Reports of Breakage and Easy Stressing for Masterpiece MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron

Hopefully we can get a Siege-quality revisit of Beast Wars some day. The masterpieces are pretty, but I don't want to transform a Faberge egg.

Megatronus wrote:I blame sweaty man-hands.

Well said, Megatronus.

ScottyP wrote:

Megatronus wrote:I blame sweaty man-hands.

Well said, Megatronus.

Yeah I’m not gonna start blaming a toy until this is mass released and there are multiple reports. I’ve broken some just by applying too much force and pushing something that shouldn’t be pushed because I read instructions wrong.

Never blame QC until I hear 5-10 reports

Caelus wrote:Hopefully we can get a Siege-quality revisit of Beast Wars some day. The masterpieces are pretty, but I don't want to transform a Faberge egg.

We kinda have already. rhinox, rattrap, waspinator, Black arachnia. All pretty stop quality figures in the passed 5 years

I'm hoping this is a Dinobot case where the early ones are hit-or-miss and later batches are much more solid. That said: Jesus, Takara, get your **** together. You better not screw up Blackarachnia.

Black Hat wrote:I'm hoping this is a Dinobot case where the early ones are hit-or-miss and later batches are much more solid. That said: Jesus, Takara, get your **** together. You better not screw up Blackarachnia.

I dont think there were later batches with Dinobot. Me and Ironhidensh got ours the same time. His was super solid and mine got his head broken off during transformation.

Oh my gods, that looks terrible.

My sympathys go out to all who have ordered him.

I'm happy with my original Megatron (even with his dinky color scheme and face). Masterpieces look amazing, totally agree but I (30 something year old manchild) still plays with Transformers and transform a lot. So I don't collect Masterpieces anymore.

Broken Transformers, man one of my top 10 nightmares.

Well that settles that. I will not be transforming him then. God that’s depressing

Its way to damn early to be freaking out, my peeps.

Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

Caelus wrote:Hopefully we can get a Siege-quality revisit of Beast Wars some day. The masterpieces are pretty, but I don't want to transform a Faberge egg.

I was hoping for G1 style first part of trilogy, beast wars (with II, neo, and Transmetals all thrown in) then RID/Unicron trilogy revisits for the last part, when I first heard about it.

RustedCross wrote:Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

If posting this means people are more likely to be careful and not break their toys, then I feel I have helped.

That ain't good.

If I'm going to spend that much money on a Transformer is better not break during transformation. I'm getting less enthusiastic about the MP line.

Fortunately, I have no intention of getting this MP Beastwar Megatron, so I won't have to worry about paying boku bucks for a figure that will shatter after a couple days anyway.

william-james88 wrote:

RustedCross wrote:Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

If posting this means people are more likely to be careful and not break their toys, then I feel I have helped.

But there's only been ONE report, but the way it's written makes it sound like there's been multiples, which at the time of me writing this, there hasn't been.

Burn wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

RustedCross wrote:Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

If posting this means people are more likely to be careful and not break their toys, then I feel I have helped.

But there's only been ONE report, but the way it's written makes it sound like there's been multiples, which at the time of me writing this, there hasn't been.

Well, if I was buying a $300+ figure, I'd rather know about any and all problem areas asap, so as to minimize any potential issues, but I see your point

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:If I'm going to spend that much money on a Transformer is better not break during transformation. I'm getting less enthusiastic about the MP line.

Did you see this pic of Dinobot?

william-james88 wrote:

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:If I'm going to spend that much money on a Transformer is better not break during transformation. I'm getting less enthusiastic about the MP line.

Did you see this pic of Dinobot?

"Alas, poor Dinobot. I knew me, Cheet-- waitaminute..."

Wasn't there also some issue with his shoulder ratchets?

And back to Megatron, I shattered the crotch of my Transmetal 2 Megs years ago, but was able to fix it with crazy glue a death grip on the parts while rotating it back and forth around the pin for a half hour; my mistake there was repeatedly splitting the pelvis by yanking on the legs instead of prying it apart lower down. Point is, I fear this could just be a curse afflicting the character: a feeble grille structure that transcends decades, and sometimes spreads through goldbrown plastic syndrome (I'm sure many more of you've had the Transmetal one shatter beyond repair - same here).

