I have the same issues on mine for both shoulder attachments.

 

The piston on mine has some uneven and rather thick paint and a grey base color is showing through on one side. Note that much of a problem for me (after all, it is a construction vehicle), just wanted to note this.
Other than that, the right front wheel is a bit loose on the axle (I have to see if I can press in the pin a bit more), and the assembly to which the wheel is attached is a quite loose, when not in the final robot mode or truck mode position (so also not an issue, just different from the other side).

Other than the he seems to be pretty sturdy so far, but I only transformed him once from crane truck to robot.

 

Got a reply from NY:

 

Man, people are getting this delivered and Anime-Export are so slow on this release. Still haven't heard back from them after I ordered shipping on friday.

 

I got my shipping quote for Grapple and Cheetor just an hour ago from AE, after also having requested shipping on Friday. I guess most online retailers were swamped by shipping requests due to both Cheetor and Grapple dropping, and I don't think many companies have the personel to ensure regular service when popular items are released. I understand completely, and don't really mind: I requested SAL shipping as usual, so the wait time is all part and parcel. Still, I miss the days when a lot of people still thought their only option for Japanese releases was either TFSource or BBTS, and shipments from Japan went through without any delay.

I however was also able to get my Grapple from Amazon.co.jp yesterday, which was a major surprise, having him in hand a mere two days after official release date, and he was more anticipated by me than Cheetor. As expected, I LOVE this figure: he's even better than Inferno, who I also still count among my current top five MP's. I've only transformed him from crane truck to robot and back once, but he looks great in both modes, and it'll be hard to choose his 'display mode', although I currently have Inferno in 'bot mode, so Grapple 'll probably be displayed in alt mode. No QC faults (actually, my box was double taped, so he'd been inspected): arms close up properly, no painty blemishes, strong joints (except for the arms, which I agree could have done with tighter shoulders).

 

I got the payment request for shipping now as well. I Guess you are right about them being swamped this particular moment in time. Amazing how fast Amazon Japan is though. Congrats on Grapple and I have to say he looks amazing in photos, so my impatience is partially due to how much I anticipate this release  

 

Anime Export are getting slower and slower. I can imagine Amazon Japan are going to be seeing a huge influx of orders for MP-39.

 

That is assuming they allow customers who are not Japanese residents to pre-order it.

The upcoming MP (MP-37, 38) and LG (LG-42) figures are not Amazon Global Eligible and cannot be shipped outside Japan.

 

Yup, I've noticed that too.  

It hasn't bothered me yet as I don't want mp-37 or 38, but ordering from Amazon JP has been nice.

 

No, I have the same issues:

 

Yup, I'm not sure Amazon.co.jp is actually continuing to offer this service for toys / figures, considering they haven't offered it on MP-37 and MP-38 or any other TF figures. Perhaps Amazon.co.uk ended up a little taken aback with the huge influx of orders from outside Japan (considering how many people in this topic and the Cheetor topic mention they've gotten their figures from Amazon.co.jp this time around), and the extra administration and paperwork to ship these internationally was too expensive to make further offering of international shipping on these figures economically viable.

 

Sadly, the trend seems to suggest so.

TakaraTomy's first wave of TLK figures are also not eligible for overseas shipping.

 

Finally, we agree on something! Law of averages, eh!?

 

Looks like Grapple is waiting for me at home;



   

 

DAMN! This guy is SO ORANGE he makes MP Bumble look yellow.

He's SO BRIGHT I'm convinced that at night he's going to glow in the dark.

Very happy with him so far!

 

Nope, same here.

I tried to thicken the friction points with some polish, to no avail though.

Afterwards, I just stripped off all the polish and accepted this is how it is. It's one of those things where, it's not an issue, unless I make it one. In other words, the arms won't flop down and around unless I purposely pull them like that. So I'm ok with it.

Same with the back piece of the head that clamps down and holds the backpack in place, that pops up too after some figure manipulation. Again, no a huge issue, but noteworthy.

 

I've noticed a trend with recent MPs where their paint colours are super iridescent; Ironhide, Hot Rod and Inferno almost glow in the dark they're so bright. I think that's part of the shift to the toon accurate look. It's all about bright colours that pop.

My Grapple should arrive tonight, but I can already tell from photos that he is BRIGHT.

 

Anyone else having problems getting the Solar Power Tower to attach to his wrist?
I can't fit it in.

 

Just push; it's a tight fit.

Make sure the hand isn't angled up/down/left/right too...it'll make the slot more difficult to reach.

 

anyone know when Toydojo is getting tis in stock, seems like every other site but them has it in

 

I've heard that because of the simultaneous release of 2 MPs, there's been a shortage of both Grapple and Cheetor. Some retailers only get Grapple and others Cheetor. This is true by the way for both Japan and NA.