The Energon Pub

News Credits: 4837 · by **william-james88** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:26 pm

So many fans have now gotten Victory Saber and while reactions are positive across the board, there are some issues that have been reported and we are letting you know of them in case you intend on keeping one in box for a while and not wanting an unwelcome surprise when Hasbro stops supporting this particular project with specialized customer service (as it did with Unicron).

While the paint defects, overspray and scratches have been common, they vary wildly from one sample to the next. The defect that has come up often is that one of the slots for Saber's nosecone has not been cut out. It is the most recurring defect attributed to sculpting so far and it prevents the nosecone from attaching properly to form the alt mode. There has also been a report from fellow Seibertronian Cloudbaloon that the handle to their V-Lock Canon is missing. And lastly, the face flap for Victory Leo is very tight, which can lead to breakage, as you can see in the image below from Thebricklord.

For MISB collectors, the box isn't actually sealed, so checking for these issues would not result in unsealing the box.

by **FiddlerUndone** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 7:01 pm

RotorstormNZ wrote:I'm genuinely smiling ear to ear seeing you all get yours - this is so exciting! I can't wait for everyone's photos, feedback and reviews! Congrats! (I'm doing my best to be not jealous and instead see this as an opportunity to live vicariously )

FiddlerUndone wrote:That makes me curious enough to ask Pulse's customer service if they know why.

Have you heard back from them?

Talked an Eric. Regarding why everything I get comes from Chino he couldn'to t begin to guess. Regarding Victory Saber coming from Chino he said that's where every previous Haslab had shipped from because they're a specialty item. But they've gotten enough complaints about it that they used Victory Saber as a test run for having a location on both sides of the country to cut down shipping times. Which looks to have had an interesting outcome.

by **SpaceEagle** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:23 pm

I hope these issues only affected the first batch or so, and hopefully these people can get replacements for these defects.

I'm still excited to get hands on mine soon but let's say go hope these issues are caught and resolved!

News Credits: 1 · by **Gauntlet101010** » Fri Dec 09, 2022 10:43 pm

I opened mine today. No issues like that here. Just a small scratch on the paint on the arm. Overall happy with it, though.

News Credits: 331 · by **chuckdawg1999** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:02 am

ZeroWolf wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Because of that this set has a leg up since we're getting Victory Leo.

Are you saying that MP Victory Leo will finally be a thing? I never heard it announced from anywhere.

I think he means this set has a leg up on ole MP 24 Because it is Victory Star Saber.

I do wonder why Takara never followed through with Victory Leo, did MP24 not sell well?

Even though it was the best selling toy the first week it was released, it quickly dropped off and is the worst selling MP in history.

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:07 am

I assumed Haslab items shipping from Chino CA were for mostly Western U.S. orders.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:13 am

o.supreme wrote:I assumed Haslab items shipping from Chino CA were for mostly Western U.S. orders.

According to FedEx, mine shipped from Elwood, IL.

by **roughhouse** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:31 am

Mine came in today from Elmwood as well. Everything was in excellent shape, no scratches or paint issues and all the parts were good. I am being gentle with it as I don't want any breakage.

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 5:57 am

william-james88 wrote:For MISB collectors, the box isn't actually sealed, so checking for these issues would not result in unsealing the box.

Not true. The box IS sealed. Kinda. There's that shipping box where FeDex applied the stickers, wrote on it, and so on. Then tight inside, there's the brown shipping box that Hasbro use for all their toys. THAT one is sealed. So for the HASLAB Victory Saber to remain "sealed", that brown box must remain sealed. However, it will totally suck as a display piece. So I'm not opening my second set at all. When I'll sell it, I'll just issue dire warnings in the listing that the thing is completely sealed and uninspected.

cloudballoon wrote:I unpacked everything and found the canon is missing the handle!

Ahem... Look closely on the Victory Leo side of the box. The main canon handle is a separate piece.

As for mine, it doesn't seem to have any defects, misassembly, nor scuffed chrome. I'll do a proper unboxing and review later today and create a thread.

News Credits: 10 · by **Omegatron.** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 7:48 am

-Kanrabat- wrote:
cloudballoon wrote:I unpacked everything and found the canon is missing the handle!

Ahem... Look closely on the Victory Leo side of the box. The main canon handle is a separate piece.

I think that's the shield handle you're looking at. The cannon handle is built in and non-removable.

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:40 am

Omegatron. wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:
cloudballoon wrote:I unpacked everything and found the canon is missing the handle!

Ahem... Look closely on the Victory Leo side of the box. The main canon handle is a separate piece.

