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Cyberpath wrote:I heard back from Amazon Japan...

They don't replace parts.

I can choose between keeping the figure + a $9 coupon -- or ship back for a refund.

Thoughts?

I don't understand how a knock-off managed to get the antennas straight, but the official is such a crooked mess?

And the TE01 head-sculpt was copied from the MP-44 promotional photos!!


I think I should cancel MP-47 Hound if this is what I get for ￥33k. Dunno what to do about MP-44 though.

Cyberpath, here is what I would do, I would send it back for a refund.

This toy/character will be rereleased some day and the next time they will have a chance to hopefully fix that particular issue. Plus, you already got to play with it so that initial craving of experiencing this latest version of your favourite character is sated. now you ca patiently wait for them to release it without a flaw that seems to ruin the figure (or at least not make him look worth the price of admission). You already have a pretty good Prime to hold over till he's rereleased anyway.

Also, sending it back (along with writing a review on amazon japan, you can do it in english) will give indication that you are not settling for flaws as such when paying a premium price.

I also thank Scotty for the review, its exactly what I figured, a skippable release (at least to non completionists). Sad to know the back of that cab doesn't look better in hand.

I have the impression that the best part of this release is the kick-ass trailer and all the accessories that interact with it.

william-james88 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:There are some other spots with 90 degree bends of small panels in the legs that wouldn't need to be there by just making the back of the truck less ugly.

So let me get this straight, the toy is made overly complicated and fragile so that it can look worse?

They seemed to be going for an accurate looking trailer hitch area in vehicle mode, I just don't think it was super successful but I'd have to actually bother looking for pics of that part of a cabover to know for sure. The side effect is that this part of the truck mode looks worse, to me.

I have my review saving and it's a dozy, if you follow me on Twitter you know all money made off this video goes to Chris Hyatte's Go Fund Me.

There's so much intricacy to the vehicle mode when the lighting hits it in just such a way it looks like it's made out of bricks to me.

I think the robot mode is the winner.

Man it's bumming me out to hear about all these little problems with the knees and what not. That's a huge chunk of change to throw down to get something that's not just absolutely perfect out of the box.

Takara's latest Transformers masterpiece MP 44 Optimus Prime is (or is in the process of) being delivered across the globe to eager collectors. Sadly, there are no rave reviews. Some have even expressed dissatisfaction, especially considering the price, and there have been a few breakage reports as well.

We will break it all down for you so that those who have yet to purchase it know what they are getting into, and so that those that are receiving it may know what to expect.

Firstly, here is both a video review in English, from TMan978, as well as a quick written review by fellow Seibertronian Scotty P, just to give you a broad idea of the toy:

ScottyP wrote:If this was a $200-230 figure it'd be easy for me to globally recommend it and generally praise it. It isn't though, so I really can't.

The comments about the engineering feeling needlessly complex are spot on. The whole ab section explodes in truck mode and is tough to get loose while still handling the toy gently as its paint demands. It's inelegant and has more going on than it rightfully needs to. There are some other spots with 90 degree bends of small panels in the legs that wouldn't need to be there by just making the back of the truck less ugly. I see what they were going for but it's a spindly mess back there near the hitch. Not confident these thick paint coats will hold up. The forearms also don't properly account for the paint with their tolerances, so I've got one that likes to pop open every time I pose it.

This is all entirely forgiveable stuff on cheaper figures, but again, this isn't a cheap figure.

It does look fantastic in general. I think the shoulders are too small but the rest is super clean, much more than I'd have expected with all the seam lines. The play features of the trailer are excellent and I like the partial part storage tray under the truck, just don't put the spare heads in there. The copyright stamping will scrape them.

It's a good toy but for $360 I expected a great toy. This is not the paradigm shift, big moment release Optimus like MP-1 and MP-10 were. This is just the Optimus following the trend of haphazardly engineered cartoon look MPs that cost too much and have too much paint on moving joints. Entirely skippable unless you just need that white crotch OP for your collection.

Now onto the problems.

