Transformers Venting thread!

[GoktimusPrime]

Discreet? I wear Transformers apparel and have a Transformer toy on me all the time! Transfan and proud! ;)

B.A.T.: given your regional location, I can completely understand the advantage of online shopping for you. :) I used to live in a regional part of Japan -- but thankfully public transport even in rural areas there are still very good, and it was relatively easy, and while the place I stayed in didn't have department stores, there were nearby ones that did (including one near where I had a part time job, so I'd often swing by their toy section after work ;))

Most of my online shopping experiences have been positive, but I'll still always prefer store shopping. It's like having a phone call with an automated interactive voice response system... it can still work really effectively, but I'll still always prefer speaking to a human being than being served by a machine. <--- just my personal preference. :o

[BigTransformerTrev]

Buying on-line allows for discreet purchases. Not many of us these days walk into an adult toy shop to buy adult toys.


Discreet? I wear Transformers apparel and have a Transformer toy on me all the time! Transfan and proud! ;)

Heh - I'm not sure Megatran was talking about the form of adult toys we usually buy ;) I wear my Transformers apparel proudly all the time if I go into town as well :D But yeah, I think when the internet became mainstream the likes of Club-X and so on took a hit. And who would don the trenchcoat, fedora and dark glasses to go into a shop to buy an adult DVD these days? Like going to Video Ezy to rent a movie - those places are ghost towns! And while I buy much of my TF clothing in public at a place like Jay Jays, lets just say the wife's valentines day gift apparel was definetly ordered on the net ;)


B.A.T.: given your regional location, I can completely understand the advantage of online shopping for you. :) I used to live in a regional part of Japan -- but thankfully public transport even in rural areas there are still very good, and it was relatively easy, and while the place I stayed in didn't have department stores, there were nearby ones that did (including one near where I had a part time job, so I'd often swing by their toy section after work ;))



You're quite right Gok :) That's why I was so determined to just buy the AoE toys locally instead of online like most everything else, because they were some of the very few figures I knew would actually show up where I am :) That said still waiting for an Evasion Optimus to hit the shelves in my region :p

[Sinnertwin]

it can still work really effectively, but I'll still always prefer speaking to a human being than being served by a machine. <--- just my personal preference. :o

Have you seen some of the potatoes they stick behind a register these days? I feel like grabbing the defibrillator & giving them a buzz

[Mythirax]

Have you seen some of the potatoes they stick behind a register these days? I feel like grabbing the defibrillator & giving them a buzz

Wait they're potatoes!!! It all makes sense now. And all this time I thought they were humans who has trouble speaking and swiping product bar codes. Hah, they're not all bad, but boy have I had some terrible over the top rude people.

[DELTAprime]

Gahhhh! HLJ's preorders for Soundwave and Dino have been up for less than a day and they have sold out. Takara really need to make more of each figure. I don't want to have to pay BBTS or Hasbro HK extortionist prices.:mad:

[kup]

The whole 'Shopping retail is a social experience for me' sounds kind of sad :p

http://starcasm.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/South-Park-Facebook.jpg

The most I get out of retail staff is a mandatory by store policy "Hello" and then they scan my stuff, receive my money and that's that. They are indeed like potatoes only with a voice chip ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKyWBBPp4TU

[BigTransformerTrev]

The most I get out of retail staff is a mandatory by store policy "Hello" and then they scan my stuff, receive my money and that's that. They are indeed like potatoes only with a voice chip ;)



I had to get used to the opposite when moving to the bush. I was used to 20 years of exactly what Kup just stated. Then I moved here and it turned into...

"Hello, how are you today?"
"Fine"
"Oh. Just fine?" (quizzical look)
"Umm, oh, yeah, good I guess"
"Oh that's good, so how has your day been so far?"

and so on... Took some getting used to, the checkout folk actually wanting a conversation and taking an interest. Quite like it now though :)

[DELTAprime]

The most I get out of retail staff is a mandatory by store policy "Hello" and then they scan my stuff, receive my money and that's that. They are indeed like potatoes only with a voice chip ;)

I have Aspergers so I know I'm not the most friendly checkout operator Woolworths has but if the person doesn't seem like they are angry or rude I will try to make conversation if I know something about the product they are buying. i.e. "You collect Transformers? Me too!..." or "Great game, I really enjoyed it...".

[GoktimusPrime]

What the... my recent attempt at preordering MP Ultra Magnus from Anime Export just got cancelled again, and I know for sure it wasn't me because I haven't touched anything on my account there since I ordered it again! :eek: I've attempted to preorder the toy from them twice now, and both say "cacelled by Admin." At first I thought maybe it was something I'd inadvertently clicked on, but this time I know I haven't changed anything. The hell?!? When I click on "My Orders," it has nothing at the bottom, and when I click on "cancelled" it shows the two MP Ultra Magnus orders that are now cancelled. Screw this, I'm using HLJ. They may be a bit dearer, but their preorder price is still below RRP and they've always been reliable for me.

P.S.: Aaawwww what the ffff... I placed an order for MP22 over half an hour ago, but my order thingy at HLJ's showing up empty and I haven't received any order confirmation email. I just ordered it again... still nothing. GRRAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Haaate online shopping!!! :mad: *massive.sigh* If I don't hear anything from HLJ by tomorrow, I'm just gonna use freakin' Amazon. <swear.words>

P.P.S.: Yaaay! The HLJ order now appears in my open orders! :o What an emotional rollercoaster... (@_@)

[Sinnertwin]

I have Aspergers so I know I'm not the most friendly checkout operator Woolworths has but if the person doesn't seem like they are angry or rude I will try to make conversation if I know something about the product they are buying. i.e. "You collect Transformers? Me too!..." or "Great game, I really enjoyed it...".

At least you're genuinely attempting to make conversation :)

Then there are the extras off Shawn of The Dead roaming the sales floor, bumping into the walls who have absolutely no idea what day it is.

[Megatran]

Non-interactive retail staff does not bother me. I'm sure some see their retail job as a transient career before they make their next career move.

What upsets me are the agro customers who take it out on the retail staff just because they think "the customer is always right". Just blatant rudeness.

[Omega Metro]

I find too much customer service irritating. Dick Smith is an example where every 2 minutes you are in the store, there is a 'Can I help you?'...... If I need help I will ask. :rolleyes:

Oh, and my Chihuahua chewed the head off my KO Deluxe Windrazor. I guess she doesn't like KO's.:mad:

[Megatran]

Oh, and my Chihuahua chewed the head off my KO Deluxe Windrazor. I guess she doesn't like KO's.:mad:

"The dog ate my homework" line. :p

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, customer badgering isn't good customer service. :p They do that a lot in China (only substitute minutes for seconds). :rolleyes:

[kup]

What the... my recent attempt at preordering MP Ultra Magnus from Anime Export just got cancelled again, and I know for sure it wasn't me because I haven't touched anything on my account there since I ordered it again! :eek: I've attempted to preorder the toy from them twice now, and both say "cacelled by Admin." At first I thought maybe it was something I'd inadvertently clicked on, but this time I know I haven't changed anything. The hell?!? When I click on "My Orders," it has nothing at the bottom, and when I click on "cancelled" it shows the two MP Ultra Magnus orders that are now cancelled. Screw this, I'm using HLJ. They may be a bit dearer, but their preorder price is still below RRP and they've always been reliable for me.

P.S.: Aaawwww what the ffff... I placed an order for MP22 over half an hour ago, but my order thingy at HLJ's showing up empty and I haven't received any order confirmation email. I just ordered it again... still nothing. GRRAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Haaate online shopping!!! :mad: *massive.sigh* If I don't hear anything from HLJ by tomorrow, I'm just gonna use freakin' Amazon. <swear.words>

P.P.S.: Yaaay! The HLJ order now appears in my open orders! :o What an emotional rollercoaster... (@_@)

I think is you not online shopping. Nobody else has the repeating issues you do.

[Harbinger]

my vent is that madman released the boxsets of Cybertron boxset 2 and Animated series 3 yesterday, only to be told that since madman is having a massive upheaval i have to wait till end of next week to get them. currently trying to figure out if its true or not.

[Mythirax]

What the... my recent attempt at preordering MP Ultra Magnus from Anime Export just got cancelled again, and I know for sure it wasn't me because I haven't touched anything on my account there since I ordered it again! :eek: I've attempted to preorder the toy from them twice now, and both say "cacelled by Admin." At first I thought maybe it was something I'd inadvertently clicked on, but this time I know I haven't changed anything. The hell?!? When I click on "My Orders," it has nothing at the bottom, and when I click on "cancelled" it shows the two MP Ultra Magnus orders that are now cancelled. Screw this, I'm using HLJ. They may be a bit dearer, but their preorder price is still below RRP and they've always been reliable for me.

P.S.: Aaawwww what the ffff... I placed an order for MP22 over half an hour ago, but my order thingy at HLJ's showing up empty and I haven't received any order confirmation email. I just ordered it again... still nothing. GRRAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Haaate online shopping!!! :mad: *massive.sigh* If I don't hear anything from HLJ by tomorrow, I'm just gonna use freakin' Amazon. <swear.words>

P.P.S.: Yaaay! The HLJ order now appears in my open orders! :o What an emotional rollercoaster... (@_@)

That really sucks man. They didn't bill you at all in any way? So long as they haven't managed to take any of your moolah :D

[BigTransformerTrev]

my vent is that madman released the boxsets of Cybertron boxset 2 and Animated series 3 yesterday, only to be told that since madman is having a massive upheaval i have to wait till end of next week to get them. currently trying to figure out if its true or not.

Can you buy complete box (as in all seasons in one go) sets of RID, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated & Prime anywhere. Just had a look on Madmen and could see bugger all like that

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, I got told the same thing about Animated S3 from my local JB Hi fi too. Gggrrr!!

[BigTransformerTrev]

What the... my recent attempt at preordering MP Ultra Magnus from Anime Export just got cancelled again, and I know for sure it wasn't me because I haven't touched anything on my account there since I ordered it again! :eek: I've attempted to preorder the toy from them twice now, and both say "cacelled by Admin." At first I thought maybe it was something I'd inadvertently clicked on, but this time I know I haven't changed anything. The hell?!? When I click on "My Orders," it has nothing at the bottom, and when I click on "cancelled" it shows the two MP Ultra Magnus orders that are now cancelled. Screw this, I'm using HLJ. They may be a bit dearer, but their preorder price is still below RRP and they've always been reliable for me.

P.S.: Aaawwww what the ffff... I placed an order for MP22 over half an hour ago, but my order thingy at HLJ's showing up empty and I haven't received any order confirmation email. I just ordered it again... still nothing. GRRAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Haaate online shopping!!! :mad: *massive.sigh* If I don't hear anything from HLJ by tomorrow, I'm just gonna use freakin' Amazon. <swear.words>

P.P.S.: Yaaay! The HLJ order now appears in my open orders! :o What an emotional rollercoaster... (@_@)


After reading this I went to check my order of MP Wheeljack with with HLJ (my first order with them) and it had been changed to 'order stop' :mad:. Bugger it, they may cost more but think Im going to go back to BBTS - at least for the most part they are reliable :rolleyes:

[Paulbot]

From my expierence with HLJ "Order stop" means they aren't taking any more "preorders" for that item, not that your order has been cancelled.

From their help page (http://www.hlj.com/helpcenter/products.html)


"Order Stop": We have taken all the orders we think we will be able to fill for these items, but there is still a chance we may be able to secure more stock, so orders are temporarily stopped until we can confirm that. If we can get more stock, orders will be reopened. If we cannot get more stock, the item will go to "Discontinued" status. (NOTE: Previously placed orders are not affected. Just not taking new orders! )

[Sky Shadow]

After reading this I went to check my order of MP Wheeljack with with HLJ (my first order with them) and it had been changed to 'order stop' :mad:. Bugger it, they may cost more but think Im going to go back to BBTS - at least for the most part they are reliable :rolleyes:

HLJ are incredibly reliable - Order Stop just means people can't currently order more of that particular item, not that your own order has been stopped.

[BigTransformerTrev]

HLJ are incredibly reliable - Order Stop just means people can't currently order more of that particular item, not that your own order has been stopped.

ah crap, I just cancelled the order as I thought that's what it meant :(

[Sinnertwin]

As Paul & SS have noted, it's all good, BTT.:)
My Bumble & Wheeljack are showing the exact same thing

[BigTransformerTrev]

As Paul & SS have noted, it's all good, BTT.:)
My Bumble & Wheeljack are showing the exact same thing

Yeah, its a damn shame I cancelled the order before finding out all the facts as I can't re-order him though HLJ anymore. Oh well, serves me right, got him ordered with BBTS now anyway.


Went to book my AoE gold class tickets tonight and the cinemas don't have the bookings up yet.. grumble grumble. It's a month off from tomorrow so maybe tomorrow night will be a goer.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Went to book my AoE gold class tickets tonight and the cinemas don't have the bookings up yet.. grumble grumble. It's a month off from tomorrow so maybe tomorrow night will be a goer.

They won't update the sessions until wednesday night/Thursday as that's the weekly release change over.

[Harbinger]

Thanks to madman I am still waiting for the box sets. What ever they are doing it is apparently upsetting a lot of customers. Might just finish off prime on bluray though shout factory with this frustrating wait.

[UltraMarginal]

What the... my recent attempt at preordering MP Ultra Magnus from Anime Export just got cancelled again, and I know for sure it wasn't me because I haven't touched anything on my account there since I ordered it again! :eek: I've attempted to preorder the toy from them twice now, and both say "cacelled by Admin." At first I thought maybe it was something I'd inadvertently clicked on, but this time I know I haven't changed anything. The hell?!? When I click on "My Orders," it has nothing at the bottom, and when I click on "cancelled" it shows the two MP Ultra Magnus orders that are now cancelled. Screw this, I'm using HLJ. They may be a bit dearer, but their preorder price is still below RRP and they've always been reliable for me.

P.S.: Aaawwww what the ffff... I placed an order for MP22 over half an hour ago, but my order thingy at HLJ's showing up empty and I haven't received any order confirmation email. I just ordered it again... still nothing. GRRAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Haaate online shopping!!! :mad: *massive.sigh* If I don't hear anything from HLJ by tomorrow, I'm just gonna use freakin' Amazon. <swear.words>

P.P.S.: Yaaay! The HLJ order now appears in my open orders! :o What an emotional rollercoaster... (@_@)

Did you actually make a payment? if you've ordered through them, you have to then take another step of going through paypal and making the actual payment. They send you an order confirmed email that has a link in it to go to the payment page. once you've paid for it they send you another confirmation email. they then notify you of when an item comes in. They even have a POL system allowing you to wait for several individual items to build up, then you can even select which in stock items you want them to ship, they will process that, give you a shipping invoice and ship very soon after you've paid that.

