The Energon Pub

Jesterhead wrote:I haven't received an in stock notification from BBTS...

And, it's not showing up in stock now...

Am I missing something?

I suspect they haven't recieved their full shipment in and couldn't fulfill all preorders. Just have patients, it will be filled. It happens at all the stores from time to time.

Jesterhead wrote:I haven't received an in stock notification from BBTS...

And, it's not showing up in stock now...

Am I missing something?

Joel from BBTS posted this on FansProject's Facebook last Wednesday (8/3):

"Joel from BBTS here - it appears Fansproject shipped only a portion of our Thundershred order out, we hope to have the balance of the order very soon, but waiting for confirmation from them, sorry for the delay!"

Then went on to say "they confirmed more thundershred will ship to us August 5th, and should arrive August 8th".

It would be nice if BBTS could update their customers directly in situations like this, but I'm usually very pleased with their customer service. Hopefully you'll be getting your order filled soon.

After having a TON of alignment/tolerance issues with Thundershred (got him today from BBTS), I decided to cancel my pre-orders for the other two not-Insecticons. The figure looks nice, but if I can't even transform it without parts being misaligned (couldn't tab one of the legs into the crotch, it just forced out every time, couldn't get the insect leg to stay tabbed into his body) then it's not worth the money to me.

On the bright side, I also got my City Commander today and it's wonderful, I combined it with my Ultra Magnus and have him displayed next to my DIA commander. It was a lovely surprise to find that CC came with extra face plates so I was able to swap the face on my DIA commander for one with the more Optimus Prime-like face shield .

After my experience with Thundershred, I've definitely lost some confidence in FP, but maybe it was just 1 bad figure out of the lot. Hopefully others won't share my experiences.

By the way, for those wondering, since I saw it asked, I went ahead and popped his chest off. It's held on with two large tabs that fit under its chest. You have to remove the screws on the sides of the chest and separate the two halves of the figure to get it off, it does NOT open (no worries, I didn't dismantle it until after it broke, otherwise I would not have done so but figured why the heck not since you guys were wondering).

He is a pain in the ass to transform. I popped the arms off the ball joint at least a dozen times trying to get them into position. He is a great display piece in robot mode, but alt mode is a little dissapointing. So far he is my least favorite Fansproject figure/upgrade.

LOST Cybertronian wrote:He is a pain in the ass to transform. I popped the arms off the ball joint at least a dozen times trying to get them into position. He is a great display piece in robot mode, but alt mode is a little dissapointing. So far he is my least favorite Fansproject figure/upgrade.

It'll take a lot for Thundershred to take that position from Warbot for me. Still waiting for Kapow to ship mine as well.

Does anybody know when the two figures will be available? TF Source still has a july release date.

Trying to decide if I want to wait on them or ship what I have now.

BBTS lists both of the other not-Insecticons for August, so I expect the one that was supposed to be released in July will be released soon, and the other will likely be released closer to the end of the month, so if you're holding out for the sake of convenient shipping etc., I'd wait until either late August if both figures are in by then, or go ahead and ship in the first week of September if it hasn't yet arrived that way you're not stuck waiting an extra month.

****! I just broke my Thundershred. I was super careful with the damn blades after reading this thread, even shaved the purple gauntlet sockets to make them larger, cos they are stupidly tight, and the peg still snapped clean off the blade!

*sighs*

I'm glad I didn't buy it, the final pictures ruined it for me, but hearing this tolerance issue really bothers me.

After the arm connectors for Bruticus, I've been kinda worried their quality was going downhill.

Now, hearing this? I'm going to be extremely cautious with future FansProject purchases.

Autobot032 wrote:*sighs*

I'm glad I didn't buy it, the final pictures ruined it for me, but hearing this tolerance issue really bothers me.

The pix were ok with me but the trouble that has been reported is what is making me glad I did not purchase this insecticon.

Cyber Bishop wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:*sighs*

I'm glad I didn't buy it, the final pictures ruined it for me, but hearing this tolerance issue really bothers me.

The pix were ok with me but the trouble that has been reported is what is making me glad I did not purchase this insecticon.

It worries me. I mean, from all accounts it sounds like this guy is a bunch of tabs and slots and most of the tabs break off.

I'm not lining up with my wallet open, to spend $50.00 on that.

Dread_Wing wrote:****! I just broke my Thundershred. I was super careful with the damn blades after reading this thread, even shaved the purple gauntlet sockets to make them larger, cos they are stupidly tight, and the peg still snapped clean off the blade!

