Transformers Venting thread!

[5FDP]

Absolutely livid at the moment...
I found a pristine vintage MIB G1 Metroplex on Ebay US a few weeks ago. Paid a lot of money because the box was so nice (in addition to the figure being unused.) It turned up today, and some careless loser* had punctured a hole in the shipping box, which has gone through the Metroplex box and into the styrofoam.





Just sent the seller a message to find out what my options are. I'm not blaming him at all, he did pack it well - and much better than a lot of other sellers. Can't really protect against something stabbing through the box. And now I'm worried because I didn't see the hole until I had already cut the packing tape. Is it too much to expect the astronomical shipping charges we pay should entitle the goods to safe transit?

*this doesn't even begin to describe what I think of the person that did this, but I have t keep it clean.

That does suck dude. Had the same thing happen to me with a 30 year old book that was in mint condition... until the postman folded it in half and shoved it in the letterbox Still haven't got over that one.

[SuspectimusPrime]

I have become very slow at opening any official mainstream toy that I buy. They often end up disappointments or at best 'meh'. On the other hand, opening an MP or 3P toy is still awesome.

Same feeling when I recently picked up TR Skullcruncher. One of my all time fav childhood toys, but was very disappointed by the Hasbro TR version's floppy hip ball sockets, damaged soft-plastic teeth (from the way the soft plastic is pressed against the jaw), and warped soft-plastic cover flap for the Titanmaster's cockpit (I really don't see the need for this part to be moulded in soft plastic).

I did pick up the Wave 2 Deluxes from the recent Target pricing error. However my expectations aren't high.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I really don't see the need for this part to be moulded in soft plastic.

I was wondering that too. The only reason I can see is that on the (takara version at least) it's the same plastic as the stuff in his mouth, is Hasbro different?

[SuspectimusPrime]

I was wondering that too. The only reason I can see is that on the (takara version at least) it's the same plastic as the stuff in his mouth, is Hasbro different?

Sounds like the same stuff. However the stuff in his mouth is grey soft plastic whilst the cockpit flap is in dark green soft plastic. From my understanding, this would have meant that it is not possible to gain efficiencies from moulding both parts on the same tree in a single mould. The individual moulds can cost 10's and 100's of thousands of dollars - from watching a Lego documentary, and I think a third party company mentioned $40k per mould (anyone feel free to school me here).

[Firestorm]

Grabbed the TR wave three legends yesterday from big w
Open them up last night
And kickback's wing falls off.
The part was only connected to the ball joint by a thread, and upon trying to move it, it just broke right off!


I will be returning it later today, hopefully there's still another kickback there so I can replace it

[Megatran]

That would really bug me. Patience, young grasshopper.

[FatalityPitt]

I will be returning it later today, hopefully there's still another kickback there so I can replace it

Yeah, return it. I had something similar happen to me with Rewind (the hinge connecting the arm panel to the forearm broke the first time I tried transforming him into Spy Tablet mode). I returned it to the store the following day for another Rewind.

My rant: I wish Hasbro would invest more in the on-package bios. The ones on the Titans Return packaging are kind of lazy and hardly tell you anything about the character you're buying (if you can even call them bios!).

Some examples:

Galvatron: " The Decepticons unite with Titan Master Partners to power up for battle! Nucleon gives Galvatron a universal systems upgrade with powerful but unstable results." *

All the on-card/box bios for all the deluxes and voyagers follow this structure! They tell us what super-powers the Titan Master gives the character, but that's it! There's no other information about the character. In this case, there's nothing on the box that tells us that Galvatron is the Decepticon Leader, or what his personality is like.

Rewind: "Mini-Tank rolls out with AUTOBOT BLASTER." **

I don't know if I can even call this a bio... It reminds us that Rewind becomes a tank (in case the pictures on the card weren't clear enough about that...), and that he interacts with Leader-Class Blaster (in case the sticker on the plastic bubble wasn't clear enough...)... Nothing else.. No mention about him being the resident walking encyclopedia of the Autobots.

I know it's just packaging, and there's only so much information that they can print on the card, but to me; the character's bio and description is part of what gives the toy it's personality (as cheesy as that sounds).

Also, I think it would make some business sense for Hasbro, because even if the toy in the box is crap; at least the buyer of said toy can feel a little bit of satisfaction knowing they bought a cool character, or one they could identify with during that day.

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* - http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...ron/4123/1/11/
** - http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...wind/4132/1/8/

[SMHFConvoy]

Check the hasbro website there are supposed to be more detailed bios on the official TF site

[FatalityPitt]

Check the hasbro website there are supposed to be more detailed bios on the official TF site

Yeah, the bios there are better than what's printed on the packaging. But it seems like a bit much effort to navigate to a web page just to see it. Plus, to some customers, I think their purchasing decision might depend on their impression of the character they're about to buy.

Although one thing that is a step up are the trading cards the figures come with. During Combiner Wars all we got was some artwork, now they're including the character's stats, which gives the card more collector value.

[Omega Metro]

now they're including the character's stats, which gives the card more collector value.

Shame the cards depict all their heads being decapitated though.