K1219 broken hinges on the door out of the box. Who knows what else may be broken as it went right back in the box.

 

To be fair, IIRC, pre-Toon era also had quiet a bit of QC issues with certain figures. No doubt that the change in direction and increase in complexity also worsen QC, but we also need to consider other factors, like: sheer greed and exploitation by TT. It's all part of the ugly and cruel nature of capitalism.

 

Mine came in yesterday. Transformed it and all is well. Paints great and no sign of anything wrong. I do see how some can feel the plastic choice was slightly thinner in places.

 

Well you got simulation, prototype, and test shots in this day and age, these issues have to becoming up after the test shot phase, which should honestly catch these before going in full productions. Alterations in the factory or manufacturing errors maybe? Equipment not cleaned or prepped correctly in the factory?

 

I totally don't believe that the change in direction automatically resulted in worse QC. Sunstreaker and Cordon were both fine. I mean are we saying that Hound is so much more rocket science than those two. Unbelievable.

I mean we now have to worry about pins and hinges? I mean, that's like super basic stuff.

 

I was expecting my delivery tomorrow, but DHL delivered it today. I was asleep earlier, but saw that my package arrived at the Richmond, VA hub early this morning. I figured it wouldn’t go out for delivery to me until tomorrow, but DHL said, “Hold my beer!”. It rained a little here in Virginia Beach, and the box from Amazon Japan was damp on one side, but since AJ wraps their item in plastic, the MP box was fine.

I can happily report that my Hound has NO cracks or flaws anywhere. I’m not gonna be transforming him any time soon, however. Just gonna put him with the rest of my collection until I get more room.

Speaking of needing more room, I’m expecting DX9’s Gabriel tomorrow.  

 

If this ends up being a bust, as a previous owner I can say that Fanstoys Willis is pretty decent

 

Thrilled that AJ/DHL delivered Hound a day earlier than scheduled! My copy's as close to perfect as I could hope for. No glaring paint issues, no cracks whatsoever, joints are firm all around, all parts seem correct. Very happy! Paint is very matte, along the lines of Bluestreak+ and I dig it. Still looks and feels premium. Paint on the back of the knees will wear, but that's no bother to me. Paint will likely scrape off around the top edges of the thighs, but that's also par for course going back to Prowl, Smokescreen, and Megatron. The neck gap is a non-issue as the armature is easily adjusted to have his neck flush to the hood. His head rotation is very limited, though - am I missing something there? Some joint I haven't unlocked? Everything seems to go where it should, even if it is a tight fit (I have the gun, gas tank, and tire in his feet).

Anyways, I have to work a lot today and tomorrow so I can take off again for New Year's so no time for a thorough review, but I can't wait to spend more time with him and take some real photos! I was getting pretty nervous for his arrival after reading about "widespread breakages," "another TT qc disaster," etc, but I am incredibly relieved and extremely impressed.

Just a quick and dirty deskshot for now...

 

Glad to see you got a good copy, man! Looking forward to your photos of him!  

 

Head is on a double joint, like BB 2.0. Gotta mess with it to figure out how it can move. It’s a bit fiddly, but the head does have decent range.

 

Thanks, brother! How's your copy?

Btw, as expected, this guy pulls off a fantastic kneeling pose! Also, as I suspected his head does have more articulation than it first seemed. Needs to be extended a bit from his neck, but lots of the same great head/neck articulation as other recent releases.

Big year for this G1 cartoon fan!

 

Since the hinges are painted, making it hard to see cracks from the outside, there is another way if you're willing, to inspect for cracks.

Use an automatic center punch to push the pins out from the hinges, make sure the knurled end of the pin comes out 1st(as in, push the pin from the smooth end). Afterwards, shine a flashlight into the now-empty pin slot to inspect for cracks from within. This will be hard to see(but might be worth a shot).

If there are no cracks, you might be good to go. I'd fit the pin partially in to see if it's too tight. If so, might be good to apply a tiny bit of rc car shock oil and/or file down the knurling on the pin.

Now what would be stupid is if the paint on the hinges seeped into the pin slots, which would throw the tolerances off even more.

I suspect the broken hinges are made from ABS. Maybe POM should've been used but I believe though it's stronger, it's also resistant to paint IIRC.

 

He's here. I don't see any obvious cracks right off. Where is the date stamp?

 

Genuine question: if the cracks are due to misassemblies/poor tolerances for the pins, wouldn't pushing them out increase the risk of damage?

 

An automatic center punch tool? That is a game changer.

 

They're nice and you can adjust the force that it punches the pin with. Like the above quote says, it might be to much for what is becoming well documented fragile hinges.

I honestly think that both the plastic quality and the assembly are to blame.

 

I think it’s the stamp on the outside of the box next to the barcode. Mine says K1219. I believe the stamp should also be somewhere on the figure itself, but, I haven’t TF’d mine yet.

That being said, I have observed no obvious issues on mine when viewed in alt mode. I can see how some breakages could accidentally occur, though, given how intricate and thin some of the parts are. I will also say that he is both smaller and more dense than I expected. He’s not heavy...just heavier than I expected him to be upon opening the box.

On to some alt mode shenanigans:

 

Wtf kind of break is this? It’s as if this was 3D printed with plastic that don’t melt right.