The Energon Pub

[TheMuffin]

I'll make this as short as I can without going into detail on every single case of Hasbro ass raping me.

I've had it. I'm done. Hasbro has finally completely broke my faith in them. QC has gone completely out the window. I've been putting up with their crap since before the movie line. Alt Mirage missing a mirror, Classics Hot Rod missing the pin for his wrist, Titanium Megatron turning into a pile of rubble out of the box, deluxe Brawl and his floppy arms, Leader Brawl only having one painted eye and of course the infamous Lockdown with his wonderful "Watch as my leg falls off and I tumble to the floor" routine. All of those (and a few others) I have put up with, but the new Universe 2.0 and Animated have finally got me to the point of being disgusted. We've had to deal with loose ball joints, a lower quality plastic and apparently horrible build quality and workmanship on the molds for the last few years. Kids won't really notice, we do.

I sit here with Classics Ironhide, Sideswipe and Animated Swoop. Ironhide as many know has a blue face. Apparently Hasbro said this would be corrected. Well even around here where he has just started showing up, it's still blue. The figure has loose as all get out joints on his entire body and of course he always looks down because of poor molding. Then my oh so wonderful Sideswipe. I feel that I need to make a wheelchair for the guy because his legs are completely useless. They wobble like some kind of damned marionette.

But what finally made me snap? Swoop. Yes, that blue fella. the one with about as much plastic on him as a McDonald's toy that I paid $12 for at TRU. This little fella is the loosest piece of crap I have ever had the dishonor of calling a Transformer. Every single god damned joint is loose. He cannot stand unless I put him straight up. His arms won't even hold the flail. But that didn't even bother me that much. Oh I can use super glue and tighten him up. No. No. It's the fact that the WINGS WON'T EVEN CONNECT WITH HIS DAMNED SHOULDERS! TWO LITTLE **** PEGS THAT GO INTO HOLES AND THEY CAN'T EVEN DESIGN THIS TO WORK CORRECTLY WITH THE HORRIBLE PLASTIC THEY ARE USING! Man it is so sweet having Swoops wings just hang behind him because they refuse to lock in! I mean it's totally cool to use them as some kind of tripod because the figure is unable to stand on it's own! Might as well use one defect to try and counteract another right?!

Oh and for future notice, 25th Prime that I raved about? Yeah, his left arm snapped off at the hinge yesterday. The plastic just completely gave way because it was too brittle. Heh.

That's it. I'm done. I was planning on buying Shockwave and Leader Magnus but no. Hasbro gets no more of my money until I see some kind of build quality overhaul on their ****. This is the last time I pay full price for knock off quality on a licensed product from them.

[Badass Grimlock]

I've gotten Two Movie Bonecrushers and they have broken.

DAMMIT!

[Redimus]

Im glad Im not the only one who has noticed a disturbing lack of quality in paint/material/design design quality in universe. Frankly Im picking and chosing from that line, cuase some of them are horrible.

Im not so worried about Animated, yes there's been a few design flaws, but the paint and plastic on mine have been excelent so far.

[First Gen]

Okay, not to be an ass, but when Lockdowns legs just literally fell apart like 2000 year old parchement in water, that had to be the funniest thing I had ever seen to that point in my life. If its any consulation, that really made my Botcon that much more entertaining.

I am more than disappointed with Sideswipe. Ironically his name suits cuz his body is limp as if it did get sideswiped. And the rotating doors are fantabulous along with the stiff shoulder that seems destined to pop off whenever you try to move his arms.

I got alot of gripes with both Hasbro and Takara lately. I'll be at Botcon to make sure they hear them.

[8 bit]

The lower quality plastic that is currently being used bothers me more than anything. I like a toy that feels durable and sturdy. It helps give the impression that I'm holding something important.

[Gandalf]

Wow.

In my personal experience, I've had no loose joints or tacky paint on any of my Universe figures so far. But then, I only have the deluxes, minus Acid Storm. I guess I should consider myself extremely lucky, going by the accounts here of such problems.

