Shoulder Fixes for Transformers Generations Voyager Blitzwing

I was under the impression that the only 'issue' was that the figure needs to be transformed properly, as shown in Peaugh's video. Is there some QC issue I have missed? I don't have the figure in hand yet.

My Blitzwing figure has the exact same problem. The 2nd video was very helpful thanks for the tips on fixing the issue.

Hi. As per the two copies I've handles, here's a list of what to look out for.

Locking mechanism for the cannon needs trimming if too tight. Forcing it could break it.
The rubber nose cone dilemma. Rubber in TF toys are always a letdown. Except maybe for tires.
Shoulder connection issue. This can be fixed if your figure has this issue. I've elaborated on my video why this occurred in my copies.
Face change gimmick uses painted rubber. This could lead to the gimmick not working. Best one disassemble the head and shave off the paint on the connection for the face rotation.

Thanks and enjoy.

OmicronZero wrote:I was under the impression that the only 'issue' was that the figure needs to be transformed properly, as shown in Peaugh's video. Is there some QC issue I have missed? I don't have the figure in hand yet.

I think everyone that has the figure has addressed that it's a QC issue. Peaugh did too.

Fix 2 is the best just did it to mine and my Shoulders where bad now good only took 15 min

I always put my toys for resale when I feel like it. I'm worried Fix 2 could damage the toy. I don't have that tool as well.

Fix 1 looks dumb but it seems to work. If only the one who made the video didn't made his process seem complicated. A little brevity would be nice.

omega666 wrote:

OmicronZero wrote:I was under the impression that the only 'issue' was that the figure needs to be transformed properly, as shown in Peaugh's video. Is there some QC issue I have missed? I don't have the figure in hand yet.

I think everyone that has the figure has addressed that it's a QC issue. Peaugh did too.

I think it's more of a design flaw than a QC issue. The part holding the shoulders is very thin and somewhat malleable, therefore it doesn't fit the peg hole it's supposed to go in well. At least that's what I get from watching reviews.

This type of mod isn't my cup of tea when it comes to hurting the figure i'm not gonna touch mine when i get it i'll find a good pose and on the shelf he goes.

Just watch peaughs review.

omega666 wrote:

OmicronZero wrote:I was under the impression that the only 'issue' was that the figure needs to be transformed properly, as shown in Peaugh's video. Is there some QC issue I have missed? I don't have the figure in hand yet.

I think everyone that has the figure has addressed that it's a QC issue. Peaugh did too.

That's true, but Peaugh's solution is much simpler than the others. BTW, thanks, OmicronZero for pointing out his review. I wonder how he was able to peg the top thrusters (arms) in Jet mode. Perhaps he states towards the end of the video. I haven't watched all the way through.

I can't wait to get mine tomorrow and start fiddling with him.

@Agamemnon: Peaugh's solution will be your 1st approach because that would be the only way to lock in the tabs for the shoulders if your copy does not have bloated molds. Apparently, you may have to trim the torso or add stuff to the shoulders so that they may lock if your copy tends not to work like Peaugh's. Good luck with your copy

Thank primus hasbro didnt screw up Springer. Im on my third Blitzwing. The first. Had two left fists, the second had two left rear tail fins...god knows whats going to be wrong with my next one. Hasbro really fubar-ed Blitzwing...and I highly doubt I got two needles in a haystack.

Thank primus hasbro didnt screw up Springer. Im on my third Blitzwing. The first. Had two left fists, the second had two left rear tail fins...god knows whats going to be wrong with my next one. Hasbro really fubar-ed Blitzwing...and I highly doubt I got two needles in a haystack.

@spartanH85: Such problems are unforgivable. These issues can be returned for an exchange where you bought the figure. TRU accommodates such returns. As long as its a production mishap.

They're both good but I think the second one works better.

Okay, I got mine open, and I don't really buy the extra plastic in the torso pieces theory. I see something else.

First, the purple back plastic that holds the tank turret and the two arms is one of those softer varieties. As I opened Blitzwing, I noticed that they rubber banded the hell out of the chest area, which seems to have deflected that back plastic piece around the shoulder area. Sure enough, when I straighten out his arms over his head, it is very noticeable how much the plastic is deflected away from the torso.

Now, this doesn't mean that these fixes won't work. I'm trying a slightly different approach with a heat gun to see if I can bring the plastic back forward a little. I'll let you know if it works.

@wewyllenium: the first Blitzwing and Springer I purchased was on ebay. Sent Blitz back for a refund and then a couple days later found one at my local target. I thought my nightmare was over and boom..tail fin issue.3rd times the charm right?

@spartanH85: Awww... That's a pity. I sure hope someone who actually works for Hasbro gets to read this thread. Play with it for a while then give it back to Target before a week passes by. Stuff like that is truly unacceptable and warrants a replacement.

Take it as it is which is poor QC from Hasbro or you should really get someone else to buy stuff for you. Maybe your luck with stuff like this really is low.

@wewyllenium: generally I don't have too much bad luck with tfs. With Bliztwing this has been pretty rough, and taking second place was ordering a rotf leader starscream and getting a box full of bumblebees instead. It all worked out though.

Okay, I finally got a little free time and took a closer look. Unfortunately, I did not take any before pictures, so please take my word for this. Here is a close-up of the shoulder area, complete with a fancy MS Paint red line of how the plastic looked out of the package. You can see where the plastic should be sitting in relation to the back.