If you neglected to make payment they'll only leave the item in your basket for so long before returning it to inventory.


Can you buy complete box (as in all seasons in one go) sets of RID, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated & Prime anywhere. Just had a look on Madmen and could see bugger all like that

I'm expecting complete box sets to be released in the future, don't hold your breath though, these types of releases seem to take forever. They like to milk it for all it's worth.


Thanks to madman I am still waiting for the box sets. What ever they are doing it is apparently upsetting a lot of customers. Might just finish off prime on bluray though shout factory with this frustrating wait.

What is happening with madman? are they having business issues?

[Harbinger]

What is happening with madman? are they having business issues?

from what i was told Madman has had a big upheaval in its distribution services which as they reorganized everything they put off distributing their stock, it was meant for them to do their orders on Monday and send them out, but that seems to be pushed back further into this week.

[griffin]

Madman were recently sold by Funtastic (http://www.toyhobbyretailer.com.au/news/madman-sale-leads-funtastic-s-26-million-half-year-loss), so upheaval is expected as they are integrated into their new owners (whoever they are).

[BigTransformerTrev]

I'm expecting complete box sets to be released in the future, don't hold your breath though, these types of releases seem to take forever. They like to milk it for all it's worth.




They are doing an Amazon release in the states of all 3 seasons together of Animated. Do their DVD's work here? Or not because it is a different region?

[Hursticon]

They are doing an Amazon release in the states of all 3 seasons together of Animated. Do their DVD's work here? Or not because it is a different region?

They'll be US region coded Trev, a pain but nothing a region-unlocked player can't handle. ;)

[UltraMarginal]

They'll be US region coded Trev, a pain but nothing a region-unlocked player can't handle. ;)

Exactly what Hursti said.

[GoktimusPrime]

...so long as it's not a Sony, they're hardwired for Region 4. All other brands should be hackable. ;)

[BigTransformerTrev]

They'll be US region coded Trev, a pain but nothing a region-unlocked player can't handle. ;)


Exactly what Hursti said.


...so long as it's not a Sony, they're hardwired for Region 4. All other brands should be hackable. ;)

Cheers :)



GRRRR!!!! :mad: My Kreo Seawing came missing two pieces! Always worried I'd get a micro changer where this was the case and finally happened :mad::(

Can't even get a refund as I bought the entire wave 4 off a dude on eBay ages ago and since they were sealed bags he wouldn't have known

[DELTAprime]

OMG, just downloaded the FCBD Transformers vs GI Joe comic of Comixology. This steaming piece of **** ain't worth the megabytes I wasted downloading it.:mad:

[Sky Shadow]

It ticks me off whenever someone explicitly says a toy will not "scale with CHUG." Are you on syk? CHUG is not a scale. It's four different toylines that included a Mini-Con Swoop, Legends Menasor and Trypticon, and Ultra Powerglide, Countdown and Stormcloud. Jetfire is simultaneously a Legend, Voyager and Leader. You can't empirically claim that something won't scale with something that isn't even in scale with itself.

[Omega Metro]

Arrrgghh! My brain is hurting soooo much with all these new toys available to preorder/buy everywhere. Plus an upcoming movie with trailers, toy sales. So much going on at the moment, my simple brain can't hold it it.:mad::D;).........and my wallet is poorer.:(

[Bidoofdude]

Arrrgghh! My brain is hurting soooo much with all these new toys available to preorder/buy everywhere. Plus an upcoming movie with trailers, toy sales. So much going on at the moment, my simple brain can't hold it it.:mad::D;).........and my wallet is poorer.:(

I'm feeling it too. It's hard to make priorities when everything looks so good. On top of that, I'm (pretty much always) low on funds so I really have to pick and choose, which means missing some stuff I really want. The low budget has made me stick to Generations so far.

[Sky Shadow]

I hate it when Transformers movies come out. Today one of the teachers at school said "Transformers were my era - I had them all - Starscreen, the Destructobots, those Autobot planes that joined together." I actually had to gauge if he was being ironic. Apparently not. I'm thankful that our field of expertise only becomes dumbass mind-numbing water-cooler conversation once every few years.

[GoktimusPrime]

A lot of kids at school have been talking to me more about Transformers, typical question being "Who's your favourite Transformer?" Yesterday a kid in one of my Year 8 classes asked me this question and I said, "Ultra Magnus." Half the kids went, "Who?" but one kid actually knew who I was talking about. The kid who asked the question thought it was a funny sounding name and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if he was a small Transformer inside a bigger one?" and I said, "Well, he pretty much is. He's been a series of load-bearers," then I went on to explain what load bearers are. But the one kid who knew who UM was nodded knowingly at me and said,
"He's some kind of police officer."
"Well, he's the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord."
"Yeah! That's it!"
We then talked about Minimus Ambus and the concept of Ultra Magnus being an identity rather than an individual character. I was actually really surprised that a kid in my class knew all this! :eek:

After the class finished, he came up to me and showed me some pics on his mobile phone of his Beast Wars collection, including some figures which never came out here (and even I don't have! :eek:), such as Ikard & Takotank, two Clawjaws, Gelshark, Hellscream, Autostinger, Wal*Mart Slapper (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Slapper_(Dinobots)) (I don't have any version of this mould!) etc. A few months ago he also showed me the customisation he did on his Classics Grimlock -- basically touched it up with paints to add in a bucket of gritty details etc.! :eek:

Although today he was playing with Deluxe TF1 Jazz in class and I had to prompt him to stop playing with his toy and get one with his classwork. All the while with Generations Drift sitting on my desk :p (although I never played with it during class, he just decorated my desktop. ;))

[Sinnertwin]

I hate it when Transformers movies come out. Today one of the teachers at school said "Transformers were my era - I had them all - Starscreen, the Destructobots, those Autobot planes that joined together." I actually had to gauge if he was being ironic. Apparently not. I'm thankful that our field of expertise only becomes dumbass mind-numbing water-cooler conversation once every few years.


Probably were. Sounds like they just don't care enough to give a crap about naming them correctly.

[Omega Metro]

Probably were. Sounds like they just don't care enough to give a crap about naming them correctly.


99% of the worlds population probably don't give a crap either.;)

[kup]

I hate it when Transformers movies come out. Today one of the teachers at school said "Transformers were my era - I had them all - Starscreen, the Destructobots, those Autobot planes that joined together." I actually had to gauge if he was being ironic. Apparently not. I'm thankful that our field of expertise only becomes dumbass mind-numbing water-cooler conversation once every few years.

Sounds like a poser.

[Bidoofdude]

Sounds like a poser.

I cringed. :D

[Mythirax]

I cringed. :D

I cringed, then laughed :D

[DELTAprime]

A lot of kids at school have been talking to me more about Transformers, typical question being "Who's your favourite Transformer?" Yesterday a kid in one of my Year 8 classes asked me this question and I said, "Ultra Magnus." Half the kids went, "Who?" but one kid actually knew who I was talking about. The kid who asked the question thought it was a funny sounding name and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if he was a small Transformer inside a bigger one?" and I said, "Well, he pretty much is. He's been a series of load-bearers," then I went on to explain what load bearers are. But the one kid who knew who UM was nodded knowingly at me and said,
"He's some kind of police officer."
"Well, he's the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord."
"Yeah! That's it!"
We then talked about Minimus Ambus and the concept of Ultra Magnus being an identity rather than an individual character. I was actually really surprised that a kid in my class knew all this! :eek:

After the class finished, he came up to me and showed me some pics on his mobile phone of his Beast Wars collection, including some figures which never came out here (and even I don't have! :eek:), such as Ikard & Takotank, two Clawjaws, Gelshark, Hellscream, Autostinger, Wal*Mart Slapper (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Slapper_(Dinobots)) (I don't have any version of this mould!) etc. A few months ago he also showed me the customisation he did on his Classics Grimlock -- basically touched it up with paints to add in a bucket of gritty details etc.! :eek:

Although today he was playing with Deluxe TF1 Jazz in class and I had to prompt him to stop playing with his toy and get one with his classwork. All the while with Generations Drift sitting on my desk :p (although I never played with it during class, he just decorated my desktop. ;))

Gok that is the best "feel good" Transformers story I have heard ever.

[Jinto]

FOC Impactor has the worst arm design I have ever seen. SO disappointing.

His shoulders actually attach to the body about halfway down his bicep, so he looks like Robbie the Robot (http://www.planetvideo.com.au/blog/2010/12/10/forbidden-planet-robby.jpg) every time you try and pose him. On top of that his forearms are shrunken and they only hold on via a tiny ball joint, which on my figure are prone to popping out.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

FOC Impactor has the worst arm design I have ever seen. SO disappointing.

His shoulders actually attach to the body about halfway down his bicep, so he looks like Robbie the Robot (http://www.planetvideo.com.au/blog/2010/12/10/forbidden-planet-robby.jpg) every time you try and pose him. On top of that his forearms are shrunken and they only hold on via a tiny ball joint, which on my figure are prone to popping out.

A sort of cheaty way around the short arm-i-ness is if you consider the wheel and cover area as the shoulder and rotate the arm forward from there.

[GoktimusPrime]

I'm just finally thrilled to have an Impactor toy after 28 years of wanting one! :D
And it's the kind of toy that they could've done as some expensive limited exclusive figure, but instead it's a regular store release -- which happened to be quite cheap here... so yay! :D But yeah, mine are prone to popping out too. :p

[Jinto]

A sort of cheaty way around the short arm-i-ness is if you consider the wheel and cover area as the shoulder and rotate the arm forward from there.

That is what I'm talking about. Tye whole wheel assembly rotates too low.

[philby]

I'm sure this has been mentioned a few times already over the years but I think with the latest movie it's ground my gears a little more :p I haven't seen the movie yet and part of me isn't really sure I even want to, I have a feeling I'm just gonna look at the screen and go wtf is happening now....

I really just hate a lot of the designs for the live action movie Transformers. I find them ugly and hard to look at and all buggy and sharp and jagged and spindly. I also think they seem too humanoid and you should be able to see more of what their alternate modes are. Some of them are just, I dunno, I have no words, WTF??

Drift and Galvatron from the latest movie are what inspired/filled me with rage enough to type this vent.

I mean come on what the hell is this crap? Why is an alien robot warrior who transforms from european supercar to robot have a samurai head??? It just seems so ridiculous and out of place. Fine, if you have a 'Japanese inspired' character like Drift or something just have a Japanese accent or voice artist. The head just looks stupid and is completely out of theme or alignment or I dunno I can't think of the fucken word it just doesn't fit.

I saw a picture of someone's Galvatron they just bought with some of the other current toys and couldn't work out which robot turned into that dark grey and black truck. How the hell do you go from that rounded curvy humanoid thing covered in cables and wires to the truck? He looks stupid! It's just not Transformers to me. Argh! anyway that's my vent :p

*image from user Mythirax in the aquisitions thread*
http://i.imgur.com/WCFRZsi.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Yup, I totally agree. The lack of alt mode kibble makes them look less like Transformers. And the Decepticons are even worse, but this is also because in they movie they actually (spoiler) 'scatter'-morph rather than transform in the conventional sense (parts/panel shifting). (end spoiler) :rolleyes: And the humanised themed heads/bodies on the Autobots does make it look cartoony and camp. I didn't mind it on toys like Beast Wars Neo and Car Robot, but of course, those were toys that were explicitly aimed at kids, and their accompanying cartoon series were aimed at a very young audience... and it's a cartoon! Seeing it in a photorealistic live action movie setting just looks cheesy. But tbh, it's nothing new -- we had goofy looking characters like DotM Quejack... and characters with bearded faces seem to be getting more organic looking as the movies progress too. :o

Evolution of live action TF bearded faces
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/beardos_zps457149b4.jpg

"Themed" robot modes
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/themedrobos_zps7f0b1cbf.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/meme_aoeoptimus_zpsb6678f2b.jpg

[Magnus]

Voyager Hound is proving surprisingly difficult to find; none of the shops I've been to seem to have him in stock :mad:

Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places :o

[GoktimusPrime]

Voyager Hound is proving surprisingly difficult to find; none of the shops I've been to seem to have him in stock :mad:

Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places :o
I'm sure I saw some at my local shops. I'll grab one for you if I find one. ;)

[Mythirax]

Voyager Hound is proving surprisingly difficult to find; none of the shops I've been to seem to have him in stock :mad:

Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places :o

I'm still seeing him at every Kmart I've been to in Melbourne, which is quite a few. Might just be unlucky?

[Sinnertwin]

Well, Hound is the most awesomest character in the movie, "I'm a fat ballerina!" :D so that could explain his lack on store shelves. Being packed only one per box doesnt help either :/

[Magnus]

I've tried two different Kmarts, three Myers, two Targets, a Big W and a TrU over the past week and a bit. No Hound :(


I'm sure I saw some at my local shops. I'll grab one for you if I find one. ;)

Aww, you don't have to, but thanks! :)

[griffin]

It's starting to get hard to secure one cheaply online too...
Amazon sold out, and BBTS only have pre-orders of second wave full cases (with just one Hound in the case of four) that I have a feeling they have now missed, as they already got in the second wave some time ago... so I fear that they might not be getting in a refreshment of wave 2.
On the other hand, if you are desperate, but not keen to pay higher secondary price, the Japanese version comes out July 19th, and might look nicer too.

[Sinnertwin]

I've tried two different Kmarts, three Myers, two Targets, a Big W and a TrU over the past week and a bit. No Hound :(


I've got a Hound at Mt.Druitt put aside for you. Shoot me a PM if you're keen :)

[Mythirax]

I've got a Hound at Mt.Druitt put aside for you. Shoot me a PM if you're keen :)

And this is the sort of thing that makes me love these forums ;)

[GoktimusPrime]

Sinnertwin: I already got one for Magnus yesterday. Awww, feel the lurvs. :D

[griffin]

There seems to be demand for it, so probably post its availability in the saleyard before taking it back. (to whomever doesn't give theirs to Magnus)

[Magnus]

And this is the sort of thing that makes me love these forums ;)

+1. Thanks to everyone with your advice and offers of help!

[DELTAprime]

I know it comes up a lot but I've got to VENT!!! I hate BBTS when they don't get their stock in a timely manner. I'm waiting on a MMPR Legacy Dragon Dagger and Legacy Dragonzord that should have arrived in April when the US TRU got their stock. I've had it with waiting, I'm going to order from TRU even if I have to pay extra on shipping.

