The Energon Pub

Kurona wrote:

That Bot wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:So... he's not taller than Metroplex?

Thats a major bummer, he also seems much smaller in width.

Did you guys even look at the pictures? He's clearly taller than Metroplex.

He's not taller than Metroplex's shoulder guns but if you expected that he would be, I don't know what to tell you. They were always going to be the same height from toe to neck, it was the size of the head that would make the difference, and Plex gets to cheat on his height by having some long guns sticking straight up out of his shoulders.

It's a pretty hard call either way - the only thing that would make one taller than the other is the head and they're really close. Depending on how you look at it one can look like it has that slight edge over the other.

They are the same height at the neck, and Fort Max's head is larger (because it doubles as a deluxe class robot). At most, Metroplex's antennae might be slightly higher than Max's horns, but Max is the clear winner.

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:Who's forcing who?

I believe that was you, insisting and guilt-tripping everyone into buying a retooled titan class figure.

I said from the start that we should all buy what we like. I'm only explaining how I (and many other's) feel; since he was revealed, a good portion of the fan base has seemed to feel pretty letdown that this legendary figure is being splurged out as a half-a$$ed retool, and I don't blame them. I was only trying to show how it could've been done differently to better enhance his reception - if it had to be a retool of Metroplex.

Your faulty biased analysis according to me. Just as two "seibertron.com" staff are also subliminally discouraging members to see things their way as in not to buy the Fortmax product.

Open to interpretation from both sides.

Guilt tripping or a logical analysis. I am seeing things in the economical side of things. Economics 101. The most boring, yawn inducing not guilt tripping of all subjects.

If you like it, buy it. If you don't, don't. If enough people don't like it, Hasbro will re-analyze their business model. This is highly unlikely to impact the release of Trypticon, as there is substantial evidence that people will purchase that based on the fan vote and his unique appeal (dinosaurs are a pretty easy sell). It may, however, affect future titan releases, and that's the point. Whether they don't make as many new titans going forward, or whether they take the hint and improve their relative uniqueness, or both, to many here it is an improvement over the current state of affairs. Nobody should feel forced to buy a toy they don't like, especially an expensive one, simply to maybe guarantee that something they might like will come down the pipe later that they will then have to pay even more money for.

That Bot wrote:

Kurona wrote:

That Bot wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:So... he's not taller than Metroplex?

Thats a major bummer, he also seems much smaller in width.

Did you guys even look at the pictures? He's clearly taller than Metroplex.

He's not taller than Metroplex's shoulder guns but if you expected that he would be, I don't know what to tell you. They were always going to be the same height from toe to neck, it was the size of the head that would make the difference, and Plex gets to cheat on his height by having some long guns sticking straight up out of his shoulders.

It's a pretty hard call either way - the only thing that would make one taller than the other is the head and they're really close. Depending on how you look at it one can look like it has that slight edge over the other.

They are the same height at the neck, and Fort Max's head is larger (because it doubles as a deluxe class robot). At most, Metroplex's antennae might be slightly higher than Max's horns, but Max is the clear winner.

The antennae and horns are what I was basing it on, yeah.

fenrir72 wrote:Did I mention blindly buying? Again, remove the "emotion" and logically review Economics 101. You'll see what I mean related to how a product gets successfully made and how extrinsic factors may also be the products' downfall.

There needs to be incentive on both sides of the buyer/seller relationship, if they're going to phone it in on these big expensive releases then I'd rather not contribute to that. I'd rather see those resources go to increasing the quality on their main size classes.

I'm still undecided on Fort Max, not saying he's bad, just that I'm not overly impressed with what we've been shown for features and alt modes. Yeah the double headmaster thing is great but it's like they forgot to design a good portion of the figure. The bones are there for something great but they might have blown it. That said, I'm still hopeful for Max, Trypticon and beyond turning out well. And in all likelyhood I'll probably end up getting it due to an itchy add-to-cart finger.

Stuartmaximus wrote:I know there's a pictorial written review of Fort Max up from someone in Australia, seeing as the figure is now out in retail there, but just wondered if anyone has found a video review of the figure yet?

Nothing has been sent to the news crew, nothing on the Australian FB groups or Ozformers.

There's only one reviewer in Australia that I know of that reviews TF's and does videos, and she hasn't gotten him yet. (There may be other reviewers out there, I've just never heard of them)

Mr Skram wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:Did I mention blindly buying? Again, remove the "emotion" and logically review Economics 101. You'll see what I mean related to how a product gets successfully made and how extrinsic factors may also be the products' downfall.