There should be virtually no gap between that plastic that holds the arms (and cannon) and the back of the figure. When I initially looked at him I would say there was a 2 or 3 mm gap.

I believe this warping of the plastic is because of the number of clear bands holding the figure together during shipping. I fixed this by using a heat gun and carefully pressing the plastic back into the correct shape. By doing this, when the shoulder is assembled, the front part seats correctly against the front of the figure.



My Blitzwing is now stable and I am happy (mostly because I didn't need to disassemble him or add material.)

You may be able to heat the plastic enough with a hair dryer, but it might take some more time. Overall time for me using a heat gun: ~15 minutes, plus letting the plastic cool before trying to transform him.

I hope this helps those not too keen on disassembly.

Have a fantastic weekend! Happy Mother's Day!!

I noticed how the plastic bends back a bit and does not touch the body flush so I can see that as a problem. I have used a heat gun before at my prior job and you honestly have to really be careful as not to warp the plastic. So if you go this route you can seriously warp the plastic.

I used method 2 and it worked like a charm. It did not hurt the figure at all just a little plastic dust that blows away.

Cyber Bishop wrote:I noticed how the plastic bends back a bit and does not touch the body flush so I can see that as a problem. I have used a heat gun before at my prior job and you honestly have to really be careful as not to warp the plastic. So if you go this route you can seriously warp the plastic.

I used method 2 and it worked like a charm. It did not hurt the figure at all just a little plastic dust that blows away.

Oh, you definitely don't want to heat the plastic too much. I probably had the heat gun on for about 5-8 seconds, would put a little pressure on the plastic, and let it cool for a couple of minutes to see where it was at. I repeated this about 3 or 4 times until the plastic looked like it does in the picture.

I have to say that no matter what method is used to fix the shoulder issue it does not make up for the crappy transformation/robot issues, the rubber nose that does not stick adequately in jet transformation, a face that "looks down" not to mention the back portion that holds his arms/shoulders and "turret" swivel that pops off occasionally during transformation.. I will keep Blitz in a nice posed robot from...

thanks to this shoulder mod,plus a few others (face-swap trimming mod, shoulder-wing mod),my blitzy now look like this

feeiq90 wrote:thanks to this shoulder mod,plus a few others (face-swap trimming mod, shoulder-wing mod),my blitzy now look like this

Nice, can't wait to get mine.

Agamemnon wrote:

Cyber Bishop wrote:I noticed how the plastic bends back a bit and does not touch the body flush so I can see that as a problem. I have used a heat gun before at my prior job and you honestly have to really be careful as not to warp the plastic. So if you go this route you can seriously warp the plastic.

I used method 2 and it worked like a charm. It did not hurt the figure at all just a little plastic dust that blows away.

Oh, you definitely don't want to heat the plastic too much. I probably had the heat gun on for about 5-8 seconds, would put a little pressure on the plastic, and let it cool for a couple of minutes to see where it was at. I repeated this about 3 or 4 times until the plastic looked like it does in the picture.

I had not seen your fix for Blitzwing until the other day. When I flipped up the arms, I could definitely see how the back part (with the turret and arms) was bent outward instead of being flush with the back of the torso.

I don't have a heat gun, but I do have a hair dryer. I put the arms straight up and turned them in (as if transforming him). I then flipped the chest piece/cockpit all the way around and locked it in (as if transforming him). I took the turret and had it bent down as far as it would go. All of this was to keep everything I could away from the back piece the arms connect to.

I put the hair dryer on the hottest setting and the highest airflow and directed it to each side of the back piece where the arms connect. It got very warm to the touch. I used my thumbs to apply pressure. It seemed like it was starting to work. Then, something you said gave me an idea.

If the plastic bands were the cause of the plastic on the back part warping in the first place, then they can help to put it back how it should be. I took one of the bands that came in the package with Blitzwing, twisted it around once to make a smaller circle with it, and then slide it down the arms (which were turned straight up and inward), and to the a little below where the arms connect. On the front, the bands are going across the bottom of the silver on the chest. There are tabs on the sides of the chest. Directly above them is where I have the bands resting.

I'm going to leave Blitzwing with the bands on overnight and will check to see if his arms tab in correctly/better in the morning.

Edit: I took pics and will post a follow-up tomorrow.

The fix worked! The arms tab in very well and stay in place while rotating the shoulder piece. I'm happy I fixed Blitzwing's arms without any major surgery. My thanks to Agamemnon! Here's some pics of how I did it.









And post fix:

I hope this helps more of you!

Awesome! Thanks for the props.

Time looks to work as well as the heat option. (I'm impatient!) It's also probably less risky as Cyber Bishop is correct. Too much heat can be very damaging to plastics.

Thanks for the pics too. They really help illustrate what was going on.

Nice work. I will try this though it's hat and humid where I'm at.

Just posting here so I can find this topic later!

GuyIncognito wrote:Just posting here so I can find this topic later!

If you scroll a little bit below the "post" button at the bottom is a "subscribe to topic" button.

I had a go at the filing the plastic down fix. Both arms were loose, now one is rock solid and the other is better but not perfect.

Does anyone know if Takara Blitzwing got these nasty QC issues fixed/addressed somehow?

synapse wrote:Does anyone know if Takara Blitzwing got these nasty QC issues fixed/addressed somehow?

Sorry, no dice.