Transformers Titans Return Fortress Maximus - Shogo Hasui Interview

It's something that Will brought up on the Combiner Wars thread but I figured that taking it here rather than responding there would be more appropriate but



Bloody hell these are closer to the originals than I thought. It's honestly kind of incredible; this is basically just taking the G1 toy and adding new engineering, proportions and articulation - I can't recall the last time something that exact and accurate happened.
Personally I'm cool with it; I do prefer the Classics Optimus approach of updating the character and coming up with a new version that keeps in mind the general silhouette, idea and feel. But I do also enjoy the Classics Starscream approach of endless redecoes just a straight-up update. Especially considering we're really not likely to get most these characters again, at least for a long time - most of them being from 1987 or after and hence after the period most fans have nostalgia for.

Will "Fortress' head be that of the anime or that of Rebirth?

Cyberpath wrote:

megatronus wrote:That's Hasbro Fort Max, right?

Yes. Shogo Hasui retooled it from Metroplex.

I meant is that Hasbro Fort Max rather than Takara's?

I know he's a retool.

Went to Myer today.

Didn't find Fortress Maximus.

Huzzah for regional Australia!
Good thing I wasn't planning on getting him anyway until he comes down in price

william-james88 wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:

megatronus wrote:That's Hasbro Fort Max, right?

Yes. Shogo Hasui retooled it from Metroplex.

I meant is that Hasbro Fort Max rather than Takara's?

Yup, that is Hasbro's Fort Max. Dont know if this should be in the Titans Return thread then since its about how he designed the retool for Hasbro

Don't see why not. It pertains completely to the toy itself rather than anything specific to the japanese market or deco.

Cyberpath wrote:My guess is that Yuki will retool "Cerebros" into "Fortress."

That's what I'm planning on!! Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan't wait!

Also, Google Translate FTW. Pretty fun read

SillySpringer wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:

Kurona wrote:Sad thing is, we got a better city mode last line.

That actually looks pretty dang awesome not gonna lie. Can anyone think of a character this could be retooled into for the TR line with a similar mode to this? (Perceptor)

Strictly speaking, nobody thanks to the combiner gimmick. Or they'd have to abandon the Titan Master idea and come up with 4 more new members for his team... Nah, too much of a headache

Starting from scratch with a similar transformation is the way to go.

Think again. They could use the same engineering as Rook for Perceptor, just like they did with Dead-end/Chromedome, and he can have both his Microscope mode, and a weird tank mode!


Transformers G1 1985 Perceptor Gallery


Transformers G1 1985 Perceptor Gallery

They could also use the same chest piece transformation as the original toy if they used the Rook mold, since the chest is positioned in the same way.

Hey! I didn't know that you could do that with Perceptor, nice one

william-james88 wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Hey! I didn't know that you could do that with Perceptor, nice one

Did you know you could do this:

Are you suggesting he needs to overcompensate?

william-james88 wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Hey! I didn't know that you could do that with Perceptor, nice one

Did you know you could do this:

That guy looks a bit like Burn's old avatar.

fenrir72 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:Fortmax is a risk investment as evidenced by using a shared mold instead of an entirely new design. It's a big bruiser. Limited market penetration. So if it doesn't sell enough, this might limit the amount of other subsequent projects in the pipeline.

Seriously man? Why are you treating this as some new thing? It's the third release in the f&%king titan class line. Obviously they're doing well enough to release a third figure and schedule/budget 3 more after it. You keep claiming econ 101, isn't the real first step in that whole process companies putting out product that meet consumer standards? This release doesn't for a lot of fans, get over it

Nailed it!

Doesn't do a lot for fans? Or just a very few fans. I don't think it is fair to say you speak for ALL fans.

Alt modes don't look incredible, but it would be a nice toy to get for my biggest Transformer.