Funny you mentioned Light of Freedom. I was doing some comparisons earlier and yeah, aesthetically he goes really well with MS-01. I think it's the matte finish on both of them. Plus the fact that they both look not exactly cartoon accurate like the MP44 and 52, but just enough to also not be on a realistic side.



MP 36 Megs still goes well too I think. They absolutely nailed a balance between cartoon looks and detail on that imo, it just depends on the paintjob from different companies that will suit your fancy.

(And yes, glad to see a lot of fellas here also want more faces, he's called StarSCREAM for Pete's sake!   )

 

Sorry, that would help. It's at the hips. Looks like there are two screws on the back, but neither seem to increase tension.

 

I ordered mine thru @ShowZStore
I hope my copy is perfect and no QC issues. But if I’ve ever had an issue show.z did their best to fix it. I had gotten a LT02 Optimus Movie MP KO from them and the left chest portion was messed up and I got a new part in the mail. They’re an awesome store. Alliexpress is hit or miss but @ShowZStore has always been fair. That’s why I continue to get my TFs from there when in 100.00+ price range.

Maybe we’ll get more faces with the two repaints. However Starscream has a gray face while Thundercracker and Skywarp’s faces are much lighter..

 

I totally get that, and generally ShowZ is my go-to store, but at the moment I'm not willing to drop $140 on this guy. I was only going through TF-Direct because their 10% sale with the monthly coupon had this figure for $121.

Honestly, the only time I wasn't happy with the customer support outcome through ShowZ was when my Zeta Superitron showed up soaked through to the foam resulting in a ruined box and all they offered as compensation was $10 in points.

 

Well I’m sorry that’s all they were doing. Maybe they weren’t able to replace the box? IDK. But yea I paid 140 but broke it up into payments of 35.00 per 2 weeks with PayPal pay. Made it easier on my wallet.

 

thanks for everyones input. To many questions to quote…here we go.

1. The effects on the null rays….I didn’t make. They are beam sabers used with Gundam model kits. I just modify the peg at the end to fit the null rays.

2. Yes I made the TE-01 neck/chest

3. if folks are interested in these afterburner effects…I could make a small batch. Just PM me and I could put you on a wish list.

4. color was applied with a brush. I did a wet wash….mixed Acrylic paint diluted with water (half/half) and brushed on to maintain a clear color look.

thanks  

 

What if you use that weird outward upper thigh hinge? I think its intention is to allow for a slightly higher, outward leg bend.

 

Personally, I wouldn't accept that. If they can't do a replacement, then I'd ask to return it for a refund. The crushed box I could accept but I wouldn't be happy about it since it's such a nice box but that leg scratch is just too much. You're not gonna fix that unless you're an expert at matching paint and it's always going to be this huge ugly mark that'll be the first thing you see every time you look at the figure. It also means he has almost zero resale value of you ever decided to sell him later.

 

Pretty darn close! It’s actually not bad at all. Great pic too! Thanks!

 

Looks crazy under a black/uv light.

 

Wow! Giving me G2 colors!

 

Hoping to cure that paint a little more before transforming him, eh?

 

I will 100% buy G2 seekers.

 

Followed that "perfect transformation" video and it's not too bad. Really loving this figure.

 

TF Direct sucks. This has happened to me with them to many times with poor packaging and damaged figures. If you want the discount you can get way more than 10 bucks. Probably 50 off with that kind of damage. It's a beautiful piece and I would go with full Replacement, I would not accept a discount.

 

Speaking of TF direct, how long is the typical shipping time? I ordered mine on 9/5, but it's been stuck at Beijing customs since 9/6 and still showing no movement. Is there a shipping/ customs problem over there? My KO Hound sat in the custom for 3 weeks before it was finally sent out.

 

I believe I have seen 2 people who had both and chose 52. Probably couldn't find them again in the thread though, they are few and far between. I remember one of them specifically because they commented about how they were going against the crowd. Of course a lot of people who could be considered "likely" to choose 52 never spent the money on DS in the first place since 52 came out first and if they preferred 52 anyway it would be sunk money. Not everyone can afford to pick up a figure to compare in hand if they feel like they are likely to reject it.

 

Had to order new clear back stickers all I have left is white back stickers and I don't like it we I'll have to take them off when the new ones arrive, I ordered enough for thunder cracker and skyward when then they eventually arrive

 

They're the worst. It took me 3 months to get my MPM Jazz from them. I remember ordering from them and after half a month of no shipping notice I reached out to their support and they said that the product is now out of stock and that my order became a preorder for the next batch. ...would kind of been a nice thing to know lol. I checked the listing after and it was still indicating that it was in stock rather than a preorder. By that point TFsfari still had stock so I messaged TFdirect to cancel the "preorder" and they said they would. Over a month later I got shipping notice from TFdirect for some reason and when I messaged support about it they said that they apologized that they hadn't canceled the order as agreed, but that because they had shipped it, there was nothing they would do. After refreshing the tracking number regularly it finally showed some life over a week after the fact, which lead me to believe it wasn't actually shipped out when they said it was. In any case, it took nearly a month to get to the US. The box was mangled to hell and I can hear the rear view mirrors rattling around in the box. I can't even resell it now.

No idea on when you'll get your order, but I would suggest steering clear of them going forward.

 

Just noticed that the inner leg panels have some slight differences. The right side(facing me) seems to have some extra panel lines or mold lines. I saw this on some of the pics posted here as well. No big deal. Just noticed it while I was messing with it.