Methinks they should've waited.  

 

Man, I was looking forward to this figure but I guess I'll wait and see how UT's version turns out. The many panels, small hinges and finicky transformation seems like too much to deal with. haha.

 

I'm not entirely sure you can accomplish such a transformation without some panels, small hinges and a finicky transformation. I'm sure they'll simplify it some, their Lockdown is proof of that, but Prime's CGI model is kind of in a class all its own.

I'm sure UTs will be better, I still can't say this figure is perfect or the right fit for everyone, but I can't say it'll be leaps and bounds better right now. I'll need to see it in action before I can make such a claim.

I'm hopeful, though.

 

Showz told me that I can either ship it back to them, which will cost a lot, or I can have them ship me replacement parts, repair it myself, then sell it.

I chose the later as I assume shipping to China will mean I lose at least $20. I will have to send them pics of the broken pieces tonight. Easily the most disastrous TF-related purchase I have made, which makes me so sad considering he was near the top of my “most anticipated figures 2018” list!

BTW does anyone have any tips for putting a pin back into a hole?

 

Even with all the negativity, I'm still thinking about getting this thing just because the transformation is so complex. I live for complex transformers. And he's pretty.

 

That is true, I mean MPM-04 OP can be a handful to transform too but El Cid just looks a bit more fragile. I'm just hoping that UT's transformation will be better executed otherwise I'll just stick with me AOE Leader and TLK Voyager Primes. Haha.

 

Short term gain, long term pain... that's they way I see it with Alien Attack.

Short term gain: They hastily pushed this product out, either trying to be the first company with the AOE/TLK Optimus MP-styled toy and/or they were vying for profits first. Without doing proper QC, they just shoved this product (and Firage) out the door hoping for $$$ quick.

Long term pain: Fool me once, shame on you... fool my twice, shame on me... fool me 3 times, I don't think so. They sealed the door shut on themselves pretty much. I think there was AOE Hound on their El Cid box as the next product? Good luck trying to sell that to us after 2 disastrous products. Are they done for good? Not necessarily as we've seen with other companies that revamped their entire process and became successful afterwards.

 

What's wrong with Firage?

 

Definitely regretting my purchase every time that I look at my shelf. He looks great, but knowing the issues my copy has just makes me wish he wasn't here.  

 

Almost everything...

THE GOOD: it’s Mirage/Dino from TF3 DOTM. There’s nothing out there that looks this close to the character in the movie.
THE BAD: It’s hard to make this guy stand up straight. His hips are wobbly and loose. The plastic is “soft” with this weird oily feel-- it's probably from that coat of gloss that they tried to tried to make the car parts shiny, instead of painting it. Things don’t lock into place well. Parts are all shifting around and pop out of place when you’re trying to do different poses. And yes (I’m beating a dead horse), he’s small in scale.
THE UGLY: poor QC. My copy has part of the lower lip of the front end of the car broken. It was packaged like that not due to transformation from me. While he has the look of a Masterpiece, just the overall feel of the toy is NOT Masterpiece at all.
OVERALL: I really hate to say this but as much as I wanted this toy to succeed, it’s a downer. I was so hyped about this because finally we would get an accurate looking Mirage!! But this product has been more of a disappointment than anything else.

 

Do we have the same figure? I feel the exact opposite.

 

Exactly my thoughts. The Firage I have is excellent.

 

Mine as well. It's a great figure.

 

Same here I have know problems with my firage other than one of his thumbs from the articulated set is a tad loose, everything else is perfect in my eyes and hands  

 

I love my Firage. I was 10x more excited for this figure though so it’s a huge letdown for me.

 

that's a good question for Alien Attack... don't get me wrong, this guy looks JUST LIKE Dino from the movie... but I have so many issues with it!.... joints were loose... stuff don't stay in place... blades popping out of the arms left and right (literally)...

 

Why don’t you try to exchange the entire figure for a new one and maybe get a good sample?

 

Hahah why do all of these discussions end up about something else pretty much all the time? Lol

 

As I already explained, I would have to pay for shipping to China myself, which would mean I'd lose at least $20 (the showz representative said it'd probably cost $30-40) and this thing isn't worth it to me. It's too poorly engineered and it's just not worth it. Especially since other, probably better options are on the horizon.

 

That's what I've done with my mpm4, and it STILL didn't tab completely in ruck mode. Not making the same mistake with El Cid.