The Energon Pub

Got sentinel and rewind yesterday, sentinels a lot of fun, his left leg is loose at the knee, have no idea how to fix that one

And rewinds great, to anyone who has him, are his forearm transformation joints really, worryingly stiff? Mine are, and it frightens me every time I go to transform him

Kurona wrote:Whatever the case may be, they look the same.

Stuartmaximus wrote:

Kurona wrote:and Powermaster OP is an incredibly extensive retool.

so is Fort Max!.....from Metroplex

I totally forgot Fort Max. And I was talking about figures from previous lines like Kurona said. Redecos /retools are a given in any TF line at this point.

Interesting it appears early on they were considering releasing Galvatron with an IDW crest.

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:Whatever the case may be, they look the same.

It's a panel on the upper chest that has two squares which are pretty much the same shape. I didn't say they looked 100% identical and I doubt they're gonna make Tankor's chest look 100% identical to his Universe toy/IDW design's rather than resembling it. If Optimus is going to be retooled into Octane rather than just redecoed with a new headmaster, I think we could safely say the chest windows are one part that isn't going to be retooled. If they were going to retool it later anyway I think they would have made Optimus' fake chest windows look a bit more like his truck mode's windows, or the squares the original Laser Optimus had for his chest. Instead, they went for shapes that, strangely enough, look quite like the squares on Universe/IDW Octane's chest.

Just watched balts' review of astrotrain, and I've gotta say, hasbro has seriously gotta get their sh|t together with these qc issues, they're starting to take a serious toll on my desire to continue buying what inevitably amounts to trash (you produce an action figure that cannot stand under it's own weight, you get a gold star from teacher)

Hellscream9999 wrote:Just watched balts' review of astrotrain, and I've gotta say, hasbro has seriously gotta get their sh|t together with these qc issues, they're starting to take a serious toll on my desire to continue buying what inevitably amounts to trash (you produce an action figure that cannot stand under it's own weight, you get a gold star from teacher)

What issues did it have?

Kurona wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:Just watched balts' review of astrotrain, and I've gotta say, hasbro has seriously gotta get their sh|t together with these qc issues, they're starting to take a serious toll on my desire to continue buying what inevitably amounts to trash (you produce an action figure that cannot stand under it's own weight, you get a gold star from teacher)

What issues did it have?

Hellscream9999 wrote:Got sentinel and rewind yesterday, sentinels a lot of fun, his left leg is loose at the knee, have no idea how to fix that one

It droops by a 45 degrees, it's super irritating, and if hasbro's current qc track record is anything to go by astrotrain being worse, will droop even more

So, like, do any toys have proper quality control or what? Feels like ever since "Thrilling 30" every release has had some kind of issue.

Noideaforaname wrote:So, like, do any toys have proper quality control or what? Feels like ever since "Thrilling 30" every release has had some kind of issue.

85% of my cw combiners are great, dunno what happened 'round the beginning of the year, some of it has to do with this sh|t new thin plastic not being able to withstand the forces of transforming

some of it is just the normal qc issues that have been around forever, but that so many find their way so consistently into the current figures is worrying

My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

I just knew Galvatron had something else going on in that giant empty chest of his. That prototype helmet looks like the art on the box.

steals_your_goats wrote:My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

So on top of the problems of every other figure I've bought, I should just shut up and let this continued and well-documented issue go unabated, not bringing it to the forefront for attention to possibly get it fixed and therefore become part of the problem? Great idea

On a better note, I absolutely love the panel-forming on sentinel, just admiring the way every piece interlocks in all the different modes is awesome, really, really smart use of panels

Hellscream9999 wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

So on top of the problems of every other figure I've bought, I should just shut up and let this continued and well-documented issue go unabated, not bringing it to the forefront for attention to possibly get it fixed and therefore become part of the problem? Great idea

On a better note, I absolutely love the panel-forming on sentinel, just admiring the way every piece interlocks in all the different modes is awesome, really, really smart use of panels

Yeah you should. It's annoying as **** because all you do is complain. When has complaining about things on here ever solved anything? The answer is never. All you do is harp on sh|t day after day. It's tiresome to read. You don't have to be super positive about everything but you can say your peace and leave it alone.

steals_your_goats wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

So on top of the problems of every other figure I've bought, I should just shut up and let this continued and well-documented issue go unabated, not bringing it to the forefront for attention to possibly get it fixed and therefore become part of the problem? Great idea

On a better note, I absolutely love the panel-forming on sentinel, just admiring the way every piece interlocks in all the different modes is awesome, really, really smart use of panels

Yeah you should. It's annoying as **** because all you do is complain. When has complaining about things on here ever solved anything? The answer is never. All you do is harp on sh|t day after day. It's tiresome to read. You don't have to be super positive about everything but you can say your peace and leave it alone.

