Official Apology and Voluntary Recall Notice from Takara for Encore God Fire Convoy Set

The molds are made of steel, if they aren't being stored properly it doesn't take much for them to get damaged.

So I was taking pictures of my Encore God Fire Convoy, noting some of the changes and where the problems are... then one of my lights fell over the bulb broke. I'll pick up a new bulb Friday, in the meantime here are a couple things worth pointing out.

First off the box is MASSIVE!


Easily dwarfs the God Ginrai box and it's packed full. But it's also relatively flat, being based on packaging from a time when bigger packaging in Japan was supposed to be more attractive. They could have easily done them in a layer rather than stacking them on end and cut the height in half.

Out of the box the most glaring issue is Fire Convoy's chest.


Bunch of problems with the chest. First it's molded in clear plastic now and they painted the back side blue making the screw holes and molding points now visible through the back side. No idea why they would choose to do this, it's not like you could see through his chest in the cartoon so being clear is entirely pointless. Also notice that the red parts that stick into the clear parts are just a blob of paint where the original had sharp lines between the blue and red. In fairness this is cartoon accurate, but the figure isn't molded for that. They should have molded this in red like the rest of the figure, painted the chest windows glossy light blue, and kept with the silver painted abs.

OK, so the big sticking point is his feet, but it's actually just his right foot.



Can you see what's wrong here? There's actually two problems here thanks to a botched repair job. First off the gray part the foot is connected to, the hole isn't aligned properly. If you follow it from left to right they made the hole crooked. And it's not warped, the plastic is actually thinner on the right end and mine has a very small hairline crack in it even though the hole maintained its shape. It's likly the part of the mold that makes that hole was bent and not realigned. This is why you're supposed to do test molds!

Second problem is on the red part just to the right of the hinge. Do you see how you can see the clear plastic on the side of the joint where it connects to the red part? This is from a poor repair job, that red part is supposed to be a tiny bit longer if you compare it to the original to prevent the gap. The hinge actually slides side to side now thanks to the gap.

OK, that's all of the negative things I've noticed this far, here are a couple interesting observations. First, all of the screws are now black instead of silver, and on the battery door they've added an arrow showing which way to unscrew it.



Second, and this is a big one, the hips are much, much tighter compared to the original which was the biggest problem this figure had. I just hope the joint can withstand the tightness.

More later.

Emerje

Dammit. Now I need to open mine.

Emerje, about the feet: I've noticed that they're attached to the clear window piece. Isn't it possible that the figure has two windows of the same side, if the rod the panel is on isn't in the exact middle?

do you really think people are going to send them back
if this set wont be fixed and are not making anymore wouldn't this set be worth something

I got my Encore God Fire Convoy a few weeks ago but I wasn't planning to open him any time soon. But after all the reports on QC and then the actual recall, I decided to find out how mine was.

I have an original, and honestly he feels slightly better in some places and slightly worse in others. But nothing I'm terribly worried about. You know what I am upset about? He's missing his fucking foot!!!!

I'm pretty pissed off, and feel like returning it just for spite. But at the end of the day, I bet this version will become pretty rare, and I can buy a junker Magnus for that foot. But Jesus Christ Takara. Get your shit together

shajaki wrote:I'm pretty pissed off, and feel like returning it just for spite. But at the end of the day, I bet this version will become pretty rare, and I can buy a junker Magnus for that foot. But Jesus Christ Takara. Get your **** together

The fact that many people are thinking this will be rare, and thus keeping theirs, is gonna do the opposite effect. Since people are keeping theirs (and no non-Japan based retailer has any incentive in returning them to Takara), there will instead be a bunch of overpriced sets that no one wants due to QC gathering dust for years. Speculation routinely fails in these hobbies, like how the Combiner Wars toy to be the most expensive right now is Optimus Prime (a figure people didnt care about much) and the RID 2015 line is selling for way more on the secondary market than any mainline Titans Return toy.

Can I just say how happy I am that canceled my preorder for this?

william-james88 wrote:The fact that many people are thinking this will be rare, and thus keeping theirs, is gonna do the opposite effect.

