Played with the Titan Returns Headmasters with my kids a bit and it got me nostalgic for the old days, especially when arms and legs started popping off. On the bright side they pop right back on, now. We weren't so lucky back in the day. I was curious if anyone else ran into the same breakage patterns that I did as a kid. - I never remember having Jetfire's gun clip, I am pretty sure it got thrown away with the packaging at Christmas. I know they were so rare someone was selling Shapeways replicas not too long ago. - Grimlock's dinosaur head came off. It didn't hinder transformation, I would just pop it off and set it aside while he was in robot mode. - Optimus Prime's gun split in half. That one was kind of a bummer, especially since Prime's weapon is so iconic. - Broken null-rays on seekers. My Thundercracker had the cluster bombs in bot mode due to one of the null rays splitting in half. - Metroplex's wasp-waist. That one was an annoying one. Such a teeny joint for such a big toy. - The forehead panels on my Headmasters got wobbly, so I'd put Scotch tape on there to keep the face up when they were in bot mode. That's pretty much all I can think of - I usually took pretty good care of my stuff. Anyone else?
Ops gun is fine. Ummm, missiles snapping in half sometimes Oh, jazz's wheel shoulders broke. Umm, rubber tires broke. That's about it I think.
My childhood Sinnertwin's combiner peg/head snapped--it's a design flaw where the gap in the chest where the head swings down is too narrow. I've since acquired an intact one and he will never, ever be put in arm mode.
Prowl's roof was fragile. I had it break on me about two minutes after getting him out of his box on my sixth birthday. I vividly remember it being MB branded too (I'm in the UK). I think they're something of a rarity now. MP Prowl doesn't have this problem fortunately
- OP's gun broke in half; i super glued it back together, looks great - OP's trailer ramp pivot; this was rough play on my part when he ran off a cliff. it still rested in place though. - early OP's legs' pivots came off. happened to a buddy's in January '85 while i played with his OP; he wasn't mad, and flipped the chrome leg part out and went "it's a knife!!!" this now explains a lot. - Seeker null rays broke; i got Skywarp for xmas in 1985, shortly thereafter he was armed with half a nullray and a cluster bomb - windshield/roof assembly and rear windows for Jazz and Bluestreak (didn't have Prowl or Smokescreen as a kid but i've seen lots of them with the same issues) - Wheeljack's windshield/roof easily damaged by falling/being in toy bin - 87 Targetmaster guns pivots broke; thankfully i never lost Caliburst's parts and they rested in place - Bumblee's head broke off; i taped it back on - Rumble and Frenzy's head and leg joint popped out; i rebuilt my RED RUMBLE with Frenzy salvaged Frenzy parts (i think from the extra with Ratbat) - Ratbat's ears fell out and disappeared (one of them on mine, at least) - my Galvaton's arm didn't survive a fall test on concrete, but it fit with his crazy persona so i pretended the Autobots captured it as a trophy he was determined to retrieve - Sparkabots had brittle plastic/joints somehow my Jetfire clip survived. probably because i got him for xmas in 1988 after finding a shelfwarmer and begging the parents -
My first OP had one of the arms snap off at the shoulder joint. And his trailer had one of the long pins fall out Bumblebee's head broke off Jazz broken roof Swoop broken beak My first Omega Supreme had the barrel snap off of the turret
Had the G2 Blue version, and the dino head popped off every damn time I transformed him. Which got especially tiring since I didn't care for the robot mode all that much and would immediately turn him back into a T. rex...
While I didn't grow up with G1, I did have the Doublecross figure not long after Beast Wars ended. Some point in 2005 the left dragon leg just broke off from the body. Just was transforming it from robot mode and off it went. Still have it, just now the leg has been super glued into place for eleven years.
- How loose limbs can become, with no real means of properly fixing it. - How one of Optimus Prime's legs would lock up, which would lead to it breaking off if one is not careful/prepared. - How easy it is to lose parts, wear out chrome, and be afraid to transform it because it is XX years old.
