LOL, this reminded me of my friend that took two days off from school to play Sonic 2. Gaming in the 90's you were either hardcore or casual and that told me I wasn't hardcore enough.

Man I'm old!

 

Yeah... I don't think anyone should feel bullied by the usual suspects here in not expressing concern about this design aspect. Let's not tiptoe around it: it IS concerning. A head that isn't even part of the body is already a bad idea, but it gets even more worrisome when you look at that hinge and see how very likely it will be to not have the consistent pressure it needs to stay flush. AKA this absolutely IS gonna be a problem for a great many people's copies. Looking at it again closer, it's even 'floating' a bit in the majority of the official pics.

Damn, this certainly quelled a lot of my previous excitement.

 

I remember getting the Japanese copy of Sonic 2 for Christmas. I knew exactly where it was hidden and at night I'd sneak downstairs, take it out of the wrapping play it and then put it back a few hours later.....

By Christmas morning I was bored if it and already gotten all the chaos emeralds and smashed it as Super Sonic.

Happy days. I loved my Megadrive....and MegaCD. And Saturn. And Dreamcast. Sega ftw.

Depending on your order history at TFS-Express they have a reward programme price of of £99.

Edit - regards the floating head. There's a clear hinge behind it, it just looks like they haven't pushed it down. Not concerned.

 

These prototypes are loose as fuck. Just watch the designer video with MP-45, or the designers trying to pose the prototype of MP-44 at that toy show. That’s why they make so many test shots, to tighten tolerances, and ensure everything works well.
Not saying QC issues can’t arise, but let’s not base things solely on a mistransformed toy show prototype.

If the tiny gap visible in the promo shots is too much, then cancel your pre-orders, because the kind of mm QC is probably hard to get perfect.

 

One showcase with a floating head Hound and everyone loses it haha. Last time Hound was shown off in-person, the head was pretty near flush with the bonnet. There's barely a cast of shadow underneath. Even official photos indicate it's pretty close. I do understand the concern over the hinge not being consistent through each individual copy though. Hopefully QC won't be an issue with this figure.

I'm not going to lose my head over it, clearly seems like a mistransformation as per usual with the TT reps at these shows often do. I also get it if people are upset that his head is on an armature rather than actually part of the body. Though we knew that a while ago already. It doesn't bother me, but if does bother others so much it warrants a PO cancellation, then that's unfortunate.

 

Yeah I agree. That was a badass gun

 

The shots on this page are an entirely different design. He looks good with a neck. He looks bad with the head snaking on from his backpack. And these being later shots, im concerned.

 

It’s not a different design, it’s mistransformed.

 

It doesnt look it at all. The new one has no neck, its held over the bonnet on a stalk.

 

It’s all about perspective  

Those shots above were strategically picked to obscure the “snake” while showing off the figure. And notice how many different angles there are where it’s not noticeable! When this thing is converted correctly, the armature and the head sit flush on the hood and nobody notices it. The designers made that thing as unnoticeable as possible so as not to detract from the figure.

This particular issue wouldn’t be an issue if Takara had given us a 360 degree video... 

 

Go back and look at the photos from Hound’s first reveal, the head has always been attached this way.

 

It does have a neck, but the neck doesn’t peg into the bonnet, it’s attached to the body via that armature.

It’s always been that way. Probably a requirement of Jeep, to allow the bonnet to open. The head actually does end up under the bonnet, via the armature.

I think for most of us this isn’t a dealbreaker, as long as it works properly on final copies - especially considering how kibble-free the rest of him is.

If it’s a dealbreaker for you then sorry to hear that. It’s been pretty visible since last July.

 

Ah well, i didnt notice, thanks for clearing it up gentlemen. Pre-order at 50/50 then. I'm appreciative of the corrections.

 

Qq to you also good sir.

 

You mean just like how Sunstreaker was SURE going to be a huge gappy mess because of that one magazine article? Or how BW Megatron was for sure gonna have balance issues because he was often shown with a stand? Or Blackarachnia's feet are definitely gonna be black? Or maybe purple?

I think it might be a little premature to jump to comclusions based on a single, hand painted, resin copy. Which isn't even consistent with previous displays.

I do agree it's an area of...I don't know if I'd even say concern...interest maybe? But definitely nothing to panic about at this early point.

 

I know that's a popular theory making the rounds, but fifteen years ago Jeep authorized Alternators Hound and he had a door in the bonnet that the head came up through. And the bonnet could still open, and the arms formed the engine like this one does.

 

Argument destroyed haha

 

Which is to say, you believe the customer base is shrinking rapidly.   So, with less customers, higher prices... which lead to less customers and higher prices.  

Maybe it's time to get out of the hobby.  

 

The head is far from a deal breaker for me. My preorder is still live. I just think that Takara need to bin off whoever's in charge of posing their figures at these events.

 

First time I ever pocket-posted!