[Bidoofdude]

I know it comes up a lot but I've got to VENT!!! I hate BBTS when they don't get their stock in a timely manner. I'm waiting on a MMPR Legacy Dragon Dagger and Legacy Dragonzord that should have arrived in April when the US TRU got their stock. I've had with waiting, I'm going to order from TRU even if I have to pay extra on shipping.

We all know that feel. The Chosen Prime seem to be better with their timing and are almost identical to BBTS in prices and shipping, with a POL system. Considering changing.

[Dimi194]

I've tried two different Kmarts, three Myers, two Targets, a Big W and a TrU over the past week and a bit. No Hound :(


Same! Hopefully Shellhabour will bring more success tomorrow...
1 per box? Hasbro why :eek:

[griffin]

Amazon have it back in stock (http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Extinction-Generations-Voyager-Autobot/dp/B00G69QG66/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER).

[GoktimusPrime]

The paint on the AoE Concept Camaro Deluxe Bumblebee is prone to scratching. Looking at my photos of the toy that I took shortly after opening it, I noticed that the right knee was already scratched. Today I rolled it a bit on my desk at work, and it ended up scratching the left knee! :eek: Then I noticed that one of the grill tabs had snapped off, and I found it on the floor of my TF room, which meant that it must've snapped when I first transformed it! :eek: Anyway, took it back to TRU for an exchange... on the way there I called them and asked if they had any in stock and to put one aside for me if they did. The guy on the floor checked twice and told me that there were none left. But by that time, I was already half way there, so I proceeded to go there, and sure enough, there were four of them still sitting on the peg! :rolleyes: I found the guy that I spoke to and mentioned it to him (in a friendly way ;)). Anyway, got the toy exchanged. I looked at each of the toys through the bubble, and all but one of them had a scratch on one or both knees! Naturally I got the one without the knee scratches.

[griffin]

Does anyone else have that sort of quality requirement (paint scratches/smudges) with toys, that are mostly bought by people who don't see any value in them (as mere toys), and produced in such a cheap, sweat-shop way that quality of the end product is what you'd expect of a mere play-thing... so if it is opened to play with (not being bought for investment/value), is it right to exchange them as if they were faulty?

Surely exchanges are for items that are broken before they are removed from packaging, or missing parts, or constructed wrong. Isn't making the store pay for an item that was damaged by the customer, or only have an insignificant paint smudge that is a parameter of the cheap construction process, cheating the system?

If it was a car or fridge or computer that had a noticeable scratch on it, or missing paint, that would matter because those are higher-end, higher-quality items... but a toy that is taken out to be played with, to already start getting play wear, wouldn't be something I'd exchange just over a small bit of smudged or missing paint.

Just curious... does anyone else return toys that they broke or had some minor paint issues that are minor enough to be expected of these cheaply made products that are just toys?

[Sinnertwin]

I do try and select the best option available at the time, but that's probably more to do with me trying to have the best looking toy and/or sealed box to display -i spent weeks tracking down a MiSB Generations Metroplex that didn't have a damaged box :rolleyes: i'm also a chronic perfectionist sometimes, which never helps.
There are some factors that i can't control like international orders, in which case i have no choice but to just roll with what comes out of the PoL carton.

As for damages that i've caused? No, i wouldn't take it back, i'm just not comfortable in doing so. I'd just curse profusely at my heavy handedness & start looking for a replacement.

[Omega Metro]

Does anyone else have that sort of quality requirement (paint scratches/smudges) with toys, that are mostly bought by people who don't see any value in them (as mere toys), and produced in such a cheap, sweat-shop way that quality of the end product is what you'd expect of a mere play-thing... so if it is opened to play with (not being bought for investment/value), is it right to exchange them as if they were faulty?

Surely exchanges are for items that are broken before they are removed from packaging, or missing parts, or constructed wrong. Isn't making the store pay for an item that was damaged by the customer, or only have an insignificant paint smudge that is a parameter of the cheap construction process, cheating the system?

If it was a car or fridge or computer that had a noticeable scratch on it, or missing paint, that would matter because those are higher-end, higher-quality items... but a toy that is taken out to be played with, to already start getting play wear, wouldn't be something I'd exchange just over a small bit of smudged or missing paint.

Just curious... does anyone else return toys that they broke or had some minor paint issues that are minor enough to be expected of these cheaply made products that are just toys?

I think it's quite disgusting for someone to take an item back (especially a toy) for an exchange just because it has a little scratch on it. No wonder Australian retail don't give a crap. Sure, if it was broken, fair enough. :mad:

[GoktimusPrime]

When I bought this toy, I took it to my TF room last night and opened it. I then transformed it very carefully as I was following the instructions. I then took the toy out to the lounge room to take photos and type up a review of it. Then when I got home, I noticed that the broken tab was lying on the TF room floor. Although the broken tab was lying right next to where the card and blister were, which was in a different location from where I was handling and transforming the toy. i.e. when I opened the toy, I set the packaging stuff aside, and then transformed/fiddled with the toy in another part of the room. The tab was with the packaging stuff. It was about the put the packaging stuff away when I noticed the tab there, then I examined the toy to see where it would've broken off from, and sure enough, it was from the grill section. I didn't notice the broken tab until 24h after I opened the toy... I'd just assumed that it must've broken when I transformed it for the first time (didn't really put any more thought into it beyond that assumption :p), but now that I think about it, the tab was in a different part of the room from where I first handled the toy, which suggests that it may have already been broken when I opened it.

At the time that I took the toy back to TRU, I was under the assumption that I must've broken it myself after opening it. I told the staff that, "it snapped off when I transformed it for the first time," (assumption) and the staff member happily allowed me to exchange the toy. I didn't say that the tab was "already broken" (though in hindsight, it's rather likely). <shrugs> I didn't go there with the intention to "cheat" the store. I merely felt that the product was not of acceptable quality (http://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly/consumers-rights-obligations) and brought it back under that belief.

In my 30 years' of collecting Transformers, this is the first time that I may have had a brand new toy break on me like this. Every other time I've taken a toy back for exchange or refund, it was clearly defective as a manufacturing flaw.


I think it's quite disgusting for someone to take an item back (especially a toy) for an exchange just because it has a little scratch on it. No wonder Australian retail don't give a crap. Sure, if it was broken, fair enough. :mad:
Yeah, it had a broken off tab. I wouldn't have bothered if it was just a little bit of scratched paint. :rolleyes: And as I said, looking at it in hindsight, it was more likely to have been broken before I handled it (unless that broken tab took flight and flew across the room... but I would've noticed a chunk of cadmium yellow plastic darting across if that'd happened! (not to mention that there would've been a snapping sound if it'd broken like that) :o)

[Kapryiath]

I wouldn't take say a delux classics figire back for a paint defect unless it was huge , but if I bought hasbro mp prowl and it had paint issues I would certainly be taking it back. if it wasnt such a hassle I would have tried to replace my bluestreak which has a large paint scratch on his shoulder which is noticable even from a distance. I personally feel that anything more than 40 bucks worth of plastoc crack should be in pretty damn good nick from the package

[aduthie1980]

Not sure if this is the right place, but I would like to vent about my current experience at Big W.
It all started when I did a layby during the toy sale as there was some stuff I wanted to get once my tax return came through and I had some spare cash.
I was asked if i wanted to do a Christmas layby or normal one, the difference between the two was explained and I decided to do the former just in case I didn't get it paid off in time. Made a couple of payments over the last few weeks and then went to pick it up today.
The guy who served me went to grab it and then came back about 5 minutes later and told me he couldn't find it, but would continue to look. I was told it could take anywhere up to an hour to find and that he would call me when he had it. So I left empty handed.
Five hours passed and I had heard nothing so i gave them a call back.
I was told that the person who had served me left about half an hour after I was there, and there was no record of it being looked for at all.
I was told that they would try and dig it out for me but it could take a up to 3 days and that they would call me back, I asked why it could take this long and they explained to me that due to it being a Christmas layby it could be harder to find or may even be in another location. I was not told this when I placed the layby and there is no fine print on the receipt to state this! I mentioned that I had said I would be picking it up in a couple of months and to just come into the store when ready to collect.
2 hours later they rang back and said that they still couldn't find it and seemed to have no record of my order number.
I have been told that they will look over the weekend, but if they still can't find it they will offer me a refund if replacement stock cannot be sourced. I have never had a problem with layby before and I'm not sure if this common practice that if an order is lost then all that is offered is a refund. Fingers crossed and hopefully they find it over the weekend.

[Seraphim Prime]

Not sure if this is the right place, but I would like to vent about my current experience at Big W.
It all started when I did a layby during the toy sale as there was some stuff I wanted to get once my tax return came through and I had some spare cash.
I was asked if i wanted to do a Christmas layby or normal one, the difference between the two was explained and I decided to do the former just in case I didn't get it paid off in time. Made a couple of payments over the last few weeks and then went to pick it up today.
The guy who served me went to grab it and then came back about 5 minutes later and told me he couldn't find it, but would continue to look. I was told it could take anywhere up to an hour to find and that he would call me when he had it. So I left empty handed.
Five hours passed and I had heard nothing so i gave them a call back.
I was told that the person who had served me left about half an hour after I was there, and there was no record of it being looked for at all.
I was told that they would try and dig it out for me but it could take a up to 3 days and that they would call me back, I asked why it could take this long and they explained to me that due to it being a Christmas layby it could be harder to find or may even be in another location. I was not told this when I placed the layby and there is no fine print on the receipt to state this! I mentioned that I had said I would be picking it up in a couple of months and to just come into the store when ready to collect.
2 hours later they rang back and said that they still couldn't find it and seemed to have no record of my order number.
I have been told that they will look over the weekend, but if they still can't find it they will offer me a refund if replacement stock cannot be sourced. I have never had a problem with layby before and I'm not sure if this common practice that if an order is lost then all that is offered is a refund. Fingers crossed and hopefully they find it over the weekend.

Hey aduthie,

I used to work for Target, and I can say that over 99% of the time, laybuys work without a hitch. Unfortunately, as the process is manual - wrapping, storing, locating - sometimes (particularly in the busy times) the there may be a mix up in one of those stages (eg: not all items included, item gets put in the wrong location). Alternatively, sometimes the Christmas laybuys get stored in a different storeroom and/or off-site.

When there's an issue, we always made an effort to make up the laybuy with stock on hand or transfer items from another store. Refund would be offered as a last resort.

As I said, over 99% of the time, no issues. Sucks that this has happened to you.

[UltraMarginal]

Does anyone else have that sort of quality requirement (paint scratches/smudges) with toys, that are mostly bought by people who don't see any value in them (as mere toys), and produced in such a cheap, sweat-shop way that quality of the end product is what you'd expect of a mere play-thing... so if it is opened to play with (not being bought for investment/value), is it right to exchange them as if they were faulty?

Surely exchanges are for items that are broken before they are removed from packaging, or missing parts, or constructed wrong. Isn't making the store pay for an item that was damaged by the customer, or only have an insignificant paint smudge that is a parameter of the cheap construction process, cheating the system?

If it was a car or fridge or computer that had a noticeable scratch on it, or missing paint, that would matter because those are higher-end, higher-quality items... but a toy that is taken out to be played with, to already start getting play wear, wouldn't be something I'd exchange just over a small bit of smudged or missing paint.

Just curious... does anyone else return toys that they broke or had some minor paint issues that are minor enough to be expected of these cheaply made products that are just toys?


I would return stuff if it were broken, if I have a couple of something to choose from on a peg, I'll sit there for a few minutes comparing paint jobs to decide which one I think is better, as you say, quality control on lower end items isn't always that tight, some can have OK paint while others have good paint.

I don't think I've ever returned something after breaking it myself, but if I was in the process of using something for the first time and it didn't function as intended either because it broke in my hands or arrived like that I'd take it back.

I've noticed some paint coming of my AOE slug, he's an import and it's not enough to be upset about but something I've noted for future handling. It's not unreasonable to expect a retail product to stand up to 'normal' wear and tear. <define that as you like>:D

[GoktimusPrime]

I called Hasbro again on Monday (in hopes of asking them about Generations). Got through to a machine which diverted me to another machine which diverted me to an answering service. (-_-)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/custserv_zps2b6aa105.png

[Sinnertwin]

Call from a private number next time, they won't know who it is :p :D

[CyberiusPrime]

My TF frustration would have to be how flaming hard Titan Metroplex is to transform into city mode.

But a real annoyance piece for me would definitely have to be the pictures vs the real thing. First Edition OP picture shows alot of Chrome, real thing has alot more grey plastic to it.

Australia's amazingly low volume of good quality TF stuff. All the overseas premium we have to pay.

Finally the TF game the rise of the dark spark, please do not get me started on this!!!

[Dimi194]

Australia's amazingly low volume of good quality TF stuff. All the overseas premium we have to pay.



^This 100%. Hasbro is worse than LEGO, who usually charge 1.5 times the USA price.... for TF stuff it's sometimes over double! :mad:

[UltraMarginal]

I broke the peg off the tail for my ultimate predaking the other night, was trying to slide it out sideways as that's what the joint looked like in the poor light. as a result I now have a tail sword without a handle and a predaking without a tail. pretty bummed. I should have put it down and come back to it later. every direction I tried to move it in it didn't budge until the peg just sheared off.

[ILikeSoundwave]

I broke the peg off the tail for my ultimate predaking the other night, was trying to slide it out sideways as that's what the joint looked like in the poor light. as a result I now have a tail sword without a handle and a predaking without a tail. pretty bummed. I should have put it down and come back to it later. every direction I tried to move it in it didn't budge until the peg just sheared off.

Same thing happened to me except I broke it holding him by the tail in dragon mode.:o:p

[GoktimusPrime]

I was playing around w/ my Decepticon MPs the other day, and the tip of one of MP3's tail fins snapped off. :mad:

[UltraMarginal]

Same thing happened to me except I broke it holding him by the tail in dragon mode.:o:p

spewing!:eek:

[SuspectimusPrime]

I broke the peg off the tail for my ultimate predaking the other night, was trying to slide it out sideways as that's what the joint looked like in the poor light. as a result I now have a tail sword without a handle and a predaking without a tail. pretty bummed. I should have put it down and come back to it later. every direction I tried to move it in it didn't budge until the peg just sheared off.

Wow, is the tail made of chalk? Kidding, sorry :p

More constructively, maybe you can try putting some Loctite 406 between the peg and tail, get something to keep it firmly held in that position for a few hours while it cures, then yank the tail out along with the peg. Another forum member mentioned you're more likely to break another part of the plastic than to see the glue section break off.

