The Energon Pub

by **Uncommon** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:55 pm

I'm getting more and more frustrated with quality issues lately. I just sent the following message to Hasbro.

I want to complain about the frequent quality issues I have had with Transformers toys in the past couple of years. Many of the toys I have bought have had significant issues. I have been a Transformers collector for a long time, and I treat my toys with care. I'm starting to wonder if I should continue buying Transformers because I can't trust their quality.

A summary of the issues I have had:

Prime First Edition Arcee: One of the arms would not stay on. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

“Rage over Cybertron” Optimus Prime: After transforming a few times, the front hood piece broke off.

Masterpiece Thudercracker: The toy is fine, but the box and instructions did not reflect significant changes between Thundercracker and Skywarp. Plus, the illustration on the box was for a different Thundercracker toy. It all seemed very careless.

Masterpiece Optimus Prime: Parts of the chrome bumper were not painted properly.

Generations Blitzwing: A side piece of the head, and the pin that enabled the three-face piece to turn, were missing. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

Generations Sandstorm: The front landing gear was in the wrong position, such that I had to pop the head off in order to transform it the first time.

Beast Hunters Voyager Optimus Prime: The sword got stuck in the right hand, and I was unable to remove it without breaking off the handle.

Masterpiece Soundwave: On Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, the top fins on the weapons have such tight hinges, and the plastic is so soft and thin, that it’s very difficult to transform them without bending or breaking the fins. I have already broken one, and I have been very careful.

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:07 pm

That's cute. Reminds me of when I was a kid and wrote a letter to Hasbro. I'm sure you'll get a nice boilerplate form letter thanking you for your interest.

These "QC issues" affect very few of their customers and are not impacting their profitability, so there's no reason for them to address them. You can't produce millions of cheap plastic kids toys in Vietnamese factories and expect every single one to be perfect. These aren't hand-built Lamborghinis.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:44 pm

First of, let's look at the problems you've had so far:

Prime First Edition Arcee: One of the arms would not stay on. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

I believe that's a ball-and-socket joint, which can be a miss in some cases if the ball isn't fully formed. It can hit in larger toys, but rarely does.

“Rage over Cybertron” Optimus Prime: After transforming a few times, the front hood piece broke off.

Clear plastic is far more rigid than regular plastics, meaning it doesn't bend as much before snapping. That's why it's hardly ever used for joints or pieces that are under constant stress.

Masterpiece Thudercracker: The toy is fine, but the box and instructions did not reflect significant changes between Thundercracker and Skywarp. Plus, the illustration on the box was for a different Thundercracker toy. It all seemed very careless.

Not to the casual consumer. Hasbro really loves to take the easy and quick route if need be when it comes to packaging illustrations. Anybody remember Energon Rapid Run, Treadbolt and Ultra Magnus? They were repaints, but their packaging showed the original toys instead (Sideways, Scavanger and Overload). Besides, the toys shown are usually handpainted prototypes which are then photoshopped to look shiny. Plus, there's the disclaimer "Product and colors may vary"

Masterpiece Optimus Prime: Parts of the chrome bumper were not painted properly.

Paint can be a hit and miss. Paint plus chrome especially.

Generations Blitzwing: A side piece of the head, and the pin that enabled the three-face piece to turn, were missing. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

Be thankful that was the only problem. Blitzwing has a couple that are extremely common, like the shoulders not pegging in properly, or the face not being able to turn. That is one Hasbro should have looked into by now.

Generations Sandstorm: The front landing gear was in the wrong position, such that I had to pop the head off in order to transform it the first time.

But no problems afterwards? I think I read about that a couple of times.

Beast Hunters Voyager Optimus Prime: The sword got stuck in the right hand, and I was unable to remove it without breaking off the handle.

Anybody else had that? Is it even possible for either the peg to be too thick or the hole to be too small on a single specimen?

Masterpiece Soundwave: On Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, the top fins on the weapons have such tight hinges, and the plastic is so soft and thin, that it’s very difficult to transform them without bending or breaking the fins. I have already broken one, and I have been very careful.

Those two have confirmed wide-spread design flaws with anything that folds out. TakaraTomy and Hasbro should be aware, but they'll fix anything remains to be seen.

