Got my BBTS Ditka last week and finally transformed him last night. Yes, the tank mode is really good, but that jet mode does look like the chunky toy from years ago. Don't think a triple-changer will ever look as sleek as MP-52 seekers in jet mode. But for what he is, I think he looks toy accurate as the jet.

Got him in robot mode now. Back heavy, but he's going to fit into my display just fine. Got a decent pose out of him due to those long heel extenders. Glad I found him for $85. Good figure and my Blitzwing hole has been filled. Won't even bother trying to chase some $300 Fans Toys figure whenever it eventually comes out.

 

Everyone has their own experiences and preferences. For me, I listed this guy for sale the same day I got him/opened him up. Tank mode was great, plane mode was ok, but robot mode wad a mess just trying to stand him up. Couple that with the embarrassingly cheap plastick KFC uses/used and I could not get rid of this fast enough.

 

What's the deal with Ditka's head rotation?

That sliding piece with the nosecone. If I rotate it and close up the chest, then the round tops of that piece stick out and prevent his head from turning. If I push those rounded ends down, then the chest doesn't seem to want to stay closed. I played around with the piece but can't seem to find a happy medium. Is there a magic way to fit the concealed piece back behind his chest and get the chest closed so it doesn't bloc head rotation?

 

So, there's a version of this figure, where if it was slightly smaller, lighter, rebalanced, and with a few design tweaks, he'd be a really good remix of G1 toy Blitzwing. Buuuuuut it's KFC, which means that it's senselessly heavy, has chunky ratchets and die cast in all the wrong places, the legs take too much force to collapse (really should've used release buttons instead) and random bits keep falling off because they don't believe in using glue.

That said, I still dig him, probably because I grew up with the G1 toy, and this is basically that but better (even with the flaws). I wouldn't get it for full price, but the BBTS sale made him an easy pickup. The ease of transformation is a plus, and makes going between modes simple and fun. The back heaviness in bot mode is a problem if you haven't already looked upthread for solutions; I found that both the heel fork angling and the 90 degree heel rotation solution worked well (though I'd only count on the latter to last over time, as the former is going to wear out). He's not exactly posable with all that weight, but doing either of the heel hacks makes him stand solid in a straight pose. It's extremely silly that the rear landing gears don't work to balance the plane in jet mode, but there's a flap on the back of the tank turret which you can angle down 90 degrees to take the weight instead.

If you know what you're getting into, and can get him during a sale, he's fine. But if you're not willing to put up with KFC nonsense and hacky solutions (which is totally valid!), you're better off waiting for FT's attempt.

-XCN-

 

Is there a trick to getting the tank turret to angle up, for when sitting on the tank? I've seen pictures of it pointed upward and a video the guy seems to snap it into place with no issue. Mine does not want to budge from the straight position and feels like I'm going to snap something applying pressure. I have the barrel extended all the way out so I don't see anything on the underside that would be preventing it from rotating.

 

The top of the gun mount is a bit to tall, I shaved the top edge down on mine a bit.

 

You need to pull the barrel all the way out first. If it is somewhat pushed in, you can not tilt the barrel upwards... like you’ve seen. Otherwise, if you try to tilt it upwards, while pushed in, you will snap the barrel.

(and before someone else quotes me... yes, that’s what she said.   ).

 

Is it this?

 

Yeah the edge of the turret and the edge of the guns mantle. I think if you sand each a bit it’ll make it work right.

 

Thanks that did it. Suggestion for anyone else - just a very tiny bit at a time. X-acto may have taken off just a little more than I needed to. It's not bad; shouldn't be visible at that angle in tank alt mode anyway and hardly noticeable. I was still worried I was going to possibly break stuff as I was first shaving it down, probably not giving it enough tension test when I started.

 

So TFSOURCE has this guy for $100. Is the general consensus that he is "okay" but back heavy?

 

Yes, and his stability is much better if you do the unofficial configuration for his heels…there are picts somewhere back a ways in this thread.

This is one of the configs:
KFC EAVI METAL Ditka (MP Blitzwing)

There was also another one

 

I've been hemming and hawing on this guy forever. I build up the courage for an impulse buy then read posts a half dozen pages back and deflate. Then I read a solution post to the problem and then more posts from people with problems.

Sigh. Seems you need to be prepared for what it is. Now seems the time, but I don't know if I can pull the trigger.

 

100 plus tax plus shipping and you are back at maybe 125 bucks?

No thanks.

 

Got mine at BBTS when he was $85 last month. Sure, the pre-order lasted a while but he's here now on my shelf and looking good! A bit back-heavy, but he stands just fine in my display. Totally worth $85 to get a decent MP Blitzwing. I no longer actively have battles across my bedroom floor so being a bit wobbly isn't a killer.

Meanwhile my search for an affordable Astrotrain plows on.

 

Ditka might be worth it at ¢.85 USD. Ditka is junk. Mine could not stand up straight unless leaning his back against a wall or other solid barrier. He had the upgraded new hips and knee joints. The transformation is fiddly and loose joints and randomly untabbing tabs abound. The tank is mode is decent. Overall he is horrible. Garbage. I gave him away to a neighborhood child. I really disliked this figure and he was a waste of $85.00.

 

I liked it so much I got three, one for each mode. The heel positioning and the new parts are all it took. Sure, he's not going to do some yoga pose like a Takara Sunstreaker or something but it's very much Blitzwing. I don't feel the need to replace him at all.

 

It's a decent figure. Turn his heels sideways, and he stands just fine. Looks good and the transformation is enjoyable. I think I paid $85 at BBTS. $100 isn't bad.

 

i got mine in that $85 BBTS sale, and I really like him. No issues standing up, relatively simple transformstion, looks the part in all three modes. There are things about the articulation that are executed in an extremely amateurish fashion (such as the head being blocked from turning, the shape of the upper thighs rendering much of his articulation useless, etc.), but I would give him a solid 7/10 despite those issues.

 

Mine arrived today. The sale popped up again on Black Friday and I pulled the trigger.

If I didn't already know about that heel turn thing, and I did before purchasing thankfully, I'd be furious. The standard foot transformation can't properly support the figure at all and is kind of a bad joke. The heel turn thing works and doesn't look wrong either. In fact it might even look better than the flat and over extended standard transformation. Not having any problems with standing but the figure is undeniably back heavy.

Ok, so the head is supposed to be like that? The pictures in the manual aren't all that great, and I kept thinking that the cockpit needed to be lower in the chest so the head could turn, but if I did that then the chest wouldn't close. I get a very slight turn to the left or right, but it's really subtle.

My only real issue with the figure is the brown under canopy that's supposed to pop out to allow the nose cone to rotate out of the chest. It just won't budge and I have to use a tool to push each side of it out. Also there's a bit more sprue flash on the figure than I'd like. Although I'm only really noticing that in jet mode and not so much the other modes.

Other than that transformations are relatively straightforward. Tank mode looks pretty good and is the better of the two alt modes. Jet mode looks pretty awful but it's accurate. The diecast feet make the jet even more back heavy and I'm not really a fan of the "plate" they used to solve the tipping problem. The die cast feet were probably intended to counter balance the backpack, but they don't do that at all, and they cause balance issues with the jet mode. Bot mode looks the part and cleans up decently.

I'm ok with him. Glad I didn't pay more than I did. I'd probably recommend, but for less than what I paid.