[UltraMarginal]

Wow, is the tail made of chalk? Kidding, sorry :p

More constructively, maybe you can try putting some Loctite 406 between the peg and tail, get something to keep it firmly held in that position for a few hours while it cures, then yank the tail out along with the peg. Another forum member mentioned you're more likely to break another part of the plastic than to see the glue section break off.

I might give that a go, just have to be careful the locktite stays on just the peg and doesn't seep onto the other side of the intersection of parts.:o

[philby]

Finally the TF game the rise of the dark spark, please do not get me started on this!!!

I quite enjoyed war for cybertron and thought fall of cybertron was even better. When this game popped up with hardly any preview press or information apart from the news it was a different developer and had half cybertron/half earth movie tie-in I knew straight away it was not going to be worth it... :/

[Sky Shadow]

There's a new thread on TFW2005 (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-general-discussion/1001243-pete-happy-address-concerns-about-any-actual-perceived-missteps-funpub.html), where Pete from FunPub/BotCon/TFCC is answering fans' questions about "any actual and perceived missteps we have made over the last 10 years."

It's hard to know where to start, but it's bound to be a good read.

[griffin]

There's a new thread on TFW2005 (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-general-discussion/1001243-pete-happy-address-concerns-about-any-actual-perceived-missteps-funpub.html), where Pete from FunPub/BotCon/TFCC is answering fans' questions about "any actual and perceived missteps we have made over the last 10 years."

It's hard to know where to start, but it's bound to be a good read.

I only just saw your post here. :o

I started a new topic here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=19344) as it was already giving a lot of interesting info on BotCon, but didn't think it was news-worthy for the news section.

[Sky Shadow]

I only just saw your post here. :o

I started a new topic here (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=19344) as it was already giving a lot of interesting info on BotCon, but didn't think it was news-worthy for the news section.

All good - I wasn't sure what to do with it either, which is why I posted here. :)

[GoktimusPrime]

This afternoon I called TRU Liverpool to see if they had any AoE Slogs left. I was told that there was. I spelt out the name to the person that I was speaking to and also provided a basic description of the toy, to ensure that he wouldn't confuse it with say Slug. The person said that he was holding the toy in hand and it matched my description, assuring me that it was definitely Slog. I asked him if he could put it aside for me, and he said yes. I then offered to give him my details, but strangely he said that it wasn't necessary and that the toy would be simply put aside for me. Uh... okay. So 21.5km and 35 minutes later, I arrive at TRU Liverpool to collect Slog. It dawns on me that the last time I purchased a Transformer from this store was back in 1995. It was a MOSC G2 Skram. After that fond trip down memory lane, I had a quick peek at the TF section and couldn't see any Slogs. I proceeded to the service counter and informed the girl working there that there was a Slog put aside for me. She checked. There wasn't one.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/whatchootalkinbout.jpg
I described the person's voice that I spoke to. The girl almost balked when she realised who it was. Now usually when a counter operator calls for someone, they wait patiently for them to arrive or call back. But this girl repeatedly calls for him, pausing only to serve other customers! I'd never seen such urgency, especially from a TRU staff member! I even overhear her saying things like, "Where's 'Bob' (not actual name)? Does he even have the Transformer? What's he doing? Is he even coming down?" with tempered frustration in her voice. Eventually another staff member arrives holding AoE Deluxe Slug in her hand and asks me if this was the toy that I was looking for. I explained to her that it wasn't, and that I was looking for Slog (and again, gave a basic description of the toy). The second girl profusely apologises and said that Bob hadn't put one aside for me! :eek: :mad:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_homer-screaming.gif
Absolutely dumbfounded, I asked her how this could have possibly happened, and why Bob would have told me that he was putting the toy aside and then not bothering to do so. I could see that she was also unhappy with Bob. I asked if she could source one from another TRU and have it sent to a TRU branch closer to me (e.g. Parramatta). She said that she would make some calls and see what she could do. While she was doing this, I remembered that someone had also sighted Slog at Livo Big W, so I ran over there (on the plus side, I got a good work out from it :p). I saw Voyager Drift, but no Slog!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_jaam_pain.gif
I then briskly walked back to TRU where I saw the second girl that I'd spoken to (the one who said she would try to source another one for me) craning her neck out the exit (the store was officially closed now) looking for me. When she spotted me she smiled and told me that they'd managed to find Slog! :eek: By this stage there were quite a few staff members gathered around trying to find the code for the toy, and the manager was there too. I could hear some of the staff members complaining about Bob; it seems that Bob did take this toy off the shelf, but then misplaced it - probably just put it down somewhere random then forgot about it. I asked the girl who served me if he does this often does this sort of thing, and she nodded while rolling her eyes. So kudos to the rest of the staff who persisted and managed to find Slog. However the other staff members were both unsurprised and frustrated with "Bob" indicates that stuff ups are a regular occurrence with him. :mad:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_meme_incompetence_zpsa8fd243e.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Gave myself a mild heart attack this morning. :p I brought my original BW Rattrap and MW Mirage to school today (re: Year 12 graduation), since those toys came out in 1996 & 97 respectively, the same years that most of this year's Year 12s were born in. During one part of the ceremony, I put Rattrap inside my hat and placed it on a small stack of chairs on the side of the hall. I turned my attention away for maybe a minute, and returned to find only one chair remaining and my hat (and Rattrap) GONE!

:eek: http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/ratchet_wtf_zpsfa4f2cbc.jpg :eek:
I quickly started shuffling around the side and back of the hall frantically searching for it. I was told by a colleague that some of the science teachers had distributed the chairs out for late arriving guests! I asked one of them, and he told me that he removed my hat and placed it on the floor behind a noticeboard. He pointed at where he'd placed it, but my hat was gone! :eek: I then approached another science teacher, who smiled and passed me my hat!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/joker.gif
Needless to say, I didn't let the hat (and the toy) leave my side after that. :o

[Sky Shadow]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone has set up international shipping as a price option in an eBay auction, but "no international bidders" in the description? :rolleyes:

[TAAUBlaster]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone has set up international shipping as a price option in an eBay auction, but "no international bidders" in the description? :rolleyes:

Yes, that very annoying! I get excited to finally find something I'm chasing, and then the description "no international bidders" :(

[Darksaber]

so I was just on the Hasbro site and having a look at some of the toys available on there and decided to check out the generations tab that was available and well didn't I receive a huge shock when I SCCROLLED DOWN AND WAS CONFRONTED WITH NOTHING BUT AGE OF EXTINCTION RUBBISH THIS IS NOT GENERATIONS HASBRO GRRRRRRRR

I even miss some of the last movie toys which I only own one of they have just gone downhill with cheap smaller more expensive pieces of rubbish

[GoktimusPrime]

^That's exactly how I feel when I walk into any local retail store. :o

[Bidoofdude]

I accidentally knocked my YOTH Optimus off of my desk minutes ago and one of his smoke stacks just broke cleanly in half! :eek::mad: It was less that a metre drop (74cm IIRC) and it just snapped. I'm attempting to hot glue it as a temporary fix, but will try to superglue later. :(

[SuspectimusPrime]

I accidentally knocked my YOTH Optimus off of my desk minutes ago and one of his smoke stacks just broke cleanly in half! :eek::mad: It was less that a metre drop (74cm IIRC) and it just snapped. I'm attempting to hot glue it as a temporary fix, but will try to superglue later. :(

Would the hot glue leave much residual? If something's snapped off completely, you may have better chance of achieving a less-noticeable result if you skip the hot glue, just go with the industrial stuff later.

[Bidoofdude]

Would the hot glue leave much residual? If something's snapped off completely, you may have better chance of achieving a less-noticeable result if you skip the hot glue, just go with the industrial stuff later.

I tried and it wasn't very visible (I've had a lot of experience from making my foam Iron Man armour) but it just came off. Ended up supergluing and it looks good as new. Hopefully it will hold. :o

[GoktimusPrime]

zOMG!! I just called Hasbro Australia and my call was - eventually - ANSWERED BY A PERSON!!! :eek:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_omg_zps183477eb.jpg
. . . who then took down my contact details and said that they'd call me back about my query . . . :rolleyes:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/th_facepalm_primeratchet.jpg

[Sinnertwin]

Lolz.
You'll get there one day with Hasbro, Goki :p

[GoktimusPrime]

Lolz.
You'll get there one day with Hasbro, Goki :p
Well, I finally got a call back (http://otca.com.au/boards/showpost.php?p=437475&postcount=53)! :o

[GoktimusPrime]

Aaaaaand, my Horri-Bull's neck joint snapped off today. :( :mad:
I was being super gentle and slow with it while trying to add more pieces of blu tac to help support the weight of the bull head... and it just broke off like a piece of butter. :eek: I super glued to piece back on, and it actually feels more secure than before it broke. When I got the toy, I already noticed that there was a crack on top of the one remaining hook that holds the neck in place. Today, the remaining side just gave way. :( After I reassembled the neck joint, I noticed that unfolding the bull head exerts outward pressure on the joint. Combined with the load bearing of that head in robot mode, and over a period of 26 years, the plastic just couldn't hold.

Although it felt the same as experiencing GPS, I don't think it's the same. GPS happens just because the plastic quality is just inherently bad. Horri-Bull's problem is that the joint is just really poorly designed. The continual outward force and downward load just places stress on that neck joint. It's little wonder that there are so many headless (in alt mode) Horri-Bull's out there. :rolleyes: Horri-Bull is just a horrible (sic) design, even by G1 Headmaster standards, and it's abundantly clear to me now why I skipped this toy back in 1988. My very first Headmasters were Apeface and Snapdragon, and tbh, all other Headmasters (aside from Fort Max) have paled in comparison. ;)

[Sky Shadow]

Aaaaaand, my Horri-Bull's neck joint snapped off today. :( :mad:
I was being super gentle and slow with it while trying to add more pieces of blu tac to help support the weight of the bull head... and it just broke off like a piece of butter. :eek: I super glued to piece back on, and it actually feels more secure than before it broke. When I got the toy, I already noticed that there was a crack on top of the one remaining hook that holds the neck in place. Today, the remaining side just gave way. :( After I reassembled the neck joint, I noticed that unfolding the bull head exerts outward pressure on the joint. Combined with the load bearing of that head in robot mode, and over a period of 26 years, the plastic just couldn't hold.

Although it felt the same as experiencing GPS, I don't think it's the same. GPS happens just because the plastic quality is just inherently bad. Horri-Bull's problem is that the joint is just really poorly designed. The continual outward force and downward load just places stress on that neck joint. It's little wonder that there are so many headless (in alt mode) Horri-Bull's out there. :rolleyes: Horri-Bull is just a horrible (sic) design, even by G1 Headmaster standards, and it's abundantly clear to me now why I skipped this toy back in 1988. My very first Headmasters were Apeface and Snapdragon, and tbh, all other Headmasters (aside from Fort Max) have paled in comparison. ;)

The 1987 Decepticon Targetmaster Nebulans are similarly stupid in that their 'abdominal/arse' joint's tabs seem designed to self-destruct. Does the Kreb that you're selling have a sore neck joint too - if not, wouldn't you prefer to keep him instead of the broken one?

[Sinnertwin]

sorry to hear man, & you just got him too :( :(

[GoktimusPrime]

sorry to hear man, & you just got him too :( :(
Yeah... I got to enjoy Horri-Bull for two whole days before he got decapitated! :rolleyes:

The 1987 Decepticon Targetmaster Nebulans are similarly stupid in that their 'abdominal/arse' joint's tabs seem designed to self-destruct.
Gah... so true. Thankfully Triggerhappy/Blowpipe was the only one I paid for (at RRP), but yes, those Nebulans' joints snapped pretty easily and quickly too. I got Misfire/Aimless and Slugslinger/Caliburst for free (the original owners had "grown out" of Transformers and gave them to me. :o) I actually had two Misfires/Aimlesses at one stage, but traded the spare off (unfortunately the other guy never fulfilled his side of the bargain :()

Does the Kreb that you're selling have a sore neck joint too - if not, wouldn't you prefer to keep him instead of the broken one?
Neither of my Krebs have any joint problems. <knock.on.wood>
It's only the alt mode's bull head that I've had problems with.

[Sky Shadow]

Neither of my Krebs have any joint problems. <knock.on.wood>
It's only the alt mode's bull head that I've had problems with.

Ah, I see - I've been imagining that it's Horri-Bull's other neck - his robot mode neck joint, i.e. Kreb's head that broke off. That really sucks that your new, expensive toy did that.

[Bidoofdude]

Aaaaaand, my Horri-Bull's neck joint snapped off today. :( :mad:
I was being super gentle and slow with it while trying to add more pieces of blu tac to help support the weight of the bull head... and it just broke off like a piece of butter. :eek: I super glued to piece back on, and it actually feels more secure than before it broke. When I got the toy, I already noticed that there was a crack on top of the one remaining hook that holds the neck in place. Today, the remaining side just gave way. :( After I reassembled the neck joint, I noticed that unfolding the bull head exerts outward pressure on the joint. Combined with the load bearing of that head in robot mode, and over a period of 26 years, the plastic just couldn't hold.

Although it felt the same as experiencing GPS, I don't think it's the same. GPS happens just because the plastic quality is just inherently bad. Horri-Bull's problem is that the joint is just really poorly designed. The continual outward force and downward load just places stress on that neck joint. It's little wonder that there are so many headless (in alt mode) Horri-Bull's out there. :rolleyes: Horri-Bull is just a horrible (sic) design, even by G1 Headmaster standards, and it's abundantly clear to me now why I skipped this toy back in 1988. My very first Headmasters were Apeface and Snapdragon, and tbh, all other Headmasters (aside from Fort Max) have paled in comparison. ;)


This sucks. You just bought it for heaps too. :(

[FruitBuyer]

Just got my MISB Animated Shockwave the other day and really loving the guy, though that's to be expected because in my highly subjective opinion, anything related to Animated is gold. I did have a small gripe and that is his chin piece falls off really easy, is this a problem for anyone else as well?

It's a bit annoying when moving the head around.

On second thoughts I must be pretty lucky if this is the only thing I have to vent about.

[VERT]

Out of the four Bots I got this weekend I can find fault with all for them. Some just the Package though. But Hasblow is getting so sloppy.

Movie Legends Megatron. Card art shows IDW Megs toy is the old Legends G2 Megs.

Movie Legends Grimlock. Card art shows G1 Grimlock but the toy is just a black and bronze Rippersnapper. BUT even worse the instructions are for Energon Crulelock on the back! WTF

Movie Legends Strafe. Card art shows G1 Swoop. Toy is just Legends Windrazor and to top it off...His instructions are for BW TERRORSAUR the original flip changer basic HUGE WTF!!

