@Hisbrawlers and I found some another issue for SS Shatter, the pin on knee joint (black piece) is the same piece position on the other side. WTF HASBRO?
Looking at mine, it doesn't look like a mistake. Some Gunpla kits reuse the same mold for symmetrical parts that don't have to be mirrored; I reckon the same was done here since a lot of black parts are identical on both sides, so one of the black plastic sprues probably had one side's parts they could produce twice for each figure, thereby saving money by making a smaller mold and actually reducing the risk of two left or right parts since they work as both sides.
So I think I've discovered the best mod for this figure once the model kit comes out. Granted it'll remove transformation but greatly improve aesthetics: Step 1: take the SS figure and remove the kibble. Step 2: build the model version except for the head Step 3: throw the SS figure in the trash Step 4: finish the mode kit by attaching the head There, a perfectly in-scale but sadly non-transforming Shatter using the best aspects of both figures.
Honestly I had really low expectations after seeing all the panels on her backside, I was even ready to say she was worse than Dropkick, but I do like her. I won't defend the almost Beast Hunters Smokescreen-tier infuriating transformation, the cluttered and restricted articulation, or even the backpack, but I do think she's salvageable if you have certain modding skills and resources. Granted, I only paid 15$ for the figure and I never expect to be satisfied with retail movie figures right out of the box and always start working on them right away, so my opinion's probably not gonna line up with everyone else's standards. I can admit that she is definitely one of the worse SS releases when it comes to handling and that no one should have to perform extensive surgery on a figure just to tolerate it, though.
Yeah this is pretty much how I feel too. I do enjoy a certain degree of painting and modding so I don’t get mad right away but she requires quite a bit of work to be really good which is a shame. I don’t think most of us would care so much too if it weren’t for the fact that she is so awesome in the movie and deserved better as a toy. I’m definitely gonna do SOMEthing to her modification-wise and I’ve already painted her a bit, but I’m gonna bite on that model kit and also keep hoping that toyworld actually keeps their promise of doing her, dropkick and BB OP.
So I may be in the extreme minority with this figure, but maybe as a reward for getting screwed over with lose ball joints, stress marks and cracks on the the last few Transformers figures I'd picked up (official and 3rd party), I managed to get a Shatter that isn't a floppy mess. I've actually transformed it quite a few times and most of the time the figure was fine. Only had the shoulders pop of a few times but other than that, so far so good. I've actually really enjoyed her
So I haven't successfully transformed Shatter even once without her falling apart. Usually in the shoulders but also the hood kibble comes off often. But both modes are pretty good. I'm still hoping someone gives us an upgrade kit with a new head and some other upgrades. I'm not brave enough to do that wing kibble mod but I'm really impressed with those who have done it. Also, I bought energon igniters Shatter in order to cut her head off but I actually kinda like her so she will be staying in one piece for now. I appreciate the detail and simplicity and the jet mode is cool. Also, bonus sketch I did last night cause for some reason (maybe it's cause I watched the Bumblebee movie again last week) I'm crushing on Shatter right now. Maybe I'll post an update once I get the sketch down more and do some inking.
I keep checking the thread to see if there are any mod tips without taking away transformation ability. Since I made the comment at the top of the page, I have yet to transform her, to be honest, I haven't even touched her since that post. In fact, if I still had the receipt, I probably would have returned her to the store already. I might actually try the tranformation this evening when I get home just to say I tried it.
I can transform her to car mode with nothing falling off, but her arms fall off every time I transform her to robot mode. I actually like the figure, though. That car mode is really nice.
The shoulders are loose on mine; the right one more than the left. I did the door mod, transplanting them from the thighs to the shoulders. I also took the Energon Igniters head and shoulder covers and installed them on the SS. Here she is with Stinger. And other black/black + red figures.
I'm giving this a 0 out of 10. Absolute trash on every level. There are too many issues to make it worth buying. Does the robot mode look good? Yes. Does alt mode look good? Yes. Can you transform the figure? No. So even if it looks good, the entire point of the toy is voided. Right out of the box the fenders fall off. The tiny plastic bushing that holds the part, doesn't actually hold the part. The pins are pushed into clear plastic that doesn't hold the pins, so the fenders just fall off. The pin on the right fender came off. Surprisingly, if you push the pin through the fender part, it holds the piece better. But once the pin came out, it will just pop out any time you transform Shatter. There is no way to fix this without finding new pins and different bushings that will hold the piece. You can't really superglue the pins without causing the piece to lock in place. I guess you could glue the fenders in place for vehicle mode and let them sit up like wings. Bad design and engineering. Then the arms. The ball joints won't hold the arms at all. They fall off if you blow on them hard, not kidding. Perhaps a few dips of floor polish would help, but the sockets are actually too small and don't grip enough of the ball. Just a bad piece of engineering. Then you have the legs. You must rotate the legs 180 to transform her. That would be nice, but the right mushroom joint wasn't molded right on my copy and it won't rotate. The only option is to pop the leg off at the knee and flip it around, then push it back in. So that brings you to the debate of what the Studio Series actually is. Are they toys or display pieces that aren't meant to be played with. Shatter can not be played with, unless you want pieces falling off everywhere. So this is not a toy. So Shatter is a display piece only. If that is what you want then it might be worth it. But if you buy it for a kid, expect a furious little person.
So after 4 months of sitting on my shelf, I finally decided to transform my Shatter for the first time. I definitely wanted to throw that toy across the room during the whole process. I have trouble getting the wheels to line up straight and getting the arms to tuck up into the robot mode to keep them from flopping down and dragging. Speaking of those damn arms, I finally got so fed up, I just unplugged them and transformed her the rest of the way and plugged the arms back in when I had her car mode formed up. Definitely the very lowest point of the entire Studio Series thus far.
I've seen one Shatter at the Wal-mart I work at that's been sitting on the shelf for a week. I would buy it if it wasn't for the figure flaws... and due to the fact it's clearly a return (the figure looks like how Shatter probably looks after the boat crushed her in the movie).
So, I just got this figure today. I guess I got lucky because my figure is pretty solid. On my copy, the right shoulder comes off and the left fender as well but the other respective limb and parts don't. Despite the QC issues, limited joints, and helmet mold design, I actually like the figure. Would recommend with caution.
Well, I can safely say I had no such luck with my Shatter. Arms practically refuse to stay on. It's baffling how such an issue comes about. Is this some designer's first crack at a TF? How are simple balljoints that difficult to manage? I modded the doors into wings on mine and swapped the heads. I quite like the figure overall, really nice paint and detail, loos great and all, but those shoulders pretty much ruin it, and short of replacing them with my own joints I haven't the foggiest how to actually fix the issue.
I used future and it did help. They still pop off while transforming but stay on for regular posing and such.
