Huh, gotta say the alt mode size is actually looking better than I expected here. It may actually work reasonably well with existing carbots. Still not a fan of the undercarriage kibble and the other messy parts of it but it's growing on me.
The floating head does seem like a bone-headed move at first glance. These kinds of hinged armatures are notorious for failing to properly rest in a fully lowered position. Almost anytime I've come across a mechanism like this in any walk of life, you push it all the way down into position, release it and it pops back up just a couple of millimetres. I think that's what folks are concerned about.
Hopefully, Takara gets it right but given that it's going to need some pretty fine tolerances to stay down properly, (or a really firm hinge), it could go either way
The earlier poster who suggested a magnet was spot on. Wonder if that can be modded? Otherwise, I guess a small blob of blu-tack under the neck can hold the head down.

I still think this and probably BW Megatron are far-and-away the best of Takara's releases since MP-36. Honestly, since Ratchet I've really only been blown away by the two Megatrons and now this. Too many compromises to either alt or bot modes in everything else, or just repaints I have zero interest in.
Ironically, I still think that MP-18+ is one of the nicest looking bots they've shown in years. That new head is gorgeous.

 

Oh interesting. I knew the head was held there by an armature and that was hardly ideal but I'd not fully noticed the floating head thing until now. It certainly looks less obvious in some shots (a bit like his dislocating arms or Convoy Ver.3's backpack or NewBee's weird snow shoes) but it is there and to be honest a little disappointing. It doesn't make me feel better about not pre-ordering one. I'm gonna let you guys put it through it paces first and se how he holds up to proper scrutiny.

 

It could be an annoyance, but to be fair it could also be something that a little Blu Tack could sort (certainly for someone like me who's figures spend 90% of their time just on display). That's assuming the paint has a good key and won't be brought off easily.

Sure, it's not ideal but it is what it is.

 

That is exactly what I was saying. It will be interesting to see how it turns out in hand. If blu tack is required that's a failure by the design team ihmo, as would the need for any sort of fan modification in order to get it to sit right. I still think he looks great, I just wonder how this neck thing will work out once people start geting theirs.

 

The Floating head is necessary to make it possible to show an engine when you open the hood. You can’t stow a head there when you want to incorporate that feature. With that in mind, the head needs to store somewhere else so can’t be attached to the hood and needs an armature.

What they could have done is make the head tab in onto the hood, but then you would need to create a small hole in the hood or something.

 

Hmmmm QQ is a term used by my wife (oh and millions of other Asians too) to refer to the ideal texture of certain noodles and other foods. Soft but with just the right amount of chewiness or bite. Just the right amount of initial springy resistance that yields to a smooth chew. Hard to explain but you know when something is QQ!   I'm now imagining cooking up my transformers and finding them to be delightfully QQ - mmmmmmmm.

Yeah I tend to agree this is likely TT just pushing themselves to achieve more. Alternators quality alt modes but without the often goofy heavily compromised bot modes.

Is it only me that sees this unusual head connection as a total non-issue? I honestly could never see the fuss about it - it seems genuinely unnerving to some folk, as if they had in mind how unnatural that would be for us flesh creatures!   To me transformers are all about their anatomy splitting apart and reconfiguring, and it doesn't seem to bother them!

This is just a slightly unusual way to connect the head to me. The majority of figures have the head connected to some thin flap or tiny base piece that swivels into place - is this armature really conceptually much different to that? Only difference seems to be the actual connection point is the back of the neck rather than the base which just seems less natural in a human-centric sense, but why should it matter for a space robot?

What will suck is if there is a significant gap or the head is off centre or something, so I can understand the concern now looking at the current badly handled prototype on display, but I just don't see why this has been a point of contention from day one - like he looks for all intents and purposes like any other figure, then suddenly people parse the head connection engineering and have this irrational 'omg his head is severed' reaction! I have faith they'll get it sitting flush - shouldn't be hard at all to have the armature detented such that it has a natural position just below the hood, so it is flexed slightly with some constant pressure downwards when forced to sit on the hood.

 

With the floating head and price point I am waiting out to see how he is when people actually get their hands on him first. Normally I'd be all over this, but something is stopping me. The more I see, the more I am not sure - I mean, it looks great in some pics, then awful in others. I guess 'proof is in the pudding' as they say!

 

So in other words, parts forming

 

  Awesome, so anything I accidentally type is REAL!! I'll have to ask my wife's Asian side of the family about this, we could have been discussing QQ-ness all this time!

I'm totally with you, I was about to bring up Shockwave, Sunstreaker, Grapferno, all of whose heads slide and swing into place from other parts of their body. This is obviously a little different, but it's not THAT much different. Sure if there's a huge gap or it doesn't stay in place well, that's a problem, but I'm not sure why it's undesirable on a conceptual level.

 

It is slang to the MMO gaming community.

It goes like this, "Less QQ, and more pew pew!" or some variation of that. The capital's QQ represents a player's eyes crying, so when they complain/whine in the online game, other players tell them to "Quit Qrying" and became more productive, or in the middle of a battle, more "pew pew" (sounds of a gun firing).

You can find text emoji for that as well:
Q.Q
Q_Q

 

Wow so QQ works for when an MP is just perfect, but also for when people are complaining too much in an MP thread. It's perfect  

 

uH?

Maybe i'm a bit old, but IIRC parts forming was totally another thing in the old times, i.e. something you have to detach and reattach in another place...

annnd maybe my sight isn't as good as when i was young, but it doesn't seem to me that you have to detach poor hound's head from the engine compartment and reattach it over the bonnet ...

 

Haha, so it's still appropriate to this thread!  

 

QQ is something jerks in the business/IT world write totally unannounced as the beginning of a message because they cant be bothered to type "hello, may I ask you a quick question?". In my past life in business/IT these were the messages I would feel free to ignore.

 

Damn man, you're right!

Here's an amendment to my previous post.

You can find text emoji for that as well:
Q.Q
Q_Q

 

You ninja'd me so QQ there!

Alright well, this meaning is not valid because I don't it to be.   You must heed my messages that begin with QQ!

 

Hi, I’ve always been a huge transformers fan and have been following the boards here ever since mp-36 was announced and I figured it’s about time I actually participate! I’m 19 and have been collecting masterpiece figures for about 7 years—transformers in general for 14, and am super excited to get my hands on Hound especially. I look forward to being a part of the TFW community!

Also, forgive me if someone has mentioned it already, but it looks to me like Hound’s shoulder launcher can be placed on either side of his bot mode; there’s an identical slot on the left side of that armature across from the one that the launcher arm sits in. If so, it’s cool to have that option!

 

Welcome! Man, my 12 year old brain would have imploded at seeing, let alone owning, an MP! Great catch on Hound's armature, that would indeed be another cool option to have.

 

Welcome aboard!

 

The floating head doesn’t deter me, but it has me worried. It could be fine and a non-issue, or it could be a heavy annoyance depending on the connection.