Let's see... Prowl's roof and rear windows broke off (I seem to recall unwelcome visitors stepping on him "accidentally" while in my room, however) One of Prowl's missile launchers was mauled by a bored dog, now deceased (unrelated) One of Starscream's tail fins broke off I think Optimus's arm came off once but my dad was able to get it back on (go Dad!) One of the holes that Optimus's trailer door pegged into broke, so I had to leave the door closed all the time Both Caliburst and Blowpipe suffered cracked pivots, but they didn't break all the way off One of the tiny plastic pieces that held Bumblebee's head in place broke off One day my Skids wouldn't hold together in car mode, so I'm pretty sure some important tabs broke off Proud to say my Mirage's waist is still intact!
i still have my original astrotrain I got for Christmas in 85. I don't know how many times I have had to put something on the legs to thicken them so they wouldn't collapse in robot mode. the arms gave me problems too till I finally took them apart and thickened the ball joint. slags hip joints I have had to work on several times too because they become floppy and wont stay slid apart.
Like others, I had Smokescreen and his windshield snapped off behind the head, so it would look just fine in alt mode and be removed for robot mode. My Tracks broke at the arm. My dad superglued it back together, but it was never the same. Such a weak design, so many thin pieces of plastic holding a stress bearing tiny pin, that thing was doomed to break in the hands of kid who transformed it often. My Grimlock had the pin weaken on his tail, so that instead of both halves being on the legs, one would have both. Optimus took a tumble on the first day I had him (my birthday) and both smokestacks broke off, but my grandfather soldered them back on, leaving them discolored. (Which I liked, because they looked like real truck smokestacks colored with age), but some time later, the door to the trailer wore out, so it was either clicked closed, or laying out. Drag Strip lost his head in a port. So my Menasor would have "guest" limbs from time to time. This didn't happen until I moved and had stopped playing with TFs, (and was out of them for many years) but at some point in storage, Metroplex snapped at the waist.
Yep - my original (rubber wheel) Metroplex's waist snapped. That was a very sad day for me... Then 2 decades later eBay came along - I bought a plastic wheeled junker and repaired it. Surprisingly, there was actually a tiny internal retool for the later plastic wheeled version that reinforced the waist swivel and it's completely compatible with the previous mold, so the issue wasn't unknown to them! I was pretty nice to my TFs, I think this was the only breakage I had. My Gobots on the other hand ended up disintegrating - so many bits fell off them!
Mirage's spoiler-feet snapped off. So did the tiny pegs for Wheeljack's wings. The head of Camshaft (silver Omnibot) was very loose and floppy, and eventually wouldn't stay in place at all. On Prime's trailer, the lever to launch Roller snapped off. Slag's lower jaw/chestplate was loose, making him a slack-jawed triceratops. Hot Rod's back/spoiler piece snapped off and was impossible to repair. Powermaster Prime's trailer hitch peg broke off inside the connecting piece.
I remember breaking quite a few g1 transformers as a kid. Optimus' arm came off. Trail breaker broke at the waist. One of the connectors on Long Haul or Scavenger broke, I forget which? Shockwave's laser arm.
I took extremely good care of my G1's as a kid and there were still breakages. Had to replace Starscream because of a broke off cockpit,Prowl's roof broke off also and he also got replaced, Prime's gun broke in half and was glued together, stickers were fadded on everything before 1987. Only bad thing that has happened in the last 16 years is my diaclone Mirage recently broke in half while in storage.
I'm not sure its the chest gap that is too tight, it is tight but it might be the actual joint mechanism which is one of those 'pseudo ratchet' friction joints, I'm willing to get a junker and replace the head on mine but shave a very small amount from the mechanism to make an easier job swinging the head down.
Best thing in G1: ratchet joints, figure dependent can last for decades. Worst thing in G1: Rivet joints, can get loose fast. Screw joints somewhere between! Can be tightened.
