So do the wheels in the chest just kinda hang out just floating about, or can they be pushed further into the body?? In my opinion here, it's kind of saddening for me to see Takara get so far, and then at the last minute kind of go "Meh, good 'nough.." They put so much love into the G1 and beast figures, and I feel like these aren't quite the same attention. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of detail, and great amounts of complexity; and Ironhide might be the most accurate yet... But the hood not locking in for robot mode feels a bit lazy to me. Also, I don't really feel like there are any real "WOW" moments. Maybe it's because we've been seeing similar designs for so long, but it would've been really great to see the actual bumper from the chest, or the doors fold into the back of the shoulders, instead of being left on the arms. Idk, I just feel more let down by these figures, as they come out. I'll give them credit, where it's due, though; the rear wheels folding into the hips is a nice touch, and very refreshing to see. Maybe handling it will help my lack of enthusiasm for it?
After I put future into the joints in the shoulders I am genuinely loving this figure. It is a shame that the QC and some of the tab design is so terrible because no joke if he had better tabs he would be figure of the year for me. This thing will wow you on looks in person for sure, but it's really a crapshoot if you'd get one that holds together or not. Either way future helps a lot. Also for some reason there's way more discussion in this thread than in the actual review thread, so if you're considering getting this figure go there instead.
I could be wrong..but from my perspective... its the movie designs themselves. Through the years of multiple molds, TF attempts and everything that HasTak has learned with "modern TF design" including ball joints..new swivel panel designs..ETC.. Im thinking that with the movie designs..to make THIS turn into THIS has just reached the limits of what can be done now. Movie designs are probably the most difficult project a designer could be asigned, and it appears they look through ALL previous toys, include elements that work here and there...bring it all together.. and what we have is "state of the art" MPMs. 5-10 years from now if they make another MPM Ironhide..itll look perfect in both modes,..and prolly TF itself with micro servos
Huh. Well, now all I dislike are the panels on the arms. It's too coincidental that the weekends m wheels seem to just happen to lock in like that.
Given how readily 3P companies come up with fixes for existing figures (MP and regular lines) and add-on kits to solve problem, I think HasTak says "good enough" pretty frequently when it comes to toy design
So many "um"s it was hard to listen to. Also I couldn't see what he was doing at all since it's blurry and dark. I've looked all over the insides for a place to peg in the wheels so I don't see what he's doing differently. The wheels on mine make the shoulders more stable when you push them in but they're definitely not tabbing into anything they're just sitting on top of something else and move out of place as soon as I move the arms. At least that was the case before I put future on the joints now they don't move as much.
Yeah, I don't have my copy yet (my Takara arrives tomorrow or Tue) so I can't really digest this with any first hand knowledge; I kinda just found it this morning and was excited to share it here for those who have the Floppy McFlops right now.
Adding some to what has already been said: Loose Joints: The Arms are only held up by "Z"-shaped hinges, and by two shafts in those hinges at that. Adding the cannons will likely make the panels under his arms droop down at a 20 or so degree angle, which looks somewhat awkward. The best way to pose his cannons for stability and looks is in that arms-out-to-the-side running pose he does sometimes. Also, chest support is poor as everyone's said. Danger zones: The middle cover of his back hinge has very tight clearance on both sides, and most people's Ironhides are coming with some stress marks already on the supports. On Twitter, some people have even had breakage issues already like this guy: n0ri on Twitter Despite all that, he has great heft from all the die-cast, and his paint looks great: shiny, gloss black paint all over. The knee issue, isn't a huge problem if you untab his thigh armor and wiggle it down a bit more. In fact, this guy has so many joints on his body that it's a double-edged sword: he has lots of movement, but it can be a frustrating, fiddly mess at times. The shoulders actually have two ratchets, one more for transformation, and one for movement. The one for movement requires some support, as it's quite tight and could probably break.
To add onto that point.... I posted this in a different thread: Ok to add on.... Future 100% fixes any and all shoulder issues. I gave it a once over, and they both sit there fine in any configuration. Your amount of Future application will obviously vary depending on the severity of your shoulder looseness. What CAN'T be fixed are these nonsense wrist tabs. What a mess. I should gave the joints in the arm panel assembly enough Future in both pivot spots, that the tabs aren't even necessary. BUT....that little OCD voice in my head sure wished they gave a satisfying click when I pushed on them.
