Zeta Toys Zeta-EX09 Ford (Fortress Maximus)

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by williammmw, May 22, 2020.

  1. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    The teeth are too big, especially on the right shoulder, so you have to use an excessive amount of force to move them. On Infinitor I opened the shoulders and sanded them down a little.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2020
  2. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    I went with a different approach on the shoulder ratchets this time. Rather than shave down the teeth I just removed them entirely. The shoulders no longer have outward ratchets but they are still very tight.

    Dirty tutorial time:

    Remove the ramps (they just peg on) from each arm so you can access all of the screws. Remove the screws and the two halves of the shoulder slide apart. You may think they are glued but it’s just a very tight fit.

    5A3EFB00-5780-41EB-82CD-E1D93557DD26.jpeg

    Then you have two options:
    Shave/sand down this tooth on each side (it slides out easily) until you get your desired amount of smooth clicky resistance.

    5E66DE46-CDBB-421B-A319-1A38A55E3587.jpeg

    Or just leave it out and enjoy smooth posing but no delicious clicks.

    92E86E16-2119-4C77-B2A2-E6AF9350E44F.jpeg
     
    • Like Like x 11
  3. Astrowing19

    Astrowing19 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2020
    Posts:
    224
    Trophy Points:
    97
    Location:
    New Jersey
    Likes:
    +803
    Twitter:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    I just got the toy and I love it. The only problem is that the head will fly out under the slightest bit of stress - even if all you do is move the shoulders. Is there a solution for this?
     
  4. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2006
    Posts:
    15,788
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Likes:
    +45,621
    Ebay:
    I don't have him yet but the way I've solved that kind of thing in the past is to put a few coats of future on the peg or just wrap it in masking tape or something.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  5. ferrari35

    ferrari35 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2011
    Posts:
    1,341
    Trophy Points:
    232
    Location:
    UK
    Likes:
    +850
    Can i ask someone take a photo of this next to Fantoys kup or blur please?
     
  6. Astrowing19

    Astrowing19 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2020
    Posts:
    224
    Trophy Points:
    97
    Location:
    New Jersey
    Likes:
    +803
    Twitter:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    I don't know what "future" is, but if I use masking tape, then I can't remove the head. That's bad for a Headmaster.
     
  7. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    I don’t have that issue on mine or on Infinitor. Maybe the spring that pushes up the stats bar has too much tension. Looking at my Ford I see they applied some kind of clear coat to the tabs on his head. Does yours have this? Just wondering if they put that on to minimize unwanted head ejection.

    995A437F-7EF7-47DE-B290-6C8D1045304F.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2020
    • Like Like x 2
  8. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2006
    Posts:
    15,788
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Likes:
    +45,621
    Ebay:
    Yeah, I uh ... forgot which thread I was in. Disregard.
     
  9. Astrowing19

    Astrowing19 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2020
    Posts:
    224
    Trophy Points:
    97
    Location:
    New Jersey
    Likes:
    +803
    Twitter:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    I don't have that. It's possible mine is an earlier variant.

    It's a shame, since this is otherwise the best Fortress Maximus toy I could find.
     
  10. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    You could probably take the torso apart fairly easily and just remove the spring that pushes against the head. You’d loose the stats feature but then the head wouldn’t fly off.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    Huh...my Ford just started doing this. It was fine up until today, but now it's just like you said - tap the head or jostle him a little and the head goes flying. It feels like the little red clasps inside the torso aren't clipping to the slots on the sides of Cerebros' head like they're supposed to. Looks like I'll be opening him up and either fixing those clasps or removing the springs for the stats bars.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. Astrowing19

    Astrowing19 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2020
    Posts:
    224
    Trophy Points:
    97
    Location:
    New Jersey
    Likes:
    +803
    Twitter:
    YouTube (Legacy):
    Too bad I don't have the skill to open up a toy without ruining it forever.
     
  13. Bumblemus Prime

    Bumblemus Prime Cracked in the head

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Posts:
    2,252
    Trophy Points:
    222
    Likes:
    +3,966
    I had Infinitor and had zero problems with the tolerances for the headmaster. Is this a rare example of Zeta's engineering being worse than Toyworld's?
     
  14. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    My Infinitor was just fine too. Everything else on Ford is identical to Infinitor in terms of overall quality, of not a little better (my Ford Cerebros has tighter joints). I’ll know more about what the neck issue is after I open him up. I’m guessing they just used the wrong springs.
     
