys were into the line. No Super Powers fans for some reason, probably because there were so many great lines to collect at the time and lots of competition but little spending money.
Fort Max here came along after I was in high school and I didn’t meet a single toy collector during that time. I think I remember seeing him at a TRUs and he was indeed the biggest Transformer ever, putting dudes like Omega and Metroplex to shame. I was still reading the Marvel comic and I remember thinking that Fort Max shouldn’t be larger that the other guys. Heck, he was actually Spike inside that thing and leading the crew of the Steelhaven around the galaxy while searching for a way to resurrect Optimus Prime’s body!
That was a great time to be reading the comic, but Fort Max was (much like the Flagg) waaay out of my wallet’s league.
The kids who lived across the street from me until I was 5 had the USS Flagg. It was amazing. They got it for Christmas one year, and they assembled it in their basement play room, and then the family realized it was never leaving that room. It was too big to get up the stairs.
I also did know one kid who had every Super Powers figure and vehicle, including the Hall of Justice (and the exclusive Clark Kent, but that is neither here nor there). He was a little spoiled, and I was jealous.
I also knew a couple kids who had an entire basement surrounded by every Lego set released up until that point (keep in mind that Lego sets were a fairly new invention at the time. Nowadays you could probably have a warehouse full of them and it still wouldn’t be a complete collection). They also had every MASK toy, including the semi truck and the mountain base.
And now I’m just sitting here in my mind rattling off all of the awesomely huge toys that kids I knew had when I was young. The TMNT Technodrome and Sewer Lair, one kid had a Mego Batcave (though we didn’t know that’s what it was at the time), I even had a Death Star playset form Star Wars and a Castle Grayskull.
Condolences for your uncle.
I couldn’t have said anything more than what you already have. I finally got mine a few weeks ago and It was another moment of being a kid again. I skipped the gym so I could sit at home on the floor putting the stickers on, putting it in base mode and putting it next to another icon, Castle Grayskull.
Now Voltron has a friend that is about his height. They are both looking forward to the new Metroplex joining them as the final giant to my collection.
Now if I can just get my hands on a Castle of Lions (another item Matty should resurrect and redo), I have a little something for Voltron.
It’s fun being a kid again, even if just a few days out of the year when truly awesome figures come out. Ft. Max is definitely one of them.
I’m sorry to hear about your uncle, Noisy. Safe travels.
I think for FM, it’s going to come down to him or Castle Grayskull. Had planned on both, got hit by the tax man and made up my to do neither, but the pull of FM is too much to ignore. He’ll likely be mine. May have to wait/save several months, but I think his stock at BBTS should last that long.
My condolences for your uncle.
On the toy: Wow that thing is HUGE!!
On the toy: Oh man, I don’t know how I’d ever transform that thing! Man, that is E-normous!
My condolences on your loss, Noisy.
For that much money, I’d want a bit more articulation and bells and whistles than what you end up with with this reissue. Here’s hoping that the forthcoming “Titan Class” Metroplex will lead to similarly-scaled Omega Supreme, Trypticon, Scorponok, and Fortress Maximus. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if such a Fort Max would end up being a Metroplexual repaint.
stop it, yer getting my nips all hard and horny
Condolences on your loss. have a safe trip.
as for Fort Max. Dude is HUGE!
i know I teased you the other night on FB that I’d babysit, but DAAAYUM!
I managed to recover the Metroplex I thought I had “lost” last year in dad’s hayloft, so I know how big he is for scale.
I came across Fort Max ONCE, about a year after he came out (91?), at a Children’s Palace that was closing up and he was just sitting there on the floor at the end of an aisle all lonely. I seriously debated getting him, but knew parents would throw me out and I’d be living in it at that point. I wasn’t getting paid enough at Hardlee’s to afford that.
the thing I find funny is, he’s way bigger than Unicron (who I did have, briefly), but this guy is the MegaCity vs the Planet Devourere and he’s still bigger! LOL
Now when you get back home, I want you to take him out in a stroller to the local park and get Mrs. Noisy to take pics of you treating him like a real child. 😉
You have my condolences.
i’m curious to get your full review when life settles back down, as i’ve read some QC complaints on this reissue and i’m curious if those are isolated or widespread.
either way man, death is a tough thing. good journey.