Just got him and Transformed him. Man this thing feels scary and brittle. Especially the shoulders. There's also the hands which are very hard to get out... and well of course the neck. Firstly because it doesn't stay flush on the hood and secondly because he can't turn his head further to the side than 15 degrees. Strangely though I really like him!

 

Looking at the spare tire from my Hound, it looks like that side already has more of a gap when it's in alt mode. Your mod looks like a minor difference and probably worth it if it helps things fit better in bot mode.

I'm wondering if you'd mind photographing a profile view so we can better see how much material removed? Thanks!  

 

I’m with you, though after the first transform it actually is kinda relaxing for me. Hm, I suppose CHUG transformations are over too fast, especially if I’m not paying full attention. MPs I can have out in front of the couch and just throw through modes, and it feels satisfying when I finish. Maybe it’s just me *shrug*

 

Pull up and forward on his head to unlock the full range of motion.

 

Oh yeah! Thanks!

 

Same lack of front wheel movement on my copy too ... might be a small overlooked transformation step but not sure, I used Wotafa vid

 

It certainly tells us something, yes.

 

Let's start off with the good news: I just realized that when the water mask is on, Hound's forehead light is "activated" (like in the cartoon), otherwise it's just the green painted square. When the mask is down, the light part is clear blue with ridges like a lamp. Very nice attention to detail.

The bad part: I got my replacement Hound from AMJP today, and....two cracks out of the box. All I did was cut the tape on the clear tray and found the crack before touching Hound. My original had two cracks on the frame part of the door but the 2nd one has a crack on the door instead. Can't even knock the pin out to make one perfect one in that spot, no access. Both armatures have cracks in it but at different locations. F@%k it! It wasn't meant to be for me. I''ll just have to live with it. Be Zen about it. Now I have to worry about AMJP reimbursing me the cost of sending it back.

 

Clearly they're TT fanboys. All of them. 


...except the Holy Masked Knight of undeniable truth, of course  

 

The armature on one of my Hounds has a crack after all. And I am a very careful ‘unhamfisted’ collector.

I am completely convinced that this release has a large percentage of breaks now. I hope TT doesn’t continue with whatever they did that caused this. I can get a replacement, so I’m not too annoyed with that, but I think this will push the ‘KOs are fine’ crowd more towards their opinions. And I fully think they are to blame for this snafu; vicariously or not.

 

One thing i noticed with mine was that even though i had a good copy, a number of the green panel hinges (eg door armatures / lower legs) were very stiff straight out the box - after gently trying a few and finding the issue, i lubricated all hinges before attempting to move.
It seemed the matt green paint had almost siezed the joints.
Not sure TT have extensively used this paint before - i just wonder if a lot of the out of box breaks are due to paint siezed panel hinges which either during final assembly / transformation to put into the box, have been forced.

 

"transformation to put into the box".

Suddenly I need to know the answer to the questions - are TFs assembled in robot or vehicle mode? Does it vary? Does someone have the job of manually transforming 100 toys per day to box them?

 

You thinking of a career move? Playing with Transformers all day sounds great, but I bet it'll be tedious when you get to the 678th time of transforming a single figure!

Seriously though; I would expect either a) assembly is in the mode it is shipped in or b) they assemble is only one mode for all figures, and transform those that ship in the opposite mode. Would be interesting to hear from those on the forum with knowledge of such things. @Phamduc springs to mind as one such person...

 

Christ, imagine having to transform MP Hounds all day! My anxiety levels would be through the roof!

 

I opened mine from Amazon the other day. I've transformed him once. No sign on anything breaking. I do have a crappy paint job on his neck which was a bummer. I honestly like my Gundog better, but I'm more of a fan of the old style MPs than the toon accurate.

 

I expect they are assembled not purely in any mode. Rather the assembly will be dictated by accessibility of the pin holes, screw holes, etc. There will be a sequence designed primarily for efficiency where they probably do sub-assemblies like legs, arms, etc trying to have things as close as they can to the configuration it will be shipped in but inevitably needing some things moved one way or the other for accessibility, then on final assembly probably a few more remaining steps to finish it off for packing.

Something like that. I have no idea though!

 

My Hound remains intact. Worthless fact, I was checking him out while at a red light and foolishly placed him on my passenger side seat when the green light hit. My dumb ass hit the turn like I was Dale Earnhardt and Hound rolled right off the leather seat onto the floor mat! He got some paint wear but no damage! The figure is stamped I2619 just in case anyone is keeping track.

 

just an FYI, the head does pull out a bit to give added range. Also the head can sit flush with some minor adjustment to the armature.

 

More likely a combination of TT cutting costs by employing cheap factories using cheap materials and cheap labor while jacking up the MSRP...


 

 

this.