  15. mag_jr.

    mag_jr. <B><font color=red>TFW2005 Article Guy</font></B> Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2004
    Posts:
    1,378
    Trophy Points:
    257
    Likes:
    +74
    Any luck on the spring issue yet? I just got Ford from Toy Dojo a little while ago, and the head pops out like crazy despite having the clear coat on the tabs like yours. I’ve poked around a little with a size 0 screwdriver, and it seems like the culprit might be the spring on Ford’s left side (if they used more than one spring). The tab only depresses halfway and gets stuck. The middle one depresses with no issues, and the one on Ford’s right is 50/50 on whether it will get stuck or depress properly.
    So it might not be the springs, but maybe a molding issue. Or maybe (if there’s more than one spring) the left & right might just need to be swapped or have a length cut off? It does seem like there’s too much pressure pushing upwards from those springs, because I’ve still got the Toyworld Hardhead and that headmaster also just flies right off of Ford’s shoulders. My bro has a G1 Fort Max, but I don’t think he’ll let me borrow Spike to test further:p 

    I did have to shave down one of Cerebros’s leg tabs a little to get his legs to tab together at all, and the red paint (?) from the neck mechanism is rubbing off on the sides of poor little Cerebros’s head, but apart from those issues he feels solid as a rock. They must have even oiled the shoulder ratchets on mine, because I got grease all over my hands checking out that tooth piece for the shoulder ratchets. :lol  Makes a decent Marvel scale Fort Max to hang with my legends figures and MFT Huge Dragon, and micromasters fit on his ramps perfectly too. The metallic finish looks really, really nice, much nicer in hand than I expected, and he’s heavy for a figure with no die cast.

    The only gripe I have is that they removed a couple of little paint apps (or stickers? not sure, I never owned Grant or Infinitor) from the central tower made from the bits that wrap around his torso. There used to be a couple of yellow and blue stripes each to kind of fake windows, as on the G1 toy, but now it’s just that bone white color. Not a huge deal because I can’t see myself having him in city mode that often.
     
  16. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2004
    Posts:
    25,384
    News Credits:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    442
    Location:
    Omicron Persei 8
    Likes:
    +21,362
    Thanks for the reminder I forgot to post my results!

    So what worked for me is pretty simple:
    1- Remove 6 screws from back

    CBB4F9C7-4823-4CE2-BDAB-8AA8C9F2764B.jpeg
    DA4DED0F-4A0D-4D6B-BB91-761E903382B2.jpeg

    2- Everything you need to work on is in one convenient little canister.

    65BCDE1A-6354-4E5D-A258-01EA7EB063C6.jpeg

    3- Remove 2 screws from bottom of canister. Hold it panel side UP and plug the headmaster in to pop the panel off. You'll find 3 springs inside, one for each sliding doohickey.

    F660433B-65E0-497C-BD64-D16DAA706F4A.jpeg
    1DA03651-2E05-4C20-B7FC-33BDBC9237E2.jpeg

    4- The springs were slightly too long on mine, creating too much tension and thus pushing the head out. Remove a spring doohickey and trim one(ish) coil off the end with a nipper. I had to trim all three springs before the headmaster plugged in solidly, you may want to test yours one at a time until you get the desired tension.

    22A234C4-F4C6-41D3-92F4-8A0D85A4BB74.jpeg
    249CF8E3-6950-4B25-816C-3846DA96ED4D.jpeg

    5- Reassemble and enjoy your non-launching head (which hopefully has less sloppy blue stripes than mine)!

    344ECEF9-8229-4B67-A532-6BD701FA4CA0.jpeg

    A reversible option if you don’t want to cut anything is to just take the springs off and put them in Ford’s box. You’ll lose the stats functionality, though. I was just going to remove them because I don’t care about the stats, but I decided to go through with the operation in the name of science. :D 

    Also, your problem may be different. Since each spring is supposed to be seated in it's own housing on the underside of the canister lid, it's possible you could have a spring that is outside of that seating, thus not working properly. In any case, the disassembly and reassembly is easy and there is no glue involved or risk of breaking anything so it's pretty safe to crack him open and see what's going on in there.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2020
    • Like Like x 8
  17. Lord Of Tetris

    Lord Of Tetris Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2002
    Posts:
    4,487
    Trophy Points:
    312
    Likes:
    +1,601
    I just found out the two pectoral pieces can rotate. You know, the hinged box-shaped pieces that the arms attach to. What's the purpose of having them move? It seems like these pieces are supposed to be in the same position in all three modes.
     
  18. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2006
    Posts:
    15,788
    News Credits:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    387
    Likes:
    +45,621
    Ebay:
    Was wondering that myself. Thought about customizing him to look more like the G1 (the Marvel version with that kind of white bar across the bottom of his chest) but I haven't really pursued it because it would block the rotation.
     
  19. Tismark

    Tismark Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2018
    Posts:
    1,133
    Trophy Points:
    197
    Likes:
    +2,322
    Facebook:
    Instagram:
    Still waiting for mine, but apparently you can flip them for city mode. See this post in the thread for the Toyworld version:

    Toyworld TW-H04 Infinitor (Fortress Maximus)

    I watched some YouTube reviews of the original before I ordered the Zeta version and noticed different reviews showed them flipped different ways for each alt mode. No one did them the same.
     
  20. Tismark

    Tismark Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2018
    Posts:
    1,133
    Trophy Points:
    197
    Likes:
    +2,322
    Facebook:
    Instagram:
    Thank you for sharing that. Mine arrived today and he has this issue. I'll be glad to fix it though because otherwise very happy with the figure. So far I don't seem to have the issue others have with the head popping off unexpectedly.
     
    • Like Like x 1