I have emailed BBTS and Fansproject about this. Hopefully someone replies to me. I am scared to do anything with the claws now, so they lie half assembled. I was getting ready to clean off the lightning bolt and put a Con symbol on too.

EDIT: Just got a message that my message to Fansproject got bounced. I used their internal email system. So, joy. No way to contact them.

I've been a huge advocate for FansProject releases thus far. It's like a punch to the gut acknowledging their lack of consistency as of late. I'm afraid I must cancel my order in this regard. Thank you to all that have reported the faults in this release. Killer, as the concept and design had my hopes up. Perhaps this is for the best; blind loyalty would've cost me a mint.

Autobot032 wrote:*sighs*

I'm glad I didn't buy it, the final pictures ruined it for me, but hearing this tolerance issue really bothers me.

After the arm connectors for Bruticus, I've been kinda worried their quality was going downhill.

Now, hearing this? I'm going to be extremely cautious with future FansProject purchases.

The Bruticus issue and this seem to be few and far between. I don't have problems with my Bruticus at all and he's been in combined mode since day 1.

amcgrath929 wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:*sighs*

I'm glad I didn't buy it, the final pictures ruined it for me, but hearing this tolerance issue really bothers me.

After the arm connectors for Bruticus, I've been kinda worried their quality was going downhill.

Now, hearing this? I'm going to be extremely cautious with future FansProject purchases.

The Bruticus issue and this seem to be few and far between. I don't have problems with my Bruticus at all and he's been in combined mode since day 1.

My Bruticus is in great shape, the only issue being Explorer's hip joints; and that's only because of play-wear on my part. Both of my commander sets are excellent too, and my Superion is almost perfect (the only problem being the chrome pieces on the foot parts.) I still think FansProject is a magnificent company (they even have their own shelf that also includes the PE series.) I want these Insecticons very badly, but if I cancel my preorder for the second Insecticon, I could avoid having to purchase CA-01 and CA-02.

Maybe Fansproject should include improved & redesigned claws with the next causality figure, as TFC is doing with Exgraver's digger...
I remember when everyone was being on the fence with Hercules because they were worried about TFC's QC and customer support not being on par with FP's

cylor wrote:Maybe Fansproject should include improved & redesigned claws with the next causality figure, as TFC is doing with Exgraver's digger...
I remember when everyone was being on the fence with Hercules because they were worried about TFC's QC and customer support not being on par with FP's

That would be a brilliant idea. I can see another 3rd party group coming up with new, more G1 Claws, handguns, and a cerebro-shell launcher for Bombshell too. I saw on TFW someone modified a set of claws from a G1 Shrapnel and attached them to Thundershred and they looked fantastic.

cylor wrote:Maybe Fansproject should include improved & redesigned claws with the next causality figure, as TFC is doing with Exgraver's digger...
I remember when everyone was being on the fence with Hercules because they were worried about TFC's QC and customer support not being on par with FP's

DUDE! Way to tell it how it is.

I haven't gotten round to opening mine yet. Not sure if I've got the guts to now.

Sodan-1 wrote:

cylor wrote:Maybe Fansproject should include improved & redesigned claws with the next causality figure, as TFC is doing with Exgraver's digger...
I remember when everyone was being on the fence with Hercules because they were worried about TFC's QC and customer support not being on par with FP's

DUDE! Way to tell it how it is.

I haven't gotten round to opening mine yet. Not sure if I've got the guts to now.

If you take the time to enlarge the holes in the purple gauntlets so they are no longer scarily tight, you should be OK. I didn't enlarge them enough and thus one blade snapped, I have enlarged the other three further, and I no longer feel the blades are at risk of snapping. (That being said I felt pretty secure the first time)

Update: BBTS is sending me a replacement claw. I feel so relieved. With the holes in the purple gauntlet carved out I no longer feel at risk of snapping them. I have problems with getting one of the black crotch tabs into it's respective hole, but if it breaks off, no biggie, it will fit into vehicle mode neater without that tab.

BBTS told me they have had a lot of issues with broken claws, and they have no idea what Fansproject will do about it.

Wow, one hell of a turnaround here. Like Cylor said, we were all worried about TFC, and they hit it out of the park with Scavenger. And salivating over FP's Insecticons. Now... shoe, meet other foot.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Wow, one hell of a turnaround here. Like Cylor said, we were all worried about TFC, and they hit it out of the park with Scavenger. And salivating over FP's Insecticons. Now... shoe, meet other foot.

