So, I got my Kabaya Fort Max this weekend. I gotta say, it was some work. The first set took me about 45 minutes to put together, but I plowed through the second and third ones pretty quickly. Once you have a good idea what you're doing, it flies by a lot quicker. In fact, it really added to the fun of it. After finishing the first set, I went right into the second. I had to go to a party after, and then we hit a bar from there, but when I got home at about 2:30 in the morning, I went right back and finished the third set. I enjoyed it that much.
I guess I underestimated the fact that I was going to be fully assembling this sucker when I bought it, though. And not just putting a few parts together, either. They had me assembling a launcher with a spring! But, God it was worth it. Both base and bot modes look amazing. There is a real attention to detail, and once you see how everything comes together, it's really quite something. He's such a cool likeness, and he feels very sturdy in both modes.
That's not to say he doesn't come with a couple issues. My biggest qualm has to be the mini-bots he comes with. They're so damn tiny! Which is fine, because they have to be for them to really work with Max, but the problem ends up being the stickers. The details on all 3 sets are pretty much taken care of by the stickers. And they seem to work really well on Max. I don't see any of the ones attached to the main figure coming off at any time soon. But on the mini-bots... that may end up being an issue.
Windcharger is the biggest problem. He's almost too faithful to the original figure design, and it results in a figure that feels really... loose. His arms don't click in tightly enough, and his legs can come off pretty easily. Plus, I've already lost one of the stickers that was supposed to be his tire. Cerebros is a much sturdier figure. He feels perfect (despite the exclusion of Spike). He also has some sticker problems, though. I think the one on his chest and the Fort Max face will be fine (though I contemplated not putting the face one on at all, since the face sculpt is pretty good on it's own), but the stickers on his arms and Max's ears feel like they'll be gone in a matter of time. Powerglide is easily the best of all 3. His simplicity is perfect, and they only put two stickers for him, both of which are placed in areas where they'll likely have no problem staying in place. And he works awesome with the launcher. The sucker can really fire him a decent distance.
When it comes to Max himself... not many complaints. I do wish the compartment on his left shoulder was a little bigger and had a translucent door. It would have been cool to store Windcharger or Powerglide in there, the way I used to as a kid with the G2 mini-bots, and my neighbor's Fort Max. Also, the stickers, despite being very solid on Max, were a real chore to get on jusssssst right, a few times. Especially the Autobot insignia on the tower that splits in half. It took forever to get them lined up so that they connected perfectly.
Other than those small complaints? Yeah. This guy is awesome. Well worth the $50 BBTS is charging. If you don't mind putting in the work, and you don't wanna drop a grand on the original Max, this is your best bet at getting a fully licensed figure that's pretty loyal to the original. Now, Kabaya, please give us a similar version of Trypticon.
Oh well...
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