Dengeki Hobby post an interview they conducted with famed Transformers designer Shogo Hasui on the upcoming Titan Returns Fortress Maximus. In the interview, Mr. Hasui discussed his experience with working on this project, expressing that he wished to honor this fan favorite character when the making of this new version of Fortress Maximus was confirmed.
He share that while working on this figure, there was 3 priorities that was set. First is the incorporation of the “Head-On” gimmick. Second is to visually differentiate this figure from Generations Metroplex while using parts from its mold. Lastly is to fit in the base mode play pattern within the pricepoint set by the Titan Returns series. He expressed that working on Fortress Maximus gave him the impression that this figure was produced in a completely different approach compared to every other Transformers figure.
Mr. Hasui also revealed that during development, there were two different prototypes of the “HeadMaster” produced; one with advance mechanism and another simpler model to determine of the fit and finish of the overall model. The result of the two was then used for the final production on the figure. This is due to the importance of perfecting the “Head-On” gimmick on this figure.
Dengeki Hobby also provided some images comparing Generations Metroplex and Fortress Maximus to show off some of the shared parts between the figures. We also see a demonstration of the articulation and light up gimmick when Cerebros is attached as the head. Mr. Hasui explained that when combined, the head will produce different sounds. When asked about the sounds recorded for the Japanese version of Fortress Maximus, the designer expressed that he was only in charged of the Titan Returns version of the figure, but the Japaense version will have an interesting twist.
Checkout some the images and a roughly translated version of the original article here after the jump. Don’t forget to let us know you thoughts on this interview on the boards.