Did native settlers of what ever countries that naturally grow corn have a consistent diet of popcorn? Hopefully they had dairy producing herbivores nearby and were close to the ocean or a salt mine.

 

I’ve made myself hungry 

 

Not so fast. Articulation is a structural weak point.

Metroplex here is closer to what we want to achieve than the 1/12 scale Gundam, but the build here doesn't look that great. Check the internals of the hip joints. Looks like PVC pipe doweling, maybe? The whole thing looks like a big giant hollow shell. The way that it's not really photographed in any sort of dynamic pose suggest to me that the joints aren't really up to the task.

3D printing also affords some design flexibility that you can't get from cast plastic, and some of those filaments are quite lightweight and not really suitable for heavy play. I imagine that Metroplex has to be treated with some level of kid gloves in places.

 

That’s only because the rest of the world hasn’t discovered Wakanda yet. As soon as we find that vibranium all bets are off.

 

Yeah true I guess. Once we perfect that alloy of vibranium, adamantium and unobtanium - then we can have giant somersaulting robots.  

They will just need to operate with a power umbilical attached to the nearest nuclear power station!    

 

Even after mentioning vibranium tech has already advanced to the point that nuclear energy is outdated and 2 tiny batteries can sustain a giant fighting robot. Isn’t Moore’s Law grand!

 

It's not production quality, but it's a valid proof of concept. And I don't think anybody is expecting FT Fort Max to be super articulated. Basic articulation would be suitable.

Nobody is saying that everything is already figured out, but there have been numerous examples that something LIKE this is possible, but you keep dismissing them for some reason.

 

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life!  

 

Just need some NASA drop outs who love Transformers to start a 3P company

 

Thank you! That was my entire point, by no means is the existence of a 3D printed Metroplex definite and comparative proof that Fanstoys has their Fortress Maximus completely worked out, but it hints at the possibility that it can and will be done.  

Unfortunately the TF community is rife with "but actually" people, so replies like I got are to be expected.

 

Obviously this Metroplex cannot be directly compared to a Fanstoys Fortress Maximus. That Metroplex is a labor of love made with soft plastic, hollow insides and very basic ratchets, but this is a one man project, not like Fanstoys who have a whole team of designers and engineers, and way more construction materials and equipment available to make a working prototype.

This Metroplex is also almost as tall as an average female adult, so even bigger than Fort Max, which undoubtedly means it's a two man job to transform. All it is, is a proof of concept that can be downsized, improved and made feasible for the collector market.

I hate how I have to explain everything in excruciating detail, because there is always someone who goes "but, actually...".

 

The fact this Fort Max is still being worked on is absolutely shocking. And considering the sheer size for that full MF, it\'s gonna be bad shit expensive. Alone I\'m thinking 2K for it.

 

Humans can't even make a perfect umbrella (like I am still wet after a heavy rain). What hope is there for a 4 ft Transformer?

The end is nigh. Repent!!!!

 

We only have the technology for 2ft transformers with bad leg springs/ ratcheting parts.... No wait a 3rd party came up with a fix for that.

 

If we assume Fort Max is as tall as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in the world, that would make him 828 meters high.

The distance through the earth from north to south pole is 12,713,504.628 m, at least according to Quora.

Fort Max is (very roughly) around 1/15,000th the size of the planet.

If we assume Unicron is more or less the size of planet Earth, all it would take to build a to-scale Unicron for the FansToys Fort Max would be a figure roughly eighteen thousand meters tall, or as high as two and change Mt. Everests (thanks for catching the mistake; I didn't even realize it), which is about 8800 meters tall. Feel free to check my math as I am famously bad at it

We can dare to dream

 

But actually we can make yarn balls the size of (place random analogy here)…

so therefore science. So FT can make a transforming robot 4’ tall that has the articulation of MP-44, minus the waist swivel of course because that would be just ridiculous black magic.

 

Is that really a ball, though? I don't know if that really captures the 'Toon or Toy aesthetics  

 

Assuming by '18000 metres tall' for your approx 1:700 Unicron (to go with your 1:700 FT Fort Max) you mean his planet mode diameter, then I'm right with you. Until that is 1.5 Everests! Its pretty much 2.  

But I actually think Unicron is supposed to be much smaller than Earth - only chomps on small planets and moons, so really I think FT Unicron needs only be as tall as a modest European mountain. Therefore totally doable for under 2 k dollars.

 

Who here is only interested in the head? Is it just me?

 

That pose is already more dynamic than the renders of Fort Max!

Also: “heavy play”?

Um… what? Lol! Are going to be rolling on the floor with FortMax?

as long as it stands up and looks like FortMax and can transform then I’m good. It doesn’t need an crunch, it doesn’t need deep knee bend or double jointed elbows, it doesn’t have to have the Full Monty or Full Van Damme. It just needs to stand there looking badass.