I think the intent is more to warn other potential buyers about the figure's QC issues; either as something to consider in their choice of purchase, or as a forewarning to get something to fix it like Future or whatever

Kurona wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

So on top of the problems of every other figure I've bought, I should just shut up and let this continued and well-documented issue go unabated, not bringing it to the forefront for attention to possibly get it fixed and therefore become part of the problem? Great idea

On a better note, I absolutely love the panel-forming on sentinel, just admiring the way every piece interlocks in all the different modes is awesome, really, really smart use of panels

Yeah you should. It's annoying as **** because all you do is complain. When has complaining about things on here ever solved anything? The answer is never. All you do is harp on sh|t day after day. It's tiresome to read. You don't have to be super positive about everything but you can say your peace and leave it alone.

I think the intent is more to warn other potential buyers about the figure's QC issues; either as something to consider in their choice of purchase, or as a forewarning to get something to fix it like Future or whatever

And That's fine if you're offering a solution. If not then it's just as beneficial as this whole comment chain.

steals_your_goats wrote:

Kurona wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

steals_your_goats wrote:My sentinel has a loose knee but it doesn't inhibit posing in the slightest. Definitely not something to bitch and moan about

So on top of the problems of every other figure I've bought, I should just shut up and let this continued and well-documented issue go unabated, not bringing it to the forefront for attention to possibly get it fixed and therefore become part of the problem? Great idea

On a better note, I absolutely love the panel-forming on sentinel, just admiring the way every piece interlocks in all the different modes is awesome, really, really smart use of panels

Yeah you should. It's annoying as **** because all you do is complain. When has complaining about things on here ever solved anything? The answer is never. All you do is harp on sh|t day after day. It's tiresome to read. You don't have to be super positive about everything but you can say your peace and leave it alone.

I think the intent is more to warn other potential buyers about the figure's QC issues; either as something to consider in their choice of purchase, or as a forewarning to get something to fix it like Future or whatever

And That's fine if you're offering a solution. If not then it's just as beneficial as this whole comment chain.

Not necessarily. If someone identifies a problem then other people can think of their own solutions - especially if said person who identified the problem doesn't have a solution. It's always worth pointing out the problems even if you don't know how to solve them; in fact, that's one of the biggest points of posting it on an online community. So that people can work together to find problems and other people can find solutions and we're all happy and have **** awesome Astrotrains

I got a bunch of recent toys sitting here waiting to floor polish - like RID Scorponok - I did consider heating his knees up then re-hammering the pins but that seems a bit drastic to me. I do tend to have the worst trouble with RID toys though - I have seen some people have had some issues with Titans Returns "Titanmaster" heads not sitting right being to loose or to tight or the little guys head or arms just falling right off the figure.

QC on Transformers toys has always been an issue, I think more so possibly than other toy lines ... perhaps because there are so many parts versus a traditional action figure. QC has been an issue all the way back to day 1. Here are some common examples with G1 toys (some of which happened early on, other issues happened later in the toys life):

• G1 Soundwave's cassette door breaking
• Loose knee joints on G1 Soundwave that prevent him from standing straight or simply falling over
• Windshields/roof of car breaks off on G1 Prowl, Bluestreak, Smokescreen, and Jazz.
• Paint apps aren't always great on G1 toys either ... took a real close look at their faces like I have over the past 12 years of doing photography of Transformers toys and you'll see that they have all sorts of flaws.
• Loose accessories
• Loose joints
• Powermaster engines get stuck or quit working altogether
• Missiles on G1 Seekers easily break
• Handles on guns easily break off
• Rubber tires rot
• Cassette weapons are fragile (particularly on Rumble/Frenzy and Laserbeak/Buzzsaw)
• Chrome paint wear
• Die-cast paint wear
• Smokestacks on G1 Optimus Prime break off easily
• Various points on G1 Devastator are fragile
• Throttlebots pullback mechanism breaks
• Feet on Steeljaw break off
• Arms loose on G1 Ratchet and Ironhide, windshields break, feet loose
• Diaclone canopies break easily on Insecticons at connect point
• Kickback's wings often break, or his hands
• Connection point for Perceptor's microscope breaks, his chest breaks
• G1 Blaster loose arms, button to open cassette door quits working
• G1 Jetfire has multiple QC issues from paint wear to clips on red armor breaking, etc.
• G1 Megatron has multiple QC issues from arms and legs breaking off, etc
• G1 Mirage waist easily snaps in half (just broke one while transforming a minty one I was going to sell on eBay at the end of last year)
• Sideswipe's driver and passenger side windows easily break as well as windshield/hood of car. Spoilers can break off.
• Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Bumblejumper/Bumper's feet can easily break off with too much force, connection point for their heads can snap off which ends up in you having a headless robot
• Brawn's arms easily break off
• Huffer and Pipes "arms" easily break off
• Loose legs with Shockwave, rubber hose rots
• Astrotrain's diecast in legs can snap off when folding the front of the shuttle back into his legs
• Blitzwing's wing tips easily snap off
• White gear pieces inside Omega Supreme easily break which prevents electronics from working properly, tank turret snaps off, other various issues
• ... and so on

These were just ones I came up with from the top of my head of common issues I've experienced over the years with my own personal collection and from the thousands of G1 toys I've come across through collections I've purchased. A lot of this stuff comes to light when you start buying collections and seeing patterns form, plus being aware of these issues helps with what to look for when buying new collections.

