ROTF Mixmaster: Not faulty, just bad instructions [renamed thread]

[Paulbot]

It seems most people are finding faulty Mixmaster toys, misassembled in such a way that you can not transform it correctly to weapon mode.

Hey, can one of you guys with Mixmaster take a photo similar to the one i've done below? I tried transforming to 3rd mode and can't seem to do it (i hope i'm not just tired!) - Looking at the instructions, i think this long bar with hinges has been assembled wrong - thankfully it doesn't affect the other 2 modes. From what i could do, the 3rd mode really looks crap and nothing clips nicely like the other 2 modes do very well - so i'm not really fussed, just curious if it is indeed assembled wrong.

Stompy suggests this as the way to spot it in the shop

...here's a few pictures of what to look for. This is located just underneath the front of the truck cab. It should be just visible int he box. Probably best to bring a small LED torch to the shop.

This first picture is what to AVOID as it's mis-assembled:



Note the "piston" like sculpted duo. This is misassembled and should be on the inside.

This second picture is what to look for and the one to GET:



Note the two recessed grooves and the blue part sticking outwards.

Remember that part is only about 3cm big.

And a fix has been suggested, which includes punching out the pin.

Not really. You have to assess which direction the pin was put in as you have to tap it out the reverse direction using a hammer and a nail. Ideally doing it on a piece of would wood () which has a small hole you can work over so the pin can go into the hole as you tap it. LCZ128 sent me a link to a helpful page when I asked about this some time ago. It was quite help. I'll ask him again.

But has anyone actually found a good Mixmaster in store?

I don't want to have a toy I have to fix a toy in order to transform it correctly. Why would I spend $40-$50 on something that straight out of the box can't do what it says it can do on the box.

[jaydisc]

I didn't realize you could check in the box. I just hit a couple Kmarts and checked 5. All faulty I'm afraid. Perhaps it's worth notifying Hasbro? It's easy to prove while comparing the toy to the instructions.

Some TFW comments:

I'm going to have to disagree and say the instructions might be wrong here. I can get to weapons mode just fine, and my hinge is the same way as the supposed "misassembled" pics. If the hinge were facing the other way, that strut wouldn't collapse nearly as neatly as it already does for robot mode, possibly not even allowing the cab to connect at all if reversed.

Mixmaster is ok I guess. He works better If you pull the pin at the cab and reverse the cab. However it should not be necessary to preform surgery on the toys in order to transforme them correctly.

How exactly does it change the transformation? I have no problems with my "backwards" hinge Mixmaster getting everything together and locked down. Do you have a picture of the change?

Sounds like the jury's still out.

[Paulbot]

Yeah I did a bit of browsing too and there's no firm answer which is why I wanted it to be discussed more visibily on our forum.

It's very easy to spot in the box, but you raise a good point of "are there any in box that aren't backwards"?

[kurdt_the_goat]

Even though it's undeniable that the instructions indicate the piece should be connected the other way... i don't think it's affecting anything - the third mode is a pile of goop and changing the bar around won't save it! Get the toy for it's awesome other 2 modes!

That said, fiddling around with it a while ago i managed to get a semblance of a battle station where the back wheels actually plug perfectly into 2 holes on the inside of the cab - almost as if it was intentional. If the bar was the other way, the way i've got it now would be impossible. At the end of the day though, even with this alternate transformation, he still looks like ass I'll post a photo when i get home today.

[Stompy]

I wasn't too happy with the misassembled part as in robot mode the cab doesn't sit on his back properly. If it was assembled properly the truck cab would sit on the bot modes back flush and not hanging out like a giant nappy.

I never bothered with the 3rd mode, so I can't really comment on how the misassembled part affects it.

[iceburn]

i've gone to check those at Target chaddy too... the faults the same!