The Energon Pub

I can't say any toy was horrible by itself last year. But one thing is sure, Hasbro's QC took a nosedive. I never had so many toys with QC issues ever. I've been collecting since at least 2010 and in 2017 alone I had MORE toys with QC issues than all previous 6 years combined.
Have a list of what I got in 2017:

--- TR Trigger Happy with two right "sled guns".

--- TR Windblade with two right thighs, the left leg completely misassembled making transformation impossible.

--- TLK Leader Megatron with a tiny wing missing.

--- TLK voyager Nitro with a cluster of missiles missing from the brand new box.

--- RiD warrior Soundwave with half the left front "wing" of the car missing.

--- TLK Skullsmasher and TLK Steelbane with floppy loose balljoints (pledge'd but still...)

That's only for me.
Also, Emgo's got a "special feature" for his leader Dragonstorm. One of the bot had NO HEAD.



So, guys, is 2017 the WORST YEAR EVER for quality control, or was there a previous year that was as bad or ever worst?

How was 2017 in QC for you? Any hope for 2018?

It was brutal for qc for me to. The biggest problems, was the rampant 'skullsmasher sydrome' where, it's not just a loose ball-joint, it's loose everything.

Beyond that, I had:

-tr megs that snapped in half along his torso when I tried to transform him

-wolfwire

-twintwist with a thigh mushroom joint that can't stay connected to the thigh

-sky shadow with a useless right arm due to the pin in the shoulder (which I can do nothing about)

-movie drift whose hood is made of clear plastic, just crumbled from trying to align the panels in car mode

Hasbro's going down a dark road, beyond the random complaining, I've seen a noticeable increase in shared qc issues (skullsmasher, trypticon, etc.), wave wide qc issues have seemingly been on the rise, probably something that was sacrificed to get higher profits this year. The worst part is the over-reliance on pins, which means we can't even try to fix our own problems. On the other hand, I don't think I've seen anything bad from potp yet, possibly due to the lines being merged ( and ) other than random clear plastic issues on rodimus, so the outlook might be better, but probably not for long

I guess I was lucky last year as I didn't have any unique problems like that from Hasbro. I had the common problems like loose joints and every version of the Kup mold having the wheel panels reversed, but that was basically it. My Trypticon has a back canon that can easily be pulled off while rotating, but that's fairly minor and doesn't really break the figure.

Emerje

I don’t think I purchased as many TR or other 2017 based figure lines as a lot of you but I have noticed a lot of the ones I did get really scare me to transform. I know they won’t last forever but there are some figures I’ll only transform once as I don’t know how much they can withstand. I don’t judge anyone for transforming their figures over and over again but it’s certainly not a chance I’m willing to take. TR Krok and Twinferno come to mind as does Trypticon. No loose hips but with the plastic used, just fiddling with him to go through the transformations and put the stickers on started loosening the joints. He will remain in Dino mode now.

2017 wasn't bad at all for me. Other than the super floppy everywhere Skullsmasher and bobblehead Highbrow, all the other figures I bought last year were pretty solid.

The only one I had a defect with was the first TLK Nitro Zeus I found. One of the pins in his crossbow like weapon sheared off during the first transformation. Second one I got was just fine.

2018 hasn't started off that great. I got PotP Rodimus yesterday, and opened him up to find one of his red flip out heels was missing. I returned him and found another today. Everything is at least there on this one (haven't transformed him yet). However, the collector's card was loose and not in a plastic bag, which is weird.

I had to return 4 figures:

Treadshot for mold degradation (loose everything)

Overboard for same prolbelem as Treadshot but worse

Kup for the loosest hip ball joints I've ever experienced

Perceptor because the only head that fit was his (and because I was very concerned about the longevity of the scope arm slider)

This has also been the worst year for loose hip ball joints and hip joints in general. I'm finally giving in to purchasing the appropriate floor polish to tighten the joints. If someone can send me a link to a thread that recommends what to get and where to get it or just let me know here I would greatly appreciate it.

Pledge Floor Finish is the most effective product. The process is slow, but worth it. It's a very liquid product. You'll have to apply with a bush 2 or 3 layers in both the ball joint and the hip socket. Allow a WHOLE HOUR between layers to dry. Once you have made your first 2 or 3 layers, wait at least 24 hours for the product to harden. If it's too loose, repeat one or two layers at a time.

It worked masterfully for TLK Steelbane and TR Skullsmasher.




Dude.

This is the NECTAR OF THE GOD.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Pledge Floor Finish is the most effective product. The process is slow, but worth it. It's a very liquid product. You'll have to apply with a bush 2 or 3 layers in both the ball joint and the hip socket. Allow a WHOLE HOUR between layers to dry. Once you have made your first 2 or 3 layers, wait at least 24 hours for the product to harden. If it's too loose, repeat one or two layers at a time.

It worked masterfully for TLK Steelbane and TR Skullsmasher.




Dude.

This is the NECTAR OF THE GOD.

