Curious...must be a YMMV situation. I just bent it sharply outwards and held it for several seconds. Repeat a couple times and it held.

 

Heat gun is safest and fastest way. Since the antenna are so thin, you can do 200F for 5-10 seconds and bend back to proper shape. Repeat as needed.

 

And he arrived! One quick peak to make sure everything all looks ok before he gets stashed away until Christmas - This year I'll be re-creating my Christmas (Birthday?) of 1984 (1985?).

Will be walking around with a huge grin on my face for the rest of the day. Honestly didn't quite expect this level of excitement when I opened the box.

 

Congrats, @Chiller ! He still holds the spot as my #1 favorite figure! Hope yours is a good copy. I have two and neither have had any knee issue yet, even after tons of posing. However, both @Sam and I have experience problems with the left hip/thigh joint after a year of constant posing. Had to take mine apart (Japanese screwdrivers are a must) to tighten up and reinforce a worn down part with some super glue. Been pretty solid ever since.

I wouldn't recommend heat for fear of warping (happened to at least one other board member). The antennae are surprisingly flexible so just pinch them in your thumb & index finger and bend them outward as far as you’re comfortable with and hold for a while. Do this repeatedly for a day or so and they'll stay put. I did this right after getting mine and they've stayed straight ever since.

 

Can you explain what issues you got exactly and how you fixed them as I don't recall you going into much details about this. Just in case this happens to mine. Cheers!

 

That joint was just super wobbly, it was actually coming apart a bit. Part of it was that a screw or two needed tightening but there were also two pieces that connect, one white and one blue, that were getting worn down and starting to slip past each other. The pieces are outside of the underwear unit, not the gears, (sorry I don't have a picture of them), but I built up the worn down spots with some super glue, let it dry for a day, and put it all back together. It's a bit of a pain taking his hips apart & Japanese screw drivers are a must to avoid stripping the screws. Also, there is a screw or two on the right inside of his groin that are easy to miss - I almost broke him apart until I noticed them! I think someone actually posted a video of how to take this section apart in the 44 fix thread. This problem doesn't seem to be too common, though. I've only seen maybe two or three others bring this up. I think it's due to me putting him in so many poses where his left thigh is flexed allll the way up, maybe I forced it past a point it wasn't supposed to go, I dunno.

 

Yeah, again it's the left leg for me too. I used Apoxie Sculpt, a kind of putty, to refortify the damaged area. The ratchet clicks again now, although the click if softer than the right leg, we'll see how well it holds up.

I noticed mine gave way after I had left him on Dinobot's flight stand in a pose where his leg was raised up. I think that's just a coincidence though, as it's not the kind of wear that could happen after just one movement.

I guess @Dean ML and I do spend a lot of time posing and moving our figures (and we both work from home even pre-Covid!) so it's expected we'd be the first to have an issue like this. Hopefully it isn't widespread though.

 

@Sam , it's interesting, that ratchet is softer on mine now too yet it's also firmer. Mmmm... soft n firm...

If I have to do the fix again I'll definitely look into this apoxie sculpt you mention!

 

Actually mine is a little 'firmer' too, not as loose as the other one. Weird alright!

The Apoxie Sculpt is a little tricky, as I had to wait for it to cure and then sand it down, but let's see which of ours gives out next! (hopefully neither, fingers crossed)

 

Thanks for these details. I planned on learning more about this between now and opening day.
Is it something I need to be aware about before first transformation or is it more that it's just going to slowly wear down over time?

 

The hip ratchet shouldn't be a worry unless you're like Sam & I posing our Primes all day every day! Like I said, I've only seen a few mention it, but tons have had knee problems (though weirdly Sam & I haven't).

 

I thought you had discovered that the issue was caused by you moving the hip joint one click too far for the extreme kneeling poses? I thought you were over-extending the joint and turning it further than it was meant to? I'm wondering if that could cause the orange/yellow paint to chip from his waist parts as well? Because I still don't have any chipping in that area and I hardly ever put him into extreme poses.

 

Yes, that is my guess but I’m not 100% it was all due to raising his leg too high as it still seems it’s meant to go all the way up. Could just be down to repeated regular movement wearing out that connection & loosening the screw.

 

I was hoping it was because the leg was moving too high. Because if it is just from repeated movement that does not sound good. Having said that, I think a lot of collectors like myself move their MPs much less than you and Sam. So I'm wondering if Takara only expects a joint on an MP figure to move maybe 200 times or less before failure or something similar because they don't expect most collectors to move the joints that much. I'm just guessing. I think a hip joint should be able to move as many times as you want. The material shouldn't wear down. But I guess plastic is pretty soft and it most likely loses a tiny bit of material every time a joint is moved. So the wear is most likely inevitable.

 

I wouldn't recommend heat for fear of warping (happened to at least one other board member). The antennae are surprisingly flexible so just pinch them in your thumb & index finger and bend them outward as far as your comfortable with and hold for a while. Do this repeatedly for a day or so and they'll stay put. I did this right after getting mine and they've stayed straight ever since.[/QUOTE]

Sweet bud, I'll do that!!

 

I almost never pushed that thigh up past the hip (for some reason I usually have Prime bending on his left knee) and it still happened to me. I don't think it's about expected wear and tear, because my Megatron survived with no problem in all his joints and I posed him wayyy more over the last few years.

There's something weird about the thighs though. There's a lot of 'give' between the ratchet clicks, and sometimes it feels like something catches as I try to engage the click, and I have to move the leg again at the thigh. Really hard to explain it, since it's so subtle. Anyone else notice something similar to that, or get what I'm saying at all?

Also PG I have no chipping on my yellow parts either, I think it's just a fluke, because I do put him in kneeling poses where the right leg is up high and the only paint wear is a little chip on the thigh itself.

 

Anyone else having issues with the arm swivels under the shoulder piece on both arms being super loose? Or any idea how I would go about fixing that?

 

Well this is exactly the issue I have had with the KO of MP-44. I tried fixing it but adding super glue to the damaged area but it did not work. The blue geared part is just way too warped on the inside diameter. I hope that won't happen to my official though. Better watch it.

How did you proceed to apply that apoxie sculpt so that it fits? I would like to try that on the KO and see if it works.

 

Hi everyone,

I bought mp-44 when it was an early bird special. Transformed him a couple of times, then left him in my shelf for a while, while I cycle-play through my figures. It was finally MP-44s turn for the months rotation, so I decided to try all his gimmicks out.

I shoved in three cheaper lr-44s, and the electronics didn't work. Searched the thread, and someone mentioned pricier batteries did the trick. I went out and bought some duracell 303/357/76s, installed, and prayed.

No dice. Are there other batteries I should be using? If not, does anyone know how I can get in contact with taktom (I'm assuming it's just a takara-tomy release)

Thanks everyone in advance!

 

I had never tried that pose but today I thought I would try it. Looks awesome and really dynamic. Love that guy!