The Energon Pub

News Credits: 372 · by **Cyberpath** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:37 am

Some more info from the other board:

Here is the original link that shows how the leg of mp36 Megatron got broken.
It is said that we should loosen the screw in thigh a bit to avoid it. But, which screws are these?

Open the two black flaps over his butt to expose a screw, give it about a 1/4 turn to loosen. Legs will transform fine then.

Thanks. Would this help to pull down the legs easily during transformation to gun?

Yep, that's exactly what loosening that screw will affect. (the hips coming down)

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:39 am

SpaceKaseJase wrote:My Megatron is on its way, so I have no idea whether there will be QC issues with it or not. My biggest concern is whether or not Takara will fix/replace these figs. Doubt the vendor will considering this happens during transformation. Anyone contacted Takara yet? I'm currently working in my brain how repairs can be made should this happen to my fig. Perhaps those more talented than I can begin creating 3d printed replacement parts a-la Shapeways. I only paid $167 USD for mine (with shipping), but I still feel it is WAY overpriced considering the QC issues. $230 is friggin highway robbery.

I tried contacting Takara once for a production error on Legends Blackarachnia and it was a nightmare. Their customer service is only Japanese since they are not responsible for distribution outside of Japan.

News Credits: 30 · by **DeathReviews** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:43 am

I regrettably cancelled my pre-order. After waiting so long for a decent MP Megatron, I do not want to be burned by a faulty one that breaks and damages easy under normal handling. Too bad, it LOOKED good.....

News Credits: 18 · by **Immortal Starscream** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:48 am

this is something I've been very worried about with megs since getting the beastwars mps. both are loosing paint due to transformation, but in cheetor's case specifically every componant is covered in pain wich is causing huge tolerance issues, nearly breaking one hip and one shoulder. was able to work some magic to save him. hopefully I will be able to do the same with megs. might need to shave the paint down on some pegs and connections. not sure if the barrel shown in the pic would be something fixable though. mine should be in monday so I will find out

Like ZeroGFrame on Facebook · by **ZeroGFrame** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:48 am

DeathReviews wrote:I regrettably cancelled my pre-order. After waiting so long for a decent MP Megatron, I do not want to be burned by a faulty one that breaks and damages easy under normal handling. Too bad, it LOOKED good.....

Or just don't transform him. I got the first MP Megs, and Apollyon, and never actually transformed either of them due to complexity and damage concerns (I keep them all in bot mode anyway). These are great warnings, but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

News Credits: 4838 · by **william-james88** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:51 am

ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

News Credits: 23 · by **Bumblebee21** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:55 am

william-james88 wrote:
ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

yeah. these are toys. if they werent meant to transform then they should be statues.
they are called transformers for a reason.

News Credits: 18 · by **Immortal Starscream** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:57 am

william-james88 wrote:
ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

agreed. most of my mp figures post mp10 have been quite playable. soundwave being the exception. im so worried about breaking his legs, and lazerbeak and ravage both broke immediately out of the package

News Credits: 23 · by **Bumblebee21** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:59 am

Immortal Starscream wrote:
william-james88 wrote:
ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

agreed. most of my mp figures post mp10 have been quite playable. soundwave being the exception. im so worried about breaking his legs, and lazerbeak and ravage both broke immediately out of the package

you got a bad soundwave then
which version

by **SpaceKaseJase** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:02 am

Was thinking of an idea to fix the broken post issues. Since each one tends to have some plastic either behind or surrounding the base (where it is broken), perhaps using a tap and die with the correct size could work. Drill out the broken base (not all the way through, of course), then use a tap to create threads in the hole. Next, find (or shape) a nylon cylinder that will fit the hole. Use a die with the same thread count as the tap and form threads around the cylinder. Screw the post into place using epoxy to prevent "unscrewing" when turning the part around the post. The nylon would never snap, and the threads and epoxy should prevent twisting and pulling from the base. Voila! Would welcome other (or better) ideas.
LMKWYT

News Credits: 217 · by **Diem** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:03 am

If anyone needs help with contacting Takara about this in Japanese please PM me (my Japanese isn't amazing or anything but I should be able to get the point across). The more they hear back about this the more likely it is that there could be a running change fixing issues, as with MP-09, and at the risk of profiling, American and European consumers are a lot better at getting complaints heard than the Japanese.

Personally speaking I'm glad there's a good reason to hold off on this figure (since I can't afford it right now) but this sucks for anyone who's already bought it.

I'd definitely be interested to know if this is the result of actual design flaws, or just individual QC issues. These things can get blown out of proportion, but the MP line has had its fatal flaws before...

News Credits: 23 · by **Bumblebee21** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:05 am

the gun barrel breakage is from the silencer being too tight

News Credits: 18 · by **Immortal Starscream** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:06 am

Bumblebee21 wrote:
Immortal Starscream wrote:
william-james88 wrote:
ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

agreed. most of my mp figures post mp10 have been quite playable. soundwave being the exception. im so worried about breaking his legs, and lazerbeak and ravage both broke immediately out of the package

you got a bad soundwave then
which version

first release takara. im sure the legs are fine, but they are held on with such small thin plastic posts im just worried about man-handling them. but ravage all but crumbled, like G.P.S.. lazerbeaks pin joints in his thrusters were so tight they split apart

News Credits: 251 · by **Mindmaster** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:28 am

My Megatron came in this morning. After handling and transforming him, I haven't had any major QC issues aside from very, very minute scuffing of the barrel from applying the silencer. I'm just in love with this thing.

