Zeta Toys BB movie Blitzwing

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by octobotimus, Aug 9, 2019.

?

Are you interested

  1. YES!!

  2. eh.... could go either way.

  3. NO, stay away from it.

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  1. svek

    svek Well-Known Member

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    Keep in mind that most vocal people are those who had bad experiences. QC happens but those are all delicate figures. Anything will break if you're not careful. My Knight Orion is perfectly fine other than a few pins tending to fall out, no breaks or a slightest stress mark. HasTak's MPs can be a real shitfest too and they don't provide any after sale service...
     
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  2. ghostyurei

    ghostyurei Oops! My bad…

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    :( 
    Oof, I’m sorry, bud. I keep thinking back to how much material came out with the screw on mine and I agree that the loose screw can do more damage than one that simply falls out.
    My seller is looking into replacement parts for me at the moment, but I imagine that it will be the usual long wait for a response from the manufacturer and a lot of back and forth before a satisfactory resolution, if any.
    For now, I’m holding off on any extensive handling, which is a shame. I wanted to try the transformation again since I’m sure it could go smoother the second time, but I don’t trust the tightened joint to not continue to strip out the plastic and cause permanent damage…:( 
    Now I REALLY wish I’d used thread lock.
     
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  3. Xcandescent

    Xcandescent TRUKKS are the new MUNKYS

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    I think generalizing from these particular experiences is not wise. ToyWorld has always been bad; it's just that people like their Devastator so much that they seem to get a pass. Transcraft is new, and the mistakes they made with tolerances seem to be in line with this. Zeta ... doesn't really have an excuse for this; I feel like there's pretty of blame to pass around between the designer and the factory.

    I def won't be pre-ordering Zeta in the future, but I don't think this is some giant harbinger of doom for 3rd party quality.

    In the back of my mind, I'm thinking that it might be interesting to blind buy some longer M2 screws and see what happens. But then I remember that, even if the figure is fixed, the designer took out a bunch of side-to-side tabs on the top panels that were on the MA, causing jet mode to always have a gap down the middle on the Zeta (and that's with all the extra new fins stored properly between the legs). It wouldn't surprise me if someone attempted to retrofit tabs to those panels, but it's not gonna be me.
     
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  4. ib4cx3pt

    ib4cx3pt Well-Known Member

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    yep mine broke too. all i was doing was attaching the wing in robot mode. I didn't even transform them while they were attached and it wasn't even during transformation it broke just simply attaching it was enough. As complexity gets higher there seems to be more breaks. I really do like the figure too, it's a shame.

    IMG_1751.jpg
     
  5. hthrun

    hthrun Show accuracy's overrated

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    At this point I'm hoping for a simple SS Blitzwing OSKO...
     
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  6. rasky

    rasky Well-Known Member

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    I'm sick of third party toys that always needs a lot of fixes and requests for replacement parts. I've been thinking of getting out of the game because of Covid-19 and job instability. I think this figure has pushed me over. After my pre-orders are fulfilled then I'm pretty much getting out of the game.
     
  7. DaveTheCave

    DaveTheCave Well-Known Member

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    I cancelled my pre order and got ThreeZero Soundwave instead.
     
  8. CryptiniteDemon

    CryptiniteDemon Well-Known Member

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    I don't think it's a third party thing. It's just a high end toy thing. The more expensive and complex the toy the higher the chance for breakage or manufacturing defect. Takara MP figures have issues too. Or even non transformers stuff like Hot toys or sentinel, breakage just seems inevitable every x% of the time.
     
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  9. OCProwl

    OCProwl Autobot Dad

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    I was watching this thread and anticipating the release but had held off on placing a preorder. With all of the issues this figure seems to have, I think I'm content just to stick with my Studio Series version (yes, I know it's a different level and scale). With limited time, space, and money, I'd rather allocate all 3 of those resources to something I'm sure I'll enjoy more.
     
  10. octobotimus

    octobotimus Bad company ruins good morals

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    This thread has weirdly made my excitement sour on My copy, and that's been perfectly fine so far with no issues.
     
  11. Towelcoat

    Towelcoat Active Member

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    That's your feeling of worry for playing more with it, I'd guess. I'm feeling the same way with my trancraft bumblebee that's still in his box since march and I was bubbling with excitement for that guy.
     
  12. terintamel

    terintamel Well-Known Member

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    I asked ShowZStore about the shoulders and here is what they said.
     
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  13. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

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    I was pretty happy with this guy at first. Posed him and stuck him on the shelf. Was waiting for a good transformation video but maybe now I just won't transform him. Leave him as an expensive statue and a cautionary tale about pre-ordering all the time. Or maybe one day I'll try to reinforce the shoulder. I figure a bit of glue in the threads combined with silicone lube where it pivots might help. Maybe in conjunction with a longer screw if anybody figures out where to source them.
     
  14. ghostyurei

    ghostyurei Oops! My bad…

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    The transformation isn’t the best, but he makes a damn satisfying jet. It’s a shame one part ruins the value of the whole thing. I’m working on an engineering fix with my buddy, but I don’t think it will be easy or for everyone. We’ll post back if it works out or fails miserably. I think I will be getting replacement parts eventually in case this goes south.
     
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  15. Snaku

    Snaku Primes Don't Party

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    Yeah. Sometimes when I have to fix a figure, it helps me feel more connected to it and I appreciate it more. But this is a pretty big defect and seems like it'd be a pain to try to fix.
     