No you're absolutely right, some of the MPM's feel like rough drafts that are 3/4 of the way there but fall just short of the mark. With Ironhide I'm puzzled why more secure clips/interlocking tabs weren't integrated than reliance on mere tabs. I saw the video linked here on mute with captions. So apparently the guy angled the chest halves(looks like at 45 degree angles) then pushed the tires outside of them, inwards so that tabs in the torso tab into the wheels. He said the chest and arms are stable this way until he extends the arms out all the way fully and wiggles them back and forth. He also rotates the window around the bicep and slots it into the back. Can anyone confirm if the above steps work?
What's messed up is that, aside from rotating the windows into the the body, the way he angled everything looks the most accurate to the movie model. So my thinking now it's that what this guy did is most likely the intended way for the figure to be locked in. But, yeah, it's like with every one of these MPM figures they've done so far has been like... 80-90% of the way to prefect, and they decide "ok, we're done here. It's good enough. Onto the next.." Why? Why don't these figures get the same amount of love and respect the others are getting? I know they aren't the most beloved set of designs I'm the fandom, but they did the same thing that beast wars did; by reimagining the characters and bringing in a new generation of fans. Granted, Ironhide is possibly the best looking one so far, but not unlike any of the previous figures done, it's got a lot of issues. The one thing I'll give them is the overall design, even if there are a few things I'd of thought they'd do differently. Maybe Black Apple will work his/her magic on it. :/ Sorry to highjack the thread about this stuff, I just really like the intricate details of these designs and would like to see them pushed to the max..
Going by how the guy locked in the parts on his Ironhide, does it lock in solidly the same way in your copy?
Sadly I don't have him at the moment, but as far as I'm aware from those I've shown this to claim it works fairly well.
I hate how the arm panels just hangs there are and the tabbing above the wrist is kinda worthless. Pity because he looks so damn good
It doesn't excuse the issues in any way, but the answer is pretty simple to that: They're WAY harder to get right. WAY harder. G1 is a bunch of blocks that occasionally have to do weird stuff to be toon accurate, and BW figures are mostly easy since the designs were made to be toy-accurate with big chunks of beast on them a lot of the time (except dinobot which I think came out amazing but some people still feel the same way about him as with MPM6). Movieverse designs are mostly impossible, but given that hastak is a huge international company with deadlines and guarantees to meet and massive amounts of product to ship, etc, designers will NEVER have enough time to fully perfect a figure. My guess is MPMs need more time and are less popular, so that's it right there. Honestly though to me Ironhide isn't 80% there or 3/4, he's 98% there. He just needed some goddamn working tabs! They even HAVE tabs, they just suck! And the look is basically perfect, MOST of the transformation is easy once you get the steps down (took me 3 tries til I can do it easily now, and yes he mostly pegs in just fine if you do it right). Prime was more like 90% there, since the headsculpt kind of sucks and he has some weird choices in his vehicle mode, the bees are basically great and it's not the designer's fault that beetlebee wasn't accurate to the final design, and barricade is very well liked, so overall the MPM line is doing far better IMO than most people give it credit. Like I said doesn't excuse what seems to be a massive oversight on Ironhide, but to me I am mostly mad at how insanely close they got to making the best figure of 2018. It's like tripping at the finish line.
I fully agree, they are that much harder to design into a physical form, but that's why I feel like they should either go all in, or not at all. I do agree, Ironhide is probably closer than I think, but I certainly wouldn't say 98%. I'm meet ya in the middle at 90%. The panels on the arms I think should've been on those panels on the shoulders, or something, and the weapons should've been "stored" more like Optimus, where they plug into the bed top somehow. Just my opinions, of course.
After finally getting around to transforming him, I now see how those arm flap tabs double as tabs that hold it together in alt mode as well. Not sure why they couldn't make them function in both modes though. They even look a little funky when you look at them.