I have nitpicks with every figure, (especially the price hike). I always see room for improvement, even down to the most simple of things, but I admit it is getting a little worse. I was pretty peeved about Ironhide's blue face and tilted head, but I guess I can live with it, especially if I decide to grab a silver pen and x-acto knife. He doesn't quite fit in with the look of the others, either. But I'm slowly getting used to it.

It is certainly disheartening to see a Site Moderator so upset to be driven to post a hate message with foul language. (Cover your eyes, kids!) Will you be writing or speaking with Hasbro and informing them of your frustration, point blank?

[Loki God Of Mischief]

My Sideswipe's right door panel is loose and floppy so he can't pose it the way he should. Sunstreaker's clear plastic somehow already has a stress mark around the hinge so it's guaranteed to snap in half sometime. Bluestreak has the stick paint issue they resolved on Prowl but only on his windshields (that I've noticed). Acid Storm has horrible mold degredation to the point of having to force his nose cone assembly into the chest to get him to transform properly. Deluxe Movie Brawl was the last movie toy I bought and for a reason his **** arms. I swear to God it's like Hasbro doesn't give a **** anymore. And they know people will buy their toys regardless of how many corners they cut. That's the thing too, it's almost obvious they're cutting corners so they can keep their profit margins up in this recession. But all it does in the long run is to make people like me make this face:

[Skowl]

Just do what I do and don't buy the first wave of new toys the minute they come out.

wait another month and catch the same toys in a later wave if you can, you'll find out that Hasbro is actually really good at fixing QC problems. I waited a little while to pick up my first Movie and Animated toys, and I never had a single problem with any of them.

[TheMuffin]

Just do what I do and don't buy the first wave of new toys the minute they come out.

wait another month and catch the same toys in a later wave if you can, you'll find out that Hasbro is actually really good at fixing QC problems. I waited a little while to pick up my first Movie and Animated toys, and I never had a single problem with any of them.

Here's the problem though. If I don't purchase a figure when I see it, I won't find it again. Scalpers are freaking rampant in my area so I have to take what I can get. Which lately has been crap reincarnated as plastic.

[El Duque]

Sorry to hear about all of your bad luck, guess when it rains it pours. I can see why you feel the way you do. I've been lucky I have all TFA figures deluxe and up and have only encountered on bad figure, the infamous Lockdown hip. I exchanged him for another and it seems fine. I've also picked up most of TFU, skipped a few of the voyager repaints, but no big problems there either. Had to mod my Ironhide so the head comes all the way up and paint his face of course.

[robofreak]

I've gotten Two Movie Bonecrushers and they have broken.

DAMMIT!

I read your threads about that. That was'nt QC, that was you being stupid.


I've been lucky as all my Universe figures have yet to have any problems except for a couple of problems that I'll address now. My Acid Storm has some yeelow paint in an area where it does'nt belong. It's like a brush dripped some paint while the assembly line was painting them.

My next complaint is with Sideswipe. His back, which is Sunstreaker's front will not line up properly. It's a little crooked and can be annoying. His legs also don't feel as sturdy as they should which is weird because Sunstreaker holds up fine. It's weird how they are both the same mold, but feel completely different.

Animated has me pissed off. Every single figure I've purchased has has something wrong with it. Ultra Magnus will be the last figure I buy and I'm hoping it will be the one to redeem the set.

I must have been lucky with the movie because every single movie figure I bought has had no problems. All the paint apps are perfect and everything lines up just fine on all of them.

The one thing that has me ready to convert to Takara though is the emails I've gotten from Hasbro when I asked them about the QC issues with the current TF's. Everytime I asked a question, I got a response that they are unaware of any TF having any sort of QC problem and that I should have a nice day.

I'm even concerned about going over to Takara completely after hearing about the multiple problems Henkei Thundercracker and Skywarp have had. My thoughts are that if I'm going to pay more, then I should get a figure that's going to last.

Oil is now at $67 a barrel last time I checked. Is'nt that low enough to bring QC back up to the standards of the Unicron Trilogy?

[El Duque]

I don't know if would convert to Takara. I've always felt their supposed higher standard of QC was a myth. If your going to buy Henkei figures all your going to get is a different paint job on the same base figure. I have to assume the TFU and Henkei figures come from the same factories, the molds and assembly lines are already there. All they do is add a few chrome parts, paint them differently, and put them in a different packages. Of course that's an assumption on my part.