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  16. iamdarthyoshi

    iamdarthyoshi This is where the fun begins

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    Mine arrived earlier this week, but haven't had the time to open him yet. Should I even bother? From what I've been reading/seeing here, he seems like a hot mess. A little bummed with all these horror stories, because I absolutely love his jet mode. Now I'm considering just selling him and keeping my MA.
     
  17. QuinJester

    QuinJester T. Bison

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    Weighing in on this guy having had him for several days now and having gone through the transformation last night -

    First off, it definitely sucks that there's an issue with the arms unscrewing themselves. It's unfortunate when companies use screws like this for joints that can work themselves free. FT did it with Hound and it made him a nightmare to balance as his feet turned into a floppy mess, MMC did it recently with their Chromedome and it can actually result in the figure shearing pieces off in transformation. Sadly screwing parts in is the quickest and easiest to manufacture and design method so I don't think it's going to go away any time soon, but at the very least in this case it looks like people have done the legwork and provided the process for the rest of us to fix ours if the problem arises.

    With regard to the paint - it's... okay. It's very rough in a lot of spots and pretty thick on a lot of the posts and clips that have to fit into each other which makes the tolerances a real bugbear to deal with. Looking closely at a lot of parts also highlights how rough it can be - most of it is covered over by the "wear and tear" weathering job but don't expect this guy to look clean even if you strip away all the weathering. Also be prepared to take an exacto or some sandpaper to a lot of the posts during the process to thin them down so that they can fit more reasonably. Aside from all that, though, he looks great, the lettering (whether you love it or hate it) is cleanly applied and looks sharp, and he definitely looks the part of a fancy figure with every inch covered in paint.

    The transformation - it's definitely complex, and there are a lot of cases where you HAVE to move things in a certain order to get parts past each other, especially with all the leg panels and the arm folds. He really needs to be taken slowly and one step at a time to figure out the nuances of when you can and cannot clip things in place before you move other parts around - even things that don't seem like they'd be related (don't unfold the top of the tailfin until the very last second, for example, or you'll have trouble flipping around the rear side fins to switch from robot to jet mode, for example).

    All that said, though - the transformation is fairly reasonable. Every part has two positions it can be in - Jet mode or Robot mode- there's no futzing with multi-piece armatures that swivel in eight different ways and have to be aligned just so for them to be in the right place, there's no "this just sort of sits here and is held in place by force of will" parts. You can do the transformation in complete sections - bottom and top half, left leg and right leg, without worrying "oh no, since I transformed this leg I don't have the clearance to flip the plate on the other one." There is absolutely a learning curve with the transformation and you absolutely need to know where everything is supposed to go, but once you know that and have trimmed down some of the paint on the pegs that makes everything just a little too stiff, it's actually quite intuitive.

    And the end result in both cases is magnificent - both the jet mode and robot mode are rock solid (excepting those with wings-that-fall-off issues - future or super glue to thicken posts will be your friend!), and the F-4 Phantom alt mode is a joy to behold - AND hold - it's very swooshable. The array of missiles and fuel tanks are.... fine, they're a little plain and could do with nicer paint jobs to keep them from blending in with the rest of the jet, but having the option for them all to get the full movie appearance is very cool. The opening cockpit is a nice touch, although I think I would have preferred to lose it if it meant the chest being a bit more cohesive, and the front wheels are a little cheap looking (although the spring-loaded landing gear is very well executed).

    Overall I'd have to say that the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. He looks amazing (as long as you don't look too closely at some of the messy bits), feels amazing, is solid and nicely poseable, and looks the part better than any other figure out there. He'll take some work to get to the point where he can truly be considered "fun" if you're going to be transforming him, but overall I'm really happy with my purchase. Would I recommend him to anyone who hasn't got him yet? That's a hard sell, because he definitely needs work and you can't expect everyone to rip open and fix and glue and shave down parts on their figures. Does he need an unreasonable amount of work to get to a place where he can be enjoyed? I don't think so, but everyone's personal mileage may vary.
     
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  18. RootNegative

    RootNegative Well-Known Member

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    I would be interested in what you figure out. I was thinking of taking the shoulder apart, measuring the screw, and checking if a longer screw would work.

    After transforming him back to bot mode, the shoulders are the only thing I'm really concerned about. Everything else feels solid. If I can shore up that problem now I think this guy will be fun to play with.

    I agree with everything here. There is a lot of good with this guy, but you really need to spend the time on the first transformation. I had to remove paint at several locations to increase tolerances. I did make one mistake on his cockpit would not fit into the slots in jet mode, so I cut the tabs back. I didn't realize until going back to bot mode those same tabs are used to hold the front flaps on his chest, and don't reach the tabs now. What I should have done is dig out the paint in those slots in jet mode first. It doesn't really mater in the end as the flaps stay in place fine anyways. I also had to use floor polish is a few places, and need to hit a few more.

    But in the end both modes looks amazing. And once all the kinks get worked out for the transformation I think it will be enjoyable, though still quite involved. I still think my comparison to BA Prime is accurate. It is a process to transform, everything follows a pretty logical flow.

    I do hope the shoulders can be fixed though, as it is the last thing holding this figure back. If I have to do it so be it. Would be nice of Zeta fixed this issue like the wings.
     
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  19. svek

    svek Well-Known Member

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  20. DaveTheCave

    DaveTheCave Well-Known Member

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    Everyone here is getting a figure that breaks but Emgo's seems perfect as is the case most of the time. Should I get or not? His review tells me yes, this thread tells me no, and since several of my 3rs party figures have broken so far I'm cautious.
     
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