Amazon JP still have him for $90.

 

Nope, its lowest price before release. After that they will not refund any difference. Trust me, I tried a few months ago when two other figures I ordered had gone down by about $30 each a week after release.

 

I have gotten credit from similar situations before. Depending on the item you can sometimes return it then rebuy it at the new price. I've explained I could do this in the past and the store has often caved at that point when they realise it would be more of a pain to deal with the return than to pay me off.

 

Would you look at that? My fuggin' Hound just broke... Guess I'm gonna have to return it for a refund and ...hey look, a discounted Hound available to replace it!
















And before anyone has a shit...I'm kidding. But by not offering a price match, they open themselves up to that sort of thing. And have to pay the ripoff return shipping to boot. Of course, I'm sure they keep good records, Any fast-one puller making a habit of such practice I'm sure would find their accounts banned.

 

Anybody snag a discounted Hound?
I wonder if the quality will be on par with the normal release. In other words: whether they dropped the price owing to the issues, or whether those that are discounted are, eg. refurbished etc.

 

Uh oh I hope silicone oil doesn't contribute to more plastic failures. It's one of the things that may have saved my 2 copies from getting cracks in the familiar places. Got a replacement hound because I had unpainted sprue marks on the base of his neck but I still haven't sent the original back yet.

MP45 was the first one where I had to use an exacto knife to free parts stuck together from paint. So my method for transforming MP47 initially was to 1) oil the joint areas where 2 parts designed to move are in contact with each other & loosen their screws 2) attempt to move a part close to it's hinge/attachment point to minimize transfer of force to that point while I braced the attached part 3) if the part did not move "easily" I looked for heavy paint in the joint and used the exacto knife to create an opening if needed. Even with that there are a few areas that require part flexing so you have to kind of do a clearance analysis to see what's restricting the motion and then figuring out what has to flex without breaking something. But after getting that painful slog out of the way, the subsequent transformations were fine--knock on wood. That is until shock oil causes ESC??? I'll find out I guess but I'll get a reissue if this one eventually falls apart. Alternatives could be to stop collecting MPs and get Siege/CHUG or wish for yet another simpler, less accurate G1 MP hound just like those other 2 that were released to market years ago. Decisions, decisions... Nah, I'm good.  

 

Man, @Liampope , really enjoyed that read! Thanks for the insight   Sure hope your copy's made of a good batch of plastic! Just turned mine back to bot mode again and still no cracks. I've put all the extra stuff in his boots and feet every time, too. Hopefully mine will stay in tip top shape! I'm enjoying him more every day as I grow confident I have a good copy. I'm able to relax a little more and just enjoy what is undoubtedly the most refined and articulated carbot design yet. Feels great being familiar with the transformation now. I only needed to refer to the instructions a few times this last go around.

 

I love this sequence, brother! I've been thinking about shooting transformation sequence with Hound and some other bots myself and you did it beautifully. How long did it take to get through all of these shots?  

 

Well, I bit the bullet and bought a second Amazon discounted copy as a back up if my first copy inadvertently fails. Haven’t bought a back up copy since BW Megatron, but Hound is too good to not have an extra figure if necessary. The transformation scheme is already very logical to me, and very enjoyable, and it’s been a long time since I’ve found both modes to be so perfect.

 

Tick tock, where's your vid ?

 

Ok I just got back from dropping Hound Doggie off at the PO. Really simple process. This is what I did and for those of thinking of returning and or feeling it will be a headache do not fret as this is as simple as it gets.

Steps:

- Request refund/exchange
- contact us customer service to return via other couriers than DHL (optional)
- print out the scan code at the very bottom of return instructions (see first step)
- go to usps and fill out customs form: USPS.com® - Customs Forms
- enter your information and transcribe the return address provided by Amazon Japan on their customs forms located on the refund/exchange process
- print out customs form, pack up Hound Doggie and add the scan code paper. I returned Hound in the original packaging and for those without a scale and or ruler here are the dimension and weight I used. Box weight 1lb 6oz, box size 13x10x6. tracking and insurance (upto $200) is included
- take box to PO and pay (optional) The Postal worker just scanned my box and said thank you and printed out a receipt. Since I am an honest fellow I told her I didn't pay and wanted to. She stood there for 15 seconds in silence and then said you want to pay? It was funny.
- take a picture of the receipt, tracking # and send to Amazon Japan

Hope that helps someone.

 

You mean the Hound transformation tips vid? Haven’t had time to start it yet.

 

i used to be in mechanical engineering/design too so I really appreciate the insight!

What I meant in my original comment was exactly what you were talking about: something (maybe paint) that made the plastic crack. If this was indeed the case, it’s engineering’s job to pick it up (as in this would happen), not the factory; and the factory/ manufacturing could well be following what engineering had specc’ed up, its not their job to double check if the design/material choice would work. I suspect, there must be dedicated material/application engineer or some position similar to help the Kobayashi’s with material choice and specs, just like industrial designers would need mat engineers to check if the material specs will hold up. Imho this person screwed up.

On a side note I did consider too taking Hound apart and sending the plastic parts to a supplier at work to do annealing lol.

 

I hate to tell you, but you'll might find the package in your mail box in a few days since you did not pay. The PO worker probably assumed you pre-payed and brought it in to scan.

Edit: Oh wait, you paid for it online. Nevermind then.

 

What is the maximum amount that amazon.jp pays for the return shipping costs?

 

Is it bad that I didn't put the gas can and rifle in the foot?

 

Don’t think there is a max as long as receipt is provided. mp-44 was over $250 dhl and they reimbursed me.

 

Well that's a lot, it seems to me that someone had said there was a limit to the cost of shipping that they return to you, that's why they tried to return it by USPS instead of DHL.

 

Think that was more people avoiding the DHL cost. They use to specify DHL so I take it they were aware of the return cost.