Dude, I've seen so many of those posts that I think he somehow has a subconscious ability to choose the worst specimen of a given toy available in the world.

He's just got anti-luck following him into the stores.

 

If they know it's you, you'll probably get ignored since you usually complain about something in most of your posts.

 

I agree completely.

My son has one of the Titan Primes as well as the non-transforming rescue bots, but to him they do Transform he lays them down flat and drives them around on the carpet. He does this even though he has transforming figures of those same characters.

 

If there is a Q&A I hope no one asks about QC, it'll just make things awkward. Instead go to the Hasbro booth and talk to them there. They'll talk to you for quite a while and some times will say things they probably shouldn't.

 

Regardless of question, you'll get a stock answer. They know how to play Q & A sessions.

 

In the last year. Yes, 80% of the Hasbro stuff I purchased had QC issues that I needed to fix.

Whether you believe it or not, I really don't care. I have no reason to lie about it.

In the thread about these QC issues, I actually wrote the figures I bought last year and the issues I faced with each.

Just off the top of my head:
- Blitzwing, none attaching shoulders, like everyone else.
- Metroplex, floppy joints, Due to poor springs.
- Sandstorm, was misassmebled and the landing gear was behind the head, causing the figure not to transform. I had to take it apart to just transform it.
- Skids, misassembled legs.
- Rhinox, had to use floor polish to strengthen his joints, almost everywhere.
- Trailcutter and Hoist, shoulders did not tab in

I literally forget all the Hasbro figures I bought, but I recall thinking, wow, look at that Waspinator is good. No issues here. Him and Whirl are the two recent purchases I recall with no issues.

BTW, I just got Swerve and Cosmos. Swerve is good.

Cosmos legs keep falling off when moving, and his paint is chipping and coming off already.

This is not even counting my sons figures that are now limp as all hell from him playing with them. They need to be dipped in future to not remain floppy.

BTW, people can say I bitch, but I don't appreciate being called a liar.

Maybe if so many figures didn't come messed up, then maybe I wouldn't have much to complain about.

Speaking of which, I don't complain when something doesn't have landing gears, or when a color is wrong. I think I can find a good 1000 posts on complaints on those things, by the same members, but those complaints are okay and relevant. Any way, I digress.

My complaints are simple:
- Price
- QC once a figure is bought

Probably item B leading to frustration after overpaying (item A) for what I got.

 

Not trying to be a pain, just honestly curious: have you considered quitting the current lines/collecting something different? Love of Transformers or no, I'd be seriously inclined to spend my money elsewhere if I'd had all the problems you seem to have encountered for the past while.

 

Just be sure to specify the issues. Examples are good. Simply saying the "quality control has sucked" doesn't mean anything especially with fans like you that use "QC" as a catch all for EVERYTHING.

Misassembly is a legitimate Quality control issue that should be addressed, but some issues, like Trailcutter/Hoist's tabs and Blitzwing's shoulders fall into the realm of flawed engineering, which while they should be addressed, really isn't something Hasbro can do much about once the figures reach production.

Frankly, a bunch of fans going up with written lists (PHYSICAL LISTS) detailing their QC issues in detail is going to have a MUCH larger impact than one fan wasting a Q&A slot to basically bitch that the toys Hasbro makes for kids aren't up to his collector standards (which is basically what your statement amounts to).

You mean aside from the fact Whirl has a wacky knee joint that was poorly designed and is apt to break even when you transform him?
Who thought Whirl's knees were a good idea? - Transformers Discussion - The Allspark Forums
(That and stickers, which suck, IMO)

Your son probably wouldn't care if his figures were floppy if you weren't so anal-retentive about it. The sad reality is that the "floppiness (itself a VERY subjective subject)" is a result of the articulation collectors insist on having, and ultimately, ALL toys will become floppy due to wear and tear (like, I don't know, kids playing with the toy or something)

 

I'm sure the audience mic will be thoroughly rage-spittle and cheeto-bits covered by the end of the hour.

 

<-- dying here laughing. For real. That was good.

 

Oh look. Somebody else who thinks ALL kids like the same stuff. Um....THEY DON'T!!!

And, in all honesty, Hasbro shouldn't give a shit about the collectors at all. But for some reason they do, otherwise Generations and Platinum Edition stuff wouldn't exist.
Judging by what I've seen, a lot of fans just complain left and right about almost everything Hasbro puts out and claim they're going over to Takara and 3rd parties only. It makes me ask "why are you still here then?". The people who keep complaining need to find a new hobby, because this one clearly isn't satisfying them anymore.

Makes me wonder why Hasbro even bothers trying. I'm glad they're trying, which is why I don't complain about every single thing they do.
But if the majority of people are gonna complain about something either way, why bother to try and please them?

 

Yes. Because we're the jerks because we want to get our money's worth for what we pay as opposed to some of the crap they've been spitting out recently. Yes. We are /SO FUCKING ENTITLED/ because we want quality products for the money we spend. Yes. That is the issue here. Yeah. Yeah. We're entitled alright, by wanting more for spending the money that we earn, on the stuff that we love. But we're entitled. Sure. Right.

 

Sarcasm noted. But it does seem that way at times.
All I'm saying is that collectors should just be glad Hasbro is even bothering to try to please them.

 

I wonder about the loseness in the joints, and if that would be normal and acceptable.

I mean I recently got into the 25th Ann GI Joes, played with them for a bit. Didn't seem like there is loseness there. But yet again, I am pretty new to them.