Does anyone have a full english translation of precisely what the instruction addendum says?

This is all damage on a single figure? I sense a dropped Megatron more than any inherent design flaws.

william-james88 wrote:

BATTLEMASTER IIC wrote:If I'm going to spend that much money on a Transformer is better not break during transformation. I'm getting less enthusiastic about the MP line.

Did you see this pic of Dinobot?

Of all the things to break on this figure, how did they manage to do the head?

Again, for those in the back who didn't hear the first time....

Ironhidensh wrote:




Its way to damn early to be freaking out, my peeps.

Amazon Japan has charged me, and others as well, I'm sure, so within a week we will start having a lot more in hand reviews. Let's relax until then.

Yeah I agree let's see if it's an isolated issue or widespread...until then all my money is on Soul Of Chogokin

Burn wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

RustedCross wrote:Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

If posting this means people are more likely to be careful and not break their toys, then I feel I have helped.

But there's only been ONE report, but the way it's written makes it sound like there's been multiples, which at the time of me writing this, there hasn't been.

I see, msybe my English suffers a bit since there was both a report of bteakage and a report of stressing, so the problems were plural albeit on the same toy.

In any case, for the stressing its now a confirmed common issue. The shell is very thin and people are reporting stress marks after transforming him :

Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

TT has always had poor quality when it comes to stress marks, the few figures I've got from the legends line are fraught with them

Hellscream9999 wrote:

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

TT has always had poor quality when it comes to stress marks, the few figures I've got from the legends line are fraught with them

Oh :/. I hadn’t noticed it on my Legends. Though I will say the Big Convoy reissue had a very questionable pin connecting the BFG mount. Though wonder if that was partial on me for forgetting how to disconnect it originally..... but those pins shouldn’t pull out easily in any event.

Hellscream9999 wrote:

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

TT has always had poor quality when it comes to stress marks, the few figures I've got from the legends line are fraught with them

Hasbro's not much better. The fact of the matter is I haven't gotten a Transformer in years that didn't have some stress marks at pin placement points right out of the box. As long as the only endemic problems are some cosmetic stress marks of internal pin joints I don't see the problem.

Malicron wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

TT has always had poor quality when it comes to stress marks, the few figures I've got from the legends line are fraught with them

Hasbro's not much better. The fact of the matter is I haven't gotten a Transformer in years that didn't have some stress marks at pin placement points right out of the box. As long as the only endemic problems are some cosmetic stress marks of internal pin joints I don't see the problem.

Same factories, same problems. Just warning ya.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Malicron wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

SpikeyTigertron wrote:Curious how this got through QA.... unless there was a material swap/cheat on the factory’s end.

TT has always had poor quality when it comes to stress marks, the few figures I've got from the legends line are fraught with them

Hasbro's not much better. The fact of the matter is I haven't gotten a Transformer in years that didn't have some stress marks at pin placement points right out of the box. As long as the only endemic problems are some cosmetic stress marks of internal pin joints I don't see the problem.

Same factories, same problems. Just warning ya.

Yup that is 100% correct. Both Hasbro and Takara have had issues at one point or another. Anyone remember Thrilling 30 Blitzwing? Still pisses me off I had to get 3P for help with the shoulders never locking in place and HasTak never fixed it. We have to report it, and hope a running change happens. Siege Starscream which I am on my second one needs some type of pin in the chest. I can show how my Legends Overlord has incorrect consturction with in the thighs lol. I just noticed it a few day ago when comparing the Titans Return version...well as long as it works I'm good.

So much happy I quit on MPs when the prices got crazy.

Katarn84 wrote:So much happy I quit on MPs when the prices got crazy.

Imagine what would happen if these stress marks came all over MP-44...

Nathaniel Prime wrote:

Katarn84 wrote:So much happy I quit on MPs when the prices got crazy.

Imagine what would happen if these stress marks came all over MP-44...

I'll be waiting...