Next up we have the Predacon rising Abominus set. All the names are mixed up on the pack.

According to the box
Hun-Gurrr is Twinstrike
Windrazor is Hun-Gurr
Rippersnapper is Windrazor
Twinstrike is Rippersnapper
But Blight is right.

Clap clap Hasbro you really do care about your products :rolleyes: More and more you are pushing away a lifer to happy 3rd Party land. Cause they do actually care.

[Bidoofdude]

At least Blight is right. :p:rolleyes:

[Mythirax]

At least Blight is right. :p:rolleyes:

^ - He's got something going for him ;)

[GoktimusPrime]

From here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=19499&page=4):

Weeljack really? Nobody proofed this? The figure though is just brilliant.

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l356/leducly/th_IMG_4896_zps9e9a7e04.jpg
The English language to the typical Japanese speaker is like Latin (or other Romance languages) to many English speakers --- it looks cool and fancy, but most people don't know what it means, let alone if it's actually written correctly. :rolleyes: For example, I'd be really tempted to get this Megatron shirt (http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ff/bd/23/ffbd23d383a72971cde1daaa1e5ff8bf.jpg) featuring a Latin translation of "Peace through tyranny," if not for the fact that the translation is grammatically incorrect*. :rolleyes: About 2 or 3 Parra Fairs ago I saw a guy walking around wearing this shirt, and I pointed out to him that the Latin text is incorrect, and he laughed it off. That's pretty much the standard reaction you'll get if you point out incorrect English on stuff in Japan. ;) But hey, at least this is on a product that's aimed at a non-English speaking market who merely sees the English language as being something decorative... it irks me more when I see companies from Anglophone countries like Hasbro or IDW making similar (or worse) errors on products that are directly and explicitly aimed at English speakers**. And of course, most people at TakaraTOMY don't speak English, hence nobody picking it up. But I'd imagine virtually everyone at Hasbro would speak English, with many of them speaking it as their first and only language. :rolleyes:

And to be fair, silent letters aren't exactly the most intuitive thing for non-English speakers. :p Also, be aware that Wheeljack is actually called "Hoiljack" (ホイルジャック) in Japan, which is possibly derived from the Old English pronunciation of "wh" as "hw." The spelling changed in Middle English, and most Modern English speakers pronounce it as either "w" (e.g. when, where, whisky) or "h" (e.g. who, whole, whom). Some English dialects still retain the archaic "hw" pronunciation, as can be heard in TF Prime Ratchet's speech (e.g. he pronounces "what" as 'hwat' etc.). Polar Claw's (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Polar_Claw#Foreign_names) Japanese name is "White Claw," but the Japanese pronounce it as "Hwite Claw" (ホワイトクロー; howaito kuroo). In Australian English, as with most variants of English, words like "weather" and "whether" sound exactly the same (homophones), but in other dialects which still retain the wh-hw distinction, they're not; 'weather' is pronounced "weh-THer," but 'whether' is pronounced "hweh-THer." ;)

------------------------------------------------------------
*It should either be PAX・PER・TYRANNIDEM or pax per tyrannidem.
**Thank Jupiter that that Megatron shirt wasn't aimed at a Latin-speaking audience! ;)

[VERT]

Picked up AOE Slug and voyager Drift. Slug....what a pile of crap. One of the worst bots ever with all that rubber. So im done with this hasbro garbage. Im returning them both and apart from proper Generations stuff and MPs. Its now 3rd party all the way for me. Sure they are expensive but I would rather pay more for quality than hasbro garbage.

[SharkyMcShark]

Picked up AOE Slug and voyager Drift. Slug....what a pile of crap. One of the worst bots ever with all that rubber. So im done with this hasbro garbage. Im returning them both and apart from proper Generations stuff and MPs. Its now 3rd party all the way for me. Sure they are expensive but I would rather pay more for quality than hasbro garbage.

I reached this point a few weeks ago with Scorn and Grimlock.

Didn't help that the figure I was messing with just before they arrived was the BW 10th Megatron figure (the one that was also used in the Cybertron line). Uses more or less the exact same transformation as Scorn and is superior in both modes.

Engineering and quality wise this franchise peaked in 2009/10 with ROTF/Universe 2.0/Animated. All downhill since then unfortunately :(.

[Verno]

Hasbro is repeating the same mistake they made in the 80's. They've bred an entire generation of young Transformers fans that can't cope with Optimus Prime not being there. The new RID TV show would be an opportunity to branch away with new characters, but instead, there's Prime, albeit dead, but he's already got 3 toys in the upcoming line.

Give the poor bugger a rest.

[Megatran]

No Megatron evolution 2-pack! Its an Autobot conspiracy I tell you. :mad:

[Krayt]

Not making strafe evo the partner to EnergonGrimlock was bad enough...

[Deonasis]

Despite updating my address long ago on both Nippon Yasan and the Paypal account I used to buy it, my MP Wheeljack he is now on his way back to Japan. I have since found the delivery slip went to my old address and after a week of it sitting at the post office they have shipped it back.

Once it gets there I suppose i'll have to pay the shipping again :(

[christalcase]

After moving house, I realized that I lost my WFC Megatron missile, it must have been while I was packing it and the trigger happy missile went flying without me noticing, very annoyed.

[Tober]

Well hello IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol 1, how nice of you to make it after being delayed for so long, and it looks like you shed a few pounds too...


http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj230/AUST_Tober/092_zps3d0e143f.jpg (http://s273.photobucket.com/user/AUST_Tober/media/092_zps3d0e143f.jpg.html)

:mad:

[Mythirax]

I C you have a ++ there. Into programming are we?

[Tober]

I C you have a ++ there. Into programming are we?

I just like to include it when taking photos of my nerd books to at least appear to be a smart nerd. :o

I'm a media designer/animator, and C++ comes in handy sometimes when writing scripting tools. Barely touched it. :rolleyes:

[Paulbot]

Very unimpressed with the current TF lines.

Beast Hunters was an uninteresting toyline full of ugly remolds and stupid beasts with only one toy worth getting in the line (Smokescreen).

Then along comes AOE with a very limited main line range (and lots of shelfwarming gimmick toys) and very few are worth getting (I'd say Hound, maybe Scorn and Slog, but that's it).

"Generations" is supposed to be the good line but I've found more misses than hits in what it has delivered. Some good ideas, sure, but more bad toys than good.

Masterpiece is the only line that's doing anything good.

[GoktimusPrime]

My Choro Q Megatron fell off its shelf yesterday and one hip joint snapped off. :( Looks like he's gonna be displayed in gun mode now. :rolleyes: Also, my MP Wheeljack still hasn't arrived despite being posted off 3 weeks ago. I'm seriously considering grabbing a local Hasbro version, even though it's twice the price (cos at least I don't have to worry about shipping and waiting again). I've had Transformers sent from Japan to Australia for 17 years now and I've never had one lost in transit before. (T-T)

[Sinnertwin]

You know that as soon as you drop some $ on the Hasbro version, the TT will show up on your doorstep, don't you, Goki? ;)

[Mythirax]

I just like to include it when taking photos of my nerd books to at least appear to be a smart nerd. :o

I'm a media designer/animator, and C++ comes in handy sometimes when writing scripting tools. Barely touched it. :rolleyes:

Haha, well then :p

[GoktimusPrime]

You know that as soon as you drop some $ on the Hasbro version, the TT will show up on your doorstep, don't you, Goki? ;)
Well, lancalot has come to my rescue and sold me a spare MP Wheeljack that he had. :D If the MP Wheeljack that I actually pre-ordered ever shows up, then I'll have a spare to sell too. :o I hope it does, cos my Cloud Megatron's still in that box! ;)

Although the MP Wheeljack I got didn't come with the little slip of paper with the code to access the online survey (and thus also be able to vote/nominate which character(s) you want as future MPs). Would someone please send me a copy of their slip? It should be the same code for all MP Wheeljacks (so don't worry about "using up" your turn if you give me your code). The slip looks similar to this:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/surveyslip_zps55fc4301.jpg

[Sinnertwin]

i'll dig it up & text it to you in the morning, Gok

[lancalot]

i check my boxes as well and it doesn't come with a slip like that ...maybe cause it the HK release?..

[GoktimusPrime]

You know that as soon as you drop some $ on the Hasbro version, the TT will show up on your doorstep, don't you, Goki? ;)
You, sir, are a prophet. My originally preordered MP Wheeljack (and Cloud Megatron) just turned up on my doorstep this morning! :cool: :rolleyes: Check out the Sales section if anyone wants to buy my spare MP22. :o

Now go apply your skills of clairvoyance on OzLotto! :D

[SkyWarp91]

This is a mild vent/observation but does any kid like a toy that isn't a faithful represensation to what is present on screen? This applies not only for TFs but for other toys in general too.

I remember growing up collecting Batman toys, I never could find the original standard animated figure at an affordable price (I grew up frugal) and my parents bought second-hand batmans that were in his 'special modes' and were of various colours which I still enjoyed playing with but wished I had the original grey and black Batman. Same goes for Transformers, especially as of late with the new AOE dinobots in the original release - I own them now and actually do enjoy playing with them but why the inaccurate screen paint job? I know it adds colour to the toyline but surely kids would enjoy playing with a toy as if it had come straight out of the screen/media they just watched as opposed to some made-up battle mode/colour scheme that never existed.

[Sky Shadow]

This is a mild vent/observation but does any kid like a toy that isn't a faithful represensation to what is present on screen?

As kids, we loved our toys that weren't screen-accurate from 1984 to 1987. Bumblebee in particular was the most-produced and most-sold toy over that period and didn't even have the same face.

[millhouse]

As kids, we loved our toys that weren't screen-accurate from 1984 to 1987. Bumblebee in particular was the most-produced and most-sold toy over that period and didn't even have the same face.

Yeah, but I'm with the previous poster; I had some Batman Returns figures, and the most prized ones for me and my cousin were the black Batman and the blue/grey Batman.

Least prized (but still played with) was the black/gold Batman/men his mum bought us at the end of a school term.

If there was a screen accurate Bumblebee, I'm betting he would be more highly prized.

[Sky Shadow]

If there was a screen accurate Bumblebee, I'm betting he would be more highly prized.

I still disagree though - as a kid, Battle-Armor He-Man and Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man, Flying Fists He-Man, Dragon Blaster Skeletor and Terror Claws Skeletor were all better than the boring screen-accurate original versions. Kids (particularly boys) generally like toys that do stuff over accuracy, while adult collectors will often metaphorically soil themselves over things that 'look right' even though they're bloody boring toys. Obviously the thing with the Batman toys is that they all have to look different, so Mums and Dads don't say "you already have that one" and refuse to buy it.

[millhouse]

I still disagree though - as a kid, Battle-Armor He-Man and Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man, Flying Fists He-Man, Dragon Blaster Skeletor and Terror Claws Skeletor were all better than the boring screen-accurate original versions. Kids (particularly boys) generally like toys that do stuff over accuracy, while adult collectors will often metaphorically soil themselves over things that 'look right' even though they're bloody boring toys. Obviously the thing with the Batman toys is that they all have to look different, so Mums and Dads don't say "you already have that one" and refuse to buy it.

Guess I was the other side of things, eh?

[griffin]

The thing Skywarp is highlighting is the wrong colours, which kids notice more than the sculpting, gimmicks or faces.
Gen1 Bumblebee was still a yellow car. The gimmick HeMan and Skelator toys were still brown and blue, respectively. Case in point, Faker is an expensive toy on the secondary market because it is hard to find due to most kids not wanting or keeping a toy that was the wrong colour. The red Bumblebee was often kept as a Cliffjumper, but if we had no Cliffjumper character, that toy wouldn't have been valued by kids for being a non-show character or wrongly coloured toy.
Kenner was criticised by fans and collectors for padding out the assortment cases with dozens of multi-coloured Batmans, instead of toys of other characters. They shelf-warmed, and rejected by people who wanted a Batman toy that was black or blue... just like we reject most weird redecos of characters that have nothing to do with comic or cartoon, but merely have a prefix to their name to sell them.
If they look good or appear to homage some other character, they might do okay, but in general it is the non-canonical redecos that shelf-warm.

The Movie Dinobots would have been chosen to be in bright colours to sell them to retailers, who have to sell them to parents. If they were screen accurate, they'd look closer to the Dinobot 5-pack, and be a wall of similar looking product, that wouldn't attract the attention of parents or impulse-buying kids.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I still disagree though - as a kid, Battle-Armor He-Man and Skeletor, Thunder Punch He-Man, Flying Fists He-Man, Dragon Blaster Skeletor and Terror Claws Skeletor were all better than the boring screen-accurate original versions.
I think these might be a bad comparison TBH. These figures looked different as they had new gimmicks over the original. If they were all just re-colours I bet that many kids of the day would have not liked them as much.

As an adult, I'd prefer the colours of whatever media they came from. Unless it's a really good recolour. The only recolours I've liked recently would be Shadow Blade Animated Megatron and G2 Bruticus.

As a kid I'd want the most fun toy. Space attack Batman with an awesome jetpack and extra bling would probably grab my eye more than Standard Batman

[Sky Shadow]

Case in point, Faker is an expensive toy on the secondary market because it is hard to find due to most kids not wanting or keeping a toy that was the wrong colour.

Griffin, your other points are sound, but this one isn't right. Faker was the only Masters of the Universe toy that Mattel deemed worthy of a direct 'reissue' during the line's original run other than He-Man and Skeletor. Are you actually saying that kids didn't like their Fakers to such an extent that they threw them in the bin, but not their other Masters toys, which means Fakers are now scarce?


I think these might be a bad comparison TBH. These figures looked different as they had new gimmicks over the original. If they were all just re-colours I bet that many kids of the day would have not liked them as much.

But isn't that the whole point of the Batman argument - that kids wouldn't want an unusually coloured gimmick Batman, just a vanilla Blue/grey/black one?

[GoktimusPrime]

I got/get most of my Transformers before I see their media appearance, so my opinion of that toy is formed independent of how they look/act in that medium. I don't expect most of my Transformers toys to resemble a cartoon model that was created after the toy, any more than I expect say a Latin word to resemble its form in Modern English. ;)

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

But isn't that the whole point of the Batman argument - that kids wouldn't want an unusually coloured gimmick Batman, just a vanilla Blue/grey/black one?
You were comparing standard characters to gimmick characters and saying that gimmick ones were better. This is like comparing 'Jetpack laser Batman' to 'Plain Batman.' Not Black/grey Batman to Red/Purple Batman.