One of the most obvious problem people are having is the antennas on the heads. They are either curved outwards or inwards. The image below, from Cyberpath shows how he initially received them. People have tried fixing it by heating it with a hair dryer and shaping it better, but that just warps and extends the plastic, ruining your figure for good, as we can see in this example (so DON'T DO THAT).



Another big issue is with the inner ratchets in the knees. There have been a few breakage reports. A fan who encountered this breakage, BrutiKing, wrote a step by step guide on how their fixed theirs. You can find it here.

There have been other modifications suggested to avoid the breakage, which can be found here, but please remember that these are just tips. We are not suggesting one way or another, it is just info we are presenting in case it helps. Of course, anyone having issues with their figure can always return it, if that is a possibility (it is with Amazon Japan, for instance) and wait for a probable rerelease where these problems are fixed.

This is obviously a plot hatched by Unicron so people will sacrifice their wallets to Him.

I second that conspiracy.

william-james88 wrote:Now onto the problems.

One of the most obvious one people are having is the antennas on the heads. They are either curved outwards or inwards. People have tried fixing it by heating it with a hair dryer and shaping it better, but that just warps and extends the plastic, ruining your figure for good (so DON'T DO THAT).

Just wanted to state for the record that mine came this way. This isn't a result of a dryer, I wouldn't dare. Will's talking about this guy: #p2036908

But this other guy did a fairly good job (I wouldn't recommend it either though!)

william-james88 wrote:Cyberpath, here is what I would do, I would send it back for a refund.

This toy/character will be rereleased some day and the next time they will have a chance to hopefully fix that particular issue. Plus, you already got to play with it so that initial craving of experiencing this latest version of your favourite character is sated. now you ca patiently wait for them to release it without a flaw that seems to ruin the figure (or at least not make him look worth the price of admission). You already have a pretty good Prime to hold over till he's rereleased anyway.

Also, sending it back (along with writing a review on amazon japan, you can do it in english) will give indication that you are not settling for flaws as such when paying a premium price.

I also thank Scotty for the review, its exactly what I figured, a skippable release (at least to non completionists). Sad to know the back of that cab doesn't look better in hand.

Thanks, Will!

I decided to allow Takara a few days to address this and if they don't make it right -- return it for a refund. Amazon will reimburse the return shipping fee once it gets there, but not the original cost or the tax, and that was a lot of money. But better to cut my loses while still possible.

Naturally, I will also cancelled MP Hound and won't be buying anything from Takara again until they get their act together. My money was good, I expect the product and customer care to match. (The non-existing customer care as of writing this.)

Cyberpath wrote: Naturally, I will also cancelled MP Hound and won't be buying anything from Takara again until they get their act together. My money was good, I expect the product and customer care to match. (The non-existing customer care as of writing this.)

Glad to hear you are taking a stand - I really hope others do also and in so doing have a chance of TT / Hasbro taking a step back and refreshing the price overlinflation and poor QC trajectory they seem to be on at the moment.

As someone who has been loyal to the official since MP01 I really dont want to be facing never picking up an official MP again because they are £100 minimum for a product I cant even trust. Not to mention if their next 5 years of releases are simply cartoonifying the characters we already have instead of moving on to new pastures.

Money raised from this review goes to the Chris Hyatte Go Fund Me. Please watch and share.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Money raised from this review goes to the Chris Hyatte Go Fund Me. Please watch and share.

Hopefully it's a more positive review.

“Thanks, Will!

I decided to allow Takara a few days to address this and if they don't make it right -- return it for a refund. Amazon will reimburse the return shipping fee once it gets there, but not the original cost or the tax, and that was a lot of money. But better to cut my loses while still possible.

Naturally, I will also cancelled MP Hound and won't be buying anything from Takara again until they get their act together. My money was good, I expect the product and customer care to match. (The non-existing customer care as of writing this.)”

Oof, felt that right in my gut

I feel for you guys and gals make a stand and demand better! Good for you.

Cyberpath wrote:Thanks, Will!

I decided to allow Takara a few days to address this and if they don't make it right -- return it for a refund. Amazon will reimburse the return shipping fee once it gets there, but not the original cost or the tax, and that was a lot of money. But better to cut my loses while still possible.