I feel like this posting was necessary for people who are getting the figure. We didn’t see reports like this on a lot of other MP releases. On the ones we did like Ramjet’s shoulder and Rodimus Prime, it did turn out to be a legitimate problem. Unless the person who took those Megatron figures never handled a MP figure before I think this is good to get out there.

Just got shipping notice from Amazon Japan!

It’s so close, I can almost taste it!

Should be very soon now.

Yesss...

william-james88 wrote:

RustedCross wrote:Can we change the headline to "Report", instead of "Reports"?
I feel like we are jumping the gun here, just like we did recently with the "running change" on Siege Starscream.

If posting this means people are more likely to be careful and not break their toys, then I feel I have helped.

The thing that appears to need Hammering Home constantly, is that these are collectors pieces, NOT Toys. Even the non-MP City Bots I've bought in recent times, I only transformed once (Read: very carefully) and set them aside to display.
Frankly speaking, as nice as the Beast Modes are, until we potentially get to MP Transmetal, my Beast Wars MP's remain in Bot Mode.

Many are concerned after hearing an early report of both breakage and stressing issues with MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron. While we did get more reports on stressing, due to very thin back panels, we have yet to hear of more breakage. One thing is for sure, the instructions are not very helpful, especially to non Japanese fans. So we have a video review below which shows the transformation. While it is in Japanese, it gives you a very good sense of what the figure and its transformation entails. More Megatrons should be delivered internationally this week so we will get a much better idea of the toy's quality and reception as the week goes on.

Mine arrives sometime today, looking forward to it!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Hooray! Do let us know how he is, yessssss...

DAYUM it got to you fast! Mine should be here by the end of the week, assuming DHL actually delivers on time...

If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Malicron wrote:If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Exactly

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Malicron wrote:If that video is indicative of how people have been transforming him, no wonder we've gotten reports of stress marks; who in their right mind just randomly pries at a thin hinge piece like that?!

Exactly

Sadly, as someone experiencing the figure now, there are some parts which require force. He is held ogether by some very thin pegs and some heavy locking mechanisms. Being delicate will just make him stay in beast mode.

Well, mine is delayed, thanks to stupid card snafus. First was on me, the card I had on file was an old one I forgot was canceled.

So I had to add a new one.

Which was declined for suspected fraud. (Only its third use)

Which I couldn't clear up till this morning.


Sigh......

He looks fantastic...and I like what you did with Dinobots head

This is it, the big in depth review at the biggest release of the year (that's right, you heard me!). While you can see a video of the transformation here, I will go through most of what the figure has to offer with images to go along with the pros an cons. The pros far outnumber the cons though and I do recommend the figure, so if that's all you needed to know then great. If you want more, well let's get to it:

Beast Mode

The beast mode is spot on. Some people have been saying that this mode is fully painted like with some previous Beast Wars masterpiece figures, but it is not. it is mostly shiny purple plastic with a pastel violet hue found across the toy in digital stripes. The mouth and head are very well articulated. So are the eyes which can be positioned as you wish by rolling them around. Other main points of articulation in this mode are the small arms (2 points of articulation), tail tip, tongue, knees and individual toes.













While there is more potential articulation in the legs (like outward movement), this is all due to the robot mode's articulation and messing with the legs undoes some panels and reveals robot mode kibble. So I don't touch the legs much. The articulated eyes make him very expressive. If you insert batteries, pressing a button on the top of the T-rex head will make him talk in Japanese. While he does come with extra clear adapters to connect him to Dinobot's stand, I didn't feel any need to use them. He is very well balanced. Also, of all the Beast Wars toys, he is the one that has the least amount of robot kibble showing (mainly because unlike the others, he uses the same parts for both modes).







Transformation

The original Beast Wars Meagatron toy is my favourite toy ever so it is really fun to see that Takara felt they did indeed ace that transformation the first time. To the point that this toy transforms the same way. The big change for this new figure is that to give him a much smaller backpack, the T-Rex shell is made up of 20 thin pieces of plastic which fold onto eachother to make a smaller back section. This of course makes him very tedious to transform back into a T-Rex. However, every parts does fit into each other fine and if I do intend on transforming him again, unlike ROTF Jetfire (NEVER AGAIN). I did see stress marks around the pins though, but I do not think they will get worse if I pay attention.

