Recently, I've noticed that a few of my TF's who have "missile firing" weapons/gimmicks are starting to become a little too triggerhappy, and by that I mean the missiles won't lock into the release pins and stay in the gun/launcher/whatever. The most problematic TF's with this kind of issue I've found so far is ROTF Dirge and TFTM Voyager Prime.

For Dirge, one of his missile launchers simply would not hold a missile. It didn't matter which of the two it was or how it was put in, it simply would not hold them. At least, not until today, which is when it started behaving for some unknown reason.

Voyager Prime, on the other hand, is the more troublesome. By that, I mean the trigger lock may as well not exist on one of his launchers. Like Dirge, the launcher in question would not hold either missile in any possible way of putting it in, except unlike Dirge, I've had this figure for far longer (it's the "Freeway Brawl" version) and the problem has never resolved itself. It's driven me crazy to the point that I simply taped a missile into the gun so it would stay in there. It looks crude, but at least the missile is not going anywhere, and the guns look odd without the missiles in them so I don't fire them often, if at all.

My problems with the missiles in these figures have made me wonder, though; are there other figures that have these problems?

 

I don't know about those figures, but I noticed I had similar issues with the TRU reissues of the G1 figures. Perceptor wouldn't even hold his missile in place at all. I had to glue it in with a dab of CA. Silverstreak keeps losing his missile every time I pick him up!
If you don't care about firing the missile, and just want it in place for display, I suggest using a dab of CA superglue. Other than that, I have no clue how to fix it.

 

My Acid Storm fell off of where I was having him be displayed, and I still can't find one of his missles! Same goes for Classics Jetfire.

 

When this happens to me, I open the launcher and slightly bend the catch down some. Warming it a little helps. This helps it hold better.

 

I've had the same problem with RotF Dirge. Aside from that figure, I've had problems with a couple of others:

- BM Deluxe Jetstorm - Missiles won't lock into either launcher. They don't fire across the room or anything, but the catch just won't stick.
- Armada Unicron - While it doesn't autofire, the chest missile is an absolute pain in the ass to get locked back into place after firing it. Probably due to being a more complex mechanism than a standard launcher.
- E-Shockblast - The only one I have that randomly fires across the room, I just don't load it all the way.

 

my old g2 laser prime's 5 missile launcher would randomly unload 1-5 of the missiles at once with it's strong springs, it could reach across the room, humorous at times when you see a friend jump

 

yea laser rod op will randomly fire his missiles

so did my energon landmine

 

That one's actually a different problem. I'm pretty sure it's an issue with all Perceptors, but when they glued together his launcher at the factory, the launcher trigger wound up getting glued in place as well, in the "open" position.

In my case, at least, the glue job wasn't too heavy, so I was able to crack the launcher open without much fuss and release the trigger. Now it can hold the missile.

 

I should've thought about that before CA'ing it in place. Oh well.

 

It's happened to me from time to time. But after getting hit in the eye by a missile misfire I am thinking of storing all the clear energy missile in a separate place and keeping certain ones in the gun i.e. Starscream's missiles.

 

Not really a big deal. The G1 missiles don't meet modern safety standards, so there's no launcher spring in there anyways.

Unless you were planning on displaying him with the missile removed for whatever reason, then it probably doesn't matter all that much.

 

I'm having the same problem with Acid Storm. Can anyone let me know how to open one of the launchers to tinker with it without destroying it?

 

This has happened to my Energon Shockblast. Anyone know how to fix it?

 

With spring-loaded mechanisms, keeping the spring and the plastic latches at tension will wear them out, weakening them, which is why launchers get increasingly hair-trigger over time and why Armada Unicron's chest cannon keeps deploying. Tgus seems to be why Takara usually packed Transformers toys with spring-loaded stuff in the "deployed" position so the mechanisms don't break in the package.

The Hasbro reissues missile launchers are deliberately neutered so there's no possibility of launching (the undersized by today's standards) missiles. A side effect is they don't stay inside the launchers very well.

 

Two words: Universe Dinobot.

 

Not that I've owned many, but Tracks and Soundwave have no problems. The spring-loaded catches worked just fine. As I said earlier, Perceptor has that problem because the catch is glue in place in full-open position, so the catch doesn't work at all. Release the glue, and it works great.

 

Actually, they're not. To my knowledge at least. The original releases had weakened launcher springs because of the missile sizes, but the Commemorative Series reissues instead enlarged the missiles. The launchers function fine.

If all else fails, replace the springs. Used-up or dried-out clicker pens are good sources for them. If it's because the catch is worn down, use Mighty Putty or some such material to fix it.

 

My TFTM Voyager Prime has the same problem. The missiles wont stay in at all.

 

commemorative prowl's launchers were remolded so that there wasn't even a firing mechanism anymore

 

Jazz, Prime, Magnus, and the Seekers, though, could fire.
The original poster was referring to the tendency of launchers to reach a point where they fire with the slightest provocation.