A look back at a Transformers Icon!

This Toy Spotlight focuses on a true legend in the Transformers world and an item that sat atop many kids wish lists from the late 1980’s. Hasbro’s Transformer line was a huge hit at the time, to say the least, and was enjoying massive success in the North American market, as well as overseas. It would’ve been easy for Hasbro to play it safe with what had already been working, but in 1987, they released the largest Transformer toy of the entire G1 toy line, which is now considered a Transformer toy classic. So without further ado, I humbly present Hasbro’s Fortress Maximus from 1987.

In 1984, Hasbro Toys had gained a real foothold in the action figure market with their newly revamped GI Joe 3.75 inch line. The Joe line became a massive global success, but Hasbro still wanted more and ended up going across the world to get it. A Japanese toy company called Takara had been making transforming robots and vehicles since 1980 under the Diaclone line. Each of the vehicles were controlled by a miniature pilot called Micro Man. In 1982, Takara combined the robots and vehicles into what we now know as Transformers. Hasbro, realizing the massive potential of this toy line, quickly jumped on the North American toy licensing rights to this line and went into production of a slightly revamped Diaclone line simply called, the Transformers. The toy line was released in 1984 and became an instant smash hit! The toy line was such a success that it spawned a hugely popular comic by Marvel Comics and one of the biggest animated series ever released on television.

Fortress Maximus made his debut in the final episode of the Transformers animated series in 1987, which was Part 3 of “The Rebirth” miniseries. He was constructed by Spike Witwicky and Cerebros from an old Nebulan city. He was a giant Autobot capable of transforming into a battle station, under their control as part of the Headmasters. Fortress Maximus travelled to Cybertron where he battled the similarly giant Scorponok and then the rest of the Decepticons, driving them off the planet. Afterwards, he returned to Nebulos. He was voiced by Stephen Keenan in the show, who spoke Fortress’ one and only line from the series, “Decepticons… prepare to face … Fortress Maximus!“

The toy itself was impressive and just plain big! At 22″ tall, it dwarfed every other G1 Transformer produced by Hasbro at the time, including his nemesis, Scorponok. It was heavy too, weighing in at a hefty 11 pounds. Fortress Maximus was billed as being able to transform from robot mode to battle station mode to city mode, and back again. While in Battle Station mode, there wasn’t a whole lot of playability or articulation. It had several weapons all around, along with Spike in the cockpit tower. In this mode, Gasket and Grommet came out of where his feet were. Side Note: Gasket and Grommet come together to form Cog. On the other side of the Battle Station, you can find Cerebros, who is the gray shape near the radar dish. He transforms into his robot form, but with no head. That’s where Spike comes in, as Spike transforms into his the head of Cerebros and attaches to the body (Hence the name, Headmasters). From there, Fortress could be switched to City Mode.

To get to City Mode, there were a long series of moves that have to be made, and trust me, they do take some effort. Once in City Mode, Fortress Maximus is still pretty darn big with a lot more moving parts and playability than in Battle Station mode. For instance, underneath the Heli-Pad is a door that opens to reveal a jail cell. On the other side is a Repair Bay that opens up to store smaller vehicles. If transformed correctly, there will be a tunnel through the middle of the City. The small vehicles can fit inside and rise to the top on an elevator, then shoot out from the front middle ramp. The two front side ramps are also launchers that can propel smaller vehicles. The last transforming mode is the classic Robot Mode.

Once again, there are several moves that have to be made to get to Robot Mode, and once again, it requires some work to get to. Basically you are placing Fortress back towards his Battle Station Mode, and then some. Once that mode is completed, Cerebros will be transformed into the head of Fortress Maximus. Spike can be pulled off Cerebros at this point, as he is no longer really needed for this function. In this Robot Mode, he reaches his full height of over 22″ with lots of moving parts and hidden weapons. In my opinion, this is the way Fortress should be displayed just due to his impressive size. Despite that massive size, Fortress still has pretty decent range of motion and articulation.

Fortress Maximus was a huge gamble by Hasbro back in 1987, but is highly coveted by collectors nowadays. Due to its nearly $100.00 price tag back then, there were not a lot of these sold back in the day, which obviously affects the secondary market value. The good news is that any Transformer collector probably has Fortress Maximus at the top of their wish lists, and boxed versions are considered “Holy Grail” items. It remains extremely poplar on the secondary market, and they quickly disappear when they do pop up. Loose versions range in value from $200 – $400, depending on condition and whether they are complete. Boxed versions are not as easily found, and can range from $1,200 to $2,000, again depending the box’s condition and whether it is complete. Obviously graded versions will sell for much higher. Hasbro really loved their giant show stoppers for their toy lines (Defiant and U.S.S Flagg for the GI Joe line) which makes them centerpieces for just about any collection. Fortress Maximus is genuinely considered an all-time classic from the Transformers line. Despite its gigantic size, it worked really well, and provided hours of entertainment for children of that era. A big thank you goes out to Hasbro for their creative ingenuity in putting this classic together and shaping an incredible era of toys, not to mention having the stones to release something this massive.

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