There needs to be incentive on both sides of the buyer/seller relationship, if they're going to phone it in on these big expensive releases then I'd rather not contribute to that. I'd rather see those resources go to increasing the quality on their main size classes.

I'm still undecided on Fort Max, not saying he's bad, just that I'm not overly impressed with what we've been shown for features and alt modes. Yeah the double headmaster thing is great but it's like they forgot to design a good portion of the figure. The bones are there for something great but they might have blown it. That said, I'm still hopeful for Max, Trypticon and beyond turning out well. And in all likelyhood I'll probably end up getting it due to an itchy add-to-cart finger.

Yup. As much as I would have preferred less recycling of Metroplex's parts (especially the arms and his feet which could have been redesigned to recreate the original transform structure of the G1 version) the mere fact that there are "recycled" parts means Hb/TT is still treating the Cityformer line very carefully. They really need to make a breakout sale figures if we ever expect to see more Cityformers.

It's kinda disheartening..........no discouraging that Fortmax has just barely been released and we get is a downer already.

Evil_the_Nub wrote:That's what I'm thinking. I bet the legs could be positioned upright to look like towers at least.

Dont bet too much because the joints make it impossible to position the legs upright to look like towers

-Kanrabat- wrote:Even if I find TR Fortmax at 50$, I'll pass.

I will buy it at that price Walmart was selling Devy at real cheap.

I can't wait for all the "I regret not picking that up" posts two years from now regarding this toy. Like the ones folks make about Metroplex now

I'm still excited for this toy. A three paragraph (being generous here) "review" of mostly complaining and not a lot of pictures ain't gonna get me down on it.

fenrir72 wrote:... with minus two lost potential customers...

fenrir72 wrote:... And I'm getting the TT version btw...

Call me crazy here but as far as Hasbro is concerned, wouldn't that be 3 lost sales? Doesn't buying Takara = not buying Hasbro?

Anyway, I get that we need to encourage Hasbro to make toys that we want and nothing speaks louder than money, but I cannot support buying toys we don't like in the hopes of maybe getting something we do like later. Unfortunately by this logic it seems like a lose lose situation; don't buy and they may stop making them, do buy and they may keep making them the same.

I missed Gen Metroplex and that's the only reason I've been considering TR Fort Max. I saw Max in person and he looks super cool and imposing, but I have no attachment to Max like I do Plex. The more I see of Max the less I'm feeling him. Other than being an impressive show piece he just doesn't look or sound like much fun.

I'm keeping an open mind and will wait for more reviews to come out or maybe a good sale.

carytheone wrote:Doesn't buying Takara = not buying Hasbro?

Ok, ok, sorry. For many that is probably the case. I'm not normal in this regard though, I'll admit.

carytheone wrote:Anyway, I get that we need to encourage Hasbro to make toys that we want and nothing speaks louder than money, but I cannot support buying toys we don't like in the hopes of maybe getting something we do like later. Unfortunately by this logic it seems like a lose lose situation; don't buy and they may stop making them, do buy and they may keep making them the same.

I missed Gen Metroplex and that's the only reason I've been considering TR Fort Max. I saw Max in person and he looks super cool and imposing, but I have no attachment to Max like I do Plex. The more I see of Max the less I'm feeling him. Other than being an impressive show piece he just doesn't look or sound like much fun.

I'm keeping an open mind and will wait for more reviews to come out or maybe a good sale.

"I cannot support buying toys we don't like in the hopes of maybe getting something we do like later." I'm with you here 98%. The 2% of dissent I'd have on it is that in some cases (probably not this one), if something is not-so-great and unsuccessful, it makes it unlikely that similar products will come down the line in the near future regardless of quality. We have a lot of examples of this, and while they're mostly in 'concept' lines like Construct-Bots, there are a few cases like the old Ultra Class or Cyberverse playsets where stuff just gets the axe if it doesn't move. The market tends to take care of itself though, so yes, indeed, you should not buy stuff you don't like.

I've been doing some thinking on TR/TL Fortress Maximus lately as I've just spent some money upgrading my Generations Metroplex.

I'm still getting him, and hopefully it'll be the Takara Legends version.

Metroplex to me is "Autobot City" and Fortress is "Battleship Maximus". Both are giant robots, but both will be played with differently, and I can't effing wait for the Japanese sound clips.