Tell me about it...
What makes it even more irksome is the fact that it just doesn't feel right buying just one or two of the Insecticons. It's really a package deal emphasized by the Causality take on the characters; harnessing the elements. Kills me, man. I guess I can finally understand the hardcore fans of the "massive scale is how I envision my Devastator" Hercules. This is how I want my Insecticons, but I cannot stand for shoddy production craft; not from FansProject. Not to mention the fact that the extras that had been FansProject staples - the comic that morphed into an instruction manual, the seamless integration of the alt mode, the plastic quality, the lag time between releases - all seem to be lacking in this rapid fire money grab. On top of that, their fansite is losing momentum as weeks go by without new posts - tragic considering the fanbase's intitial excitement. I understand these guys have other endeavors, but I figured, a weekly check in would be a nice nod to the fans of the For Fans By Fans toy enthusiast's leading 3P toy maker. With the portion of us that can afford the $50 - $100 items, you gotta know by now, its all about fan service and the all important rule of thumb: quality over quantity...

Hello. I just recently got thunder shred in the mail and have had the same problem with one of the shorter blades in regards to the peg snapping off. I have currently just mailed fans project on their site to ask about ways to fix this issue ( i had already tired super gluing the peg back on but that proved to be too fragile and snapped right back off) but i was wondering if any one had any suggestions on how to slightly increase the hole size on the gauntlets. the toy itself is still a very nice toy and i have had no other complaints with it so far. I have only recently started collecting so i am not fully aware of what strategies are around for toy maintenance and repair so any advise on how i can keep thunder shred in good quality would also be appreciated.

sorry for the long post

Sincerly brotherthat

brotherthat wrote:Hello. I just recently got thunder shred in the mail and have had the same problem with one of the shorter blades in regards to the peg snapping off. I have currently just mailed fans project on their site to ask about ways to fix this issue ( i had already tired super gluing the peg back on but that proved to be too fragile and snapped right back off) but i was wondering if any one had any suggestions on how to slightly increase the hole size on the gauntlets. the toy itself is still a very nice toy and i have had no other complaints with it so far. I have only recently started collecting so i am not fully aware of what strategies are around for toy maintenance and repair so any advise on how i can keep thunder shred in good quality would also be appreciated.

sorry for the long post

Sincerly brotherthat

Sorry to hear about it happening, AGAIN. I tried to email fansproject and my email was bounced. BBTS was great and I have a replacement blade in the mail.

I opened the holes in the purple gauntlets using the tip of an Exacto knife, scraping the plastic all around, all the time test fitting a blade until I no longer felt concerned about it. This way you can get it as tight or loose as you feel you need to. I made one a bit too loose, and just tightened it up with some superglue, and more exacto shaving. It is all done inside the socket so none of it should be visible on the figure.

[DECEASED] wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Wow, one hell of a turnaround here. Like Cylor said, we were all worried about TFC, and they hit it out of the park with Scavenger. And salivating over FP's Insecticons. Now... shoe, meet other foot.

Tell me about it...
What makes it even more irksome is the fact that it just doesn't feel right buying just one or two of the Insecticons. It's really a package deal emphasized by the Causality take on the characters; harnessing the elements. Kills me, man. I guess I can finally understand the hardcore fans of the "massive scale is how I envision my Devastator" Hercules. This is how I want my Insecticons, but I cannot stand for shoddy production craft; not from FansProject. Not to mention the fact that the extras that had been FansProject staples - the comic that morphed into an instruction manual, the seamless integration of the alt mode, the plastic quality, the lag time between releases - all seem to be lacking in this rapid fire money grab. On top of that, their fansite is losing momentum as weeks go by without new posts - tragic considering the fanbase's intitial excitement. I understand these guys have other endeavors, but I figured, a weekly check in would be a nice nod to the fans of the For Fans By Fans toy enthusiast's leading 3P toy maker. With the portion of us that can afford the $50 - $100 items, you gotta know by now, its all about fan service and the all important rule of thumb: quality over quantity...

WARNING, indeed; on so many levels.

Is it really fair to say FP quality is bad because of one instance which relatively speaking, seems to be hit or miss. As is the quality on Exgraver joints. That problem gets overlooked though because we have quick fixes for that. I am sorry to hear the few people in this thread that have had problems but I know multiple others that have not. Speaking for myself, FP is still the top of the ladder in third party projects.