I think that's the shield handle you're looking at. The cannon handle is built in and non-removable.

Well, I'll have to unpack further and look at the instructions. :HEADHURTS:

by **cloudballoon** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:34 am

-Kanrabat- wrote:
Omegatron. wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:
cloudballoon wrote:I unpacked everything and found the canon is missing the handle!

Ahem... Look closely on the Victory Leo side of the box. The main canon handle is a separate piece.

I think that's the shield handle you're looking at. The cannon handle is built in and non-removable.

Well, I'll have to unpack further and look at the instructions.

Omegatron's correct. The light grey piece located at the upper right of Victory Leo is for the shield. The cannon's handle should be black (? at least in Thew's video & in HasLab's render/sample). By the look of things after I unscrewed the front "flap", the cannon handle piece's contruction should look similar to this:

News Credits: 4837 · by **william-james88** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:33 am

Yes the canon handle is black and already affixed to the canon. You can remove the astuc tray to see if it's intact from under without undoing the plastic ties

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:44 am

william-james88 wrote:Yes the canon handle is black and already affixed to the canon. You can remove the astuc tray to see if it's intact from under without undoing the plastic ties

Safe.

by **cloudballoon** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:34 pm

-Kanrabat- wrote:
william-james88 wrote:Yes the canon handle is black and already affixed to the canon. You can remove the astuc tray to see if it's intact from under without undoing the plastic ties

Safe.

I'm just pissed that it's 3 for 3 of my last orders from Hasbro Pulse that have serious functional defects.

Happy for you though!

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:41 pm

cloudballoon wrote:
-Kanrabat- wrote:
william-james88 wrote:Yes the canon handle is black and already affixed to the canon. You can remove the astuc tray to see if it's intact from under without undoing the plastic ties

Safe.

I'm just pissed that it's 3 for 3 of my last orders from Hasbro Pulse that have serious functional defects.

Happy for you though!

Damn!

I'll have to get on the proper unboxing and pictorial review.

News Credits: 25 · by **LinaNui** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 1:05 pm

Mine just showed up without any warnings, and so far everything is perfect with it! No scratches, missing parts, or other issues so far! I am so hyped!

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 3:43 pm

El Chino better get on the ball...Still no shipping yet.

As JJonah Jameson once said..... " If they don't want to be famous, I'll make them Infamous!"

El Chino !
El Chino !!
El Chino !!!!

News Credits: 1 · by **Bumblevivisector** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 4:41 pm

Just opened mine today, and everything appears to be assembled and present, but that mask joint on VL's forehead probably would break if I pressed it flush against his face. Seems to be a straight up design flaw.

I'm going to find a very fine file and grind down the lower corner a bit before I attempt to fully transform him. Unless someone has a suggestion of a specific tool that'd be perfect for the job?

News Credits: 1 · by **Bumblevivisector** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 5:11 pm

Just found that my Star Saber also has the uncut-slot defect. Any way to remedy that other than just drilling it out, then dremmeling it smooth? And is this so common that Hasbro might run out of replacement parts right away?

News Credits: 100 · by **-Kanrabat-** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 6:06 pm

I'm currently photographing my set in all angles, transforming, posing, and so on. So far, I did Star Saber and all of his components, except his daff "base mode". For me it doesn't exist. I also did Victory Leo's bot mode. Now all's that left are Leo's altmodes and the full Victory Saber.

So far so good, nothing seems to be missing nor any defects. I could be full OCD and say that the gold chrome on both Saber and Leo have some blemishes, but you really need a magnifying glass to notice them.

Expect the full pictorial review tonight.

News Credits: 2 · by **Crosscheck** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:06 pm

One of the flaps on Saber's legs snapped literally on the first transformation. It isn't visible in the combined mode whatsoever, but it still pisses me off.

News Credits: 1642 · by **D-Maximal_Primal** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:36 pm

Much to my annoyance, my Victory Saber had an attempted delivery this morning while I was away, so it didn't get delivered. Now to see what happens next

News Credits: 56 · by **o.supreme** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:39 pm

Looks like FedEx finally picked up from El Chino. Should deliver to my home on Tuesday. Just missing the Deathsaurus cutt off. Go figure. Thankfully I'm not depending on one to support the other.

News Credits: 12 · by **Sentinel_Primal** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 10:59 pm

I'm hyped, my Victory Saber's shipping out from Chino. Should be here the 15th, but I plan to open it for Christmas. I'll probably open it and check qc real quick but then I'll get it wrapped up until then