[TheMuffin]

You're probably correct on that. Though if I had a choice between two figures that are going to fall to pieces, I'd pick the one that looks better at least.

[Seibertron]

I don't know if would convert to Takara. I've always felt their supposed higher standard of QC was a myth. If your going to buy Henkei figures all your going to get is a different paint job on the same base figure. I have to assume the TFU and Henkei figures come from the same factories, the molds and assembly lines are already there. All they do is add a few chrome parts, paint them differently, and put them in a different packages. Of course that's an assumption on my part.

It is my understanding that they come from different factories, as Hasbro has stated at previous Botcons as the reason why color differences happen on some figures such as Vector Prime.

Takara has their own QC issues and has always had their own QC issues. It is indeed a myth, in my opinion, that the quality of their figures are better than Hasbro's. The only thing Takara does different is add some different paint apps. That's it. I imagine a lot of the owners of Henkei Thundercracker and Skywarp figures could attest to the quality control issues with those figures.

I have also oddly been very fortunate with the QC on most of my Hasbro figures. I have yet to encounter the "sticky paint" syndrome that some have mentioned. The only loose joints I've seen recently have been on some of the early prototypes that I've bought and on some of my Takara figures.

I'm really curious now to bust open my Henkei Sideswipe figure to see how the figure compares to the Hasbro version. I am already more impressed with Hasbro's simply because it comes with the backpack piece which the Henkei version does not come with.

[Lapse Of Reason]

I've been pretty lucky too, becuse I have all the above mentioned figures and am not majorly disappointed. True, they are not as sturdy as they used to be. In fact, I don't think the Universe figures are great toys for kids to play with. They break too easily and are too fragile. As an adult, though, that has not bothered me too much. But then again, maybe I've been lucky.

[jduckworth27]

Just do what I do and don't buy the first wave of new toys the minute they come out.

wait another month and catch the same toys in a later wave if you can, you'll find out that Hasbro is actually really good at fixing QC problems. I waited a little while to pick up my first Movie and Animated toys, and I never had a single problem with any of them.

Here's the problem though. If I don't purchase a figure when I see it, I won't find it again. Scalpers are freaking rampant in my area so I have to take what I can get. Which lately has been crap reincarnated as plastic.

that is pretty accurate. if you don't pick up a figure that you've been wanting, you might not see it again ANYWHERE. that's what sucks.

my opinion is that quality is degraded across the board in all transformers---about a year and a half ago i started collecting TFs again, and things had changed completely from when i collected G1 figures two decades ago. i was totally out of the game for all that time, and when the movie came out it totally rejuvenated my love of the toys-so i picked up the BB concept figure. can you imagine the shock i had? i doubt it. i was shocked that it didn't even have actual rubber tires! there was absolutely no metal! most of you guys are lucky in my opinion just for the fact that you've been involved with these toys throughout the many years of declining quality. at least it was gradual. when i opened my first new TF in twenty years, it was like a freaking hammer to the head. i was rudely awakened.

[jduckworth27]

however, i will say this. i like the darn things, and i will likely keep buying them. they are neat...................

[Blurrz]

I guess this ultimately depends on our expectations. It's $10, $15, $20 is it not? Do we need it to be a work of art, a Picasso? I don't think so.

The ratios are what, 1/2, 2/3, maybe even 9/10 figures are QC problematic? I've hit both ends up those ratios and heck, I just have to go with it. Unless Transformers starts to get made out of Human Waste, i'll keep buying them because I enjoy their aesthetics, and hell it's a childhood hobby.

Good luck with your endeavor Iron Man. I'm pretty sure you'll come out of it happy, TFs in hand or not.

[Bonger]

Same here. I've almost never had an issue with any of my purchases. On the rare occasion I do, (I think it happenned only twice last year), I have been able to do an exchange at Target and have not had the issue repeat.

Sorry about you issues though. That really stinkcs. I highkly advise saving your receipts and doing exchanges when you have QC issues. Most stores are very happy to accomodate.

