Well, MP Cracker showed up today. Once again a Takara TF has a QC problem. The chest turbines/missle covers are on the wrong side. So instead of the outside edge angling inwards towards the canopy they angle outwards. This lends to a look that reminds me of a large breasted woman lying on her back. Does anyone know an easy way to remove the pins so I can switch em? It reeeeally bugs me, especially when next to the other seekers.

 

Crap. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any issues this time around.

The only thing I can suggest is to take apart the area so you can access the pin holding the chest/turbines with a hammer and pin punch.

 

Pictures please!  

 

I don't think there's much you can do...I broke those pieces when I tried to remove the pins that mount the covers to the chassis on a repaint of MP03 I tried. Can you send the toy back for replacement? I'd argue hard for that, since it's 'defective'

 

From what I've been hearing the QC on TC has been fine, only widespread issue with him I've heard of so far is both faces seem to be more or less the same (which is fine by me). Seems like you just got an odd defective one which sucks for you   I would try and get it exchanged because I'm sure this is just yours.

 

Actually, from what I've read on other boards and pics I've seen, this could be a widespread error. All MP Thundercrackers could be like this, so is the recently reissued batch of MP Skywarp.

 

this is the only QC ive heard so far with MP thundercracker..and mine doesnt have this problem either, so its definitely not widespread... and the face thing isnt really a QC problem but a design thing..and if u look closely, it IS different to skywarp's  
try getting it replaced, bro...thats the best thing u can do

 

any pic?

 

Got mine today, and yup, same problem with the flopped chest turbines. Sigh. I doubt swapping it out withe new one would help, since it seems like many if not most of them are mis-assembled this way (checked the feedback thread, and the pics posted there show it as well).

It's not a terrible problem, but it is irritating. I'm not sure I want to try swapping them myself.... I have bad luck with pins, and always seem to end up breaking the figure.

Has anyone tried swapping them yet? Tough? Easy? Any tips?

If one of these were sent back to a third-party retailer like TFSource or BBTS, would it be returned to Takara as defective? If so, maybe after a few returns they would do a new run with the issue fixed? Not sure I want to risk it, and risk depriving myself of the figure altogether. I guess Thundercracker will just look a little different from his cousins.

 

If this is it (yeah, it sucks, but), I'd say we got off light.

Considering I'm afraid to TF my Screamer & afraid to buy Skywarp, because of all the wing breakage I've heard about.

I was also scared about TC having that problem, too, but if he doesn't...isn't that worth overlooking "backwards boobs"?

 

I don't think you should have to overlook anything on something called a "masterpiece." The hip kibble design is bad enough without them screwing up on quality control issues.

 

Actually, I'm not entirely sure if this is a missassembly, or a correction.

Yes, my Thundercracker has this 'issue'. However, when I look at it, it seems like this may have been how they were meant to be all along. In vehicle mode, the chest turbines fit much more flush with the other panels, while in Robot mode, the turbines are now lined up properly with the intakes, where on my Skywarp and Starscream they're nudged in a bit.

Anyway, here are some pics. I apologize for the crummy quality, I didn't have time to set up proper lighting.



First, the Seeker Boys together again, at last!



Skywarp (No issue) and Thundercracker (Issue) standing side by side for comparison



On TC, the chest panels are assembled so the flat sides are on the outside. This actually works BETTER when Transformed, as those pieces are more flush with the surrounding bits. I'd show you... but I'm lazy and don't wanna transform him right now.



On Skywarp, the flat parts of the pieces are on the inside, nudging his 'boobs' in closer together.

To be perfect honest, the issue is hardly noticeable to me. They both transform fine, there's nothing glaring about the difference when you look at them separately, it's just when you compare them that it becomes evident.

And, just for fun:

 

Man that sucks. Now that I am aware of it, looking at the pictures in the feedback thread, the ones there have them backward as well. You can def tell when you look at the three together with hasbros SS. Even the MP Skywarp looks like his are wrong in the pics.

 

I keep looking at some of these pictures and am still failing to see what the problem is  

 

Yeah, I'd kind of assumed this was some sort of massive "ZOMG!!! How could even a blind man assemble it this way?!?!?!" thing. I can't see the difference. Um... could someone maybe do some pictures with the problem highlighted? 

 

I tried. Like I said, it's a SMALL thing, at least in my eyes. When I heard about it, i was terrified to open my TC, figuring this was going to be something glaring.

I suppose if you're a perfectionist, and subtle differences between Seekers that aren't supposed to be there irk you, this could drive you crazy. But to be perfectly fair, I really good look to see the difference.

And for those wondering... TC's plastic feels the same as Skywarps (i.e. heavier gauge than the stuff used in the original 'Greenscream' release). Also, the wing joints feel looser... not enough for floppiness, but enough that I'm not concerned about cracking them when Transforming him. (For the record, my Greenscream's wing joints have cracked, but the ones on my Hasbro G1 Starscream, my Skywarp, nor my Thundercracker show any stress marks)

 

Actually, heshanj, looking at the pics you posted over at the MP Thundercracker feedback thread, yours has the same problem. Please ask around to see if all the ones in Singapore are like this if you can. I wonder how many are affected globally.

 

oh...i see it now... well, i didnt realise it was supposed to be like that, coz my skywarp has the the panels the same way too... lol...so i thought thats how it was supposed to be, and u were talking about it the other way around.. now i compared it to my starscream, and yeah...its different...so both TC and SW have the same prob...doesnt show at all though..but yeah, it IS a QC issue, although a very minor one...thanks for spotting it out..

 

Wow, I finally see what all the Hubub was about, Oh well big deal it looks fine to me.

I'm not gonna risk ripping my TC apart just to swap a couple pieces, I've always had horrible luck with that, and after spending about 145 dollars to have mine delivered in 2 days I'm not going to mess with it or hasle trying to send it back to BBTS, for now I will consider this Trial and Error.

And here I was considering ordering MP-Skywarp  

Now I'm hella depressed.

If you don't mind me asking what's the deal with MP-SKYWARP?

What's so horrible about him?