To wrap things up, Hasbro's Customer Service is pretty notorious for standardized letters (tl:dr), hardly of help and especially when it comes to exchanges: "product of equal or lower value". So yeah, we don't really have faith in them.

by **Uncommon** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 4:07 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Prime First Edition Arcee: One of the arms would not stay on. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

I believe that's a ball-and-socket joint, which can be a miss in some cases if the ball isn't fully formed. It can hit in larger toys, but rarely does.

Yes, I got the NYCC version and it was fine.

Masterpiece Thudercracker: The toy is fine, but the box and instructions did not reflect significant changes between Thundercracker and Skywarp. Plus, the illustration on the box was for a different Thundercracker toy. It all seemed very careless.

Not to the casual consumer. Hasbro really loves to take the easy and quick route if need be when it comes to packaging illustrations. Anybody remember Energon Rapid Run, Treadbolt and Ultra Magnus? They were repaints, but their packaging showed the original toys instead (Sideways, Scavanger and Overload). Besides, the toys shown are usually handpainted prototypes which are then photoshopped to look shiny. Plus, there's the disclaimer "Product and colors may vary"

The casual consumer would see the face-changing feature advertised in the box text and instructions and wonder what was wrong with the toy. I happened to do some online investigation and learned that the head was redone to better match the cartoon proportions, so I wasn't mad about that. The casual consumer would also see where the instructions tell you to do something with the tail fin section that's not possible with Thundercracker.

Generations Blitzwing: A side piece of the head, and the pin that enabled the three-face piece to turn, were missing. Returned, but could not exchange due to lack of inventory.

Be thankful that was the only problem. Blitzwing has a couple that are extremely common, like the shoulders not pegging in properly, or the face not being able to turn. That is one Hasbro should have looked into by now.

Oh the shoulder problem was there alright. I just counted it as a design flaw, not a quality control problem. But the shoulder thing is why I wasn't sad about not being able to exchange.

by **RAcast** » Thu Sep 26, 2013 10:21 pm

The issues with the MP Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are endemic to the mold. The Takara version had the same problem.

The issue with FE Arcee is also very common. It's also very easily fixed, just shave some of the plastic from the inside of the cup and that typically fixes it from what I understand.

by **Uncommon** » Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:42 am

The thing that particularly bugs me is that quality seems to be going downhill. None of my Armada or Cybertron toys had any issues, but now about every third toy I buy has something wrong. Part of it may be that the designs are often inherently more delicate now, but that doesn't explain mis-assembly and missing parts.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:06 am

Uncommon wrote:The thing that particularly bugs me is that quality seems to be going downhill. None of my Armada or Cybertron toys had any issues, but now about every third toy I buy has something wrong. Part of it may be that the designs are often inherently more delicate now, but that doesn't explain mis-assembly and missing parts.

QC issues have always existed, even in G1 back in 1984. However there are several factors which has lead to an apparent rise in QC problems:

1) Recording them has only started fairly recently, so details with problems during Beast Wars and earlier are hazy at best. That's not to say they're problem-free, but those problems are recorded long after their original release, when it doesn't matter unless encountered in large numbers.
2) Speaking in absolute volume, nowadays more Transformers are produced per year than several years of G1 combined. The bigger the production runs, the bigger the chance errors slip through the cracks.
3) You are indeed correct in that current Transformers are sometimes fragile because of their complexity. Armada and Energon were planned to have simple transformations (though the gimmicks may have helped to force their simple designs) and thus are brick-like and sturdy.

And for the record, TakaraTomy toys are just as prone to QC issues as Hasbro toys.

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Fri Sep 27, 2013 9:48 am

I have a collection of nearly one thousand Transformers, and I could count the number of QC issues I've encountered on one hand. Over the past six years of collecting, I've bought maybe one or two figures that had QC issues out of the package.

Maybe you've had a run of bad luck lately.

News Credits: 9 · by **Mykltron** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 5:24 am

Uncommon, you will get a reply that says something like: "thank you for your comments, we will pass them on to our marketing department"

GuyIncognito wrote:I have a collection of nearly one thousand Transformers, and I could count the number of QC issues I've encountered on one hand. Over the past six years of collecting, I've bought maybe one or two figures that had QC issues out of the package.

Maybe you've had a run of bad luck lately.

Same here. I'm not a lucky person, but when it comes to TFs and QC issues I AM lucky.

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:00 am

QC issues. Due to aging or the design or the freakin' factory defects?

