Do you feel quality of figures are getting worse?

[5FDP]

wasn't there talk of HasTak relocating their production to Vietnam to make it cheaper?

They already did.

[sanbot]

Granted I have severly cut back on TF purchases, I feel that all my purchases this year feel like they are of good quality and are sturdy. I could just be lucky here though.

[SilverDragon]

Granted I have severly cut back on TF purchases, I feel that all my purchases this year feel like they are of good quality and are sturdy. I could just be lucky here though.

Same here. About the only QC related issues I've had at all were with that 3-pack of Cybertron scouts, and they weren't big enough to be deal-breakers for me anyway.

[kup]

I have seen a steady reduction in material quality from Hasbro (with a few exceptions) in the last few years but overall their QC is alright. There has been some shockers like Generations Blurr but I cannot think of another widespread QC issue in the last few months.

It's mostly material quality that has gone down and that includes Takara-Tomy too.

[GoktimusPrime]

An overseas fan has reported getting a RtS Jazz with two left hands. Guess he won't be applauding Hasbro anytime soon.

[heroic_decepticon]

An overseas fan has reported getting a RtS Jazz with two left hands. Guess he won't be applauding Hasbro anytime soon.

Haha... i like that.

I think the material quality is definitely getting worse (from what was already bad). Paint apps are hit and miss too. Gone were the days (ie: G1) when I'd stand in a mall selecting the best looking box, confident that there will be no issues with the toy. Nowadays, I scrutinise the toy and will take a toy with good paint apps and banged up packaging over one that has nice packing but lousy paint apps.

Oh, and certain pieces like Henkei Thundercracker, Inferno and Ramjet are loose right out of the box.

[Verno]

I've said it before, and people have even weighed them, but I still say there was something 'off' about the Hasbro BW 10th Ann. figures. They just didn't 'feel' right, if you get me. And they would have come out during the... Cybertron toy line? I'm not sure.

It's the same with Lego. Big increase in popularity and production causes more scope for faults as designs get more and more intricate. I'd never seen a minifigure with a smudged face or paintwork until the Star Wars stuff started coming out. But becuase they're trying to put more on a face, it happens.

And [erhaps this is the same with Transformers. They're more advanced than they've ever been. And as they try more, more things slip through.

An outsiders perspective though.

[SkyWarp91]

My Classics Ramjet feels strong, solid but flexible too.

My Generations Thrust and Dirge feel somewhat lighter and too loose.

Enough said.

[Oilspill]

Personally I feel 2010 has been in improvement in quality. I found that Universe 2.0 and Animated had many more QC issues and sloppy paint jobs.

[kup]

I've said it before, and people have even weighed them, but I still say there was something 'off' about the Hasbro BW 10th Ann. figures. They just didn't 'feel' right, if you get me. And they would have come out during the... Cybertron toy line? I'm not sure.

It's the same with Lego. Big increase in popularity and production causes more scope for faults as designs get more and more intricate. I'd never seen a minifigure with a smudged face or paintwork until the Star Wars stuff started coming out. But becuase they're trying to put more on a face, it happens.

And [erhaps this is the same with Transformers. They're more advanced than they've ever been. And as they try more, more things slip through.

An outsiders perspective though.

I am not sure - G1 figures can have more intricate paint jobs and seem to be composed of just as many parts (often more) despite their simpler transformations and lack of articulation. There isn't much engineering that goes into a ball joint despite its large range of motion and effectiveness but when you look at the deceptively simple swivel joint of a G1 figure, you will notice that it can be composed of friction gears, pins and springs despite the limited movement.

As someone who has disassembled and reassembled countless TFs, vintage figures seem to require much more care in their manufacturing than the new more streamlined figures. Simply put, there is more room for assembly errors and bad paint applications with a vintage toy than a modern one.

However I don't recall QC being as bad as it is now. The amount of very good condition vintage figures out there from 1984-1985 figures is pretty amazing. It is also rare to find a vintage Beast Wars figure with dodgy paint apps and some can be pretty elaborate.

Although at the turn of the century, the Japanese seemed to have gained an upper hand in manufacturing quality, Hasbro's was still pretty competent until around 2007 where things begun to nose dive a bit. This decrease in quality is also not isolated to Hasbro as since the merger between Takara and Tomy, their toy quality has suffered too but is still noticeably better than Hasbro's.