These guys finally arrived today, but I'm going to enjoy their vehicle modes a few days before transforming them.


Such beautiful vehicle modes.

 

Couldn't agree more. They all have fantastic alt modes.

I would suggest you watch a couple videos for Sideload before attempting transformation. His instructions are terrible and he's quite finicky (in particular the chest transformation). Once transformed I think he has a lot of charm but yeah the transformation is a tough one.

 

Oh I'll definitely be watching a review for him, if only to keep my sanity in check.  

 

Ok....I'll never transform Wideload EVER again..... 

 

If you work the shoulders and back stuff in the proper order, he's not bad at all and you can see it works fine. The instructions do not help though and if you do it wrong, he is maddening.

This is a great set though - I really love this set for what it is. A set where combining is icing on the cake rather than a detriment or drawback. My only nitpicks would be the transformations could have been more traditional like Rollbar. They're not terribly off, but I would have liked more consistency there.

 

One of the most frustrating transformations I've had the misfortune of attempting... Nice figure though lol...

 

While overall I like the set I do have a few issues. First, Chase's right elbow squeaks like a mother effer and is really hard to bend as well. I'm afraid of breaking it, so I put his arm a certain way and will be leaving it there. Both Freeway and Rollbar really don't want to hold their guns, especially Freeway. They're so tight they're going to stress the plastic, so I have them just barely pushed in their hands right now. Wideload's gun however has nothing for friction, and will fall out of his hand at the slightest bump.

Speaking of Wideload, how the heck did they think that shoulder design was a good idea? Seriously, that's weird as hell, and I just don't understand what reason they could've possibly had for that design choice, ah well. Finally, I wish that Chase's and Freeway's upper legs pegged into the lower legs for better stability. Sure they're fine when standing untouched, but as soon as I move them they bend sideways on me.

Like I said, I do like the set, but those things really do bother me a little bit.

 

I can't remember what the elbows look like. Are they screwed in or pinned? If screwed, then loosen the screw a little. If it's pinned and it's stupidly tight try getting some RC lube and adding a bit to the join't. Should help lubricate it enough to reduce the squeaking and ease the friction (allowing better movement).

If you are good with a pin punch I would suggest doing it the right way and remove the pin to sand the plastic of the joint down a fraction to allow better movement. If not try the lube. Just two drops on the joint (one on the top and one on the bottom) and gently work the elbow back and forth to allow capillary action to do its job.

As for the tight guns, Get some sandpaper (wet and dry 600 grit should do the job), wrap it around the handle and twist it back and forth to sand some plastic off. Sand a bit and test the gun in the hand. Keep sanding and testing until you are satisfied with the fit. Then polish it off with 1200 grit wet and dry to bring the plastic back to looking like new.

Wideload's gun, are you sure you are using the correct peg? I recall his gun has two pegs? One for the vehicle and one that flips down for the bot? I could be totally wrong but that's what I remember (my set has been in combined mode since I got them lol). Anyway to tighten his gun you just need some clear nail polish. I use one that is supposed to be a strong/durable top coat called Diamond finish. Paint on a few coats of the nail polish (allowing each coat to set first) and it should thicken the handle (be careful not to over do it as it might not flip back into the gun slot if it's too thick). I would also paint a couple of coats on the inside of Wideload's hands for good measure.

I can't recall what Chase/Freeway's legs did but I assume you just have loose joints. You can tighten the joint with Future floor polish. Just a drop or two and move the joint to allow the polish to get in between the joint and leave the figure overnight. Once set that joint should be nice and tight and only bend when you want it to.

I know it's frustrating that these figures are not perfect out of the box but the fixes for these guys overall are very minor and quick to do (compared to some of the things we've had to do for other figures over the years *I am looking at you FP Trianix Alpha!!*). Once fixed you will enjoy this set much more  

 

Does anyone else think that shinebug looks better than the alternity Goldbug? Specifically the robot mode.

 

Oh my god yes.  

 

Is the whole set worth buying? So far the only one that catches my eye is Shinebug.

 

Shinebug is definitely the best one, but the whole set is pretty enjoyable.

 

If you want to dip your toe in first, you could try picking up the WeiJang oversized KO of Shinebug for under $20 on eBay (without packaging). I bought one at the end of last year, figuring that even if it was a pile of junk, I wouldn't be wasting much money.

Overall, it was really good quality. Sometimes the mushroom pegs on the upper arms wanted to separate from the shoulders when I rotated them into car mode, one wrist seemed slightly off as far as tolerances were concerned, and the gold wasn't gold enough, but a fun figure to fiddle with and it had great light-piping on the eyes.

Fast forward to...oh, a few weeks ago. I finally decided to buy a real Shinebug. Definitely shinier, but not quite as sturdy, and the wrist problem seems to be more pronounced. So until I actually put together my Goldbug shelf to display him in robot mode, Shinebug goes back into the box and the WJOSKO stays within reach for spontaneous fiddling.

(If you're interested, search eBay in Toys > Action Figures > Transformers & Robots for WeiJiang, Wei Jiang, WJ, or Goldbug.)

 

Booya! So I finally picked up the two I was missing for $40 each shipped (only took a year and a half). Have to say it was a scary panels sliding past each other thrill ride to transform the two arm bots and Wideload (they will never come out of combined mode now).

I knew to be careful and was watching a youtube video while doing it but I still pulled one of Wideloads wheels off. He was also missing a ratchet part from the combiner hip that I had fix with cutdown creditcard and rubberbands. It is a weak ratchet now that will hold somewhat but I think I might need to replace the rubberbands with erasers for a stronger hold.

The sholder combiner ratchets on the other hand may be too strong. It’s hard to move them without messing up the many paneled car hoods. And that is my main complaint that every pose or movement requires cleanup as panels come loose or become gappy. The combiner head is also extreemly tight and trying to turn it turns the waist instead.

Overall I’m glad to have him though and he is still the most colorful combiner out there  



*props to the forum photo uploader for turning photos on their side for no good reason*

 

I'd still be interested in a repaint of this set - even if the plastic quality is a little bit brittle.

 

Oh the Humanity ; I recently bought a 2nd Aurora - as my original has a big hole in the leg and then when I open another one brand new it has the exact same flaw - I guess Toyworld are in no position to offer fixes on something this old - but darn is that annoying ; I'm hardly the only person to have this issue - it must have been pretty common for two of them to have the exact same error like that.

 

Just image searched it. It looks extremely common.

 

Shame it wasn't the other leg - at least then I could have swapped some parts.

 

Hi guys! I just got Shinebug, and I'm sure once I get his arms figured out going back to alt mode, he'll be one of my favorites... but I have an issue with him. I can't get his gun to store in alt mode - the grooves seem to small for the parts that are supposed to tab into them. I can force it in, but it just pops right back out (and I've earned a stress mark for my efforts!). Does anyone have an idea of what to do? Pictures included. Red circles are the parts I'm talking about, yellow circle is a stress mark.

 

Dude, I just noticed - mine has that too!

I've got Trace on order now (from China, so it's taking a while), Highway and Shinebug just arrived the other day, and I've had Aurora and Grindrod for awhile now. Man, these guys are all great figures. I'm really fond of em.