Takara released
the biggest Transformer in the Car Robot's line called Brave Maximus on the 11th of
October but didn't show up in my area until the next day. I spent 4 hours looking
for this guy and when I thought that my luck had run out after visiting 3 malls, he was
displayed proudly in a "Hello Mac" toystore...my last stop. I nabbed him
as well as Devil Gigatron and the photo session began!
The box above is huge
(9"x16"x24") and quite heavy with two different versions of box art that
can be displayed horizontally or vertically. When you finally pull him out of the
box you'll notice lots of twist ties holding him in place. I think I spent at least
20 minutes taking him out of the box :)
Did I mention that Brave Maximus is HUGE?!
Once you've released him from his metal & plastic webbing you can attach his
various pieces which come in a separate bag with its contents identified below as well as
the three different modes; Brave Maximus robot, Superdreadnought-Class Battleship Maximus,
and Cybertron City mode.
Brave Maximus is a re-painted Fortress Maximus
(gray, white, red, & blue) with a new and improved color scheme. Red and Blue
(dark & light) are the predominant colors with some Gray parts as well. Another
noticeable change is the Control Center's shield on his left shoulder which is now a neon
Green. There are no sticker sheets included since all stickers were neatly
pre-applied at the factory. Someone has already identified some missing stickers on
the Force Cannons located on Brave Maximus' shins. One thing that Mike Turner, a
fellow TransFan, reminded me to mention are the die-cast parts (other than screws and
joints) which have not been seen on any Transformer in a long time. These parts can
be found at his mid-section and left-leg that connects to the Command Center.
I'm extremely excited about this monstrous
figure since I don't own a Fortress Maximus, but wish I at least had his weapons.
As many already know, Brave Maximus is missing many attachments from the original
figure. It's kind of disappointing that Takara would omit them from Brave Maximus
since everyone says they were nice additions to Fortress Maximus.
Here's a partial scan of the Cybertron City
campaign grand prize advertisement which shows Brave Maximus in Fortress Maximus colors.
The actual Brave Maximus prize was released in its' current colors but included all
accessories that were omitted from C-027.
This list identifies the attachments that
weren't included in this release:
1. Attack/Recon Vehicle called
"Gasket"
2. Armored Vehicle called "Grommet"
3. Photon Rifle
4. Laser Arms (x2)
5. Dual Laser Blaster
6. Laser for "Cog"
I must say that whomever won one of the 300
Cybertron City prizes during the campaign held during 16 March - 30 June 2000 was very
lucky since all accessories are included. Here's a list of accessories that were
included with Brave Maximus:
1. Mini-Laser Rifle for
"Brave" figure (former Cerebros)
2. "Plasma" mini-figure (former Spike)
3. "Brave" figure
4. Radar Scope
5. Ramps (x2)
6. Instruction sheet/playmat/tech-spec card
My best guess as to why Takara decided not to
include all the attachments is to make this prize different from the mass released Brave
Maximus.
Close up view of Brave Maximus' head.
|
Brave Maximus is displayed with all weapons extended.
Brave Maximus without weapons extended.
Another shot of Brave Maximus with
weapons extended and identified below:
1. Graviton Lasers (behind fists)
2. Ionic Blasters (forearms)
3. Plasma Busters (large guns at waist)
4. Force Cannons (shins)
5. Double Laser/Command Center (left leg)
|
BRAVE MAXIMUS (C-027) 
