Transformers Legends: Fortress Maximus LG-31

Growing up in the 80's I was a huge fan of both the Transformers toys and the cartoon. While I was blessed to own several great G1 Transformers toys, my interested started to change and I drifted away from the line before the giant Headmaster Fortress Maximus toy was released. Needless to say I started to collect the toys from my childhood, Fort Max was one of many toys I had my eye on.

While I eventually would be able to pick up a loose G1 Fort Max body and begin to piece it together, I was equally excited to hear the mammoth figure would be returning in 2016. Then the pictures of the Hasbro version would hit the 'net and I lost a little bit of that excitement. The paint apps chosen just didn't float my boat and I began debating if I wanted to even bother with the giant figure. Then Takara Tomy came and saved the day.

Takara Tomy's Legends series of Transformers would sadly be the last line (as of today's date) where their releases would differ from what Hasbro was offering in the West and other parts of the world. No longer after this series would the Japanese releases feature a premium deco *sigh* or feature more of a cartoon accurate deco. However if this would be the last line to feature this premium "upgrade" of sorts I'm glad that Fortress Maximus was included in the line. The changes made by Takara Tomy were enough to re-ignite the excite enough to import this big guy.

Some of the larger releases in the Legends line featured windowless boxes, but this gave more room on the packaging to feature stunning artwork in both horizontal and vertical orientation. The packaging was one of my favorite aspects of the Legends line itself.

One side of the box offered a near 1:1 view of the figure itself, while the other side featured more artwork. When you line up the art side of the Legends boxes it makes a wonderful Transformers collage!

Fortress Maximus comes housed in a large cardboard tray, with Fortress, his Transtector unit and the Master Sword accessory in 3 parts. This is the same sword that was included with Hasbro's 2016 SDCC exclusive.

Speaking of the Master Sword it's a rather sweet accessory and really big! Here you can see the sword propped up behind Legends Chop Shop.

The Legends release of Fortress Maximus would see the smaller Headmaster retooled to resemble his Headmasters cartoon appearance. This was another reason I decided to take the plunge and import.

Fortress, the head of Fortress Maximus, is just a tad larger than his fellow Cybertron Headmaster (deluxe) figures. Just has the smaller Headmaster was changed to better resemble Fortress' appearance in the Headmaster television show, so has the rest of the figure. Gone are the darker shades of gray used in the Hasbro/SDCC version and replaced with lighter shades of gray. If you ever see these two figures side by the side the differences are very easy to spot and helps makes the figures look like the two different characters they are.

Japanese voice actor, Ikuya Sawaki, provided the voice of Fortress. When you press the head down one of several recorded phrases can be heard (in Japanese) such as "Head On!", "Transform!", "I am Cybertron Supreme Commander" and more. There is even a snippet of the very catchy Transformers Headmasters television theme song. I did my best to capture these phrases, including the song sample.

In head mode, Fortress' features a lighter grey deco (almost white) in the face area. The two side crests are also blue where as they are a dark gray on the other releases.

I thought it would be fun to compare and contrast Fortress and his Headmaster with their G1 counterparts. I didn't have a lot of room to work with a figure as large as Fort Max so these are the only comparison photos I have.

I don't usually photograph large toys the size of Fortress Maximus so I had to take a few shots outside of the light box. 

Fortress Maximus is a heavy re-tool of Generations Metroplex, so if you are familiar with that toy then you know what you're getting with this mammoth Headmaster. The figure is well articulated for it's size and the new Master Sword accessory is awesome. My favorite aspect of this figure however is it's G1 deco. I just couldn't get past the deco on the Hasbro/SDCC version, especially the red trim around the leg cannons. All of the colors blend so well together in this version of the character that there is no mistake who this is...well at least to Transformer fans.

Even with the G1 version of Fortress Maximus, I never cared too much for his alternate modes. The designer of this figure did a good job at re-purposing Metroplex and his city mode for Fortress' city and battle modes. While a toy's play pattern may not be as important to me, I'm glad that this figure does offer different styles of play if you so wish. For example, you can put the small Headmaster figure at the helm of a cannon here in base mode.

The battle mode (or whatever it's proper name is) is rather plain in my eyes, however kudos for the inclusion of the side mounted heli pad. I should point out if you haven't already noted that my Fortress Maximus is "naked" as I opted not to spend half my summer applying the stickers!

If you're so inclined to purchase this version of Fort Max be prepared to spend $150-$200 depending on where you shop. At the time of this post there have been a few of the Legends versions sale in this range on eBay. Of course if you want to purchase him new several of the larger TF e-tailers such as TFSource.

Transformers Kabaya: Fortress Maximus - Part 4 of 4

Behold!  Kabaya Fortress Maximus!



I'll be letting the pictures do most of the talking here.

I never fully understood how Fort Max could fly in battle station (or city mode), but it's still cool they were able to replicate these forms so well with this kit.

Just like with the G1 toy, Cerebros transforms and becomes part of figure in city mode (see just above the blue ramp launcher).

I can't stress how awesome this set is.  Unlike many of the previous new Kabaya kits, Fort Max feels like a solid toy once you have him assembled.  Best thing too is he isn't a part former!  You don't have to unassemble him to convert between the various forms.  If you've been curious about these kits or if you are turned off my the other kits because of the stickers or part swapping then you may want to give Fort Max a look.  At the time of this posting Captured Prey has him in stock for the lowest price on the 'net - $30.  This is a really fun toy and I can't wait to see how Big Powered turns out next.  If that group of 3 are made as well as Fort Max I may have to set a new shelf just to showcase these Kabaya kits.

Transformers Kabaya: Fortress Maximus - Part 3 of 4

We're finally down to the 3rd and final Fortress Maximus kit.  In this set are the left arm, leg and ramp along with the Master Sword and a tiny Powerglide.  Kit #2 was kind of lackluster so what can we expect here?  Well for starters we have a small Powerglide figure and Fort Max's large sword so the kit has to be good, right?

The layout of the box is the same as the others so nothing new here.  The side panel does however show off a spring loaded launcher that can propel Powerglide (or Windcharger I presume) off the ramp!

Upon assembling this set it felt like there were less parts than compared to the first two kits.  If you can't tell that is a small spring taped to the square piece of cardboard.

The alternate mode is small, but decent.  Like I was surprised with the launching ramp in the first kit I didn't expect a similar device for the other ramp.  Inside that blue box is a small spring allowing you to pull back on the small blue block.  Push the button on the top and whatever you have on the ramp is launched off.  I should mention there is quite the tension in that small spring too.

Where I didn't care as much for Windcharger in the first set, I love this little Powerglide figure.  First of all he only has 2 small stickers.  I'm kinda surprised there wasn't a sticker for the robot mode, but there is some good sculpting for the face so I'm OK without a sticker.  The kit also holds together much better than Windcharger.  To transform him you do have to pop off the wings and plug them into the side.

Fortress Maximus owners like myself growing up outside of Japan didn't get the luxury of having the cool Master Sword with our G1 Fort Max toys, so I'm really glad they included the sword in this kit.  While the sword is large, it's sized just right for this kit.  Molded in red plastic, there are 6 small black stickers applied - 3 on each side.

We're almost there!  Check back for the last post to see how all of this comes together.