That part about not reimbursing everything sucks. I didn't know that. I thought that they would reimburse everything. That is what amazon.com does when I order something faulty from them.

Also, sadly, Takara wont adress anything. They didn't adress me when I sent them an image of my MP dinbot holding his own severed head in his hands. Their customer service seems to only be applicable to people in japan.

Stargrave wrote:I decided to allow Takara a few days to address this and if they don't make it right -- return it for a refund. Amazon will reimburse the return shipping fee once it gets there, but not the original cost or the tax, and that was a lot of money. But better to cut my loses while still possible.

Consider this that you had the opportunity to "rent" MP-44 and play around a bit. Sure, it's a bit more expensive than a Blockbuster VHS, but at least you had the chance to mess around with a "premium" item.

I better start transforming him back into a truck. See you in three hours.



Here's a cool pic by HardReturn...

Cyberpath wrote:I better start transforming him back into a truck. See you in three hours.



Here's a cool pic by HardReturn...

I guess.

Done.

I used this video --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg7JMqWNpoc

(Not in English but he goes step by step slowly.)

Here 's a video that show in details the comparison between MP-44, MP-10, TE, and MS.

Kind of wanting it just to display as starscream and for the trailer parts. Not impressed with the Axe connection and they could have gone for a little bit more oomph of the old technologies of switching voices when the starscream attachments are clipped on.

I figure you all probably had enough hearing about those damn antennas, but bare with me please...

Seeing as I was going to ship him back anyway I went ahead and gave the the hot water method a chance. I unscrewed the back of his head and tried to get it as close to the prototype as I could --



What do you think?

Maybe not perfect but good enough for now...? (aka keep him and hope a 3rd party comes up with replacements -- they don't even have to redo the entire head, just these four little pieces, in hard plastic or diecast.)

Is it better than to ship him back, lose some of the money and hope he will get reissued soon with proper parts (and without new problems, that could actually happen, too, btw).. thoughts?





BTW, transformation was easier the second time. After you convert him in both directions it makes more sense. Even though they probably made it too complex than it should have been.

Returning the whole figure just for the antenna issue is STUPID.
Really.
Especially because you'll lose way too much money to make it worth it. Now, if it was about broken joints or some key points like this, now I would understand. But a few grams of plastics that can be reasonably fixed with either hot water or a sure shot shapeway/3P kit?
Hell no.

Make me think about my Amazon Unicron with the minicon having two right feet. Returning the whole figure would have cost me 40$ down the drain and I would have NO Unicron in return because buying him back would mean paying double. No way I was going to lose so much over a MINICON foot.

Sure, an imperfect part on such an expensive collector item is a bummer. But this is no deal breaker. I may never buy MP-44 because I don't need that trailer. I'll go with TE-01 OP Leader instead. Still, those who went for MP-44 and have it in hand will most likely regret return it for an OCD issue like this. Because getting him back later will be MUCH more costly.

But eh, your choice. ¯\_(⏓ヘ⏓)_/¯

I think I agree. I mean, it looked really bad out of the box, almost like the "battle damage" head -- but I think my fix turned out decent..? And since otherwise I got a pretty good copy (no paint flaws) (not to jinx it!) I better not take a risk with a reissue that may or may not happen, and may or may not have new flaws.

Cyberpath wrote:I think I agree. I mean, it looked really bad out of the box, almost like the "battle damage" head -- but I think my fix turned out decent..? And since otherwise I got a pretty good copy (no paint flaws) (not to jinx it!) I better not take a risk with a reissue that may or may not happen, and may or may not have new flaws.

"Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras."
(A bird in hand is worth two in the bush)

I live by this.

Your fix looks great from where I'm sitting!

Unless you are just completely dissatisfied with the whole thing, I would keep it. I gotta imagine someone out there is looking at these antenna issues people are having and seeing $$$$. All they'd have to do is sell a head. OR, as you suggested, the antenna by themselves, and they'd probably sell quite a bit.

Definitely bummed you and others are having some issues. I had been planning to try to get one of these towards the end of the year, maybe the kinks will be worked out by then?

Still really wish this was just sold as a 'perfect edition' and a trailer-less version could be had for cheaper.