Even if that's true, my decision isn't based on profit or reselling. It just means that, mine is secured, and I don't have to (possibly) pay an inflated price later on. Because I want this set for the differences it has from the original.

shajaki wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The fact that many people are thinking this will be rare, and thus keeping theirs, is gonna do the opposite effect.

Even if that's true, my decision isn't based on profit or reselling. It just means that, mine is secured, and I don't have to (possibly) pay an inflated price later on. Because I want this set for the differences it has from the original.

I can completely get behind that. Its one of my main reasons when I debate getting something or not, I weigh how much I might have to pay later in case I want it then.

Knowing this set is damaged doesn't make it collectible, it makes it a lemon. I wouldn't pay more than $40 for this set.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Emerje, about the feet: I've noticed that they're attached to the clear window piece. Isn't it possible that the figure has two windows of the same side, if the rod the panel is on isn't in the exact middle?

The problem isn't the clear part, it's the gray part it goes through. It isn't warped, the shape is fine, but the hole is offset instead of straight through leaving the part opposite the window dangerously thin on one side.

BTW, I got an email from AmiAmi offering to take mine back on recall for a full refund and cover the shipping. It's nice to see them extend the recall outside Japan, but I'm going to pass on the offer.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:BTW, I got an email from AmiAmi offering to take mine back on recall for a full refund and cover the shipping. It's nice to see them extend the recall outside Japan, but I'm going to pass on the offer.

Emerje

HLJ goes one step further. If you bought from them, and want to keep it, they're offering a 25% refund anyways.

shajaki wrote:

Emerje wrote:BTW, I got an email from AmiAmi offering to take mine back on recall for a full refund and cover the shipping. It's nice to see them extend the recall outside Japan, but I'm going to pass on the offer.

Emerje

HLJ goes one step further. If you bought from them, and want to keep it, they're offering a 25% refund anyways.

Wow, nice. Here's AmiAmi's response:

Dear Customer,

This mail has been sent to all customers who have purchased the following item:

FIGURE-033857 Transformers Encore - God Fire Convoy

We regret to inform you that this item has arrived with a defect. According to the maker, the wrong photo was printed on the product box. Furthermore, there is an issue with the editing of the sound gimmick.

We understand this to be a mistake on part of the maker, and for this reason, we would like to confirm whether or not you wish to return this item for a refund. The return shipping fees will be covered by AmiAmi, and a refund for your order will be processed once the item arrives at our warehouse. Please note that all refunds are processed via PayPal, and they may take up to two weeks to process. AmiAmi can only provide refunds through PayPal (we do not refund via AmiAmi points).

When the item is delivered, please confirm if you would like to return this item, so that we may provide you with the return instructions.

Please make sure to include your order number when replying to this e-mail.

We apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you for shopping at AmiAmi

Best Regards,
AmiAmi

Emerje

william-james88 wrote:

shajaki wrote:

william-james88 wrote:The fact that many people are thinking this will be rare, and thus keeping theirs, is gonna do the opposite effect.

Even if that's true, my decision isn't based on profit or reselling. It just means that, mine is secured, and I don't have to (possibly) pay an inflated price later on. Because I want this set for the differences it has from the original.

I can completely get behind that. Its one of my main reasons when I debate getting something or not, I weigh how much I might have to pay later in case I want it then.

wouldnt the fact that this set comes with the matrix sword be enough

OMG what drama.

I have the Optimus Prime and had Ultra Magnus twice...
I love the design of Ultra Magnus, but he's such a damn big armor drone.
Hollow chest, giant back pack, Tower legs.

I might rebuy him and just 3d print more normal versions of those legs.

What a disaster peoples. Never heard this before and I'm old (33).
Anyway, good thing I hear about recalls and refunds.

Hope it all works out for the peoples who bought the set.

Licensing issues.......

Good thing how consumer voices mean something in Japan even with regards to toys.

Really! This slag that hit the fan is such a frickon big deal! The sound chips may have some alibi in the encoding. Maybe the company subcontracted to do the encoding might have been a green horn in the industry. MoOlding issues ( age related and a half ass effort to restore them ( again, this fig was announced waaaaaaay back in 2013) but the packaging snafu? The type setter who prepared the negatives for the packaging and the supervisor who should have triple checked this before approving this is sooooooooo LAME! Or could this be sabotage? Someone needs to perform sepukku!