Don't worry. The crotch breaking was only on a small number of figures and happened right out of the box. The problem was a misassembled part inside the crotch that caused excessive stress and broke. If yours is still good there is absolutely no reason to think it would break now. Go on and play with and enjoy your figure to your heart's delight!
I'm returning my first Hound to Amazon Japan. Not because of cracks, as it has zero, but because the paint on one fake wheel is badly smudged and because of some scratches below one knee, on the front of his leg. Can't be missed, so sending him back. I transformed him twice to robot and back again without any issues though. My replacement Hound is flawless. No cracks and I've transformed him at least four times to robot and back again. I'm careful, but not more careful than I am with any of my other Masterpieces. I either dodged the bullet twice, or the problems are less widespread than some think? I consider myself lucky anyway with such a great addition to my Masterpiece collection.
My first MP Hound came from Amazon Japan. The left tailgate broke off during the first transformation. It looked fixable. One of the doors broke off when I barely breathed on it. Amazon Japan sent me a new one and had me return the broken on using DHL (they refunded the shipping cost). I transformed the replacement one and had no issues with it at all. I tend to baby my figures, so I was very surprised that I had issues with the first Hound. To anyone who buys the figure, I would strongly recommend you follow wotafa's YouTube video which shows how to transform it. It's very useful.
Haven't bought this guy yet but am dumbstruck by the price! Takara Sunstreaker was £89.00. Prowl (animated colours) is currently £69.99. Hound is selling at £129.99! Anyone know why he's so overpriced?
Tis the new price point for MPs...get used to it or get used to looking for another product to buy. Interestingly, the repaints still sell closer to what the original mold prices were, but MP prices have been going up, up, and away since, what? The Fusos? As for the why? Because they can, mostly...
Mine came in the mail yesterday and transformed him last night without any cracks or breaks. Used emgo's YT video for transformation paying real close attention to him and with this figure because of all the horror stories I read, this is the first figure I used silicon lubricant on. I applied some on hinges before doing any transformation and applied more to different areas as I progressed into the transformation. I was afraid I would have the same problem so many others had with theirs, sorry for them, but relieved I had no problems. Love this figure, so pleased to have a superb looking Hound in my collection. Will I be transforming him back and forth for personal entertainment sake? Not a chance.
It looks like a lot of the run was molded with the wrong parameters and the ABS is really brittle after molding. This happens if the molding temperature is set too high. QC checks should have caught this. For the insane price they are charging, totally unacceptable. You can also thank California and the Prop65 garbage that has resulted in using substandard plasticizers since phalates are no longer allowed. A company doesn't want to risk lawsuits from predatory legal firms looking for a quick payday.
Mine, while perfect for a bit, now has several cracks. I haven't changed his face in quite a while, but the joints in the back of his head are cracked. This thing is a ticking time bomb and I won't be transforming him again.
Got my new version in the AMJ sale and he had the armature crack so I'm 2 for 2 on QC issues. On the bright side I was able to Frankenstein a single, perfect (for now) version from the two figures and now the junker is being returned for a refund. I should be happy with this outcome but I can't help but think I still have a ticking timebomb than, when it does eventually crack I'll be outside of the return window.
Sadly, I'm not one of the lucky ones anymore. Unfortunately, my MP-47 Hound had recently developed a nasty crack... Now to decide if I send it back to AMJ for refund/replacement, or just keep it as is.
WTF, first time transforming. The Masterpiece line was the only one that still interested me. Way too fiddly to transform, and I wasn't even working with this part, just slightly bumped against it and it snapped right off. I think I'm done with Transformers.
Same here! CHUG LIFE! But I did buy the KO Tape Corps 6 MP cassettes to go with my CHUG collection. And Ratbat totally crumbled as soon as I tried to transform him. Luckily I already 2 of him.
And I was planning on buying him. MIGHT AS WELL WAIT FOR THE KO OR A 3RD PARTY CAUSE THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!! What the hell is up with the recent MPs?
Transformed him half a dozen times so far, posed him nearly daily since arrival a month ago, and have kept all the extras including the handgun in his boots and feet and still no cracks. Maybe he'll crumble to dust tomorrow but for now I'm enjoying the hell out of this guy.
Only transformed him once to bot mode but he has not developed any new cracks or breaks while standing on the shelf for the past month. I’ll continue to monitor him.
Updated my vote. I've been through 4 copies total (ordered two, one as a gift, had both of them replaced) and answered accordingly based on the following: First copy had a crack in the main armature joint out of the box, no other damage at first. After several transformations, the driver side "door" broke off with normal use (no excessive force or torque). Second copy (original gift copy) had cracks out of the box Third copy (1 of 2 in my replacement order) seemed very solid at first. Has now developed hairline cracks in main armature joint and left leg rear flap hinge. Fourth copy (2 of 2 in replacement order) so far no damage, has been through 3 or 4 transformation cycles and has been sitting in Jeep mode for 2-3 weeks.
