Masterpiece V2 Starscream MP-52

Discussion in 'Transformers News and Rumors' started by PoweredConvoy, Jul 5, 2020.

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  1. BIOMEC

    BIOMEC Terrorcon, aka "Ratchetman"

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    I received my two copies... But I am afraid to open them up! :( 
     
  2. mx-01 archon

    mx-01 archon Well-Known Member

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    I had success sealing up the ankle crack with superglue, and then just dripping Future all over the place wherever I thought it'd contact the pin. The latter step seems to take a bit of trying by most accounts. I had immediate success, but some people have needed multiple attempts to get the floor polish to seep in exactly where it needs to go.
     
  3. Gamerlingual

    Gamerlingual Moderator

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    In my case, one ankle is loose. No cracks. How do I apply the future or some floor polish? Using a 1mm syringe, toothpick, eye dropper?
     
  4. chchchch

    chchchch Chunky Coherent

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    I used a very fine paintbrush to really force it into the hole.
     
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  5. Optimus Prime23

    Optimus Prime23 Lighting our Darkest Hour

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    :ev: 
     
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  6. mx-01 archon

    mx-01 archon Well-Known Member

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    The syringe is probably the most accurate in your case. Just make sure to wash it out afterwards if you plan on using it again.

    I didn't have one of those, so I just got it to bead up a bit on the tip of a toothpick to apply at both ends of the pin (tried to get it under the flathead, and into the hollow of the ankle post on the opposite end), and then just a q-tip to apply it around the seam on the inside, hoping that capillary action would pull the floor polish in close to the pin, or at least boost the friction between the two parts.

    Not sure what spot was ultimately effective, since I did it all in one go, but it did work.
     
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  7. Dean ML

    Dean ML Well-Known Member

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    I recommend using a q-tip soaked in Future. This works better for me than a toothpick or brush. It kinda “melts” into where you want it to go with a q-tip. Make sure you move whatever joint you’re applying it to back and forth for about 30 seconds so it gets worked in there.

    And don’t forget to make the front face of his shoulder intakes vertical! ;) 
     
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  8. Gamerlingual

    Gamerlingual Moderator

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    Ok. I'll check the store for floor polish. I got this in the mean time. I'll take pics of the ankle. I noticed one part is different. Ah well, if it doesn't work out, I certainly tried.
     
  9. daddytron

    daddytron Made of too much clear plastic

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    I have a bottle of Kiki joint fix I was going to use this weekend. I was going to slather it around with a paint brush but I think I like Dean ML’s q-tip idea better.

    I have used the stuff only once previously. There are a few figures I want to tighten things up on so I thought I would do them all at once. My Kingdom Rodimus Prime has the trailer sides that won’t stay completely closed and my KO MP Hound’s ankles are a hair loose as well. I was thinking I would fix all of them in one go when I’m off work.

    There aren’t any cracks in my Starscream ankles, the up-down and side to side were just very loose out of the box. It stands fine, I just click the hips back from completely vertical one click and let the feet brace against the shins. It still stands much more easily than MP-3, MP-11, or Maketoys Meteor ever did. The figure is so solid overall other than the feet. I could shake the hell out of mine and nothing else on it even budges.
     
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  10. Gamerlingual

    Gamerlingual Moderator

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    Here are some pics. Unless I’m blind, there are no cracks that I can see. The blue areas I noticed something different. One part seems a little more open than the other. The last pic is where I’m thinking I need to apply whatever polish with the Q-Tip on top? I circled twice to show that the big pin on the right ankle on the reverse side is where I need to dab the stuff

    7B0D0012-5959-4B0A-AF07-B14B27566950.jpeg 22B3DA7C-49C3-454A-93A6-D51738139D44.jpeg 50555DB0-7FC5-457F-B037-5F983A392668.jpeg 6F490CFB-B5DB-41F3-91EA-8C74DC77C772.jpeg 624BF50B-A36E-4ED0-9001-4E0050003003.jpeg
     
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  11. Dean ML

    Dean ML Well-Known Member

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    Yes, get that stuff into every place you circled. That’s what I did & loose ankles have not been an issue since. I did it for the ab crunch, too.
     
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  12. daddytron

    daddytron Made of too much clear plastic

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    Ok, so read all of the posts on this thread post-release, rolled up my sleeves and got to work on my complaints. Here’s how it went.

    Smirking face: it looks like that dot of black paint that makes him look toothless is intentional. I have seen it on a bunch or other people’s copies, including TMan’s. I think I like the other smirk better. No action.

    Non clicking left hip. I loosened the screw a little bit and got most of the click back. That joint actually works better than the one on the other side that gives better audible clicks. It’s a bit stiffer than I would like. But it appears to be properly assembled.