But if I understand correctly I have to separate the joint to use this particular product?

Is there one that I can just brush in that dries quickly and can add as necessary? I've got some pin joints that need a little friction as well.

Bradimus wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Pledge Floor Finish is the most effective product. The process is slow, but worth it. It's a very liquid product. You'll have to apply with a bush 2 or 3 layers in both the ball joint and the hip socket. Allow a WHOLE HOUR between layers to dry. Once you have made your first 2 or 3 layers, wait at least 24 hours for the product to harden. If it's too loose, repeat one or two layers at a time.

It worked masterfully for TLK Steelbane and TR Skullsmasher.




Dude.

This is the NECTAR OF THE GOD.

But if I understand correctly I have to separate the joint to use this particular product?

Is there one that I can just brush in that dries quickly and can add as necessary? I've got some pin joints that need a little friction as well.

I may need that to tight up Dreadnaut's left arm. So loose when it's vertical. But I don't want to pop that tiny joint...

In order fort this to work, you MUST pop off the ball joint. Just be careful when you do it and you shouldn't break anything. As for pin joints, it's a whole other can of worm. Pledge won't help. Some seriously heavy modding must be done. Better go OVER THERE and ask how to do it. In order for this here thread to remain on topic.

Discussing modding pin joints is to big, too complicated and not many can do it. Better ask the REAL pros about it.

-Kanrabat- wrote:In order fort this to work, you MUST pop off the ball joint. Just be careful when you do it and you shouldn't break anything. As for pin joints, it's a whole other can of worm. Pledge won't help. Some seriously heavy modding must be done. Better go OVER THERE and ask how to do it. In order for this here thread to remain on topic.

Discussing modding pin joints is to big, too complicated and not many can do it. Better ask the REAL pros about it.

Will do. Thanks for the primer.

In my humble opinion, the QC + overall design aesthetic has slowly been getting worse, since 2009. By the time the "Thrilling 30" line was released, figures were often quite hollow, and frequently misassembled. It genuinely seemed Hasbro was experimenting with the idea of gauging how much the public would accept lower and lower quality toys at higher and higher prices. In 2014, I realized the quality control and design aesthetic was just not going to improve anymore, and I started purchasing less newer TF's.

It's such a shame too. If Hasbro had come out with these G1-inspired TF's a few years before the 3rd party companies got to them, I think the quality of toys like Devastator, Metroplex + Powermaster Optimus Prime would've been even better. Oh well.

There is at least one silver-lining to all of these QC issues, though... I sure do save a lot more money, when I avoid buying weak and substandard toys. I do love Transformers, but... Hasbro really needs to step up their game on the quality of the toyline. Otherwise, for me at least, I won't feel very compelled to buy them much anymore, I'm sorry to say.

ScottyP wrote:Oh look it's this thread again

You're a bit late, buddy.



Also, no need to get out of your way just to point out that you have nothing to contribute to the thread.

The last time I participated in a QC issue thread had recently moved from China to Vietnam. My personal conclusion at that time was the factories in Vietnam were a step down from China. I don't know what year that was, I just remember that to me it seemed the QC issues exploded following the move.

I could be completely wrong about the factory switch being the issue, but I got nothing else.

Bradimus wrote:I could be completely wrong about the factory switch being the issue, but I got nothing else.

I think you are perfectly right.

Kinda amazing that "Made in China" is now synonym of quality.
Same thing with the "Made in Japan" before 1990. Before Japan manufactured the cheap goods. Then it was all China. And now, it's Vietnam's turn. It will take a couple of decades but Vietnam will produce quality stuff and the cheap things will be made in some other country. And the process will repeat itself.

Out of 17 figures I bought in 2017, 5 had defects. I exchanged 2 of them for duplicates with no problems, returned 1 because I decided I disliked it, fixed 1, and just decided to deal with the last one ( Lion Alpha Trion...one of his paws keeps falling off).

Chibi Starscream wrote:( Lion Alpha Trion...one of his paws keeps falling off).

Unless it fall by itself, it's not really a defect. It's just bad design. I'd like to pin them.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Chibi Starscream wrote:( Lion Alpha Trion...one of his paws keeps falling off).

Unless it fall by itself, it's not really a defect. It's just bad design. I'd like to pin them.

Ah I see. It's not broken...but whenever I transform him or try to pose in beast form, it falls off if I move it. The other ones are more secure.

Well, it definitely isn't just Hasbro since Takara Tomy shares factories.



Just my luck...

Emerje

Chibi Starscream wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Chibi Starscream wrote:( Lion Alpha Trion...one of his paws keeps falling off).

Unless it fall by itself, it's not really a defect. It's just bad design. I'd like to pin them.

Ah I see. It's not broken...but whenever I transform him or try to pose in beast form, it falls off if I move it. The other ones are more secure.

Must a slight tolerance issue with yours, it happens now and again. That can happen with any joint, any figure, just the luck of the draw.