Dave's Bootleg Transformers Rant

     Where the toys are bootleg, not the opinions.

     Bootleg Small Fortress Maximus (Fortress Minimus): Uranus 5 in 1
     Bootleg Dai-Atlas: Space Marine Combat Commando Hi-Power Robot

     I picked up both of these from David Kolodny-Nagy, who always seems to
be finding these funky carded bootlegs (he had bootleg Landcross and
bigger-than-normal Dino Force/Monstructor at BC95).  I paid $15 for
Fortress Minimus and $20 for Dai-Atlas, and I'd say both were worth what
I paid (especially since it included postage, handling and tax).
     Anyway, here's some notes on the toys.  I don't have the toys themselves
with me, mainly because of size and worry about losing bits in my office.

     Fortress Minimus: Basically, the bootleggers scaled Fort Max's body
so that the Spike head could fit on it instead of Cerebros.  Unfortunately,
not everything scaled down exactly, and the quality control on some of the
joints is poor (floppy ramps, shin guns that pop out when you try to move
them, etc).  You can't quite transform him into city mode, for example,
because his thighs are about a millimeter too long to fit inside his
shins.  Joints don't quite line up, etc.  The instruction sheet is copied
directly from Fort Max, but this toy lacks the following parts:
     Cerebros, Grommet, Gasket (the latter two form a robot), the Radar
Scope, two large lasers and two small lasers (which also go with Cog).
     The quality of the plastic is fairly low, but not as low as on the
Xabungle toys I got at Odd Lots a few years ago.
     Still, for the price, it's a pretty good ripoff of Fort Max that can
probably be improved with a little work with glue and putty.  And the Spike
head can be used to supercharge any of your larger headmasters, since he
generates all 10s on the rolling scales (although the little panel on the
forehead which normally flips down to hide the face in Nebulan mode is
immobile on this toy).

     Dai-Atlas: A bit of history for those without experience in the
Japanese line.  The last season of TFs for which any animation was
produced prior to Beast Wars was the Transformers Zone seriers.  Dia-Atlas
was the big bossman in Zone (after Star Sabre was presumed dead...whether
he'd have kept the position later on is unknown as later eps were never
made, only summarized).  Dai-Atlas was the Big Toy of his year, and this
was a year that saw in Japan a re-release of all the Decepticon gestalt
teams and big guys, plus a recolored Metroplex as Metrotitan.  About 14
inches (35 cm) tall, this bootleg is full-sized.
     Unfortunately, it does suffer several of the problems common to
bootleg TFs.  Wrong Weapon Syndrome, Stupid Recoloration Syndrome, and
Missing Innards Syndrome.  His normal gun has been replaced by two other
guns, which are neat but don't fit in some of his transformation modes.
His face and several other parts have gotten bad recolors which I will try
to fix ASAP.  And while his motorized motion seems to be working (haven't
scrounged up the 4 AA batteries it needs), his Micromaster Bay's latch
mechanism is missing (along with the Micromaster, Speeder).  There's a bit
better attention to detail here than on Minimus, I only had a few problems
with pieces not quite fitting right...mostly fragile fits as opposed to
nonexistent ones.
     The toy makes creative use of its kibble, with ramps turning into
shields with the help of parts that can become a hovercar for a Micromaster
and so forth.  The instructions are really tiny and filled with the
bizarre grammar common to toys not originally intended for US release, but
seem complete.  The card's front even shows Dia-Atlas merged with Sonic
Bomber and Road Fire in two-toy combos, although not all together as
Big Powered.  The art also is unretouched from the original release, so
he's the right colors and has Autobot symbols on him.  I may scan the
pictures later if no one else does (mine's a bit beat up...cards are NOT
meant to hold huge toys like this for very long).

     Dave Van Domelen, also got Thunderwing today and is tempted to paint
the shell to be more like Black Shadow's...