Transformed this thing with only slight difficulty thanks to a great video guide.

Best looking prime toy ever by far. I even love the back pack.

Shame about the slightly bent antennae, flaking belt paint and idiotic knee ratchet design.

6 out of 10... Would be 10 out of 10 if it did not have the aforementioned issues.

 

As much as I'd love to finally get it, I'm doing the same what I did with MP-36.

I'll wait for a fixed reissue.

Here's hoping that TakTom loses enough money on their QC to finally learn. It's not acceptable on their current pricing.

 

I have seen several people say that there's an ab crunch joint that's not the transformation joint, and doesn't require unlocking the front or back tabs. Is that underneath the pinned rotation joint for the waist swivel, and how do you go about unlocking it for the first time? Is there a proper part you can push or pull, or a place you can wedge in a spudger or something? I can't find any sign of that joint and I don't want to apply anymore force than I have pulling upwards on it without success.

 

I hope takara sends out knee replacements, that would be sick.

 

That would be awesome. Best thing would be for it to be die cast

 

I’ve asked about this a couple of times, @daddytron, and so far nobody has responded. Probably because this thread has been so busy.

Hopefully @BrutiKing or @Jhund or one of the others who have used this joint can shed some light on how it works. You can see the hinge for it at the front of his pelvis, just under the hinge at the base of the grill. I’ve attempted pulling the torso up but mine won’t budge and I think I have made the waist a little looser by stressing the pin as @BrutiKing mentioned.

 

MP-36 fixed re-issue? I wasn't aware of this

 

I haven't pulled on it with much enthusiasm so far. I've been out of town since the day after I got it and I was waiting for some clear pics of how to use that joint. Sorry about yours though.

 

Second run of their Megatron had its issues fixed. The only shortcoming on mine was too tightly fit barrel extention for the gun mode. Apparently TakTom just can't get their QC right in the first go.

 

On the 1st run what other issues were there?

 

arm falling off, paint chipping, the eyebrows of megatron being squint.

 

You have to take a lot of effort and sorta just “bend” the abs forward. Best just to watch a review to do it.

 

Do you have a link to a review that shows this? I’ve watched a few and none of them show unlocking the ab joint. Thanks!

 

I was confused for a moment but I Guess you mean this ? There’s 2 tabs for the back , just untab as usual from the back and seperate.
Ps : nvm it’s easier just to untab from the front and just lift it out from the circular tab from the back to use it .

 

I found the ab-crunch joint from watching some reviews on Youtube. Can't remember which ones though. I think most reviewers didn't really go into it in detail.

The pictures below show what it looks like. It's unlocked from the back of the waist. Just locate it and pull using brute force. First time unlocking it took about as much force as it took to unlock the transformation joint at the front of the waist. Subsequent un-pegging of it becomes easier. The waist on mine is now pretty loose though, but it may have been that way from un-pegging the front, and I guess the wobbliness goes with the slack between the hip ratchet detents (LOL).

You can see the blue paint (or plastic) transfer on the locking tab.

 

Ok, so to unlock this joint the safe way, you gotta push not pull. With his back to you, place your thumb(s) underneath the backpack and apply gently increasing upward/forward pressure while holding onto the waist with the rest of your fingers. You can even brace a finger across the chest to absorb some of the energy. Trust me, this’ll unlock the joint.

 

No!! Don’t use brute force. Extraneous force is NOT necessary on any part of the articulation or transformation.

 

... oh that joint ... I thought it was the mid drift’s circular+hook tab’s . Just pull it up and forward, kinda like how you untab the torso/wheels from the tabs during transformation ; or just push it upwards from the base of the backpack .

 

I think Emgo's review shows it?

 

I have found that there is no part of this figure that requires brute force. There’s a way to articulate/unlock every joint without using much force at all, if you find yourself using a lot of force then you’re probably doing something wrong. For instance, I found myself pulling really hard trying to remove the hands. I realized I could bend the wrist inward until it stopped, then continue to try to bend it lightly and the hand just came right off with no trouble.