Arctorro wrote:You're looking at one small part of his post, though I do agree that saying they suck is going to far. Diesel is a great figure, I like him waaay more than I thought I would, but there are a number of design flaws. They made the transformation so complicated that there is plenty of very thin spots that are developing stress marks that could limit how well he stands the test of time. The waist is badly designed (I'm talking mainly of the tight as hell joint the folding arm attaches to) and once in motion feels alright, but getting it moving is scary as hell. Many of the tabs were poorly thought out and suffer from a high risk of breaking. Then there are the combiner connecters, the are the worst I have ever seen! The connecters and shoulder assemblies seem to be designed to break A lot of people give TFC a hard time, but my Herc and Uranos have superb connecter ports that are strong, sturdy and allow for easy and safe connecting/disconnecting. M3 is a pain in the arse to assemble or disassemble.megatronus wrote:Why should I tell FP they suck over a figure I like?
Transforming a Transformer shouldn't be a scary or irritating excise, which can be the case with Diesel. I think this is what Shadowstream is getting at, FP did many things right, but also dropped the ball quite badly. With everyone banging on about how great M3 is while ignoring the issues they have with the rest it could mean that FP won't improve in these areas with later releases. The same can be said for UT and KFC, they produce crap that is not ever close to what MMC, FT and PE are doing atm, but everyone forgives them for that because of a couple of good things about their figures. People bitch about lack of quality with some 3P companies then give the dodgy companies a free pass
Diesel isn't a Transformer... he's an FP product. And while I do hold Diesel, and FP, to high standards, and while transforming Diesel was somewhat complicated and scary *the first time* (and I do stress *the first time*), I don't seem to be having any of the problems others have been having. No stress marks, no broken tabs, nothing.
Yes, the connectors on M3 are a pain - I freely admit this. But I find his joints and connectors far, far more secure than Herc's connectors. Also, I find M3 is similarly far, far less likely to crumple under his own weight than Hercules. M3's joints are strong, he's flexible, and his feet have grip.
My point is that sure, people (myself included) can be seen as fawning over this thing, and it's not for lack of flaws. It's because I feel Diesel's (and M3's) strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. People that buy UT & KFC stuff feel the same. The only way the companies learn to fix these issues are (1) deficit of sales, or the prospect of such a deficit, and (2) strong competition. That's the best we can hope for. Our b*tching matters less to these 3P groups (I suspect).