I would've waited an eternity for this [display]...

by **frogbat** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:40 am

Mindmaster wrote:My Megatron came in this morning. After handling and transforming him, I haven't had any major QC issues aside from very, very minute scuffing of the barrel from applying the silencer. I'm just in love with this thing.

I would've waited an eternity for this [display]...

that's an awesome display

i was very eager to get this guy but the price is a bit too much at the moment. I hope that he will be re released and soemof these QC issues get sorted...

News Credits: 19 · by **Carnivius_Prime** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:44 am

And this is one reason that puts me off buying the few Masterpiece figures I do like the look of (such as Shockwave, does he have any QC issues?) You'd think for the crazy costs of these figures they could have great quality control.

by **cruizerdave** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:47 am

It seems that Masterpiece Megatrons are cursed! CURSED I TELL YOU!

News Credits: 1014 · by **First Gen** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:54 am

This is extremely disheartening. At the price point I'd expect a figure thats more durable and well built, not one I gotta just leave in bot mode cause of poor design flaws. 200.00 bucks. Damn.

News Credits: 217 · by **Diem** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:14 am

Carnivius_Prime wrote:And this is one reason that puts me off buying the few Masterpiece figures I do like the look of (such as Shockwave, does he have any QC issues?) You'd think for the crazy costs of these figures they could have great quality control.

There are some individual QA issues that are just part of the nature of figures with these many parts and paint apps, and there are some issues that are endemic to the line (like diecast metal shedding paint more easily than plastic does) but these are the only widely known issues that I am aware of:
MP-5 Megatron - easily snapped plastic clips, rust-like discolouration on feet.
MP-8 Grimlock - original release had a screw inside the leg that rubbed chrome off the tail when transformed into robot mode. Most if not all later releases corrected this.
MP-08 Rodimus Prime - Paint easily rubbed off spoiler, leg joints break easily, shoulders break easily (US version). The paint issue was fixed, the other issues apply to all releases of this mold that I know of.

And, well, this Megatron apparently.

If anyone knows of any other issues do please correct me.

News Credits: 3 · by **Kyleor** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:16 am

If a new out of the box product breaks during normal usage, that's a defective product that the manufacturer needs to fix the issues with and replace.

News Credits: 6 · by **EmirateXaaron** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:29 am

All these reports coming in about breakage is really making me reconsider my preorder. My budget's already tight enough as-is, and I really don't want to put all of my Masterpiece savings into something that is susecptible to breakage. Is there any alternative Decepticons people can recommend? Shockwave looks really cool. I've also been debating on picking up Ultra Magnus, as he's one of my favorite Autobots.

News Credits: 217 · by **Diem** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:38 am

EmirateXaaron wrote:All these reports coming in about breakage is really making me reconsider my preorder. My budget's already tight enough as-is, and I really don't want to put all of my Masterpiece savings into something that is susecptible to breakage. Is there any alternative Decepticons people can recommend? Shockwave looks really cool. I've also been debating on picking up Ultra Magnus, as he's one of my favorite Autobots.

Shockwave and Ultra Magnus are both very solid figures, literally and figuratively. Neither of them have any "Oh my god how did they engineer THAT" moments like some other entries in the line but they both get the job done perfectly well. I love the two but some other people have raised some small complaints: UM's trailer doesn't turn into a smaller white Optimus Prime (instead it integrates into the transformation, to the extent that you don't need to partsform anything during his transformation) and SW is a paler shade of purple than some people expected and the logo on his chest is a (owner-applied) sticker rather than a tampograph.

Like ZeroGFrame on Facebook · by **ZeroGFrame** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:41 am

william-james88 wrote:
ZeroGFrame wrote:but honestly MP figures aren't meant to be "played" with. They're for collectors, and meant to look good and that's all.

MP 10 and Wheeljack are a blast to play with and are as durable as any other TF figure.

That is true, and Shockwave and Soundwave are both great for that too! I guess I overgeneralized, sorry. ^_^
But the point of the MPs is for collectors, and this one in particular strikes me primarily as a display piece, with a ludicrous amount of complexity (they never seem to get Megs right), so I'd just say keep him in Bot mode if you're worried about it.

Like ZeroGFrame on Facebook · by **ZeroGFrame** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:46 am

Mindmaster wrote:My Megatron came in this morning. After handling and transforming him, I haven't had any major QC issues aside from very, very minute scuffing of the barrel from applying the silencer. I'm just in love with this thing.

I would've waited an eternity for this [display]...

Did yours have the barrel plug? If so, can you comment on it? I see it's not there in the photo.

Like ZeroGFrame on Facebook · by **ZeroGFrame** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:47 am

Diem wrote:
EmirateXaaron wrote:All these reports coming in about breakage is really making me reconsider my preorder. My budget's already tight enough as-is, and I really don't want to put all of my Masterpiece savings into something that is susecptible to breakage. Is there any alternative Decepticons people can recommend? Shockwave looks really cool. I've also been debating on picking up Ultra Magnus, as he's one of my favorite Autobots.

Shockwave and Ultra Magnus are both very solid figures, literally and figuratively. Neither of them have any "Oh my god how did they engineer THAT" moments like some other entries in the line but they both get the job done perfectly well. I love the two but some other people have raised some small complaints: UM's trailer doesn't turn into a smaller white Optimus Prime (instead it integrates into the transformation, to the extent that you don't need to partsform anything during his transformation) and SW is a paler shade of purple than some people expected and the logo on his chest is a (owner-applied) sticker rather than a tampograph.

Agreed. Both are fantastic, and the rare MPs I actually "play" with.