Do the cracks affect the stability in any way?

 

Someone did earlier in the thread. It looks ok, but the faux cockpit definitely looks better to me.

 

I saw PrimeVPrime's review and he doesnt fold it all the way before turning the wing piece, thus stressing the pin.

 

Oh not the ankle, I mean the vertical stabilizer cracks. The pins they fired in are too tight and even copies that weren't cracked from mounting are cracking when the stab gets rotated due to the excessive tension.

Thread is here:

MP-52 Starscream Flaw Tracking And Fixes Thread

 

This is one of my favourite figures of all time.. up there with the G1’s & G2’s I had as a kid.

I’m a little bummed out that Nippon Yasan is ignoring my messages regarding the damage to my figure. Missing stabilizer rivet and massive crack on ankle post. I just need 2 replacement leg parts and one face and it’ll be neigh on perfect. I can probably repair the ankle post with glue but would rather spare parts. Really not sure what to do

 

Hopefully Skywarp and Thundercracker will be better.

 

Haha! Well, buddy, Star Cream looks pretty pleased so I think maybe you have done it right!  

 

If they are anything like my starscream, I’m set!

 

Don't expect a response for a while. NY has notoriously terrible customer service.

 

Just curious since you managed to take this apart, do you think the foot wouldn’t need a screw to keep it on if it also had a connection point on the opposite side?

 

I swear that Hound has given some people here toy breakage related PTSD when it come to Takara figures. For the rest of eternity if a Takara figure has any sort of problem the specter of Hound with appear and send chills down everyone's spines.

This is not Hound by any stretch of the imagination. Yes people have had some problems but people really need to chill out and stop acting like the damn sky is falling. If you're so scared this will crumble to dust then return it, sell it or don't buy it at all. If you're really desperate for a Starscream go buy DS Jabroniscream. All I can hope is Takara changes how they assemble Thundercracker and Skywarp because the main problems this is having in the tailfin area and ankles can be easily corrected. I also hope that Takara expands it's aftersale customer service beyond Japan. It's kind of bunk that when people not in Japan have problems that they can't get replacements.

Same. Can't wait for those two.

 

Some pages back i remember seeing a photo of him without the fake cockpit. Not really my cup of tea, but i respect contrary opinions.

As for it being pinned, i would say that it isn't.
If you pay attention when you are transforming him from bot to jet, and forming the nose cone, you can collapse the fake cockpit into his chest. It's subtle but it is there, and I don't see it on the instructions.

 

It’s held on by 2 tabs near the top but I believe the parts that need to be removed to access it, are pinned. The faux cockpit does need to be collapsed for jet mode otherwise it won’t let the cover tab into the sides.

 

Wow. The internet has everything.  

That looks surprisingly good. I mean, the fake looks better, but it still looks like the best Starscream ever using only the real cockpit.

I might have preferred using the real cockpit in exchange for sinking that gray chest cover a lot further into the jet mode.

Fascinating design this toy is, one way or the other.

 

Is that faux cockpit just clipped in? No pins?

 

Awwwww yeah!!! There’s that Dean ML photo goodness that I look forward to seeing with every MP release!! Nice work, my dude, glad to see you’re enjoying the Star Cream!

Transfornstion may be my favorite new word! Forgive me, I can’t help being entertained by typos like that.  

 

Thanks man, yeh I’ve been waiting 13 days for a response to my ticket. The online chat helpers keep telling me they will escalate it and their team will get to it as soon as they can.

I’m going to take it up with my bank if it hits 15 days, kinda bummed I didn’t use PayPal.
Will be stoked if they refund me so I can keep him and just carry out the ankle repair myself.

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if Starscream is made from thermoplastic or thermoset plastic? Would it be a good idea to slowly heat a metal screwdriver placed on the ankle pivot plastic and melt the crack closed VS the superglue approach ?

 

I believe most toys are made of engineering grade plastics, which are usually thermoplastics.

 

@Sam has had some success with equally terrible AE by picking up the phone (and talking English). Timezone difference is a hurdle, but it might work with NY too.

It's mostly ABS which is a thermoplastic yes. Acetone also chemically melts it and can be used to fuse it. Be very careful with either heat or acetone or you'll just have a mess! If my ankle receptacle ever cracks I'll probably try superglue in the crack with some epoxy spread round the outside. You don't have much clearance to have a nice thick layer sadly until you interfere with the foot. Replacing the rivet with a screw also has been successful for somebody. With that you can pull things together and bring some end-face friction into the mix, so it's less important if the cylindrical face has poor friction due to a crack.