The Energon Pub

I just opened MP Soundwave and Laserbeak. Everything looked great but horrified when one of Laserbeak's booster packs crumbled off. Has anyone else experienced that problem? I contacted BBTS hoping they will send a replacement part.

sorry that happened to you my friend, but i have not seen this issue, but the part is very tight so i could see it happening. BBTS will more than likely take care of that for you, but you may need to send in the broken one.

I'm very sorry to hear about your problem! My MP Soundwave arrived today and mine does not appear to have any issues. HOWEVER, my Laserbeak's joints are very very tight. I found this to be especially true with his boosters/weapons. I have only transformed him once and was very scared while doing so. The joints fought me and so I thought I was doing it wrong. I checked the instructions and several video reviews and realized the joints are just very stiff.

How exactly did they crumble off? Again, I'm sorry to hear about your problem. I'm sure BBTS will take care of you! I think everyone should take precaution when transforming this guy just to be safe.

On my Laserbeak one of the feet doesn't quite fit into place when in alt-mode, so it protrudes a little when it's supposed to be flat. Otherwise everything is fine

Skywarped told me that other forums are reporting breakage on that joint.

Mykltron wrote:Skywarped told me that other forums are reporting breakage on that joint.

Yup, it was the hinge that disintegrated. Glad to report that mine was fine, though.

You'll also want to be careful with the tiny head camera, guys. Mine got slightly misaligned when I tried to flip it open--fortunately, I was able to fix it back in place.

Yep, I had a crack at it and the thing's tighter than the proverbial. Didn't force the issue, just in case

Thanks for the heads-up about this guys. I have mine sitting in my POL still so I haven't had a chance to get LB in hand yet. I'll remember this and use caution when transforming him when I do get him. He's going straight into bird mode and staying that way, I don't want to risk a broken toy for sure, especially not one that looks this good.

This isn't quite Laserbeak related, I noticed that when Soundwave is in alt-mode, his chest door doesn't open as fast. It seems that the transformation causes some pressure to build around his chest which slows down the door, but when he is back in robot-mode it opens normally. Did anyone else notice this?

Deruji wrote:This isn't quite Laserbeak related, I noticed that when Soundwave is in alt-mode, his chest door doesn't open as fast. It seems that the transformation causes some pressure to build around his chest which slows down the door, but when he is back in robot-mode it opens normally. Did anyone else notice this?

I noticed this as well. There have been a few times where his chest wouldn't open unless I hit the button with precision as opposed to how easily it opens in 'bot mode. I'm going to continue using caution as I play around with this guy and his minion.

xyl360 wrote:Thanks for the heads-up about this guys. I have mine sitting in my POL still so I haven't had a chance to get LB in hand yet. I'll remember this and use caution when transforming him when I do get him. He's going straight into bird mode and staying that way, I don't want to risk a broken toy for sure, especially not one that looks this good.

I've transformed LB so many times in two days that I've lost count As long as you're careful you shouldn't have a problem.

Drift082111 wrote:

Deruji wrote:This isn't quite Laserbeak related, I noticed that when Soundwave is in alt-mode, his chest door doesn't open as fast. It seems that the transformation causes some pressure to build around his chest which slows down the door, but when he is back in robot-mode it opens normally. Did anyone else notice this?

I noticed this as well. There have been a few times where his chest wouldn't open unless I hit the button with precision as opposed to how easily it opens in 'bot mode. I'm going to continue using caution as I play around with this guy and his minion.

Had to transform SW again to test this as I hadn't noticed it before. Guess this is another issue that only pops up on some figures as mine is okay...

Sucks that some people are having these problems though

Here's a couple pictures:





Not sure if there was already a crack in the plastic or if the plastic was fatigued. When I tried moving the booster it came right off. Wasn't even a snap or a break. The little black piece in the background is the other plastic piece that should be connected to the booster going around the pin.

The other booster is fine but the joint is very tight as others have mentioned. Interesting to hear that others are having the same issues.

I contacted BBTS with the pictures. They offered a full refund or partial credit for the broken Laserbeak. They said they do not have any replacement Laserbeaks or parts. Unfortunately, I had preordered this guy back in May and locked in at the low price, so a refund puts me at a disadvanatage if I choose to reorder a new one at the higher price now at BBTS. I am trying to get them to do an even exchange.

I have always ordered through BBTS just in case of an issue like this, so I am hoping they will make things right.

Do you guys think the Laserbeak issue and the feet paint thing will be a problem in the assumed Hasbro release? (I don't have any previous Takara Masterpieces to compare to their Hasbro counterparts.)

Cyberpath wrote:Do you guys think the Laserbeak issue and the feet paint thing will be a problem in the assumed Hasbro release? (I don't have any previous Takara Masterpieces to compare to their Hasbro counterparts.)

