You know what I'm happy that some people are getting him early that way when they do a review we'll find out what to expect so that we know ahead of time. But still sodawilly you sir are a lucky bastard, but in a good way.

 

^this. all day

 

Also, for the record, with just Heavylabor/Structor, he comes up to the head of Colossus.

 

Yeah, it seems to depend on what toy it is, who they are getting the item from, etc. In this particular case- using RK -I'm sure all is on the up/up. In other cases with guys like Peaugh, Optibotimus, et. al., they each seem to have various overseas contacts who hook them up with "stolen Chinese toys" with fair regularity, and I guess that's more what I was referring to.

In the case of Dr. Crank- and especially after reading the blow up of messages from TFW members who have received their RK shipping notices for this guy recently- it appears that Sodawilly just got a 24hr jump on the rest of us!

 

I too have gotten my shipping notice for Dr Crank about a couple of hours ago.

 

Wow, he does look really nice. I hope I can find away to snag this guy.

 

That's exactly what I do. Every release, I have put my preorder in immediately as soon as it goes up. I also use EMS for every figure. Customs closest to me is Chicago where it routes through, and then comes straight to Michigan.... I've been so excited for these to come out for so long I don't want to wait any longer than I have to..... lol. I don't do it for any bragging rights, because I don't care about stuff like that. Keep in mind everyone.... I've had the funds set aside for these for a LONG time. I started to save up for these as soon as we all got to see the first blacked out silhouette over a year ago. This was the picture that was shown well before the first prototype. At that time, I didn't know what I was saving up for, but I had a gut feeling it was going to be good. My hunch payed off. =)

- Gregg

 

Wow...now that's foresight! Good for you, and ultimately your patience and dedication are obviously paying off.

As far as reviewers getting Tformers early. Again, it's with at least some measure of admitted jealousy that I see these reviews go up- in some cases months early- for toys we plebes won't see until they hit retail (or an online etailer), but your situation sodawilly is entirely different. Once I realized that you didn't have some back alley deal worked out with RK and instead were merely 24 hrs ahead of the pack in getting your shipping notice, it made more sense what I was really looking at here.

That being said, I can't wait for the Dr. Crank reviews folks!

 

what are the tiny gray parts in the sealed baggy for?

im stumped on this one

 

They're bot plugs.

 

His ass looks huge.

Can we get a side-view picture to confirm or disprove it's hugeness?

 

It's huge and blocks leg articulation. Though the guy who did a video review in China showed that you can push it higher and above the torso, but it still looks a bit odd.

It's the reason I'm not so keen on TFC's bots anymore. Combined mode is great, but the robot modes are not worth $100 each when they don't have above average articulation and excess kibble.

 

bot plugs?

Can help to enlighten me?   

i am curious too

 

Scrapper was always my favorite Constructicon, and Structor doesn't really disappoint. The "ankle joint" gives his robot mode some interesting posing options. The shoulder rotators are kind of wierd and shaky, and I worry the heavy ratchets might take damage, but considering it has to take the combined form's weight, I can't see it being made looser. (Most Hercules crew toys are object lessons in why complex 'true' combiners are rarely made so large, as many joints are too tight for the individual toys out of necessity, as otherwise they would be intolerably loose for the combined mode). Vehicle mode is kind of chunky, while robot mode is nice, save for a big 'dress bustle' that houses the Herc knee joint. There's a few fingernail-wrecking bits, like the fists, the backend-bracing hooks, and sometimes the head. Nitpicking, I kinda with the eyes channeled cartoon Scrapper a bit more. Otherwise, it's one of the only Herc-bots I would consider getting an extra to keep separate from the combiner. (that's mostly nostalgia though   )

P.S. the little winglets look neat on the forearms.

 

i actually had to unscrew mine because the head was not installed properly & so i could not push it in to his chest. even now it feels as if the shaft that it goes through is too small & that the head scrapes along the shaft as it goes in.

even though the ratchet joints for the shoulders sound shaky, they feel really stiff when you rotate the shoulders. so stiff that it feels like to me that it may crack because the wear & tear from rotating it speeds up normal wear & tear (i know this sounds funny but i dont know how else to explain it)

overall though nice solid figure, just wish a few joints here & there were a little more loose as i feel like i could break it from turning/bending/pushing

 

I second the demand for Structor 40oz bounce donk pics.

 

I just got Structor and Dr Crank today. DC is odd but good whereas Structor is damn good but broken. His head is jammed up badly and his shoulder plates flap in the wind. Hopefully BBTS will swap him out. Let's make alist of the QC issues we know about.
Exgraver: Shovel arm snapping, foot problems, arm-tread latches.
Heavy Labor: hip ratchets, paint overspray on hands
Structor: shoulder plates, head is jammed.
Dr Crank: extra flashing preventing combined head from straigthening out.

This might just be my figures. Add anything else if you notice something.

 

I find Structor's head doesn't slide out freely. You just kinda have to wiggle it back and forth.

How floppy are your shoulder plates though? Are they actually floppy and sagging, or do they just rattle? If the former, then something's definitely broken or missing and you should get a replacement. If the latter, then that's standard. There's just a tiny bit of play between the ratchet teeth and the indexing tab. No amount of replacements will fix it because you'll just keep getting the same thing over and over again. It's not really a problem at all, though.


As for the Dr. Crank/Hercules head problem, I had that issue too, with a tiny bit of mold flashing preventing the neck bar from snapping down properly. Took all of a half second with a knife to fix that.

 

Got mine yesterday. Overall, a nice figure. Sadly, mine got a crack in the hinge that folds the butt panel up. I don't think it wiil break more but, it irks me that it is there.

 

Who'd you get yours from? BBTS guarantees quality product or a swift return. Not sure how RK and similar eTailers handle this sort of thing, but I know BBTS is really good.