Well damn it all... makes me hope this Thursday I find FE Prime/Bulkhead at my local TRU... that way I can hopefully return the ones on my PoL if they don't have this QC issue.
I don't know if it will do any good, but I did go ahead and call Hasbro's complaints department to complain and they said they were unaware of the problem so far. If any of you has the spare time, please give them a quick call and explain the issue as well. The representative said that if enough people start calling about this they may issue us replacement pieces (or entire Bulkheads). They were really nice too, but like I said, don't know if it'll do any good yet. Here is the number: Hasbro (all other Hasbro products department) 1-800-255-5516
Just got mine in the mail from BBTS. His joint is so tight I can't turn it without it popping off. I can reattach it at any angle, but if I try to turn it at all, it pops off. Big stress mark, too.
I just opened the one I got from BBTS and the joints actually work smoothly and have no stress marks. So there are new FE Bulkheads out there without problems.
I got mine. Stress marks on both. Right arm is fine. Left can pop off but it isn't hard to keep it on. A little disappointing but I don't think it's gonna break off or anything. I can deal.
Got mine today, and of course stress marks on both arms. Is it just me or does the plastic feel cheap on the rerelease? The way people were praising the mold I was expecting something that felt a lot more solid.
I'm in total agreement with you. Bulkhead (and even Optimus) were praised as the best Voyagers around (while the Prime RID's were considered garbage), yet these new First Editions feel cheaper than the Prime RID's (if possible). Even my Vehicon feels like crap, since the plastic feels cheap and some parts just will not plug together properly. Not to mention that one wheel refuses to roll, yet these are the better wheels (instead of the cheaper snap on wheels with no metal pin). Out of the four new First Editions that I purchased, only Terrorcon Cliffjumper was perfect all around. The other three each had a huge problem with their design and felt like cheaper materials were used to make them.
This doesn't sound good. I have a rerelease of the FE Vehicon MISB, maybe I'll sell it. My FE Bulkhead just arrived, haven't opened it yet, but not looking forward to what I might find. WTF Hasbro?!
Big time stress marks on my FE Bulkhead...same place as most of the people who also voiced their complaints here. Bicep swivel joints were extremely tight at first - thought I was going to break them. Still prefer both FE Optimus and Bulkhead over their RID counterparts, but they do feel cheaper than the FE deluxes I snagged on the initial FE run.
I haven't gotten any of the rerelease deluxes yet, just the two Voyagers. I can feel the difference on Prime, but he's not to bad. Bulkhead's plastic feels like the little Microns that come with the Arms Micron figures. Now that plastic is fine for the little microns because they don't have THAT many moving parts. Usually only 3-4 (with exceptions). For a figure like Bulkhead who has so many panels and moving parts, it just screams danger in my opinion. I can't see the rerelease holding up well at all.
I still like both the PRID and the FE versions of Optimus. They each have their own looks and transformations. Bulkhead... I still prefer the PRID, but keep in mind I'm using it for Classics so screen accuracy doesn't matter. As for a fix to the stress marks, Superquad7 posted in the fix thread. He's dealt with similar things to this before and he's done some great custom work, so if you're wanting to fix it you should give it a try. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/creative-general-discussion/704609-second-edition-first-edition-bulkhead-stress-mark-fix.html#post8552710 If you have any specific questions, ask in that thread so him or another helpful radicon can help out. I'm going to return my SE FE Bulkhead to BBTS for store credit. I'd rather not bother with it and I'll just put the credit towards MP Soundwave. ~Matt Booker
I'm not sure where else to ask this, so here goes, is there a special way to get FE Bulk's hood piece connected to the pegs below his windshield? It looks like there's a slot where they're supposed to peg in, but even with a considerable amount of force I can't seem to slide them in and they just sit on top of each other. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about: Is this an issue with all Bulkheads, just the new release, just mine, or am I just being stupid and missing something?
Mine did that right out of the package. Take a look under the hood (not the parts that fold up) and you'll see a black piece. That's what the hinges are attached too, and while one side is pinned in with the rest of the hood piece, the other side can pop out of position. Just pop it back in place and they'll fit fine. ~Matt Booker
They peg in more easily if you peg them in place before folding the hood down. If you try to do it after you've transformed the rest of him, they don't *quite* line up.
He saw it since the arm fell off while still in the package (or just as he took the figure out), so the stress mark was visible. Well, so far it doesn't look like its serious, and a couple of posters have confirmed it happened in the original run too and those are still holding up so.. crisis averted?
This is a huuuuuuuuugeeeeee exaggeration, and I have the problematic FE's in question. I don't get a "cheap" vibe off of them at all, and the plastic feels in general very solid to me. They both are very very good toys, dispite the issues. No complaints on FE vehicon either. He feels even a bit sturdier then the RiD ones to me, dispite the clunkier transform. Terrorcon cliff? Worst of all the recent releases, imo. Our locals reported nearly every opened one was having the front bumper (with the horns) snap off the hinge upon first transforms. Out of everything released, terrorcon cliff seems to be the most breakage prone...and I have AM terrorcon and GDO cliff that have no issues with that part at all. The FE voyager problems are at worst minor cosmetic issues. I still love them to death and am very happy we were able to get them finally.
Actually, my Takara FE Bulkhead had the same issue where I could not seem to plug the piece into the hole. I discovered that what you WANT to do, is before you fold the hood of the car down, plug the pieces in, and then holding them against the chest, fold the hood down. After awhile of this, the holes get enlarged just enough where I can plug it in any time during the transformation process and it will stay on tight. Hope that helps.
I thought I had an awesome First Edition Bulkhead. No stress marks on the arms. Only a tiny stress mark on the chest. I just noticed he has two left heels.
