Phew. Still intact and fine after all this time. And I could still remember how to transform him, which is nice.

 

Unfortunately I'm pretty sure it's quite common for factories to keep the tooling. Or even if TT do own the tools, when they fired the factory there may be some massive legal issues going on and the tools are being held hostage. That happens quite a bit. If that is the case then we would have to wait for the legal issues to be over before TT get the tools back. Or maybe the tools themselves were the issue and not the plastic? If a tool is not made correctly it may mess up the plastic quality. I have no idea what the issue is, but I really want Hound back on my shelf and I keep eyeing that KO. I hate KO's but I might be willing to make an exception in this case until an official reissue comes out...... My Hound FOMO is real.

 

Well darn it!!!

 

Sorry! I really want a reissue as well and I would love to know what the hold-up is! They haven't done a reissue of MP44 yet either so there may be a completely different reason. Maybe some stores still have stock so they want to give them a chance to sell that stock before we get an improved reissue? I would really like a second MP44 as well. The Canadian dollar is much higher than during the last release so now would be great time!  

 

Lucky! I don't even see stress marks or slight cracks on your copy. One of TTs best transformations too, glad you can still enjoy it.

 

I can’t recall where I heard this from, probably some industry insider, but it’s rare for the Toy companies to have the tools in their own facilities. These are large heavy chunks of steel that are kept at the factory and weigh nearly 100 lbs on average. They keep them for a few years then they are auctioned off as scrap metal (I’m serious), or cut up and used as anchors for local boats. If Hasbro kept every tool of every toy they ever made, think of the size of the warehouse. There are a few rare instances when a company has enough foresight to keep a tool, I recall Takara displaying the original Optimus Prime tool one year.

 

If it makes it any easier to resist, from what I've seen the face sculpt looks really degraded on the KO compared to the official, so that alone could be reason enough to hold out

 

I think it has been over a year. So far so good for mine but i only transformed him once. He has been in robot mode ever since. I guess I should check him this weekend.

 

True, I think he's still in perfect condition. I'm not sure why mine has survived so far. I have been painfully careful when transforming him, but it sounds like he could just explode on the shelf by himself. It is a very impressive and clever transformation, but it would be nice to be able to actually _do_ something with him!

 

The KO has pretty widespread small QC issues like little marks on the installed face and scuffs on the thighs (of just about every copy) but overall everything clicks into place pretty well and the plastic definitely holds. Mine also has a stiff knee from paint getting stuck that needs silicone oil.

It’s too bad cause this transformation is really something awesome, hopefully they get a fixed official one out eventually.

 

I believe Hound was made in Vietnam and assembled in China. I seem to remember it being a strategy to curb theft.

 

I moved about a year ago and my Hound has been stored in a box in the basement all this time. I'm afraid to look.

 

I was so looking forward to this figure. Hound is one of my all-time fav TF characters. It was such a let down that this figure had all the issues it did, mine has a huge cracked swivel on his shoulder cannon. It is even a bigger let down TT hasn't really acknowledged and tried to rectify the situation yet. Doesn't seem like they have any intentions to.

And TBH, I feel MP Hound was needlessly complex. The Transformation isn't really all that fun.

 

This is correct. And the only time they’ve done it. All Hounds were manufactured in Vietnam, and then, very abruptly, all manufactured resources and parts were boxed up and shipped to China.

Something made TT so furious that they resorted to that. All Diaclone figures have been made in China and the QC is fantastic on those. Hardly any KOs popping up these days either. And all Beast Wars figures have been made in Vietnam. Lots of KOs of those floating around. Maybe Vietnam is going to lose quite a bit of business. Shame too because they were getting a lot of different contracts with different kinds of companies as of late. Their manufacturing economy was booming for a while.

anyways. I want a new hound.

 

I find his transformation simply amazing. Fold fold fold fold fold perfect. They nailed him in both modes perfectly, the quality of the plastic is a travesty to the engineering. Hey TakaraTomy - FIX THIS.

 

I guess there was just too much of a positive karma buildup.

Perfect toon accuracy? No huge backpack or hollow gappy areas or other weird compromises? Awesome vehicle mode? Amazing transformation?

The universe must have dumped all the negative karma it could muster into this guy's plastic just to keep itself in balance.

 

Checked my Hound this morning. Still no cracks anywhere. Only defect still is the panel holding the spare tire which broke off rather easily, but that happened when I handled it, so still unsure if it was me being stupid or an existing crack or both or just weak plastic and me being stupid.

 

It's such a shame about this figure; which should have been one of the best of all time, but everything good about him has been overshadowed by the plastic quality problems; justifiably so.
If rumours of Takara falling out with the factory are true, then I can totally understand why.

I'm still very happy to own him though. No issues yet (fingers crossed). I just treat him with extra delicacy.

 

I’ve lost track of all the cracks on my mine. I’ve been applying CA glue to keep the cracks from opening. So far it’s still holding up. Not going to be gentle. It’ll be the junker until a fixed version is released.

 

Still haven't pulled the trigger, waiting for a reissue of this with, hopefully, better quality plastic.