More Reports of Broken Crotches on the $300 Masterpiece MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron Figure

Wireless_Phantom wrote:I swear, if THIS if the figure GPS returns in, so many people are going to be pissed

I previously wrote:Some BW molds already have their limits.. Cheetor has one more variant that is perhaps too unlikely to actually happen, in Nightprowler...

...Rhinox is a one and done

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Nothing mass produced is 100% perfect all of the time, whatever the price. From a Space Shuttle to a house to a drinks can. So yes, perspective does matter. Mine is flawless and I'm sure I'm not a minority in that respect.

UnderYourCloset wrote:The problem with MP is they're more concerned about "perceived quality" over durability. In the end they use plastics and stuff in areas sometimes that break much easier than what's on regular brick-and-mortar figures just for the sake of feeling "weighty" and looking "shiny". Just because yours didn't break doesn't mean it isn't an issue. We have the same amount or more breakage reports (at least in ratio) for MP figures than we do for brick and mortar regular retail figures in recent time, and MP are much less sought after by the general public, like it or not. And, honestly, with as amazingly improved general retail figures are, I feel MP has sort of lost its fire in comparison. Too much for too little, and too much for too much worry. Studio Series, to me it's pretty much how Masterpiece should be.

As I've noted before with The Masterpiece collection. They are collectors pieces, practically display statues, they are not toys. If you had a £500 MCU Iron Man statue you wouldn't decry it's durability after handing it to a 3y/o to play with, because that isn't what it is for. To compare this line to the lesser TF lines, in that respect, is utterly disingenuous. It is apples and oranges, after all.

Ironhidensh wrote:Well, I've transformed mine back and forth several times now with zero issues.


First time scared the hell out of me, but once I got done using super strength on the torso slide function, because sweet Jesus that was tight, everything has gone fine. The crotch plastic does look as if it has flaws in it that could contribute to easy breakage, but I think it does require some "ham hands" to start.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The question I have being, is the torso slide supposed to be that tight, by design?

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The question I have being, is the torso slide supposed to be that tight, by design?

Nathaniel Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The question I have being, is the torso slide supposed to be that tight, by design?

Probably not. It's kinda like some figures where a certain joint is super tight at first, then becomes smooth after the first transformation.

I really hope this MP Megatron nonsense is just a 1 in a million incident. A 300$ figure like this should not have any issues like that, and this gets me more worried about the upcoming MP-44, who is both more expensive and looks more complex.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Nathaniel Prime wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The question I have being, is the torso slide supposed to be that tight, by design?

Probably not. It's kinda like some figures where a certain joint is super tight at first, then becomes smooth after the first transformation.

I really hope this MP Megatron nonsense is just a 1 in a million incident. A 300$ figure like this should not have any issues like that, and this gets me more worried about the upcoming MP-44, who is both more expensive and looks more complex.

Tell that to the mp-36 paint scratching

TFmonkeybiz wrote:Can anyone confirm the claim on the wiki that the Takara release's instructions actually give the owner guidance on how to move the shoulders and waist without causing breakage? 'Coz if that's true, that means Takara and possibly Hasbro knew this was a possibility which raises a few awkward questions.

The Wiki also wrote:Originally scheduled for release on January 26, 2019, Megatron was delayed to March 30

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Obviously a big deal is being made of these breakages due to the price tag, but before we all start hysterically table flipping on this figure, what percentages are we talking about?

1 in 10? in 100? in 10,000?

That's the detail that matters more so than any handful of pics or reports from isolated individuals: context and perspective.

Dan14thPrime wrote:Mines all good.

The only thing that I can think people are doing to create that breakage is that when you transform back to Dino mode or even already in Dino mode, the upper thigh sits flush against the pelvis on the Dino underside. If you try to push the Dino leg up, the upper thigh creates torque on the joint because it’s basically levering over the pelvis. You need to be careful and know your range of movements on this figure.

ilikerobits wrote:I'd be willing to bet that the people having the issue with this figure are simply transforming it too much. These figures are not meant to be manhandled and transformed repeatedly. They're collectors pieces capable of transforming, but really they're just meant to sit on a shelf and look pretty. If you want a toy to "play" with, buy chug or something.

bvzxa wrote:Looks like the paint is causing the plastic to crack. I have the United Seekers Elite set. That set uses a heavy coat of paint. For some reason the paint on Skywarp was causing the figure to crumble. First it was the legs and the rudder section, and then the nose cone just disentergrated. I rarely played with it and it sits in the box for months at a time. Went to show my friend after fixing the tail rudder and leg and then the nose cone fell off and cracked at the connector piece. You basically can remove it while transforming but glue will not work to fix it

Paint can eat thru plastic I remembered I had an old Gundam model kit that a painted red using Gundam markers. After just a few days the plastic started splitting , and finally it just fell apart. I did replace the kit and painted it again this time it held.

ilikerobits wrote:I'd be willing to bet that the people having the issue with this figure are simply transforming it too much. These figures are not meant to be manhandled and transformed repeatedly. They're collectors pieces capable of transforming, but really they're just meant to sit on a shelf and look pretty. If you want a toy to "play" with, buy chug or something.

