I had used Kiki 4 or 5 times on Starscream's ankle joints and it ain't working. I switched back to Future for a coat last night and you are correct, it seemed to go into the joints much better. Unfortunately I have not had a chance to check the results yet today so this post is useless.   I will report back later.

 

for those interested in using Vallejo for those ankle joints: Customs: - How to tight articulations on a figure

I think I'm going to let mine dry/cure for the 2 days recommended in the guide. See what happens! So far really great results even after just an hour or 2. (sorry in advance if this seems like spam, just trying to help those with similar issues and looking to alternative solutions)

 

I went to check on mine to see how it looks rotated around.
By the shape (rounded top) i would say tha the both halfs have half of the tube where the pin is lodge.



Maybe the hole is is too wide and the pin fits a bit loosely that it should. If that's the case, i guess you could use the floor polish method on both holes, a try to insert the same pin. If that doesn't work, you would have to get a longer one and cut a tiny bit longer than the original.

 

Reading through this thread as well as on other sites, if Hound was Takara's "Nuclear Armageddon" of QC issues than Starscream is their QC "Russian Roulette".

 

my copy's ankles are not broken, yet one is looser than the other. I inspected them after a member reported cracks on theirs.

 

I'm pretty shocked that the ankle is holding him up. My crack is so small you can't even see it without twisting the foot to the side and my foot was flopping with zero resistance.

 

@Jarrod this is the first I’m hearing about this Kiki’s stuff but sounds like I should stick with Future.

Ha! Says the guy who’s broken down & reassembled every single MP. Btw looking forward to a parts count comparison between 52 & 11!

 

Wow. Lots of cognitive dissonance going on in this thread.

Half the posts are asking about loose joints or broken parts.

The other half of the posts are discussing how the negative reviews are obviously biased.

Quite the little juxtaposition, huh?

 

Not sure what type of math you're using, but "half"???

557 pages of discussion in this thread as of this posting.

Srsly?


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Hole looks deformed and possibly threadstripped.

Maybe some type of filler can help?

 

I'll give that a go. Thanks for checking

 

Since the figure came out nearly half of the posts have been negative. That isn't nearly 557 pages. Good job being pedantic, but you aren't fooling anyone with that sad, sad cope. Lmao!

 

I'm actually pretty shocked that some of you haven't used Future or Kiki yet. I guess that means no 80 weight shock oil for super tight joints either? I must have terrible luck because almost every figure I buy needs one of those. I also have a hobby knife for cutting off extra flashing, crazy glue for cracks and some other stuff. I have a whole kit to fix figures and it is VERY rare for me to get a figure in the mail and not have to do anything to it. MP Arcee and my Bandai DX Macross figures are my only recent figures that I had to do nothing with. Most of the time I don't even consider loose or tight joints as a QC flaw. It's just the nature of plastic part molding tolerances. But most of the time the joints are just a little too loose or tight. It's not that big a deal. With some figures, the ankles are so loose the figure won't stand on the shelf and that's when I will complain about it because not being to stand at all is unacceptable. Unfortunately Starscream is one of those figures. I still have hope of fixing it so I'm still trying, but I'm planning to let TT know that this ain't cool. Especially because I'm pretty sure Thundercracker is being assembled this month. I'm not sure how to complain to TT so I'll most likely just write an Amazon Japan review or something similar.

And to add insult to injury, the included stand won't hold him up either even though it's YUGE......  

 

"cope"???

I don't think it means what you think it means.

But seriously.

Is there any news you can contribute to this thread about the actual figure, whether negative or positive? Like does your MP-52 have a crack somewhere or totally no issues or what?

Otherwise, you're just contributing noise.

 

Let’s keep discussion about MP-52 and not about the reviewers who reviewed it.

 

What are you contributing here, exactly? Seems like noisey coping and nothing more!

 

Good to know. I haven tried it yet, since, until Starscream's ankle, Kiki's has been perfect for everything. I'll most likely pick some up at some point though, I like to have any and all options for tightening at my disposal!

Awesome!

In this instance, sounds like right move. But, for everything else, I will simply not go back. I used, and swore by, Future for years as well, probably more than a decade. I found Kiki's to be vastly more effective , and fixed joints that Future was wholly ineffective on.

 

OK.



I'll ask, how is your copy?

Is it complete trash? (as in XTB's Locke)

Does it have serious problems? (as in FT's Forager)

Minimal ones? (as in FT's Quietus)

Perfect? (like mine?)

 

I’m actually looking into buying those and Vallejo paint reducer to have on hand. I have this high viscosity super glue made by Loctite(note to all, do NOT use their threadlocker on screws in plastic as the fumes will eventually disintegrate the plastic!) and managed to glue a magnet to ABS and it won’t come off. Might try to use just a drop of it as a gap filler on my MP-52. Since it’s high viscosity and thick, it’s somewhat malleable when applied and doesn’t seep as much as regular super glue. So I think careful application of it might work as a gap filler for the cracks.

 

Probably best to have both in your "toolbox". Future also acts as an acrylic coat which is why I still have chrome on my Vanettes and Hot Rod, but enough future will start to yellow. KIKI is best to where you can actually get too it. I went to town on my Mospeda Riobot because it was a floppy mess after one transformation and sitting on the stand for 3 months.

 

I have a small paint scrap on the inside of the left knee as well as at the top of the right leg. Doesn't detract from the figure though.