[shortround]

The only universe figure I have had with any sort of paint problem was silverstreak and it wasn't the tack paint syndrome the paint just rub off with no warning on the doors I plan to use it as a test subject for my painting skills and see how he turns out I just need to figure out how match the paint so I don't have repaint all the silver areas of the car.

[dr_n00b]

this worries me quite a bit. i live in Israel - which has an official representation to hasbro's franchises by a 3rd party importer who doesn't give a **** about collectors - of the movie line that flooded every market on earth we barely got 1 wave of deluxes and another of voyagers, both of which shelfwarmed A LOT. animated so far appears to be the same, with just wave 1 arriving of only 3 deluxes and 2 voyagers.
and prices? triple that of the states' retail estimate - 200-230 new israeli shekels per voyager, 90-120 per deluxe. 1$ = 3.8 NIS.

so basically, if i want to collect new toys, i have to buy stuff online - through ebay, BBTS, digital toys. obviously you'll pay about 30% more than retail per toy for these scalpers - and shipping will cost you about what you paid for the toy. if some boy scout filled the tax forms with the correct numbers, i'm liable to pay 32% tax for anything over 50$.

recently i tried HTS with a mega purchase of about 300$ before the holiday discounts - i gave the adress of a relative in the states as they don't ship internationally. if everything works, i might get it here for minimal price and shipping cost, but it will still cost me more than just walking to a local walmart and picking up my toys myself.

so I pay A F*CKING **** LOAD OF CASH on my transformers. and i don't get to pick and choose, or replace them at the store i bought them if the product is ****.
if QC is such an issue and new hasbro lines are a gamble, i will have to reconsider collecting altogether

[Stormrider]

The lower quality plastic that is currently being used bothers me more than anything. I like a toy that feels durable and sturdy. It helps give the impression that I'm holding something important.

Ironically, this is what people said 20 years ago when they made the toys out of die-cast. Times have really changed.

[Pyrostrata]

I guess I am another one of those lucky ones who has little issues with floppy joints and craptastic paint apps. My Universe purchases have been relatively issue-free, save for Sideswipe's loose door panels (which I fixed) and Octane's floppy legs (repairs WIP). My Animated have been very nice and sturdy (except Jazz's head likes to pop off, which just makes me laugh!) Soundwave has a bit of floppy-leg syndrome, but that is easily remedied and not even that much to gripe about.

All in all, I feel lucky! Hasbro has had a downhill slide since my G1-collecting days, but I expect that....The whole of the world has been sliding downhill when it comes to quality vs. price. Takara ain't much better, to be honest (Henkei TC as a prime example). You take a crap-shoot whenever you buy a figure these days, be it a Hasbro or a Takara product.

[El Duque]

I guess this ultimately depends on our expectations. It's $10, $15, $20 is it not? Do we need it to be a work of art, a Picasso? I don't think so.

The ratios are what, 1/2, 2/3, maybe even 9/10 figures are QC problematic? I've hit both ends up those ratios and heck, I just have to go with it. Unless Transformers starts to get made out of Human Waste, i'll keep buying them because I enjoy their aesthetics, and hell it's a childhood hobby.

Good luck with your endeavor Iron Man. I'm pretty sure you'll come out of it happy, TFs in hand or not.

To add to this, I'm surprised that most TF's come out as error free as they do. Compare a $10.00 TF to other action figures of the same price point. TF have many more parts than most toys and all of those parts have to fit together and work in harmony to get a figure that transforms properly. Add to this they are assembled by poorly paid facory workers. I'm by no means defending low QC for Hasbro or Takara, just something to consider.

[Cheetron]

You saved me one good rant Iron-Man. This week alone I've gotten a loose Silverbolt, had my Animated Ratchet's waist strip itself out, watched my Hulk figures' waists snap inside of themselves, moved my Iron-Man's wrists and they snapped, and looked at my x-mas haul and realized it was mostly Hasbro junk.

To top it off and I'm sorry this is not Tranmsformer related, but I bought Hungry Hungry Hippos today. My brother wanted to play so I said why not. Got it out of the box and one flick of the handle down and it snapped off. So I returned it and got another. Same prob. ANd guess who made it.


QC problems are an isolated incident my ass. Shadow Blade Megs and I'm done with you Hasbro.