Well, I'll keep you posted once mine gets in. I have an old Xbox 360 Kinect that I can use as a 3D scanner. I've never done this before, but my idea is to take my copy's left hip apart - scan the pieces and print.
I'm sure it's more involved than I'm making it out to be, but we'll see.

 

That would be awesome lol

 

Another daft markup price due to lack of availability:

https://tfsource.com/vintage-transformers/make-toys---mtrm-10-galaxy-meteor/

 

Damn, robotoybase still has it at $99. https://robotoybase.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=153_158&product_id=4016

 

...found a very good deal on star saber at robotoybase earlier this month, too: quickly becoming my go-to for older releases at reasonable prices...

 

How's the shipping, though? My experience with them has been that the prices look really good until I get an item in my cart and find out that the shipping increases the price by 30-40%.

 

Yeah, especially now given shipping restrictions world wide. I could have paid $15 and had it shipped by sea or $35ish (cant remember) and have it sent via EMS. I went with the latter.

 

My guy, someone scooped it up after you posted. It's outta stock now. Why would anyone pay close to triple for this?!? 

 

Who knows, but if there are any more crazy people out there they can have mine for the same price

 

Lol, I guess strike while the iron's hot.

 

...still come out well ahead on older stock otherwise available stateside only at inflated secondary-market prices...

 

And...mine broke as well. Similar as @inturnmike just posted: the peg around which the leg ratchet turns (outwards) snapped off.

It was actually his post, plus playing around with some Unicron trilogy figures, that made me pull GM from the shelf. Posing him , I noticed that the right hip ratchet moved freely (outward), but the left was a bit tight. I thus decided to lube it again and when reassembling the part just broke. Guess it was already fragile and this was just the last straw. Put him back together and he stands, but there's absolutely no strength in his left hip.

I had bought him when he was released and quickly after getting him, lubed both hip joints. Speculation, but I think I did the right hip first, used imo too much lube and thus used less for the left hip. And thus used not enough and an already fragile point slowly broke over the years since.

I don't even remember where I bought him and Maketoys likely won't respond. Guess I'll have to start thinking about how to fix this. Maybe glue it, drill a hole through and use a capped pin on the other side...

 

Just a heads up, I'm going to offer my copy up for sale. He's been transformed maybe twice, and he's pretty much just stood at the bottom of a detolf since I moved into my current house over two years ago. I got him out to check his joints and they seem fine; the forward/backward ratchets on the hips are a little soft. Outward movement is tight and squeaky, and there does seem to be some spots where they kind of want to stop, but they feel more like friction joints than ratchets. Whatever they are, they're tight enough that I can give him a mild shake and his legs don't move at all, so make of that what you will.

I still have his original box, instructions, and all his accessories (two alternate faces, a cyber planet key, and his rifle). I'll be upfront, I'm trying to settle on a price that's enough to make me let this one go, but isn't TFSource/Ebay-level gouging. Say, $160 shipped in the US*? I can take pictures if you need 'em, just ask.

*Excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Price is for PayPal Friends and Family; add 4% for Good and Services.

 

Is the hip issue really that widespread? I'm starting to think I got ridiculously lucky with mine as it's been posed and transformed a number of times and has managed to stay completely solid. Is it a matter of if or when?

I don't really trust TFsource prices tbh. Sometimes they have sales where the thing ends up what it sold for originally as if it's an actual sale.

 

My copy had the hip issue right out of the box. A really cool design made out of shit materials.

 

That exactly is the issue. The outward movement are ratchets, but the parts are too tight resulting in them appearing to be friction joints. As a result, there's too much tension on the central peg around which the hip moves and that will snap. If you describe them as tight, that means they can snap literally any moment you move it. And if you sell it, simply shipping it can result in breaking.

When I got mine years ago, the hip joints were very tight. I though they were friction joints, that's how tight they were: the ratchet didn't work. I took both hips apart and lubed them with silicon oil. I thought that was enough, but as I found out yesterday, one joint was still under too much tension and it snapped when reassembling. Note that I always rescrew very gently and still the peg simply sheerred off taking a chunk of plastic with it.

I sadly think this is a break that is inevitable. If you've taken no precautions (the joint is squeeky) then it will break. If you've simply lubed it, then it might hold out.

I think the best course of action is to also make the hole through the ratchet wheel wider. Take a dril and just ever so slightly widen that hole. And then lube it like crazy.

 

Got mine off the shelf a few days ago. Legs were fine when I put him up there but they are definitely looser now. I love this figure just wish he was made of better materials.

 

Yup...he LOOKS good...thats why we want those hips fixed lol

 

I'm fine with the hips so I guess thanks for quoting me to soapbox but...