Sorry for the wait!
I use q-tips. And its 70% on the rubbing alcohol.

 

I would definitely be all for a 1970s Camaro variant of MPM Bumblebee.

 

I had convinced myself I wasn't going to dip in to the MPM series and then.....well.....you know.....

 

Got mine from the HLJ restock last night and no real QC issues that I can see off the bat thought the molding quality is spotty in places.

So, am I doing something wrong as I feel like I have to force the roof pieces to Squish down in order to get those rib flaps locked in. Feels like I'm forcing something that shouldn't be forced.

 

I've seen quite a few people mention that issue. My copy did not have that problem. Could be a tolerance issue. Did you try to ensure that the roof hinges are all folded as far as they can go so the roof is as compressed as possible? Also, I don't have the figure in front of me but I remember that at least one of the roof panels is supposed to hook over something in behind his chest. If you don't hook the panel(s) over that part it won't fit properly. Sorry I can't be more specific. I'm going from memory.

 

I have to do that on one side. One will go in no problem, the other one ive had to push the circular peg down with a screwdriver to get it to lock in.

 

Here's a tip: Put your finger in from the back and press down the black tab while pushing the side piece up over the tab with your thumb.

 

Just got my Takara MPM-03, haven't transformed it yet, but holy crap, the paint actually is more sparkly than the Hasbro MPM!

 

Pics?

 

So I read. I kinda wanna see the paint difference but then again I like the Hasbro eyes more.

 

It's got little sparkly flakes in it, the Hasbro one doesn't. But I don't even know if photos could capture the difference.

Yeah it's not too big of a difference. From a foot away the yellow paint still looks the same. But the canon is also painted silver on the Takara. I just loved this figure so much that I wanted a 2nd and decided to get a Takara just to compare.

 

Which version has the more visible blue eyes?

 

Eh, in person the hasbro eyes are kinda dull unless you shine a bright light behind them. Personally, painting them over with metallic blue is a better choice.

Takara's has light-piping (which the Hasbro's painted over), but it's white.

 

I just ordered a Bumblebee off Amazon for $89 shipped from a US-based (New York) seller called "mamashtank and stuff". Did I get lucky or is this a scam?

 

Some pics of my Mpm3, eyes painted with a metallic blue Gundam Marker.

Under some perfect lighting condition, the eyes catches just enough light to look like theiy're glowing.


Dealing with some Sadako's. Seems to scale just right, lol  


Face closeup

 

Looks great! How does it look under normal lighting? I'm considering painting mine as well.

 

Without direct light, looks something closer to this(less shine, slightly dull- depends on what paint you used) which is still way better than the dead eyes it came with.

 

Still wondering how long it'll be before we see people use beads/jewelry in place of the eyes

 

Anyone try a blue sharpie?

Yeah, yeah, I know panel lining with a black (really dark purple) is a recipe for disaster but I've got great results with a green sharpie on my T30 Roadbuster. He looks killer good IMHO.

(This is an eyes ONLY marking)

 

Me likely!
Is that the girl from "The Grudge"?