For the sake of posterity, thought I’d share my experience here as well. My copy outta the box showed no signs of breakage. Upon the first transformation, the driver’s side door hinge had a hairline crack. After another full transform from robot to vehicle and back to bot, I noticed a hairline crack with multiple splits on the rocket armature. I sanded down the post and loosened the screw. Technically, nothing has broken off of the figure (yet). I inspected the shins and so far so good. Amazon JP customer service will not replace my figure but will refund if I want. I’ve transformed him without instructions 2 times and find it quite enjoyable. I do not like the sound that the plastic makes while manipulating some hinges and rotation points. Might put the silicone lube, may not. Don’t know how this particular plastic will react to the lube. I hope people’s problems get sorted out. Refunds or replacements. That’s an over generalization. I think this problem is specific to this release and not indicative of the entire MP line. I’ve had great experiences on all prior releases (barring your typical errant paint, a loose joint, etc). This crumbling plastic problem is only happening on this Hound release. The MP 9 problems were mostly caused by tension on the springs use on the ratcheted joints. My recent reissue from last December 2018 is perfect in all respects. So, shambles, no. A clear problem with this release, yes. I do hope that they publicly acknowledge this issue like they did with the reissue of the RID Optimus/Ultra Magnus figure from last year, iirc.
Knock on wood, but I must've hit the jackpot for this thing. I've gone back and forth a few times now, and no breaks, yet. Hope I got lucky and got a really good one, but man, they really need to get this on track with QC. Because they really are going to start losing loyal consumers due to this stuff.
I can't believe how shitty some of these pics of the crumbing are. You know Takara won't do a damn thing about it (except jack up prices even more). There is no way a decent QC program would let this get through. I'm never buying another MP again unless I've seen multiple reports of no issues.
Just got my ding for my preorder today. I'm talking about the Amazon JP orders and/or orders from overseas that people will get while the figure is still a pre-order on the usual suspects like TFSource or BBTS. Most of the issues that I've seen in my experience have been from that first batch. Prime's knees are a "prime" example of that. The only widespread issue that was a problem for everyone was the Hot Rod from Fanstoys with the chipped hood. I have it being prepared for shipment from BBTS right now, and if it is jacked up, I will gladly come in here and share that with pictures. We'll have a test and see if there are problems with mine when it comes. I just think that the first batch of figures that some people try to get from Amazon JP are the ones that will have the defects. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but that certainly is what I have observed.
Got home and gave my Hound a thorough check over and it seems I’m extremely fortunate that I still only have the one small crack on the left door hinge. I’ll be checking it often for sure.
Looking at all these Hounds it makes me angry Takara should come out with a statement and apologies to all the buyers there is too many people now. Come Out and admit you have made a right cock up, but will they hell because they are not bothered. They will be counting there money after the recent annual sales of Optimus prime, bumble bee and hound. What if all hounds are faulty, if you Transform them enough times will they all break ? I daren’t even touch mine now in the future Takara ought to design and let fanstoys or a another respected company to build and manufacture them because they are a joke. To say after all these years Takara haven’t even learnt how to put a clear coat or a sealant on there toys to stop the paint from chipping is unbelievable.
Well, I just noticed a hairline crack in one of the hinges on his right leg... I'll put a quick dab of superglue in it and hope it stops it from spreading...
He's my Hound also. Though TT hound looked good, the price point made him undesirable. Someone needs to do a story on this issue for a publication and light it up on Twitter to make TT take notice of their factory defects.
I saw that mine was cracked at the door hinge before I even removed it from the tray. Then in mid transformation, I saw the big armature crack. When my replacement came from AMJP, also cracked before I took it out of the tray. This time the door hinge crack was only on the door side and the armature crack was to the right side. Unfortunately I discovered a new crack below the bumper when others mentioned their findings.
Transformed mine first time Wednesday, seemed ok. By Friday cracks had formed where the pin connects the flap just below the back of the knees. Hate that I have to monitor this thing every day. I want to exchange it but I doubt I'll get a better copy. Just gonna wait on a KO and swap out parts. Hopefully it doesn't turn to dust before then
You know I think I'm good with the Siege version. Don't want to risk getting a figure that could turn into a green pile of dust at any moment.
The left side door hinge cracked and broke during first transformation on mine. Feel like I wasted money on Hound, but I sure got my money's worth for Ratchet. He hasn't had to repair anyone until now. I like how Hound's tires and blaster can be bent to make it look like he's got a flat after being roughed up by the Decepticons.
One Hound intact after transformation to bot mode. One Hound has two cracks. One on the door hinge and another on the tailgate hinge. Looks like a 50-50 split. That pun cracks me up.
Sadly, this isn't surprising. It's a mixed bag for other figures too. Some have a flawless Streaker, some had him break after first transformation. What's more sad is I think that rather than do a review of these issues and work to build a better product worthy of the name Masterpiece, they're just going to quash the line if people stop buying. The message is clear: we want MPs, Takara. But they need to be built better, period. We will pay for quality, and we've already seen that quality earlier in the line so it can be done for under 400 USD.
Been busy, so Hound's been sitting around here since 12/27 from Amazon Japan. Wasn't aware the issues were so widespread (really busy lately) until I finally went to check him out and change him to bot mode just a bit ago. There were no apparent issues in vehicle mode at all. So I moved on to transforming him. While working at the feet, the tailgate door that the spare tire attaches to simply fell off half way through step 14 of the instructions (while pushing the door up at a 90 degree turn to position it where it stays inside the foot for bot mode). With just the lightest of pressure to push it up into place it simply sheared right off in a clean break on its hinge while making the 90 degree turn. For a second, I thought it fell out of place, and I could squeeze it back in where it belongs, but that lasted all of a second, before I realized it was sheared and broken... I'd say it appears to be another case of a fairly small part made of weaker-than-should-be plastic on a tighter-than-should-be joint not requiring much effort at all to simply snap apart... Going back to MP-1, Hound is my 43rd MP, with the upcoming Smokescreen+ as my 44th. I have never had a breakage in all this time! Minor issues here and there, sure. But breakage? No. I knew about Optimus 3.0's knees, and some of the other things over the years, and took precautions as needed, but I've always avoided a major problem so far. Maybe I was due a bad turn. Still, to say this has soured me is an understatement... Being unaware of the issues with this release, I was in disbelief for about 15 seconds just staring at the little green plastic piece lying there... The disbelief quickly turned to disappointment. I came here for help. Reading through the threads here makes me relieved to not be alone, but even more disappointed in the overall situation of this release. I've really been anticipating Hound, so this has kinda bummed me out. Not sure what I'm gonna do. Guess I'll finish transforming him to see if there are any other problems. The broken part doesn't affect bot mode at all, which is how I keep them almost all the time. It's gonna be a big deal in alt mode though, all the same. And I'm always going to be bothered by it, knowing that it's broken, even when I can't see it in bot mode. And the question of longevity with these potentially dubious materials... Uggh... Yeah, definitely soured.
The tab on the inside of the gas tank broke on mine, but that part felt unnecessary to me. Otherwise, mine seems fine...for the moment.