Received mine yesterday from AJP and left it all night in the box as I had other things going on. Opened him this morning and gave it a full inspection with a magnifying glass before transforming. I just followed wotofa's YouTube video for transformation and had no issues at all. Paint is perfect. Joints are tight but not too tight. No cracks I could find or stress marks. Only alteration I did was to trim off a little plastic on the ridge you snap the shoulders over in robot mode as the right side required more force than I was comfortable with to put in place. Left side was fine and did not need any changes.

For me this is probably one of my favorite figures with many cool transformation moments. I will say after reading this thread I was scared to transform it, but after doing it I am thankful mine did not have any defects. To me the plastic quality did not seem any worse than other figures, but I could see how it could seem that way as the flat paint does give the plastic a different feel from the glossy paint used on all the other MPs.

 

I managed to transform him back to Jeep mode with no issues, although again I had to use Paik’s video rather than the terrible (tiny) instructions. I’m not convinced the transformation is ever going to be as fun or intuitive as that of Sunstreaker, but he does look great. I am concerned about the rear panel that holds the wheel on, though - even going really careful with that I can see a small stress mark at the hinge. Hopefully the transformation will become easier and a little looser with practice.

Anyway, happy New Year, all!

 

So I looked at AJ’s return button for Hound, and the options kept telling me I’d have to reorder the figure after a full refund was given. There was no “replace” option anywhere. Very confused.

 

I was able to get a replace options when I selected "Defective/Does not work properly"

 

First time poster, long time masterpiece collector. Hound's left leg snapped in two during transformation. Gutted. I don't think I was being particularly rough with it either.

 

Thank you! Found the option. I had selected the “quality” option.

 

Currently at DHL in Van Nuys to get my Hounds. They placed them on hold until after New Years and being 40 miles away wasn't sitting well with me. As patient as I am, I'm totally impatient right now.

Maybe I can make that one of my New Years Resolutions.

 

Your original post was slightly vague on this point so apologies, but when exactly should AJ be emailed about using USPS? After the replacement is received? And after emailing them, how soon is the shipping payment required?

 

Happy to report my copy seems fine out of the box. I've turned him to bot mode, which may have been one of the slowest, most careful transformations I've done recently lol. I will say, the plastic does feel thin, to the point where the usual flexing of plastic on other figures to squeeze pieces around each other, is actually worrisome here. I can definitely see how and why some folk's panels have snapped. This is one I'll be handling quite carefully if I choose to transform it much more.

Best of luck to everyone getting their damaged figures replaced.

 

Package has been intercepted. Hounds are coming home.

 

Dhl was charging 200 when it was packed in the same package it came in. How can that possibly be worth it for Amazon?

 

So I returned my hound with DHL and just want to let people know that using DHL at a place like the UPS store vs a DHL ship point is vastly different. The UPS store quoted me $220 where as DHL it cost me $137. Also, if you contact amazon support, they can grant a full refund of the shipping vs the 12000yen limitation.

 

Didn't know the UPS store could ship DHL, but didn't think about it.

 

Looking good guys, looking good.

 

A lot of 3rd party shippers do DHL and I imagine the outcome will be the same, where the prices are higher. $137 is still a lot, but I feel better knowing that I'll get the full refund and not just 12000 yen and a gift card for the rest.

 

Seeing this just makes me wanna replace my Sideswipe with the Badcube version. The other older MPs still look good with the toon look, but the wide car chest on sideswipe just looks weird.

 

What number do you use for Amazon.co.jp support?

 

I initiated the return on their site, and then emailed them about using USPS a few days later (as I actually tried to use DHL first, but the people at my local DHL were useless), referencing the order number. I imagine you could just email them immediately after you initiate the return process. I updated my post with my recommended approach.

I honestly have no idea! Even with USPS it was $72 to ship MP-45 back to them. DHL was about $150 when I entered all the info on their site.

 

Hell yeah, man.

Ride safe out there brother.