The Energon Pub

What's with the Henkei Thundercracker's Cannons? Finally got my Henkei thundercracker and Skywarp today from BBTS after MONTHS of anticipation. I open'd up Skywarp first and their were no Visible problems with the exception of the looseness of the legs...boo. Not cool.

Now, my main problem came when I open'd up the Henkei Thundercracker and he was all good visually and joint wise. I was impressed...until I went to pop in the cannons on the arms and they fall right back out! Very much not pleased with that.

Ok, I know what you are thinkin, easy fix right? And you are right! Only thing is....I PAID 130 BUCKS FOR THIS SET! I mean, overall, I am pleased but I am seriously angry that the QC on these figures isn't STUNNING for that price. I know, I know, they are imported and all....still IMHO They should have paid a little more attention to detail in the case of these figures for the retail price. Has anyone else had any problems witht hier Henkei TC or SW? Please, gripe here!

Everybody has had that problem.

Geekee1 wrote:Everybody has had that problem.

Sorry dude, Just wanted to b&#$h about it. bummed me out for the price and all. I mean, this ain't no $7.77 walmart special.

Join the club, dear! We all got QC issues with Henkei TC, but since I paid out the whazzoo for em, I WILL fix em....Come hell or high water! They just look too damned good to do much bitching, so I won't.

Pyrostrata wrote:Join the club, dear! We all got QC issues with Henkei TC, but since I paid out the whazzoo for em, I WILL fix em....Come hell or high water! They just look too damned good to do much bitching, so I won't.

Lol...I mean yeah, sure I will fix em...but for that price? I mean, all I am saying is that someone has to get on that. Their is nothing I can do but gripe and fix em but we are talkin 130 bucks here. I personally think the price was out of hand considering the QC issues. I should not have to take a 65 dollar toy and apply less than 1 cents worth of super glue to fix an issue that was not an issue at all on most of the cheaper versions of this mold. On the upside I do love the overall look of the figs besides the paint app. on Thundercracker's head. If you turn his head either way you see a crapload of blue on the side of the face.

Well, if it is any consolation to you, I paid more than you did!

Still glad I got em!

Pyrostrata wrote:Well, if it is any consolation to you, I paid more than you did!

Still glad I got em!

did you get em both? Don't get me wrong, it beats the hell out of paying 200+ for a Botcon TC.

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:Ok, I know what you are thinkin, easy fix right? And you are right! Only thing is....I PAID 130 BUCKS FOR THIS SET! I mean, overall, I am pleased but I am seriously angry that the QC on these figures isn't STUNNING for that price. I know, I know, they are imported and all....still IMHO They should have paid a little more attention to detail in the case of these figures for the retail price. Has anyone else had any problems witht hier Henkei TC or SW? Please, gripe here!

And the truth is that’s a lot more than what the intended audience pays. All of that’s just import markups.

The problem can’t be helped. I’ve heard of it with ANY seeker mold and it is not limited to Takara or Henkei. Acid Storm is said to have had it as well. The problem is mold degradation and at this rate we’ll be seeing it much more for future uses of this mold.

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:

Pyrostrata wrote:Well, if it is any consolation to you, I paid more than you did!

Still glad I got em!

did you get em both? Don't get me wrong, it beats the hell out of paying 200+ for a Botcon TC.

I did get them both, but I promised Skywarp to someone else, to defray the cost. I promised it MISB so I didn't get to check it out hands-on-wise.

Keep in mind that they retailed in Japan for about $25. Everything else you paid is import fees.

I'm honestly getting tired of the QC problems. I usually don't complain either unless it's a big deal and it's now hit big deal status. I did not buy Thundercracker or Skywarp, but every Animated figure I've purchased has had something wrong with it in one form or another.

Also, Hasbro dancing around the fact that there are real problems with new lines during the Q/A annoyed me somewhat. I know they don't want to cause a panic, but who are they fooling?

I paid $45 for each of mine... So I'll be pissed at any QC issues but to me they are display pieces so I can deal with any loose limbs or whatever... They just need to be able to stand and look awesome.

http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=45473

Nekoman wrote:

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:Ok, I know what you are thinkin, easy fix right? And you are right! Only thing is....I PAID 130 BUCKS FOR THIS SET! I mean, overall, I am pleased but I am seriously angry that the QC on these figures isn't STUNNING for that price. I know, I know, they are imported and all....still IMHO They should have paid a little more attention to detail in the case of these figures for the retail price. Has anyone else had any problems witht hier Henkei TC or SW? Please, gripe here!

And the truth is that’s a lot more than what the intended audience pays. All of that’s just import markups.

The problem can’t be helped. I’ve heard of it with ANY seeker mold and it is not limited to Takara or Henkei. Acid Storm is said to have had it as well. The problem is mold degradation and at this rate we’ll be seeing it much more for future uses of this mold.

Great explanation. I personally have not had this problem with any of the classics/universe seekers until this point but I have heard a few of em had problems. I bought 3 Sideswipes with loose left-hand door panels and now the 4 th one i got today was SUPERB in every way! No paint, loose limb problems...no factory scratches or blemishes...I wonder if anyone has recived a damn-near PERFECT Henkei TC yet?

My BotCon Thundercrackers are perfect.

Savage wrote:http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=45473

Oops...I was a bit unsettled and jumped the gun. sorry about that...