1. Old age, well the ratchet joints like that of G1 Convoy's shoulder which pivots during transformation or Ginrai's L shaped legs that when transformed back to normal leg mode all broke up (after years of non use)

2. Design? The Datsun cars,Jazz and Mirage do have design flaws. For the 1st 2, the neck/heads and the 3rd, the waist joint (like that of Metroplex too) plus Getaway's head, similar to Metroplex's, make them prone to chipping. MP-01 Megatron gun. GF Chromia's eyes or Sonic Bomber's misaligned visor/nose or the materials used on USA Armadaa Optimus Prime's elbows.

3. Factory defects? Missing head for my United Wreckgar, reversed rear lights for MP-10, Jin-bu's reversed thighs. GF Megaloconvoy's spark drinker weapon, gave out after 3 uses.

You'd think they'd learn by now.

Honorable mention MP-8 Grimlock (wrong batteries were loaded in my unit). 8-}

The only great thing in Jin-bu's case, Tomy recalled them and initiated a replacement drive. On our part, who don't live in Japan, thank Primus the fix was simple

News Credits: 12 · by **GuyIncognito** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:46 pm

fenrir72 wrote:
You'd think they'd learn by now.

Learn WHAT by now? That the low rate of QC issues they have is reasonable and doesn't impact their profitability, so there's no reason to address it? I think they HAVE learned that by now.

News Credits: 241 · by **Jelze Bunnycat** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 3:04 pm

GuyIncognito wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
You'd think they'd learn by now.

Learn WHAT by now? That the low rate of QC issues they have is reasonable and doesn't impact their profitability, so there's no reason to address it? I think they HAVE learned that by now.

Or no matter what they do, 100% Quality can never be achieved?

News Credits: 60 · by **fenrir72** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:38 pm

GuyIncognito wrote:
fenrir72 wrote:
You'd think they'd learn by now.

Learn WHAT by now? That the low rate of QC issues they have is reasonable and doesn't impact their profitability, so there's no reason to address it? I think they HAVE learned that by now.

100% blemish free IS impossible. Whoever is advocating it IS living on the moon high on brownies.

But the issue on Jinbu where they had to pull out nearly their entire first batch? And this is not relegated to Tomy/Hasbro. Yamato's Macross Valkyries had an entire batch of exploding shoulder joint issues.

What about my MP Grimlock's wrong batteries installed? Really :BANG_HEAD:

by **Uncommon** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 12:25 pm

Here's the response I received from Hasbro:

Hi David!

Thank you for contacting Hasbro, Inc., in regards to the Transformers figures. My apologies that you have been experiencing issues with your Transformers purchases over that past couple of years! What a disappointment! I can certainly understand your hesitancy regarding future purchases! I will be most pleased to assist you.

So that our records are accurate, can you please update this incident with the dates that you purchased these Transformers? You had mentioned in your email that you returned Arcee and Voyager Blitzwing to the store but could not exchange due to lack of inventory. Can you please advise of you still have these figures?

In regards to the Transformers Masterpiece, Cybertronian Pack, and Masterpiece Optimus Prime, all of these items are exclusives to Toys R Us and replacements are not available. We would like to offer to an exchange of an item of equal value for the Cybertronian Pack and a refund for the Masterpiece Soundwave and Masterpiece Optimus Prime.

And for the Voyager Sandstorm and Voyager Beast Optimus Prime we will be most pleased to arrange an exchange for you.

To help facilitate the process, a postage paid mailing label has been sent via email from eMerchandiseReturnAlert@uspsshippingapis.com for you to use in returning the product to us. Simply package up your return and place the mailing label securely on the package. Drop it off at the Post Office window and it will be on the way back to us.

Please use this shipping label to return all of the figures. Once the products are received at our returns facility, we will send new replacement products for the Voyager Blitzwing, Voyager Sandstorm, and Voyager Beast Optimus Prime. These products are part of an assortment and I cannot guarantee exact replacements. Arcee has been discontinued and we will need to send a different item of equal value.

David, I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day!

I think that's a pretty decent response... aside from not being able to guarantee "exact replacements". I'd be tempted to exchange Beast Hunters OP, but I don't want to get Predaking instead.

News Credits: 9 · by **Mykltron** » Thu Oct 03, 2013 5:19 am

I stand corrected, you didn't get the standard response.

Beware of 'exchanges of equal value', I'm sure they have plenty of Bumblebee's of various size classes laying around.