If the problem with Laserbeak is common enough, then I suspect they will try to correct it in the Hasbro release. As for the paint, I doubt it, I'm not sure there's much that can be done short of not painting that part of the figure.

Holysh*t! Stormrider! This reminds of of deja vu with MP-01 Convoy's "Megatron" gun accessory.

Cyberpath wrote:I contacted BBTS with the pictures. They offered a full refund or partial credit for the broken Laserbeak. They said they do not have any replacement Laserbeaks or parts. Unfortunately, I had preordered this guy back in May and locked in at the low price, so a refund puts me at a disadvanatage if I choose to reorder a new one at the higher price now at BBTS. I am trying to get them to do an even exchange.

I don't see why they would turn down an even exchange. You are entitled to the product you paid for, not a defective one.

From what I hear, their customer service is top notch. I would just email them back and ask for an even exchange.

I'm tempted to get one now and not wait for a possible Hasbro release.

But I dunno, are the various problems something common or more one in a hundred? Searching "MP-13 Soundwave" on Google Images earlier, I came across this photo posted on another forum. That's a pretty unattractive paint defect on such a prominent place.

*** thinks to myself: cant wait to see similar problems with ravage***

sorry to play devils advocate here

but i think it may be isolated to a small margin of the figures produced. both of mine are crisp and tight, but seem very sturdy... though with soundwave and minions, i dont think ill ever transform them, cause there is nothing exciting about a box.

To answer people's questions:

Yes, BBTS was easy to work with and I am doing a simple exchange.

Yes, the booster breakage does remind of MP01 Megatron gun toy breakage. The good news is that the Megatron gun toy flaw is fixed on with this figure.

I am sure that this booster breakage issue will be worked out with Buzzsaw. It's too common of an issue. There are similar reports happening on the Japanese blog reviews.

My figure did have two other minor defects. The faceplate was not painted perfectly, but passable.

And Soundwave's battery gun doesn't fit into his hand as described. There is a slot in his hand for the gun tab to fit. The problem is that the gun tab is too big and the slot is too small. Hmmm...

The hip joints on Soundwave very tight. Anyone else have that issue?

He lacks a bit of paint apps on his crest( the tiny upside down triangle). Heck, if Tomy can do it on his G1 counterpart, cost cutting on such a scale?

My only issues with this figure are a left index finger that pops off and One of Laserbeaks tail fins that should rotate into a vertical position stops at about 45 degrees and won't go any higher even with a lot of force and I don't intend to use any more force, so they will both stay at 45 degrees

Stormrider wrote:To answer people's questions:

Yes, BBTS was easy to work with and I am doing a simple exchange.

Yes, the booster breakage does remind of MP01 Megatron gun toy breakage. The good news is that the Megatron gun toy flaw is fixed on with this figure.

Stormrider, I hate to point this out, but my Megatron gun that came with Soundwave also broke about two weeks ago. Not in the same place, but it seems to be the same kind of plastic so I guess I should have expected it. This time it was not the joint, but the clip that connects the stock to Megatron. Both sides of the clip sheared off without a sound as I was taking it off, ironically to inspect the joint.

morphobots wrote:

Stormrider wrote:To answer people's questions:

Yes, BBTS was easy to work with and I am doing a simple exchange.

Yes, the booster breakage does remind of MP01 Megatron gun toy breakage. The good news is that the Megatron gun toy flaw is fixed on with this figure.

Stormrider, I hate to point this out, but my Megatron gun that came with Soundwave also broke about two weeks ago. Not in the same place, but it seems to be the same kind of plastic so I guess I should have expected it. This time it was not the joint, but the clip that connects the stock to Megatron. Both sides of the clip sheared off without a sound as I was taking it off, ironically to inspect the joint.

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. Did you buy it recently?

Stormrider wrote:

morphobots wrote:

Stormrider wrote:To answer people's questions:

Yes, BBTS was easy to work with and I am doing a simple exchange.

Yes, the booster breakage does remind of MP01 Megatron gun toy breakage. The good news is that the Megatron gun toy flaw is fixed on with this figure.

Stormrider, I hate to point this out, but my Megatron gun that came with Soundwave also broke about two weeks ago. Not in the same place, but it seems to be the same kind of plastic so I guess I should have expected it. This time it was not the joint, but the clip that connects the stock to Megatron. Both sides of the clip sheared off without a sound as I was taking it off, ironically to inspect the joint.

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. Did you buy it recently?

No, I pre-ordered it as soon as it became available last year. I bring it up as a possible quality issue only because I've always noticed, at least on mine, that those clip sides bowed outward. I thought the clip was designed that way, but now I think the slot wasn't wide enough to slide onto the tab on the gun without pushing out the sides. It always did seem to stick, which is why I hardly ever took it off. This was maybe the fifth time I tried. I never tried to file it wider for fear of breaking it. Does yours stick at all? I'd be curious to know if anyone with the Hasbro version has this problem.

Same issue with the MP Convoy gun then.