I have the same problem with the shoulders as everyone else, but also the mould seems to have an abundance of other subtle problems. Some parts are VERY tight, and are pinned so I cannot loosen a screw to fix it. It appears they were so tight in assembly that stress marks in the plastic are evident, including in the blue band across the centre of the chest. Surely the mould shouldn't degrade this quickly?

Nekoman wrote:

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:Ok, I know what you are thinkin, easy fix right? And you are right! Only thing is....I PAID 130 BUCKS FOR THIS SET! I mean, overall, I am pleased but I am seriously angry that the QC on these figures isn't STUNNING for that price. I know, I know, they are imported and all....still IMHO They should have paid a little more attention to detail in the case of these figures for the retail price. Has anyone else had any problems witht hier Henkei TC or SW? Please, gripe here!

And the truth is that’s a lot more than what the intended audience pays. All of that’s just import markups.

The problem can’t be helped. I’ve heard of it with ANY seeker mold and it is not limited to Takara or Henkei. Acid Storm is said to have had it as well. The problem is mold degradation and at this rate we’ll be seeing it much more for future uses of this mold.

It may not necesarily be degradation of the mold. For what its worth, I bought the original Classics SS, SW, the Botocn set, Acid Storm, and then another 3 Acidstorms for some repaints. Only one of these had this issue, and that was my first SS.

GetterDragun wrote:My BotCon Thundercrackers are perfect.

Ha! You beat me to it

I've only noticed this on one seeker figure and that's my Classic Starscream that I bought when they first came out. Put a little poster putty on the peg and it sits in there fine. Ah poster putty, is there anything you can't fix?

Bonger wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

OPTIMUS MAGNUS wrote:Ok, I know what you are thinkin, easy fix right? And you are right! Only thing is....I PAID 130 BUCKS FOR THIS SET! I mean, overall, I am pleased but I am seriously angry that the QC on these figures isn't STUNNING for that price. I know, I know, they are imported and all....still IMHO They should have paid a little more attention to detail in the case of these figures for the retail price. Has anyone else had any problems witht hier Henkei TC or SW? Please, gripe here!

And the truth is that’s a lot more than what the intended audience pays. All of that’s just import markups.

The problem can’t be helped. I’ve heard of it with ANY seeker mold and it is not limited to Takara or Henkei. Acid Storm is said to have had it as well. The problem is mold degradation and at this rate we’ll be seeing it much more for future uses of this mold.

It may not necesarily be degradation of the mold. For what its worth, I bought the original Classics SS, SW, the Botocn set, Acid Storm, and then another 3 Acidstorms for some repaints. Only one of these had this issue, and that was my first SS.

Huh...well i'll be damned. I have read in several places that people had the launcher problem with original classics Starscream. If this is the case, mold degradation is a myth. Don't everyone beat me up here but, all of the Acidstorm's I have bought and open'd (5 in total) the launchers have fit PERFECTLY. and then I have read that other folks have had problems with Acidstorm too. But Starscream being the original mass production of that mold you would think thier would not be a loose one on the market....

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:Ah poster putty, is there anything you can't fix?

Herpes?

I'm throwing this out here: is there more than one of the Starscream molds? See, that would explain why some Screamers had problems and others not, and so on for all future Seekers.

That's an interesting thought, Sledge. I imagine it's pretty possible as well. I would think maybe several factories have the mold. Perhaps that's the key to this issue. But it couldn't be figured out for certain without Hasbro taking an inventory of the serial numbers on all faulty Seekers, and then comparing it with which factory made them.

As for my Henkei Thundercracker, his fifth layer of clear polish is currently drying, and I expect he'll need two more before his launchers will stay in place. Acid Storm, on the other hand, was fixed after one application.

Sledge wrote:

RodimusConvoy13 wrote:Ah poster putty, is there anything you can't fix?

Herpes?

I'm throwing this out here: is there more than one of the Starscream molds? See, that would explain why some Screamers had problems and others not, and so on for all future Seekers.

I've done a lot of research in mold making so I might be able to answer this for you. There is more than one mold!

Keep in mind that it takes multiple molds for one figure. It's usually one mold for each color so a single figure may require 4-5 molds. Depending on the number of pieces they wish to produce a company will produce multiple copies of a mold. I'm assuming that Classics Starscream has several molds because of all the retooling they did to make the Botcon figures. Each mold can make about 25,000 units with no mold degradation and another 25,000 with signs of wear. I know for a fact that they have not made 25,000 Seekers from any of the Classics molds. I'm assuming that the molds were not put togethe or cleaned properly before production which can cause many of the problems we've been experiencing.

Slightly off topic, but I've been thinking about this 'mold degredation problem' lately. If this really is such a big problem, then how do both Takara and Hasbro manage to reissue G1 Optimus Prime about once a year (possibly an eggageration, but not a big one)?

I mean, we know the RID car brothers molds are now gone for good, but surely their molds weren't used in their brief lifespan as Prime's has been in the past 25 years? Or the G1 seeker molds for that matter... Is it just that G1 Prime is such a big cash cow that they take extra special care of his mold? Seems a bit weird to me.

And on topic, I'm glad I didn't take the plunge with one of these now. Prowl's paint, Sunstreaker's scratches and Octane's floppiness are bad enough, but at least they were a vaguely reasonable price... I'd be SERIOUSLY pissed of if I spent 40 quid on a deluxe sized figure who can't even hold his weapons thanks to pooor QC. This really is getting silly. HasTak (or HaTaTo as me and a friend now call them) really need to sort this out...

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying this, but can't they just make new molds. I'm sure all the designs are probably saved to a computer, and we know they can reverse engineer molds.