    Vertical stabilizer housing cracks: haven’t done anything with this yet, as I haven’t had a chance to go back to jet mode yet. One of mine was cracked right out of the box and the other one developed a crack as soon as I rotated the stabilizer, very gently and carefully and in the direction indicated in the instructions. These pieces move pretty easily and smoothly so I don’t believe they will completely break. I will monitor them but I’m not overly concerned.

    Floppy ankles up-down and side to side on both: I checked inside on both of them and couldn’t find any cracks. I got out my bottle of Kiki and followed Dean’s suggestion of using a Q-tip. Slathered it around as much of the cylinder where the two parts meet. Also inside the area where the ankle tilt it. Five minutes later his feet were both supporting his weight without bracing them against the shins, in a way they couldn’t do out of the box. See pic. I couldn’t have posed him like this before without the stand. I worked those joints some more every few hours and he’s good to go for now.

    So it appears that most of my issues were resolved. Am I happy with having matching cracks on the stabilizers more or less out of the box on a $275 figure? Hell no. But it doesn’t seem to be a catastrophic issue, most likely a purely aesthetic one, and with how prevalent this issue is, I don’t think it’s worth my time or Brandon’s to return it to TCP with the likelihood that the next one will be the same. So unless it starts getting worse I can live with it.

    I didn’t mind having to do the other DIY stuff. There’s almost no figure I ever get by anybody where everything looks and works exactly as it should right out of the box. There’s almost always something too tight or too loose or just off. With all the moving parts on these things, it’s just hard to avoid. So if I have to tighten or loosen a couple screws or apply some joint tightening agent, that’s a nothing burger. I have to do that with every company’s transforming figures. As long as it’s fixable, it doesn’t bother me a bit.

    So on the whole I’m even happier with it than I was the day I got it.

    EDIT: Pay no mind to the mistransformed intakes. I have something in his back mistransformed and the tab was bending one of the intakes, so I disconnected the intakes until I have a chance to go back to jet mode and then back to robot mode, with a bit of a better understanding of where the pieces go and exactly how they should be sitting.
     

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    Last edited: Aug 13, 2021
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  13. Agent 539

    Agent 539 Blackrock Gas Attendant TFW2005 Supporter

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    image.jpeg

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  14. mx-01 archon

    mx-01 archon Well-Known Member

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    Don't compress the sliding posts that the vertical stabilizers attach to. I'm not entirely sure why they do that. I suppose they should compress slightly when you sweep back the wings, but not as far as the joints allow you to.
     
  15. daddytron

    daddytron Made of too much clear plastic

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    I double checked it and those sections are fully uncompressed/extended. One of them just happens to be sitting at the smallest bit of an angle. So my plan was to flip it back and forth between modes again. Which I was going to do anyway. I watched a bunch of extra video reviews and feel like I have a pretty good handle with how it’s supposed to come together now. No thanks to the instructions. Which are not the greatest.
     
  16. Prime of Shadows

    Prime of Shadows Quick as Lightning

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    If you’re referring to what I think you’re referring, those posts slide for the gerwalk mode.
     
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  17. crazyman

    crazyman Well-Known Member

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    Jobby review later today for 52. Regardless if you like his review style or not, the man knows how to scene meme pose.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2021
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  18. mx-01 archon

    mx-01 archon Well-Known Member

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    Ah, interesting. I barely looked at the instructions (mostly just to confirm that the stand was indeed crap, and I wasn't just an idiot who couldn't figure out how it was intended to work with his robot mode), so I wasn't aware there were specific call-outs for the "gerwalk" mode.
     
  19. BIOMEC

    BIOMEC Terrorcon, aka "Ratchetman"

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    Finally open one of mine... No cracks or stress marks so far... :) 

    Pros:
    1. The awfully accurate jet belly doesn't look as bad in person...
    2. The paint looks great and it's quite durable
    3. The amount of accessories is ok.
    4. It came in alt-mode (I display my jetformers in their alt-modes for the most part)
    Cons
    1. The flight stand is not the best... The joints at the connector piece should have been ratchets.
    2. The ankles are garbage, those also should have been on ratchet joints...
    3. The way the jet intakes work is not the best either... They feel flimsy

    Overall MP-52 is fine, my MP Beast Wars figures feel better than him... MP-36 is still the best G1 Masterpiece in my collection.

    I have to say that I expected something more impressive for the price to be honest.

    Looking forward to the other two seekers (hopefully with improvements).

    Here is he next to Kingorilla.

    IMG_20210814_084145.jpg IMG_20210814_084021.jpg

    Kingorilla is bigger than he looks in the pics.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2021
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  20. Nova Maximus

    Nova Maximus Well-Known Member

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