That's why I thought it was not a good comparison.

And yes, my comment supports SW91's comment. Perhaps I should have put it in a separate paragraph.

[Sky Shadow]

You were comparing standard characters to gimmick characters and saying that gimmick ones were better. This is like comparing 'Jetpack laser Batman' to 'Plain Batman.' Not Black/grey Batman to Red/Purple Batman.

That's why I thought it was not a good comparison.

Skywarp said "my parents bought second-hand batmans that were in his 'special modes' and were of various colours which I still enjoyed playing with but wished I had the original grey and black Batman." The colourful Batmen are the gimmick ones. My point is that kids and - until relatively recently - toy fans didn't tend to care if colours were wrong if it's a good toy. For years and years and years, Laser Optimus Prime won best toy in the Trannies even though he wasn't at all 'accurate'. In the same polls, Jetfire was always the most popular G1 toy even though he's not 'accurate'. The obsession with show accuracy is something that has become dominant in toy fandoms gradually over the past decade or so.

[griffin]

My point was based on the perception of colour being the more important factor to kids (who don't have the same level of attention to accurate sculpting as us older finicky collectors), but toy companies are always marketing their toys to Retailers, who don't seem to care what kids (potential future collectors) and collectors are looking for. A gimmick Batman/HeMan/Optimus/etc will win out over an unusual colour version that doesn't match anything viewers and fans know or can relate to. But ultimately a non-gimmick, colour-accurate version beats out both of those... however, Retailers at Toyfair don't seem to know or care, because they continue to prefer a gimmick they can promote, or a colour that catches THEIR eye (and assumingly, the eye of gift-getting relatives who buy a bulk of their toy products based on the little they know about "this years" short-lived hit toyline).

A lot of us had Shackwave in the 80s and many were happy to use it as a Shockwave because it was a close enough representation to the cartoon/comic Shockwave.... and I think that if someone had to chose between a Shackwave and a pink redeco of Shockwave, more would choose the former... and explains the rise of 3rd party items and accessories that aim to create or modify toys to be more comic/cartoon accurate.

I only used the example of Faker because it is a stand-out rarity compared to the other MOTU toys in the first two years. But Gen2 redecos could be a more familiar example, in that they are hard to find compared to originals and reissues, not because they were limited editions, but because they weren't bought or kept by as many collectors who are the ones reselling them. The Gen2 Dinobots might be a good example, in that there were nine released (three versions of Grimlock, Snarl, Slag), but it was really hard for me to find the coloured ones on the various online sources that collectors use (ebay and stores like BBTS).
As a collector of just about everything by Hasbro, I also find that a lot of the gimmick toys in Transformers, regardless of how many more units Hasbro produced over the mainline toys, I have more trouble chasing them up (and non-canonical redecos) because less collectors bought them, and even less bother to list them later due to lack of demand by other collectors. They might show up cheap at flea-markets, collector fairs or charity shops, but for online sources that collectors use, gimmick and odd redecos are much harder for me to find.

[Deonasis]

The thought that retailers want gimmick lines so they can promote them is just bollocks. In their hearts they believe this but in practice they just slap some pics in a catalogue at best.


What they reeally want is 1 or 2 (hopefully exclusive) "Wow! items" to draw attention to the catalogue and encourage visits to the shop. Be it Stomp 'n Chomp Grimlock, Metroplex, or playsets - just add some enticing details about the toy so the kids want to see it in person. Focus the gimmicks on those larger items where the size helps them shine. Everything else can logically interact with them and viola! you have just created Castle Greyskull, the Lego Deathstar, or the Turtles Sewer base - magnets that people have to see for themselves. Not a whole line of compromised 1-action wonders "cause i have one and now i want to by a whole line of transformers to be gimped with a power-punch action"no matter the sense of it!

-_-

[SkyWarp91]

I guess there are some kids then that enjoy the gimmick/redeco mode of a character based on the fact that it's a fun toy over whether or not it represents a character accurately on screen on not. Like Griffin pointed out it's more likely screen-accurate toys becomes more of a bother for older collectors while kids are more satisfied with the simpler toys - ROTF Leader Prime was notorious for some kids to transform while it was probably the best movie figure to come out to date. Look at Hot Toys as well, I doubt most kids are able to afford collecting them but generally speaking they have the most screen accurate toys ever.

[Sinnertwin]

As a kid, i couldn't stand the sight of something like Power Pimp Batman or some other crazy variant. Guess i was one of the boring ones :p

[SkyWarp91]

As a kid, i couldn't stand the sight of something like Power Pimp Batman or some other crazy variant. Guess i was one of the boring ones :p

Join the party Batsy :)

[griffin]

I was on the BBTS site on the weekend, and the 3rd wave of Power Battlers were in-stock, so I had a look to see if there was anything else new to buy at the same time. I found three other items and started carting them... but when I got to the Power Battlers set of 5, they were suddenly out of stock, and haven't been back in stock since. :(
I guess I should have carted them when I saw them and then went off to look for other new items.

Ah... snooze you lose. :p

[Megatran]

Got home yesterday evening to find out my copy of the Transformers Legacy book was sent to a neighbour's house a few blocks down the road. She handed the opened box to my wife. And politely admitted her kids had gone through the book. You can see dirty food stains on some of the pages. It's book rape I tell you. :( Managed to remove most of the food stain but tore two of the pages that were stuck together.

It probably also explains why I've been waiting for over a month for this parcel. * sad face *

[xlojnr]

Got home yesterday evening to find out my copy of the Transformers Legacy book was sent to a neighbour's house a few blocks down the road. She handed the opened box to my wife. And politely admitted her kids had gone through the book. You can see dirty food stains on some of the pages. It's book rape I tell you. :( Managed to remove most of the food stain but tore two of the pages that were stuck together.


no way! That's unbelievable how someone could think that that would be okay... did the neighbours at least try and provide compensation for the state of the book?

[Sharky]

Got home yesterday evening to find out my copy of the Transformers Legacy book was sent to a neighbour's house a few blocks down the road. She handed the opened box to my wife. And politely admitted her kids had gone through the book. You can see dirty food stains on some of the pages. It's book rape I tell you. :( Managed to remove most of the food stain but tore two of the pages that were stuck together.

It probably also explains why I've been waiting for over a month for this parcel. * sad face *

wow that is horrible,

was it addressed incorectly or just a mistake, if it was just a mistake, why was the packaged opened in the first instance, and secondly if opened you would of realised straight away it wasnt something belonging to you so why let kids touch it.

i am pretty sure there is an avenue for a damages claim through auspost there. they afterall delivered it to the incorrect address..

very poor form...

i often wonder if my missing parcels were delivered to the incorrect address and they just cant be bothered to pass it on

[Megatran]

Correct name and address by Amazon. I wasn't there to hear the conversation but wifey mentioned that the neighbour opened the parcel without checking.

I don't even know if auspost or another carrier delivered to the wrong address. Don't feel like playing detective. I'm just gonna curl back into the fetal position.

[Sharky]

Correct name and address by Amazon. I wasn't there to hear the conversation but wifey mentioned that the neighbour opened the parcel without checking.

I don't even know if auspost or another carrier delivered to the wrong address. Don't feel like playing detective. I'm just gonna curl back into the fetal position.

you shouldnt have to play detective, the carrier who delivered it can

still a shame :(

[griffin]

For such a masterpiece of a book, that's a travesty. I would ask (then tell if they refuse) the neighbours to buy a replacement, due to its value (regardless of its subject matter - this is a book that you will keep for many years, and you don't need it spoilt by the visual reminders of what their brats did). Say it was a birthday present, to see if you can get sympathy from the negligent/irresponsible act, and ask her what she would expect if you opened up one of her birthday presents and damaged/destroyed it? Ask her how violated would she feel if she was forced to re-buy her own birthday present?

If they still refuse to replace an item that they had no legal right to open (make sure the mother understands that), then approach Australia Post.
If it was an Amazon sale, it should have tracking, and Australia Post should have someone's signature that isn't yours. They should be responsible for "failed delivery".

[Sky Shadow]

That's hideous. Once you're up to it, you should complain to the post office and Amazon to seek a replacement.

[UltraMarginal]

what they said!^

[Ravagecat]

I got off easy with a s few small dings on the spine of mine (poorly packed by amazon and poorly handled by parcel handlers/flingers).
Mate I feel for ya. I would of felt sick to the stomach too :( if I had received mine in the condition you describe. Yeah I'd be telling Amazon you didn't receive it and let them investigate.

[Sinnertwin]

Why wouldn't people check the address on a package, especially one that size? And wouldn't you also question why theres's a big book of TF.delivered to you before letting your kids manhandle it? :confused: :mad:

[millhouse]

Order a cheap set of knives and leave the package on the neighbour's doorstep. Kids'll have fun with them.

[Megatran]

Went over to the neighbours house with wife in tow. Showed the neighbours the 'defaced' book (although they would have been aware of the sorry state of the book).

I should have known they weren't interested in replacing it, although apologetic. If the neighbour was sincere she would have offered to do so yesterday.

I cant blame the kids. One looks like a prepy & the other is even younger. The responsibility lies with the parents.

My avenue now is with auspost, if they were indeed the courier service. I wonder if they will pass the buck to Amazon & vice versa.

Edit: just realised the 2 torn pages whilst trying to separate them actually affects 4 pages (double sided). *slaps forehead*

[griffin]

Amazon has tracking... so tell them to prove that it was delivered. Australia Post would have to prove that they delivered it to your address, which you can say honestly that it wasn't. If Amazon then send you a new one, you could give the brats back the book to finish destroying. :p

[Demonac]

This might help: Opening other peoples mail. (http://www.justanswer.com/australian-law/1vvg2-laws-regarding-opening-mail-addressed.html)

[griffin]

Threats may not improve the situation, but it would sure feel good "warning" them that they could risk 2 years prison if they didn't replace the damaged book.

But get onto Amazon and Australia Post, as I'd hope that Australia Post compensates you for their error... not that it is likely with their treatment of mail and customers.
Unfortunately, it's likely to be Amazon to eat the cost when you get them to prove delivery, and it's not their fault.

[5FDP]

I can't believe your neighbours didn't offer to replace it or at the very least give you the money so you could order another. They opened it therefore they are completely at fault IMO, especially if it was clearly addressed to you.

Dude, you need new neighbours.

[Demonac]

I would go and talk to them again, and secretly recording them admitting they opened your mail (it is not illegal in Victoria to record people without their consent if you are a party to the recording). You can then request a replacement, or remind them what the legal consequences are.

[Mythirax]

I would go and talk to them again, and secretly recording them admitting they opened your mail (it is not illegal in Victoria to record people without their consent if you are a party to the recording). You can then request a replacement, or remind them what the legal consequences are.

I'd also do this myself. But I hate all my neighbors.

[GoktimusPrime]

Megatran: Your neighbours sound like they have the brains of a fornicator. :(

[TAAUBlaster]

Argh! Missed out on one of the rarest opportunities I've had as a collector last night! MIB(still MOSC backer/bubble) Pre-Rub G1 Jazz with a beautiful box for an awesome price! I'm kicking myself so hard!! >_< When will I learn to never hesitate... :(

[5FDP]

Argh! Missed out on one of the rarest opportunities I've had as a collector last night! MIB(still MOSC backer/bubble) Pre-Rub G1 Jazz with a beautiful box for an awesome price! I'm kicking myself so hard!! >_< When will I learn to never hesitate... :(

I've had moments like these using eBay but after the initial disappointment fades, you soon realise that just because it went for cheap, it doesn't mean that the next bid would automatically win because you don't know what the highest bid would have been. I've been on the receiving end of some bargains though so I can't complain too much anyway.

[Skullcruncher]

Argh! Missed out on one of the rarest opportunities I've had as a collector last night! MIB(still MOSC backer/bubble) Pre-Rub G1 Jazz with a beautiful box for an awesome price! I'm kicking myself so hard!! >_< When will I learn to never hesitate... :(

hehe same here, I recently missed a takara boxed bluestreak but the bbox flap would have annoyed me(well that's what I tell myself now :D) but my worst miss is an MISB Omega Supreme - sold for $100, box was perfect.

[TAAUBlaster]

I've had moments like these using eBay but after the initial disappointment fades, you soon realise that just because it went for cheap, it doesn't mean that the next bid would automatically win because you don't know what the highest bid would have been. I've been on the receiving end of some bargains though so I can't complain too much anyway.

It was a BIN price, which was a really good price. I just hesitated too long, and it was gone. I actually emailed the seller to see if he would knock a few buck off if I paid by Direct deposit (to save paypal fees) But someone else snatched it up not long after it was listed :( Completely my fault - and I'm fuming at myself for trying to be cheap :p


hehe same here, I recently missed a takara boxed bluestreak but the bbox flap would have annoyed me(well that's what I tell myself now ) but my worst miss is an MISB Omega Supreme - sold for $100, box was perfect.

If I could find a flaw in it, I would feel much better, but this box was almost immaculate! and no yellowing, no box flap, It was one of those "once in a collecting lifetime" opportunities :( But I've learnt my lesson now, no more hesitating! haha.
Wow - a $100 MISB Omega? That must've hurt :eek:

[Skullcruncher]

If I could find a flaw in it, I would feel much better, but this box was almost immaculate! and no yellowing, no box flap, It was one of those "once in a collecting lifetime" opportunities :( But I've learnt my lesson now, no more hesitating! haha.
Wow - a $100 MISB Omega? That must've hurt :eek:

Yep give it a once over and hit the buy now, but as 5FDP mentioned anyone who spends a reasonable amount of time on ebay will find some good deals. I used to have a job where I could have ebay open all day :D

[Skullcruncher]

Went to the PO this morning to pickup an item that a card was left for yesterday. I knew it was something from japan as the ID had an JP on the end.

Staff went out the back and brought out an item from the US. Argued with them saying its not the right item (but it is for me), eventually they went out the back and brought out another box. I could see this box (although for me) was from the Chanel Islands. I asked them to go look again they said there was absolutely no more items at my address, after much insistence they went out the back and low and behold found the package that was from japan.

So I ended up with two extra packages - one that I though had been lost weeks ago. Great I got them but WTF to Auspost. No cards were ever left for these two. :mad::(:mad::(

[5FDP]

If I hadn't read it I wouldn't have believed it :eek: That's just disgusting Skullcruncher. I hope you gave them a piece of your mind. So, if you hadn't gone there for the package you knew they had, you would never have received the others that they were holding onto. I'd put in a formal written complaint as well.

