What is the number on the figures, under the space where the front tires tuck into in bot mode? The number on the box isn’t really correlated to what is packaged inside. You could have two different numbers on the boxes, but the same number on the bots.

crap, ninja’d by @fschuler

For board members irked with the deign award on the box, I hope you don’t buy anything based on J.D. Power awards. At least Takara was awarded by an independent organization. Companies pay J.D. Power to rate their products, so they aren’t necessarily unbiased. My kids went to an elementary school that won a statewide ‘excellence’ award many years ago, and they put permanent ‘award winner’ letters on the front of the school. It was nowhere near that quality once my kids got there (most of the good teachers had retired or moved on to higher-paying positions), but they still kept the sign up. Even sports teams proudly display previous championship banners in their stadia when their current teams are tanking (and have tanked for the past 20 years, like my local Pittsburgh Pirates). Nobody’s clamoring for them to be taken down. Seems like a silly ‘hill to die on’ to me, but... forums gonna forum... I guess.

In regards to the factory issues brought to light by @Phamduc, don’t underestimate the impact of the ‘trade wars’ and tariffs and how they may trickle down to the factory. I know most of this stuff involved US and China, but in a global economy, everyone is impacted. I think these Hound issues are the result of a ‘perfect storm’ of unfortunate circumstances. I agree with a former poster who said we should be able to get a bigger picture once BBTS and other start shipping their inventory.

 

Well mine will arrive wednesday hope i get lucky but he will definetely be a figure i transform once and then never again.

 

Hopefully he’s intact! Track down some silicone oil if you can and put a little on each of his joints if they are tight. It helps to free things up.

 

On paper, Takara's supposed counterattack on leakers by having parts constructed separately in Vietnam for final assembly, as is, later in China with no traditional final qc check, in order to prevent leakers from getting early/stolen copies, sounds smart until you realize it shafted a much larger number of people who are also the unintended targets;

The fans themselves who weren't trying to buy early, stolen copies!

The many shouldn't have to pay the consequences for the comparitive few who buy early/leaked copies for whatever reason. It's a lopsided strategy aimed at a few targets that ended up backfiring and screwing over whomever preordered production copies. It doesn't make sense how someone thought this decision would work for the greater good. All just to get back at a few guys who buy stolen copies for what little Adsense revenue they can even get?

If Takara really wanted to get back at people stealing early copies, what they should've done is let them grab the early, bad copies, do a final qc check and ONLY let the assembled copies that pass qc, be released to retail! The reality is, early copies probably will get leaked, I'm not condoning it, get real though, it's been happening for the last almost 20 years. I'd think there are better ways to prevent factory leaks instead of using delayed assembly in different countries and skipping the final qc check for assembled copies just to meet a deadline. What those ways are, could be beyond me. I do know 1 thing though, many of you preordered this figure. You shouldn't be screwed over randomly as a means of getting back at some reviewer of stolen copies on YouTube.

 

Pretty sure I had no cracks in the behind-leg hinge until the 2nd transformation back to Jeep. Guessing that the stress on the joint adds up over time

 

Well, got my replacement from Amazon Japan. Transformed him to robot mode (ultra careful using wotafa) and there are no defects yet. Of course it looks great but I don't like how it feels: Let me be specific. The upper body is connected to the waist by a single hinge (his ab crunch hinge). This hing is quite small and doesn't look super sturdy. As I've said before, the entire lower leg is held on by a single thin panel. Over all it just seems like a lot of things are held together by very little.

I'm not sure if I'll put him back in jeep mode soon. I probably should just to flush out any defects that show in the return window.

Beautiful figure with a neat transformation. I just don't trust the durability of the design (thin everything) and the materials.

 

Second & last copy arrived today.



Sending both back and getting a refund. Not gambling with this figure. Shame is Hound is clearly fantastic otherwise and was probably one of my best impressions with toon style MPs outside of Sunstreaker and Megs.

 

Nothing is ‘fantastic’ if it can’t even get the basics right: be able to transform without breaking.

 

F

 

The rear panel of my hound broke. I didn't even know why it broke. It just all of a sudden fell off while I was transforming the upper body.

Decided to contact amazon JP but DHL quoted me $190 to ship it back to Japan from California so I don't know if I want to return it anymore.

I tried glue and what not, it just doesn't stick back on. If anybody has successfully repaired this part please post the tutorial.

 

Saw this posted a bit ago  

 

Think I’ve decided to do a little preliminary filing on my replacement’s legs. Can’t have the caricature be applicable to mine!

 

Have the leg panels snapped for anyone who has transformed him having first removed the accessories? Or is the problem connected to trying to do it with everything packed into his feet?

 

After watching Emgo's review, now I know why this guy cost so much! MP Hound is the best version of himself right now.

 

I transformed mine and left out all the accessories. So nothing was squeezed into the feet and I didn't try to fit the gun in where the wheels sit behind the shins. The shin broke regardless.

Anime Export have said they'll take the figure back and send me a replacement. Not sure I want to take another gamble to be honest. The odds don't sound great for getting a flawless figure. :-(

 

Emgo's review.

 

If Vietnam is the problem, return the fucking production line to where the problem is not. Instead we have to pay a lot for shitty figures produced here and there to avoid leaks and still save money?
If that is really the case, then Takara killed the MP line. Takara is the producer, he MUST address the problems, produce and distribute a quality product, not just implementing stupid strategies to avoid leaks that result in shitty product! No excuses!

 

I've been tracking this thread for a while now, and I've put together what I hope is a guide to a stress free experience with MP Hound and beyond.

This is the official TFW2005 approved 10 step method of handling TT MPs in 2019/2020:

1. Read motivational forum messages from hardcore TT elite fans reminding you how TT is infallible and its always the buyers fault if something goes wrong. Because other than the paint flaws and that one cracked hinge, their own copy is fantastic

2. Remind yourself that you're totally ham fisted and can break things simply by them being in your presence, because you're still a child and not a 'mature collector of expensive figures'

3. Watch 5.7hrs of transformation videos in multiple languages

4. Open the box

5. Repeat steps 1 to 3

6. Remove the figure from the plastic tray

7. Place it carefully on the sacred red velvet transformation surface within your dedicated, temperature controlled and hermetically sealed TT MP transformation room

8. Repeat steps 1 to 3

9. Move the first panel to...swearing followed by trying to send something back to Japan (because savings off MSRP!).

10. Bonus round: repeat above in 6 months time because you just had to spend $180 on an MP Trailbreaker.

(ps I cancelled my order last night because I refuse to support TT on this release)