The scary part though is when you first start prying the shell open. He is held together by some very thin pegs and some heavy locking mechanisms. So you do have to use some force sometimes, since being delicate will just make him stay in beast mode. It reminds me of MP 05 Megatron in a way where you have to be forceful yet delicate at the same time (ah, the jokes I just can't make). Another big difference over the original toy is the role that those thigh circles play. These parts are working overtime here by both hiding and locking in panels as well as having (decorative) guns fold out. They do come off easily during transformation BUT once you peg them back in robot mode, they stay on securely. So I don't see them unpegging as too much of a negative.

Speaking of unpegging, my big worry with this guy was that with so many sections unpegging purposefully (6 parts) I thought it would have for a very frustrating transformation. But no, most parts are secure enough that if you want this toy not to be a partsformer, it wont be, but it also allows you to take some parts out for ease of transformation. And I recommend you do that with the big T-Rex body shells since removing them helps transforming the waist. It transforms essentially like the original toy (pivoting the axis of the waist and locking it in) but you have to pull it out first and that requires more of that delicate forceful touch I was talking about earlier. Also, if the back doesn't peg in well, DO NOT FORCE IT. Just undo what you did and try again, it should clip in effortlessly.



The tail and lower legs have as many transformation steps as the original toy. For the life of me I do not know why the instructions spend so much time on the lower legs, there is nothing to do there.

Robot Mode

[url=7oXtISrMwVc]Hoo-Ah![/url]. This is an amazing looking figure. He looks like he jumped right off the screen. The stability is great, thanks to the metal used for his heels. The extra kibble comes off only if you want it to and the only angle which looks a bit off is directly at the side. He looks good from the back, and even has a nice extra transformation bit where the T-Rex' pelvic area splits in half to reveal some robot mode detail made just for the back section.









I really love the left arm. It is fully articulated and I really like that the tail can be pivoted a bit to provide extra room, showing that they are two independent pieces. It's my favorite aspect of this toy, since it does end up being the biggest improvement over the original. Removing the tail is easy and it pegs back securely if you want it attached.











The rifle accessory is fine and while it is easiest to use when removing the tail, you can keep it on. It attaches as well as any of the other myriad of MP weapons we have had over the years. The tooth brush is much more secure though and it is quite fun. The energy blast is hollowed out from underneath but you won't notice that if you pose the toy properly.




















Speaking of posing, there are many ratchets to help you achieve great action poses. They can keep the right arm held really high (sadly, that means those silver pieces near his collar have to be loosey goosey to offer the arm as much mobility as possible). The one place where there are no ratchet, and it's too bad, is between the shoulder and torso, which hurts the toy. It is a friction joint and on my copy there is no friction on that left arm, which just falls. But at least you can compensate with the shoulder ratchet. I do not have more complaints than that. While the waist is a bit loose, he is top heavy enough that the weight compensates. I really like the silver deco over the sculpted detail which replicates the shading found on the show but using real light. The different faces are fun and work well.







So the main complaints: Force must be exerted at times, lots of panels to deal with (especially going back to beast mode), stress marks near pins and a friction joint that just doesn't hold for his left arm.

The main pros: This toy is gorgeous in both modes, he feels very sturdy and he is a love letter to the favourite toy of my childhood. Easily the best Beast Wars MP figure to date.



Also, just to review the use of Amazon Japan, it went so well I can't imagine getting non exclusive Takara toys from anywhere else. The price was the best and the shipping was lightning fast. I live in Canada and got the toy today. Here is a breakdown of the transaction, if anyone is curious:

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: ￥ 23,506
Shipping & Handling: ￥ 1,200
Total: ￥ 24,706
Import Fees Deposit ￥ 1,175
Grand Total: ￥ 25,881

That's a total of $232 USD / $309 CAD

They did a great job on the packaging too.