[Skullcruncher]

If I hadn't read it I wouldn't have believed it :eek: That's just disgusting Skullcruncher. I hope you gave them a piece of your mind. So, if you hadn't gone there for the package you knew they had, you would never have received the others that they were holding onto. I'd put in a formal written complaint as well.

Its the delivery driver who's at fault, with the post office staff in day dream that's how I got the other two packages! I called them later and made a complaint so will see how it goes.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I remember getting a 'missed you' card when I lived in Werribee and it said where and when I could pick the package up (this was about 13 years ago and it was the full set of G1 Throttlebots if memory serves). Turned up time and time again getting them to search and they never found it.

Turns out a SECOND post office had opened up and it was there. Of course it hadn't said that on the card and it wasn't until like my 5th visit that a staff member at the first post office thought to suggest it :rolleyes:

[TAAUBlaster]

Went to the PO this morning to pickup an item that a card was left for yesterday. I knew it was something from japan as the ID had an JP on the end.

Staff went out the back and brought out an item from the US. Argued with them saying its not the right item (but it is for me), eventually they went out the back and brought out another box. I could see this box (although for me) was from the Chanel Islands. I asked them to go look again they said there was absolutely no more items at my address, after much insistence they went out the back and low and behold found the package that was from japan.

So I ended up with two extra packages - one that I though had been lost weeks ago. Great I got them but WTF to Auspost. No cards were ever left for these two. :mad::(:mad::(

Auspost is a bit like that these days. For who knows what reason, delivery drivers seem to skip leaving cards sometimes these days. There's really no excuse for it though :/
I had it happen earlier in the year (if I remember correctly.) Luckily I was keeping an eye on the tracking otherwise who knows what would have happened.
To be fair - I've been lucky to have fairly good delivery drivers. But there is still the occasional slip-up.

Glad all your packages turned up safely Skullcruncher! :)

[griffin]

Australia Post has lost an item I sold on ebay (first time selling in several years, and they lose one of just 14 items I posted). I paid extra for tracking because it was small enough to fit in a padded envelope, and the number was never in the system... so what's the point of paying extra for something that doesn't get used.

I went to the post office to get them to look it up, and was told to ring the customer service number... which I did, and was on hold for 23 minutes before someone responded.
They took down all the details, and gave me a job number.... and am not likely to hear anything else from them.
Which leaves me with having to eat the cost of the item, by refunding the buyer, because now I can't prove it was posted or delivered.
(for all I know, it was delivered, but the buyer knew it was not showing up on the website tracking page, so knows that they can get their money back by claiming it never arrived :( )

[kurdt_the_goat]

Keep your receipts when you post stuff! Tracking is standard now (the "article ID" number) - even though it only registers start + end pretty much.... what did you pay extra for? I don't think any of the extras are worth it - in my mind they're just arbitrary price bumps, for stuff that should be included by default (it's really no extra hassle to do the additional stuff like signature etc).

[UltraMarginal]

Australia Post has lost an item I sold on ebay (first time selling in several years, and they lose one of just 14 items I posted). I paid extra for tracking because it was small enough to fit in a padded envelope, and the number was never in the system... so what's the point of paying extra for something that doesn't get used.


did you use the Auspost tracking or the tracking option through eBay? I find the eBay tracking option once you've put the tracking number in to be utterly useless but the Auspost tracking from the Auspost website has always worked for me.

[griffin]

Keep your receipts when you post stuff! Tracking is standard now (the "article ID" number) - even though it only registers start + end pretty much.... what did you pay extra for? I don't think any of the extras are worth it - in my mind they're just arbitrary price bumps, for stuff that should be included by default (it's really no extra hassle to do the additional stuff like signature etc).

It was a computer game in a bubble-envelope, that was thin enough to fit through their "envelope" slot, so it wasn't being charged as a parcel... which meant it didn't have tracking as a standard feature like parcels.

As such, I asked and paid for registered post, to cover myself against buyers who receive items but claim they never got it (and then get it for free because they get a refund for it).

This morning Australia Post sent an email to say that the item had miraculously appeared a day after I complained about them not utilising the extra thing I was paying for (registered post), and was now scheduled for delivery today... 11 days after it was posted from Brisbane to Victoria. :rolleyes:

[GoktimusPrime]

The rubber hose on my JafCon9 exclusive black G1 Optimus Prime reissue's Roller has crumbled. :(

[Megatran]

The rubber hose on my JafCon9 exclusive black G1 Optimus Prime reissue's Roller has crumbled. :(
Can I ask how'd this happen?

On the upside, there's another 1,999 units somewhere around the world should you ever think about replacing the whole lot.

[GoktimusPrime]

Can I ask how'd this happen?
You just did. :p Rubber deteriorates over time; as to why the rubber on this toy deteriorated faster than on other toys (e.g. my other G1 Optimus Prime reissues), I don't know.


On the upside, there's another 1,999 units somewhere around the world should you ever think about replacing the whole lot.
Eh... the hose is (was) identical to the one on any standard Optimus Prime reissue, of which I still have two others of. I'm not keen on purchasing this toy again just to replace the hose, especially if I have to pay inflated aftermarket prices for it (I paid 5000JPY/$50 for mine). Okay, I just looked at eBay and the counterfeit costs $53! :eek: No.

[Krayt]

Sigh....

I swore I wouldn't do it.... I wouldn't touch any one steps....

Then steeljaw happened.... Ok, ok, I got 3....

Then my beautiful little girl got her heart set on one thing for Xmas.... "My big dinosaur goes bang bang bang" /shoots fingers cutely

So daddy caves, gets big-ass grimlock....

But it needs good and bad with metal things in feet to do the guns.... Thanks Target 6-pack...

But that's one bad guy to 5 good.... Even how I count dinobots as non-autobots for AOE, that's 3 auto, 2 dino, 1 decep....

Weekends shopping.... Every other one step bar normal prime is in the boot of the car! Stupid shops stocking latest wave just before xmas

[Golden Phoenix]

Sigh....

I swore I wouldn't do it.... I wouldn't touch any one steps....

Then steeljaw happened.... Ok, ok, I got 3....

Then my beautiful little girl got her heart set on one thing for Xmas.... "My big dinosaur goes bang bang bang" /shoots fingers cutely

So daddy caves, gets big-ass grimlock....

But it needs good and bad with metal things in feet to do the guns.... Thanks Target 6-pack...

But that's one bad guy to 5 good.... Even how I count dinobots as non-autobots for AOE, that's 3 auto, 2 dino, 1 decep....

Weekends shopping.... Every other one step bar normal prime is in the boot of the car! Stupid shops stocking latest wave just before xmas

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Unlike the toys, there are a few more steps though....

[GoktimusPrime]

Unlike the toys, there are a few more steps though....
LOL! :D

[UltraMarginal]

Sigh....

I swore I wouldn't do it.... I wouldn't touch any one steps....

Then steeljaw happened.... Ok, ok, I got 3....

Then my beautiful little girl got her heart set on one thing for Xmas.... "My big dinosaur goes bang bang bang" /shoots fingers cutely

So daddy caves, gets big-ass grimlock....

But it needs good and bad with metal things in feet to do the guns.... Thanks Target 6-pack...

But that's one bad guy to 5 good.... Even how I count dinobots as non-autobots for AOE, that's 3 auto, 2 dino, 1 decep....

Weekends shopping.... Every other one step bar normal prime is in the boot of the car! Stupid shops stocking latest wave just before xmas

Seriously though, what do you think about the engineering? I have a few. Lockdown, Stelljaw and Helicopter drift. They are simple to transform but to me the hard work was done on the design table making it easy to transform them. I dig em.



The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Unlike the toys, there are a few more steps though....

haha:D

[GoktimusPrime]

I'd like the One Step Changers more if they were cheaper. (-_-) I look at toys like MP Bumblebee and think, "That was worth every dollar," whereas I look at the One Step Changers and feel ripped off. :(

[GoktimusPrime]

Gah... my Platinum Unleashed Scorn's torso wouldn't collapse in (which is necessary in order to have the spine tabs align properly when transforming to dino mode). I ended having to open the torso up and forcin' that sucker in before reassembling it. So weird... it works perfectly fine on my regular Scorn. Mould degradation? I also noticed that my Grimlock from this set is quite loose too.

...just as well I didn't pay for these toys, but still :o

[UltraMarginal]

Gah... my Platinum Unleashed Scorn's torso wouldn't collapse in (which is necessary in order to have the spine tabs align properly when transforming to dino mode). I ended having to open the torso up and forcin' that sucker in before reassembling it. So weird... it works perfectly fine on my regular Scorn. Mould degradation? I also noticed that my Grimlock from this set is quite loose too.

...just as well I didn't pay for these toys, but still :o

Is it chromed?

[Krayt]

Chromed and Weathered

[GoktimusPrime]

Chrome, weathered, smokey-clear and with random numbers placed in awkwardly conspicuous locations! :rolleyes:

[UltraMarginal]

It could simply be a build up of tolerances making the gap too small for the part to pass through.

It's my biggest concern when considering Chromed Transformers. "Was the thickness of the Chrome taken into account during the design process". if it was chances are the figure without chrome would be a floppy mess or if it wasn't there's a lot more potential for surfaces clashing or rubbing.

[FruitBuyer]

Gah... my Platinum Unleashed Scorn's torso wouldn't collapse in (which is necessary in order to have the spine tabs align properly when transforming to dino mode). I ended having to open the torso up and forcin' that sucker in before reassembling it. So weird... it works perfectly fine on my regular Scorn. Mould degradation? I also noticed that my Grimlock from this set is quite loose too.

...just as well I didn't pay for these toys, but still :o

Didn't have any problems with my Scorn or Grimlock. That said I did have issues with Slug and Slog, Slug's left arm is pretty loose and comes out of the socket very easily while the hinge at the bottom of Slog's dino neck is really tight locked and doesn't twist around.

Probably poor QC on this run?

[GoktimusPrime]

I just tried to call TakaraTOMY regarding the recurring 403 error on their online survey site (https://www.takaratomyfans.com/), but I've come to realise two things:

1) They have new numbers for their call centre. The number on the bottom of the toy box is only for domestic calls. There's a separate number for international calls which isn't listed on the box, but is on their web site, which is 0011-81-3-5650-1031.

2) Their call centre doesn't open until 10:00JST... so I just called an hour too early. :p I'm about to step out, so I'm not sure if I'll have time to try again today (so if there are any other Japanese speakers reading this, and if you have the time/inclination, then please consider giving TakTOM a call about this issue :o Those of you who are in Japan (e.g. Tets, Odie) may use the standard domestic number on the toy boxes, 0570-041031).

[GoktimusPrime]

I called TakaraTOMY this afternoon and reported the issue with the online survey site. They told me that they'd get back to me; and they actually called me earlier this evening, but I was having dinner with the family and left my phone upstairs! I went upstairs after dinner and saw a message on my phone that said that I had a missed call from +81356501031! :eek:

[GoktimusPrime]

Okay... I got good news and I got bad news.

The good news is, I finally managed to get through to TakaraTOMY's customer call centre (I couldn't call yesterday as it was the Emperor's Birthday public holiday). I was actually on hold for over 7 minutes -- longest time I've ever had to wait for service from TakTOM! :eek: The other good news is, I found out I and reportedly others have been unable to access TakaraTOMY's online survey site (https://www.takaratomyfans.com/). And this leads me to the bad news.

The bad news: I've been told that because TakaraTOMY is a domestic service company, their online survey site is now geo-blocking users from outside Japan. :( I did explain to them that I do purchase my Japanese Transformers from stores in Japan (as opposed to overseas sellers) and that I've frequently been able to access and use the online survey in the past, and that I am keen to continue giving my feedback to TakaraTOMY. The operator thanked me for my continued patronage and said that she would pass on my concerns to her superiors. I also asked if she could ask her higher ups to please consider restoring the web site so that it could provide access to overseas customers again.

So anyway, beyond this there's not much I can do. This seems to be in line with what Takara have told me before about their contractual obligations with Hasbro in terms of only being able to service their own domestic market and not "cross contaminating" Hasbro's markets. I hope that TakaraTOMY will reconsider their stance on the geoblocking, but until/unless they do, it means that those of us outside of Japan are unable to access the online survey for ourselves. :( Alternatively we could post our opinions on TakaraTOMY's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/takaratomytoys)... but I don't know if they pay attention to posts there. I posted my concerns about the online survey site's lack of accessibility 12 days ago but never got any reply. :(

This is a real shame. I've been continuously using Takara(TOMY)'s feedback since 1997; initially with those self-addressed cards (which I would actually take the effort to post, paying for the international postage myself), then later with the online site. So it does feel like an end of an era for me. (T_T)

[Krayt]

Okay... I got good news and I got bad news.

The good news is, I finally managed to get through to TakaraTOMY's customer call centre (I couldn't call yesterday as it was the Emperor's Birthday public holiday). I was actually on hold for over 7 minutes -- longest time I've ever had to wait for service from TakTOM! :eek: The other good news is, I found out I and reportedly others have been unable to access TakaraTOMY's online survey site (https://www.takaratomyfans.com/). And this leads me to the bad news.

The bad news: I've been told that because TakaraTOMY is a domestic service company, their online survey site is now geo-blocking users from outside Japan. :( I did explain to them that I do purchase my Japanese Transformers from stores in Japan (as opposed to overseas sellers) and that I've frequently been able to access and use the online survey in the past, and that I am keen to continue giving my feedback to TakaraTOMY. The operator thanked me for my continued patronage and said that she would pass on my concerns to her superiors. I also asked if she could ask her higher ups to please consider restoring the web site so that it could provide access to overseas customers again.

So anyway, beyond this there's not much I can do. This seems to be in line with what Takara have told me before about their contractual obligations with Hasbro in terms of only being able to service their own domestic market and not "cross contaminating" Hasbro's markets. I hope that TakaraTOMY will reconsider their stance on the geoblocking, but until/unless they do, it means that those of us outside of Japan are unable to access the online survey for ourselves. :( Alternatively we could post our opinions on TakaraTOMY's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/takaratomytoys)... but I don't know if they pay attention to posts there. I posted my concerns about the online survey site's lack of accessibility 12 days ago but never got any reply. :(

This is a real shame. I've been continuously using Takara(TOMY)'s feedback since 1997; initially with those self-addressed cards (which I would actually take the effort to post, paying for the international postage myself), then later with the online site. So it does feel like an end of an era for me. (T_T)

If it means that much to you... PROXY!!!!

[Mythirax]

If it means that much to you... PROXY!!!!

^

[BigTransformerTrev]

Well, the end has sorta come. My last real bastion of Transformers displays in the house was on the shelving above my computer in the study and Orion can now officially climb up there like the rascally little monkey he is!

