King Kongscream?  

 

Check that stress mark with folks like @BrutiKing who've got the ankle rivet issue. Pretty sure that's the post that's affected?

 

Did anyone else order from Hobby Search? I got an email saying the item arrived, but Starscream wasn't listed, it was some other figure and it asked me to select a shipping method even though I had selected one when I originally checked out. The order number is the same, but I'm just confused. Is anyone else having this issue?

Order No.: #21-0605-1113
> Product Name: `The Kotobuki Squadron in the Wilderness` Hiryu `Air Pirate the 301st Guard Affiliation Machine Ver.`
> `The Kotobuki Squadron in the Wilderness` A6M5 Zero Fighter Type 52 Air Pirate the 301st Guard Affiliation Machine Ver.

 

Yeah guys, we shouldn't be upset our figures arrived damaged from the factory. We can't expect perfection.

 

Yes!

 

Which Ann Darrow is that? NECA, Mezco, or (heres going back aways) MacFarlane?

 

Good to see you back with some awesome shots. Is that a Beasts of the Mesozoic raptor on the back shelf?

It's great how his Null-ray is actually pointing right at Meagtron's head compared to pointing past Prime on his side.

So much action in this one.

I've gone back and forth between modes on mine a few times and the knee extension/flip is really loud on mine too. I haven't watched any videos, so I'm not sure what the baseline is, but it sounds pretty loud to me.

Anyone have tips on getting the middle panel flat when going to jet mode (the one the forms the butt flap)? The multiple hinges makes it feel like it's never really in place.

 

my copy’s stress mark looks exactly like yours, on the same foot.

 

Just arrived!

Love that he's in alt mode. Having fun swooshing around my house. I'll give him a transformation shortly.

Happy to report all areas of discussion seem fine. Guess it really is just a game of Toy Russian Roulette?

 

You often mention 2017 as the point when MPs started to get more quality problems, but for me it was actually worse before that. My MP-11 Starscream was missing a part entirely on one arm and thankfully the store I bought it from at the time was able to send me a replacement arm. I also have a Soundblaster with two of the same thighs which I was not able to get parts for so it’s in alt mode forever. And I had issues out of the box with Prowl, Tracks, Ironhide, Ratchet, Hot Rod, Ramjet, Thrust, Primal, Cheetor and Grapple. I’m not sure but I thought all those figures were from 2017 or earlier? Since then I had a few issues with Megatron and the Hound fiasco but that’s it for me until Starscream V2. So from my experience things have gotten much better since 2017. I had so many issues with Fans Toys products I quit buying them. I recently broke my no KO rule and bought the Hound KO. Mostly out of curiosity and to keep a Hound on my shelf until the real deal gets reissued. The KO cost me $80 CAD and has quite a few problems. All the joints are super loose. Especially the ankles. And there are paint flaws everywhere. I also got two of the same face. It’s nowhere near the typical quality level of TT. I realize that for some reason the MPMs seem to get superior KOs but I think that’s an exception.

Anyway that’s why I have a toy repair tool kit and my opinion is that there will always be QC issues. Most of them I can ignore or fix. The bad ones like Hound I’ll try to get a refund on. I’ve had very good luck with my Bandai Macross DX figures but a lot of people seem to have quality issues with them as well and they cost a lot more.

I applied another coat of joint tightener to Starscream this morning. Hopefully that starts to work at some point because I really don’t want to pop those ankle rivets out. It’s an amazing figure and it’s a real shame that the ankles are causing some people grief as well as the duplicate faces. I think the problem with the faces is that when you have so many options and some look very similar the rushed factory workers don’t catch the mistake. I have two copies of Megatron and I’m pretty sure one of them has duplicate faces.

 

You know who I didn't have any QC issues with? MP-01. That's fucking who.

Been downhill ever since.

 

For me the first time going back to jet mode was a giant pain because of that middle section. But once I finally realized that you need to plug tabs on the parts the main wings are attached to into the slots on the blue arm parts, as well as tabbing the backs of the thighs into those same parts, it makes the whole top of the jet much flatter and helps to keep that middle section flat and in place as well.

 

You learn something new everyday, buddy!  

Interestingly enough it was delivered by the Royal Mail and not Parcel force which it's usually delivered by..at least to my end and there were no customs charges on mine, something to celebrate.

 

I had that issue. (Posted about it a couple of pages back)
They were tabbing in, but not as deep as they should and that was making the shoulders intakes to pop everytime i touch them.

I ended up using a piece of fine grit sandpaper on the upper part of both the tab and the slot. I did it lightly and tested the fit every now and then just to make sure i didn't took too much plastic. Now they fit perfectly!

If you need i can upload some photos with the places where I sanded marked.

 

the key to jet mode is making sure you have both the bottom and top tabs of the arms tabbed in. If you don’t you’re going to struggle trying to force things in to place

 

How do you manage to do it (and where do you put it)?
I bought a small bottle of Vallejo just for that. It comes with a pipette, but I am not sure how to actually apply it. I could put a droplet of the liquid on the head of the rivet, but how would it soak into the hole?

 

No factory will be able to work in grand scale amid covid unless you expect some dead people in factory

 

Yes I was assuming he knew about the bottom arm tabs. On my copy those arm tabs don’t actually hold. So I just place the arms in the right place with the tabs in the slots. But it can be annoying because the arms tend to move when you’re working on something else.

 

I've come to the stage that I'm actually dreading this release.  

 

I did put some joint tightener around the rivet head and then rotated the joint to try and work it inside. My rivet head no longer rotates with the foot. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. The main place to put the liquid is along the seam between the ankle and the leg where the rotation for the ankle happens. There are a few posts in this thread that do a better job describing it. I usually put the liquid along the gap between the parts that move. On this figure that gap isn’t a gap at all. It’s very tight. After you put the liquid on the joint gap, rotate the foot for a while to work the fluid into the gap. Then let it sit and harden. With Kiki they tell you to move the joint once in a while until it cures to stop it from bonding the two parts together. They say to move the joint at maximum 24 hours after application to avoid issues. I usually rotate the joint 5-8 hours after application just to make sure it’s not stuck. Then I let it sit until the next day. I hope that helps!