Having said that, for the rest of the TR releases I'll probably end up with the Hasbro versions. Spending the money on the big guy to get a pretty big difference in the figure (colors, sword, sounds, maybe even a different "Fortress" deluxe figure head) is worth it to me. On the other figures, I can't justify the extra cost. I think we all know at some point they will have even "more accurate" decos of all of these figures, and I'll be happy with what I get the first time around.

ScottyP wrote:I can't wait for all the "I regret not picking that up" posts two years from now regarding this toy. Like the ones folks make about Metroplex now

I'm still excited for this toy. A three paragraph (being generous here) "review" of mostly complaining and not a lot of pictures ain't gonna get me down on it.

I know I'm on that train regarding Metroplex. I figured I'd hold off for Fort Max that was (most likely) down the road, but now that we're seeing it...it's a bit of a disappointment. The simple fact that it has less content than Metroplex (where's the sword, Hasbro?) is kind of a deal breaker for buying it at full price. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for discounts though, and there's that really nice 3P sword I'll most likely pick up.

I'm still excited for Fort Max, sure there's a few things I'd like to change on him but I can easily get over it. I'm leaning toward the Takara release however I'm waiting to pre-order until I see the sdcc version. Thinking back to that old leak: we know he'll come with the sword, but did we ever figure out what they meant by exclusive titan master figure?

@Kanrabat Although I don't really like the G1 toys G1 Fort Max has a certain appeal. However, getting him would probably mean I'd have to eliminate other toys from my budget, possibly UW Computron who I'd rather have. If he's still available around or after Christmas I'll consider it.

@williamjames88 Yeah that would be enough for at least an entire wave.

My qualms with Max don't lie in the fact that he's a retool, that's still unfortunate though, I just don't think he looks that great in colors and design. The lack of weaponry and a good base mode also make him less desirable.

itscramtastic wrote:I've been doing some thinking on TR/TL Fortress Maximus lately as I've just spent some money upgrading my Generations Metroplex.

I'm still getting him, and hopefully it'll be the Takara Legends version.

Metroplex to me is "Autobot City" and Fortress is "Battleship Maximus". Both are giant robots, but both will be played with differently, and I can't effing wait for the Japanese sound clips.

Having said that, for the rest of the TR releases I'll probably end up with the Hasbro versions. Spending the money on the big guy to get a pretty big difference in the figure (colors, sword, sounds, maybe even a different "Fortress" deluxe figure head) is worth it to me. On the other figures, I can't justify the extra cost. I think we all know at some point they will have even "more accurate" decos of all of these figures, and I'll be happy with what I get the first time around.

Btw are those Gen Plex upgrades worth getting? I know there's a Sixgun as well as upgrades with a different Plex head as well as the IF-EX03 Sonictech & Fellows Armed Intellinence Squad Action Figure Set

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Btw are those Gen Plex upgrades worth getting? I know there's a Sixgun as well as upgrades with a different Plex head ect

If money is no object and you really want that, go nut. Personally, I will NOT. Paying the price of a full figure (50$? 100$? WTF?!) just for some weapons is silly IMO. I did that mistake twice already and each time I had severe buyer remorse. No more.

Well, my answer is the opposite of Kanrabat, Stuartmaximus!

Picked up Generations Metroplex via HTS when he came out in 2012 for $129. Picked up the ReproLabels last year for $30 w/a discount code. Picked up the head upgrade w/mini turrets new from TFSource for $40, and the Before and After Six Sigma for $60 from BBTS (dented box, oh no!! )

Check out the pictures on my collection thread. Totally worth it to me.

I've just checked some of the prices of those upgrade add-on kits & they are quite expensive! But it's probably gonna be the way to go for a full effect Fort Max! seeing as he's not coming with all of his parts(well.....the parts that you would expect it to come with)

ScottyP wrote:The market tends to take care of itself though, so yes, indeed, you should not buy stuff you don't like.

I think thats all we were trying to say (at least I was), glad you agree

There's some more ( better) in hand pics over on tfw

And lest we forget that Fort Max was the 'star' of three toy fairs (NY, AUS, botcon) and each of those times Wheelie (a $10 legends class figure) has out shown him quite handily, that clearly shows that something went awry in our reception of him.

As for this notion of him failing taking down the 'city-former' line, has everyone forgotten that he's just a titan class release, and the third one in that series? Obviously Metroplex and Devs did well, because they're continuing the line with him, if he fails it's no one's fault but hasbro's for putting minimal effort into this release and hoping people would buy it anyways.

Hey, Cerebros has a mouth plate like in Rebirth! How much you wanna bet the Legends version
will have a regular mouth instead?