Yes. The plastic feels thin and fragile. I know there are issues with some that have had bits broken out of the box. The ankles on mine are so loose that he just falls forwards or backwards all the time.

 

But the Blue Angels are F-18s and the Thunderbirds are F-16s

 

No-one gonna start a thread then?  

I would but news credits are bad for my health.

 

Different camps. The people who prefer unpainted figures aren't going to be complaining if a figure is unpainted and then ones who prefer painted aren't going to be complaining if it is painted. If you only go by what people are saying, you're always gonna get skewed results.

I disagree. A light color like this loses a lot of detail if it's unpainted. That's because the plastic is slightly translucent and that light penetrating the plastic tends to wash out the panel lines and sculpted details. Throwing in a layer of paint solves that and makes the details pop. It just so happens that it comes at the price of it now being vulnerable to paint rub and chipping, which is unfortunate because, while a nice paint job looks miles better than bare plastic, bare plastic looks miles better than a chipped/scratched paint job. And since these are action figures and, not only that, but action figures that transform and do a lot of scratching and rubbing during normal use, that's a real problem.

 

Theres pretty obviously is a painted camp and an unpainted camp in both 3P and Takara fandoms. There's no way to keep everyone happy.

DS should release a second, less painted version if they really want everyone chomping for more. That's really the only way.

 

Yeah, I'm on the paint side, MP44 is painted and looks wonderful, MP49 is the same mould unpainted and looks unfinished. If TE put out a painted Prime I'd be all over that, but yeah it would be nice if they made both versions of everything so we could choose.

 

Hmmmm to order from ShowZ or TF-direct?

 

the ankle qc was what held me off from mp52. i got mp36 and a few parts fell off of him and paint scratches :/ bummed me out for the price.

 

ShowZ shipped this fast and the shipping appears to be moving fast. This would make me go with ShowZ over TF Direct otherwise both just as good.

 

Has any other info popped up confirming this other than a Taobao preorder? Unless that preorder is direct from the company/factory that's gonna make it. I think a thread will be made when it's more concrete.

 

I got shipping notification a few days ago. I wonder if it’s shipping from overseas and if so how long it will take.

 

I swear we are ordering the identical everything. This must be 10/10 on same exact purchases this summer. You must have good taste. Only explanation

 

I am sure the KO mp-52 will fix certain "well known" issues but if it doesn't up its scale just a wee bit, I won't bother.

 

Alright, I threw in an order. I really hope this is the one and I can finally have an MP Starscream in the collection.

 

Same. I was really hoping for it to be unpainted just like TE-01. I'd have MP-52 on my display and DS as my bot to fiddle with.

I got scratches on the forearms and shoulders on mine. Kinda bummed out but it feels a lot better than MP-44's paint. The yellow scratched off like a lotto scratch and win on mine ahaha

 

Uh... if you're in North America, then yes.

 

Lol, great minds think alike!  

 

oh yes, Yun Express absolutely rules - 9 to 11 days before I get my item (central EU) when China Post/e-packed used to take 1-2 months sometimes  

 

One more thing, the head looks disproportionally bigger than the body.

In contrast, DS-01 looks perfect. Well, I'll tell better when I have it on my hands.

And I thought Meteor was as toon as it could be. (Though its head is too small and face too dark.)

I'm tempted to finally complete the trio, but still probably not.  

 

I have no worries about paint scratching.

I go Gundam model kit on such things. Did that for MP-Megatron. No issues.

Matte spray.