Acolyte wrote:For everyone saying we need to keep perspective, here's some:

I own 10 masterpiece figures in hand (soon will own 14, but I'm dreading what will come of this figure). 4 of those arrived to me with significant factory defects. The boxes were flawless, undamaged, shipped with exquisite care. The insides showed no signs of tension or rubbing or cramping or anything. And yet the figures right out of their little plastic divot had issues ranging from heavy scrapes/ruined paint to cracks (in places where pieces were anchored, which seems to scream manufacturing tolerance issue) to stressed plastic and paint overspray to outright bent die cast that prevented an entire transformation. That's a 60% success rate in masterpiece from one collector. I don't buy from a single source, and I only buy from very reputable sources. At this rate, I may as well be gambling (which is how my wife feels about it).

If I encounter another single major issue (and I could probably forgive a stress mark as long as the piece seemed like it would hold together, and heaven knows I don't care about some little paint chips) then I am done with Masterpiece. It will be an easy decision at that point. Which is a crying shame, because this is Beast Wars coming alive in a whole new way for me, and I dig it like I dug it as a kid in 1996. But I've got better things I can do with my money (like collect entire lines for roughly the same now-greatly-inflated price of Masterpieces across a year).

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Megatron’s only known weakness... Snu Snu

PadForce wrote:

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Megatron’s only known weakness... Snu Snu

Haha, enjoyable.

On a serious note i really feel for the people experiencing damage on such an expensive figure. Hopefully Takara does right by its customers ultimately, if not people will be perfectly justfifed with the inevitable 3p repair kits or just not buying the official model at all.

The idea that a masterpiece transformer shouldnt be transformed is non sensical.

UnderYourCloset wrote:

Acolyte wrote:For everyone saying we need to keep perspective, here's some:

I own 10 masterpiece figures in hand (soon will own 14, but I'm dreading what will come of this figure). 4 of those arrived to me with significant factory defects. The boxes were flawless, undamaged, shipped with exquisite care. The insides showed no signs of tension or rubbing or cramping or anything. And yet the figures right out of their little plastic divot had issues ranging from heavy scrapes/ruined paint to cracks (in places where pieces were anchored, which seems to scream manufacturing tolerance issue) to stressed plastic and paint overspray to outright bent die cast that prevented an entire transformation. That's a 60% success rate in masterpiece from one collector. I don't buy from a single source, and I only buy from very reputable sources. At this rate, I may as well be gambling (which is how my wife feels about it).

If I encounter another single major issue (and I could probably forgive a stress mark as long as the piece seemed like it would hold together, and heaven knows I don't care about some little paint chips) then I am done with Masterpiece. It will be an easy decision at that point. Which is a crying shame, because this is Beast Wars coming alive in a whole new way for me, and I dig it like I dug it as a kid in 1996. But I've got better things I can do with my money (like collect entire lines for roughly the same now-greatly-inflated price of Masterpieces across a year).

See? The problem with Masterpiece is, if it's messed up, you're ****. With more general retail stuff, the worst issues I've had were slightly loose joints or a bit too much plastic in a joint area which hindered mobility, and both of those are very easy issues to fix mostly. Do what you guys want, but unless Masterpiece holds UP TO the quality it promises, I say skip it, evaluate your lives, and then move onto something more worth your money. Or hell, move on to MakeToys or a more reputable manufacturer. Pretty sad when the official and MUCH PRICIER stuff feels like KOs in comparison to fan-made 3rd Party figures or even actual KOs. Some people go with KOs both for better price as much as for better quality. (Black Mamba specifically.)

SpikeyTigertron wrote:
Megatron *feels* fine, and he’s perfectly sturdy *except* their poor choice in a plastic composition. I personally have found my 3rd party figures to feel fiddle-y. While there’s still a certain flow or elegance to many of HasTak’s builds.