Aside from the hip ratchets being off on some of the figures like Onslaught, Optimus Prime, and Motormaster, some of the springs not being tight enough to hold poses when combined, some loose or inconsistently sized pegs and peg holes (most notably Dead End, Wildrider, Streetwise, and Prowl) and the fragility of the Vortex mold that causes a faux peg to snap off if you aren't careful when transforming the legs, I haven't had a lot of issues with Combiner Wars figures (no more than other Transformers toy lines in the past).

Short story long: Transformers toys have always had issues from G1 all the way through today's products. If you have a problem with a toy, return it or get rid of it. Use it as a teachable moment to help you take steps to avoid breaking the figure in the future. If loose joints bother you, learn how to fix loose joints on Transformers. If you are going to be in this hobby, it is important to learn valuable steps to help take care of your collection going forward.

Kurona wrote:Not necessarily. If someone identifies a problem then other people can think of their own solutions - especially if said person who identified the problem doesn't have a solution. It's always worth pointing out the problems even if you don't know how to solve them; in fact, that's one of the biggest points of posting it on an online community. So that people can work together to find problems and other people can find solutions and we're all happy and have **** awesome Astrotrains

With this I 100% agree.

I've had Astrotrain for a week but am unaware of any issues with him at the moment. If anything, I was going to comment that it seems like they made adjustments to the mold from Sentinel Prime for SDCC Sentinel Prime and Astrotrain. Both seem to peg together much better than the original Sentinel Prime. At least with mine!

That Optimus chest does look like a totally decent homage to Tankor's chest. I like Kurona's argument, the fact that they didnt go all out and make it look like car windows hints that the chest will serve for another robot. Those shapes are too big a coincidence. I foresee no retooling on the body, ala Astrotrain and Sentinel Prime.

Toys will break if you are rough with them - there is obviously some engineering where they didn't really take that into full account - Megatron is a good example of that. But that said I've bought a couple of Megatron's are carboot sales and aside from sticker wear they were both intact.
I also got a Junker Ultra Magnus cab (mainly in case I needed some parts) and it's intact too even the smokestacks and it looks like someone had buried it in a sand pit or something - really worn - yet intact despite that.

I see how people like Peaugh, Chefatron or Vangelus handle their toys and i'm not at all surprised they have breaks.

I think I can't blame them totally as things like hook tabs are a stupid idea on a kids toy and likely to break simply through a moments inattention.

Some times I take one look at a toy and think "design flaw" - a good example of that is Optimal Optimus - one shelf dive and those rockets will snap off so I never used them for that reason.

Things like asking you to plug parts into painted areas is also not the brightest design move either.

I am very vary of how those titan Masters are designed - I suspect it was a long term poor choice to put the neck joint inside the titan master especially on ones made of clear plastic.

william-james88 wrote:That Optimus chest does look like a totally decent homage to Tankor's chest. I like Kurona's argument, the fact that they didnt go all out and make it look like car windows hints that the chest will serve for another robot. Those shapes are too big a coincidence. I foresee no retooling on the body, ala Astrotrain and Sentinel Prime.

I also later decided to compare to the IDW Character instead of the Universe toy - which makes sense for the toy to be based on, considering Tankor keeps getting used in the on-cybertron stories - and found that the windows are even more similar.



If anything's going to be retooled, I'd say it's the shoulder pads which are so obviously Laser Prime and need to be redone a little to look like Tankor's... uhhh... things.

If Hasbro had been super craft they'd have moulded the shoulders so they had different detail on each side so they can be reversed.

I am a little disappointed with Prime's Jet mode it's not as bad as Alpha Trion's but it's not great either.. especially next to Megs - but then Megs has a less than perfect tank mode instead.

RAR wrote:If Hasbro had been super craft they'd have moulded the shoulders so they had different detail on each side so they can be reversed.

I am a little disappointed with Prime's Jet mode it's not as bad as Alpha Trion's but it's not great either.. especially next to Megs - but then Megs has a less than perfect tank mode instead.

I think primes' jet mode is very un-photogenic due to the shapes involved, but it does seem to be pretty stubby nonetheless, but I thought megs' tank mode was nearly perfect, aside from having a short barrel - which a lot of people seem to like for historic reasons (which is a nonissue anyways since megs comes with the cannon-extension gun accessory)

Hellscream9999 wrote: And rewinds great, to anyone who has him, are his forearm transformation joints really, worryingly stiff? Mine are, and it frightens me every time I go to transform him

Yes.