But I am not sure if me being anal rubs off, it's not like I tell him oh, this is lose. What it may be is that he sees me pose my figures and he wants to do the same, but he can't and he comes to me and asks why the arm can't stay up.

Come to think of it, he plays with his turtle toys just as much as his transformers, but the Turtles are still tight and posable.

Also, I know about Whirl, yes, he is prone to breakage as well.

But that is kind of what I am saying, you can see quality issues on all their stuff recently.

 

They don't really seem to be doing that all that much though with the continued downward trend of the quality of the product and the continued rise of the price. You should be glad that collectors are complaining about this stuff, because if noone did? You'd be ending up with more "Platinum Edition Silver" Optimus Primes. Something with barely any paint that costs fifty dollars.

As fans, maybe at times we do feel a bit entitled, but the disconnect that people seem to have, and don't seem to grasp is the simple fact that we are asking more for the money that we spend, and it's not really more. It's what we had two, three years ago. Which are are not getting by and large. Sure there are some gems out there, but by and large the stuff we've been getting with some toys has not been what we have been taught to expect over the years, and the very concerning this, is that with the movie launch, we are being taught to expect /EVEN LESS/ which is a bad thing. Remember the years of Action masters and that void of TF stuff.

We could well be approaching that. Look at the quality of the products we've been getting and what the major focus is. Previous movies had the "Generations Line" as the main focus for toys and everyone was happy. Now? Generations seem to be more of a side line with Power Battler and Titaniums that don't transform and lack paint apps, clogging the line. Stuff that costs them /LESS/ as a company. Which is a purposeful move on their part, simply because they want to make more money and pass the buck onto the consumer.

As fans who spend the money we earn on the hobby we love, the story we grew up with and cherish, and a line of toys we continue to support, we do get a say in things. We do have a right to complain if we see something running afoul, because if we don't? History has taught if you give a person an inch, they'll take a mile. So to that end, we should fight for the products we want, because by doing so, we're enriching a brand and making it better. Not worse. Because we /care./

 

I see what you're saying, but you have to realize that all of Hasbro's items, be them collector oriented or not, also have to appeal to kids.
If you want figures that are made for collectors only with no children appeal in mind, then you go with Masterpiece items.
Even Takara's variants of standard figures, while more collector focused, are also made to appeal to kids in Japan as well.

And according to this article:
Autobots Assembled: How Transformers Come to Life
Hasbro determines which products are fit for release by having a group of kids play with their products to see if they enjoy them. That's why stuff like the Titans and the Power Battlers are "clogging the line" as you say.

With the exception of Masterpieces, none of the toys both companies produce will be one side only.

Now, I'll agree that stuff like the recent Silver Knight Optimus is not worth the Platinum price point, but there are ways to spend what you feel it is worth. I feel it's only worth about $35, and I know something will come up where I'll only have to pay $35 for it. Who knows, maybe TRU will mark it down to that price for this year's Cyber Monday sale in November like they did with Ultra Magnus last year. That's when I bought him.

And no, I don't remember the years of Action Masters, cuz I grew up in the 90s with Beast Wars.

 

Keeping in mind that "Silver Optimus" is apparently a thing in the movie, a lot of the fancy metallic paint doesn't always photograph well especially in package.
(Voyager Grimlock actually looked better to me in store than it did with online images)

Dude, EVERY ACTION FIGURE LINE ON THE MARKET IS MORE EXPENSIVE. You ARE sounding like an entitled brat when you complain about spending more for what we're getting, so is EVERYONE ELSE. A 4" super-articulated Action figure is $10 average, a super articulated 6" figure is $20. Three or four years ago, those 6" figures were only $15, while the 4" figures were $7-8.
Prices have gone up, deal with it, NOBODY is twisting your arm forcing you to buy these TOYS.

You mean like every company ever?
For what it is worth, Generations-styled product still represents more than half the entire product output of the brand right now (and they don't even make "Titaniums" anymore)

NO, WE DON'T. UNLESS YOU OWN HASBRO STOCK, HASBRO DOES NOT "OWE" US ANYTHING FOR BUYING THEIR PRODUCTS. HASBRO IS A FOR PROFIT COMPANY OWNED BY SHAREHOLDERS, THEY ARE IN NO WAY BEHOLDEN TO COLLECTORS.

Ruined FOREVER - Transformers Wiki

If you don't like what Hasbro is doing, the loudest voice you can speak with is your dollars. Don't buy their product if you don't like or don't feel you are receiving just value for it.

For a quick history lesson, here's unicron.com pages from 10 and 15 years ago:
10 years ago, Energon (riding the high success of Armada), and really count how much of that was aimed to collectors (a half dozen Alternators figures, along with a bunch of homages in the core line)
2004 - Unicron.com Transformers Collector Site
15? The tail end of Beast Wars
1999 - Unicron.com Transformers Collector Site

So I feel QUITE justified in calling rants like the above the whining of spoiled fans.

 

All I know is, my son likes transforming his transformers, but that is it. He plays with his turtles figures more. Its not cause he watches Turtles more, because he watches TF more. It's cause the turtles don't fall over on their own. They don't flop all over the place. Parts don't fall off like they do on transformers.

Sorry, I wonder how many people that comment about these toys are for kids actually have kids?

 

I've got 3: ages 4, 12, and 14. The 4 year old loves the cyberverse ones and, strangely, T-Wrecks. The 12 year old loves all of them, from G1 to AOE.

 

And the 14 year old doesn't like any?