For the past 2 years I've used the top shelf for TF busts, the second shelf to rotate my latest acquisitions before going into crates and the 3rd shelf for sundry. Tonight for their safety they are all getting packed away in their boxes :(


Sigh... I really shoulda got around to getting that house extension (with a purposely built TF room) done at some point this year - with No 2 bub on the way we probably wont now for about a year. My own damn fault for being lazy on the issue. This leaves me with the center of the pool table in the manshed as my one (currently) safe spot to play with my new toys.

Ah well, as they say - first world problems :rolleyes:

[davieanix]

I've been opening up some boxed RotF figs I have stashed away, and I haven't had a good run.

- Deluxe Swerve's head keeps popping off. The ball joint seems too big
- The Fallen's spring loaded flame mechanism does not work
- Grindor's compartment for Scorponok does not stay latched. Also, has the auto morph gimmick from Blackout been removed from this toy?
- ...and worst of all, Stratosphere's left knee was split straight out of the box.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Damn post office is shut :mad: - love the fact they have a sign up about it but under the 'Your nearest open store is...' there is nothing written. Maybe because it's a few hundred k's away :rolleyes:

C'mon Aussie Post - I haven't had a new toy all year! :eek:

[Seraphim Prime]

Damn post office is shut :mad: - love the fact they have a sign up about it but under the 'Your nearest open store is...' there is nothing written. Maybe because it's a few hundred k's away :rolleyes:

C'mon Aussie Post - I haven't had a new toy all year! :eek:

Apparently it is AusPost staff picnic day today - an additional public holiday. A lot of workplaces have an additional unofficial public holiday at some point in the year and it looks like AusPost's just happens to give them a extra day off after New Year's.

[Sinnertwin]

Apparently it is AusPost staff picnic day today - an additional public holiday. A lot of workplaces have an additional unofficial public holiday at some point in the year and it looks like AusPost's just happens to give them a extra day off after New Year's.

Yep. My local was only open today because they are a licensee :)

[VERT]

Im getting sick of the wait. My Mp not Swoop. Mp not Blaster and Mp Magnus are all in Aust post limbo. :mad: Im sure they will all show as im leaving for work after my holiday is over next week.

[Krayt]

Apparently it is AusPost staff picnic day today - an additional public holiday. A lot of workplaces have an additional unofficial public holiday at some point in the year and it looks like AusPost's just happens to give them a extra day off after New Year's.

Forgot about this, but it's always on the second every year, should have remembered.... no wander the FiL was free today

[GoktimusPrime]

On the plus side I didn't receive any bills today. :p But yeah, STILL waiting for MP22! :eek: :rolleyes:

[BigTransformerTrev]

Gah! My beautiful giant AoE Grimlock Cinema Display is coming apart in all this humid weather - the glue is all disintegrating and the cardboard is weakening :(

I wonder if I can sue Paramount for emotional distress :confused::rolleyes:

[Mythirax]

Gah! My beautiful giant AoE Grimlock Cinema Display is coming apart in all this humid weather - the glue is all disintegrating and the cardboard is weakening :(

I wonder if I can sue Paramount for emotional distress :confused::rolleyes:

Wow that sucks man, think you'd be able to fix it yourself?

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Took my first foray into ordering from Amazon Japan today (am kind of kicking myself for not doing so earlier given how much cheaper it is), and missed out on pre-ordering Arcee by about an hour or so.:(

[BigTransformerTrev]

Wow that sucks man, think you'd be able to fix it yourself?

Right now I've got it strung up to the wall and roof struts in the shed with bailing twine in about 5 different places, not a lot more I can do until we extend the house in 10 months time, just hope for the best and then liquid-nail him back together after the move (if he lasts until then).

[Mythirax]

Right now I've got it strung up to the wall and roof struts in the shed with bailing twine in about 5 different places, not a lot more I can do until we extend the house in 10 months time, just hope for the best and then liquid-nail him back together after the move (if he lasts until then).

Fingers Crossed! It's such a nice display, would be a shame to see it fall apart, but I guess cardboard isn't mean to last forever :(

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I wonder if I can sue Paramount for emotional distress :confused::rolleyes:
The movie alone caused me emotional distress

[TAAUBlaster]

I can't believe this! I bought a MISB G1 Insecticon from Ebay US. The box had some dings (which I was ok with) but the most important part was there was no flap crease at all - which the photos show clearly. The item arrived today, and the seller has folded the flap over to make it fit into a smaller shipping box!!:mad::mad:
My $200 insecticon now has a big flap crease on the back, and is practically worthless to me:( There is no way I would have bid if there was a flap crease originally.

I am in utter disbelief at how someone could think this was acceptable!:mad: They have sold a lot of TF items, so they are well aware of the value. For them to casually fold the flap down like it meant nothing is just mind boggling! I've fired them a message to see how they respond.

Auction photos
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/taaublaster/Collection/3_zpsghh5sapp.png (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/taaublaster/media/Collection/3_zpsghh5sapp.png.html)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/taaublaster/Collection/4_zpskmyx15l3.jpg (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/taaublaster/media/Collection/4_zpskmyx15l3.jpg.html)

What I received
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/taaublaster/Collection/c00aa833-0a77-4d00-b334-ec7cf4121d07_zps2ieixy4a.jpg (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/taaublaster/media/Collection/c00aa833-0a77-4d00-b334-ec7cf4121d07_zps2ieixy4a.jpg.html)
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b251/taaublaster/Collection/IMG_2522_zpsu9hjcuwa.jpg (http://s21.photobucket.com/user/taaublaster/media/Collection/IMG_2522_zpsu9hjcuwa.jpg.html)

Not. Happy. At. All...:mad::mad:

[ILikeSoundwave]

That sucks! I would be giving him some negative feedback, which I assume you have done, especially for such an expensive figure.

[TAAUBlaster]

That sucks! I would be giving him some negative feedback, which I assume you have done, especially for such an expensive figure.

Depending on how the seller handles it, I might leave neutral - at best. I'll give them the chance to rectify the situation first though. It's heartbreaking that this figure has endured more than 30 years, only to be irrepairbly damaged by someone trying to save a few bucks on postage:(:mad:

[griffin]

It's so minty you'd be suspicious that KOs of the Insecticons existed... so to do that to something so rare (no flap crease) is almost criminal because it's like vandalism.
That's something that can't be undone... and if it weren't for AFA sealing of boxes, it would be even rarer.

I can imagine how furious you'd be, expecting something so rare, to then be destroyed so carelessly. At least you can get your money back through ebay, because they have the dispute option of "item is not as described or shown" or something to those words.

[GoktimusPrime]

Refundicus maximus!

[Paulbot]

It's so minty you'd be suspicious that KOs of the Insecticons existed...

Um, KO insecticons do exist (http://highendtfs.com/?q=node/17#Shrapnel) so maybe double check the guide.

[Bidoofdude]

That really sucks. Get a refund!

[Skullcruncher]

That's terrible, was it the seller or some numbnuts repackaging it as part of ebays global shipping program? I'd claim a refund of at least one third at least.

[TAAUBlaster]

It wasn't part of Global shipping as far as I can tell - I avoid that scam like the plague!

Problem is that if I ask for a full refund (and have to return it to him) I'm still going to be out of pocket at least $40-$50 for return postage. I'm thinking about trying to figure out some partial refund like Skullcruncher mentioned - but the problem then, is that the figure won't fit into my collection as I'm only collecting crease free (or minimal) boxes. Guess I'll just wait to see what the seller says.

Its just so frustrating! The money, the damage to a 30 year old box that has survived beforhand. It's such a waste :/

[Megatran]

Is it possible the seller sold you his/her/non-gender poorer quality duplicate item? Though in this instance the price tags would be a dead giveaway.

That's why I hardly use ebay. Too many dodgy goings on.

[theshape]

This sucks. Sorry dude

[griffin]

Um, KO insecticons do exist (http://highendtfs.com/?q=node/17#Shrapnel) so maybe double check the guide.

It's so hard to keep track of all the KOs these days... :(

[TAAUBlaster]

I don't think the seller swapped it. The rest of thr box looks identical to the photos. And the crease looks new - ie, there is no colour missing, etc. Its the right item, just handled with utter disregard.

[GoktimusPrime]

Your consumer rights, exercise them. ;)

[TAAUBlaster]

The seller has offered a partial refund of $US60 - which is half of the item price before shipping (although ends up being closer to 1/3 of the price after shipping.) I'm considering taking it, and holding onto Shrapnel until I can upgrade to a non-flap creased version. Going by Ebay's sold items, it would still end up being a reasonable price for a sealed Insecticon. If only the seller had taken more care when packing it. :(

[UltraMarginal]

Personally, I'd be tempted to ask for a full refund and return it to them at their expense.

even if it means dodgily resealing it and marking it as a return to sender.

to advertise something as a Mint box and then damage it like that in shipping is irresponsible, whether they're making a business out of eBay or not.

[TAAUBlaster]

Well, I caved and accepted his partial refund offer. With no guarantee of me not having to pay some form of postage back to the seller, I decided to cut my losses and take a gamble. Shrapnel is still sealed, so with the refund it still makes him relatively cheap for a MISB Insecticon, and he displays well from the front. With MISB Bombshell on the way soon too, I decided to keep him.
The AUD has been tanking in recent times, I'm not sure if another MISB specimen will come up that I can afford. If it does, I can always sell this one off I guess. Time will tell if my flap crease OCD will get the better of me :p

[DELTAprime]

When word got out that HLJ ****ed up and took way more orders for the fem-bots than they were allocated stock I ordered Windblade and Chromia from RK and bought EMS shipping. I got Arcee from a guy in Japan on ebay that wasn't overcharging as much as everyone else, $40USD for the figure, he only offered SAL tho.

Well I'm now pissed off at the Hong Kong "Speed Post" because the figures that I paid for EMS on arrived on the same day as the SAL shipped Arcee. The figures were bought minutes apart. So apparently EMS is now as slow as SAL.

EDIT: and now that I've opened them I'm annoyed that all 3 have paint issues. Arcee's ankles have scratches out of the paint, Chromia has scratches and a fingerprint on the blue part of her right forearm and Windblade has a black spot on her chin.

[Megatran]

^ How many business days did EMS take once posted? Sometimes I receive parcels using SAL that are speedy (as opposed to slow EMS).

[Paulbot]

The TakTom fembots seem to be full of problems. If you can get them they seem to have issues, particularly of the bad, misapplied or scratched paint, but also the wrong Arcee hands.

I'd like to buy them but am leaning towards the "wont even bother" feelings now.

[DELTAprime]

11 days (including weekends) for the EMS and 13 days for the SAL. That's impressive for the SAL actually.

EDIT: Paul can you link to the issues. I'm not even sure what your talking about with "wrong Arcee hands".

[griffin]

I was quite keen to get a JP Arcee to have on display as the "most likely accurate" 1986 Arcee toy we will ever get (because of the colours of the JP version), but with the significant number of paint issues and the possibility of wrong parts, plus the cost on the secondary market... I might just leave it with just the Hasbro version.

[SuspectimusPrime]

EDIT: and now that I've opened them I'm annoyed that all 3 have paint issues. Arcee's ankles have scratches out of the paint, Chromia has scratches and a fingerprint on the blue part of her right forearm and Windblade has a black spot on her chin.

Do you mind posting images of the paint issues? I was keen on getting TT Legends Arcee only because the paint scheme was more appealing than my Hasbro. Also a great figure that I don't mind getting multiple variations.

[5FDP]

I was quite keen to get a JP Arcee to have on display as the "most likely accurate" 1986 Arcee toy we will ever get (because of the colours of the JP version), but with the significant number of paint issues and the possibility of wrong parts, plus the cost on the secondary market... I might just leave it with just the Hasbro version.

I share these thoughts exactly.

[UltraMarginal]

hmmm I've just had the takara RC and Windblade turn up this week. yet to open. but now I'm a bit worried.

they look OK in the pack

[DELTAprime]

So I emailed RK and they said "we cannot provide replacement for this issue". So I guess I'm stuck with a big fingerprint in Chromia's arm. Windblade should be fixable. Guess I should make a trip to Toyworld and grab a pot of white paint. I've never had any luck with RK's service which is why I prefer to pay the extra and buy HK exclusive items from BBTS.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8664/16650344112_ecfcf2dbde_z.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8618/16031460173_f2a1108d73_z.jpg

[Bidoofdude]

Man, that really sucks. RK didn't offer a replacement either. That's tough. Hoping you can get the paint right. :)

[Zommael]

So I emailed RK and they said "we cannot provide replacement for this issue". So I guess I'm stuck with a big fingerprint in Chromia's arm. Windblade should be fixable. Guess I should make a trip to Toyworld and grab a pot of white paint. I've never had any luck with RK's service which is why I prefer to pay the extra and buy HK exclusive items from BBTS.

Is the face itself painted or white plastic? If the latter, then you may be better off attempting to scrape the paint off rather than painting over it. It's likely it hasn't adhered very well since it's obviously a QC error. If you are worried about scratching it, use something softish like a fingernail and see how it goes.

[DELTAprime]

I think it's black plastic with white paint, so painting it is the way to go.

And good to see you survived the cyclone Zommael.

[UltraMarginal]

I think there's been a distinct shortage of these so they might not have any to replace it with.

[AJ_Prime]

Geez that really sucks man, I feel your pain. I ordered a few of these for forum members, hoping the paint issue isn't common. I'd feel awful.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

So I emailed RK and they said "we cannot provide replacement for this issue". So I guess I'm stuck with a big fingerprint in Chromia's arm. Windblade should be fixable. Guess I should make a trip to Toyworld and grab a pot of white paint. I've never had any luck with RK's service which is why I prefer to pay the extra and buy HK exclusive items from BBTS.

I'd be very surprised if anywhere offered a replacement for minor paint problems. These sorts of things happen on toys.

[5FDP]

I'd be very surprised if anywhere offered a replacement for minor paint problems. These sorts of things happen on toys.

+ 1. I had a similar issue buying through BBTS so it's not just RK.

[DELTAprime]

I'd be very surprised if anywhere offered a replacement for minor paint problems. These sorts of things happen on toys.

I wouldn't call a fingerprint in the paint minor. Maybe I shouldn't have overreached and mention Windblade.

[Zommael]

I think it's black plastic with white paint, so painting it is the way to go.

And good to see you survived the cyclone Zommael.

Thanks Delta. Power's still off at home, but Ergon are saying tonight, so we'll see. Hope you and the other members in the region made it through okay.