Takara Missing Link G1 Series

[CrockAlley]

That's actually why I haven't gotten any ML Transformers yet...Optimus had some issues with the die-cast and plastic that occurred often enough to wind up in a warning on the wiki, and Bumblebee and Cliffjumper's ankles are known breakages waiting to happen. I'm very iffy on the cost-to-fragility ratio.

I find that the wiki is sometimes overly cautious. The wiki states OP's thigh swivels are "extraordinarily tight." This is not true. I didn't even know the toy had thigh swivels until I read that, so I tried them out, and they're totally fine. Needed to "crack" the joint, but after that, it's good. As for plastic-on-metal, time will tell, but no problems so far. The hip joints are totally fine.

It's good to take care with toys, especially these expensive collector imports. But I haven't had any trouble with ML Optimus, Cliffjumper, or Bumblebee.

 

[Princess Viola]

(like one person has their figure break)

the wiki: BE CAREFUL SOME PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED BREAKAGE WITH THIS FIGURE!!!!!!!

edit: honestly i'd also say part of this issue is how a lot of people - fully reasonably - base their expectation of a figure off of the earliest in-hand reports and if a few people have issues early on, people extrapolate it to think that this is now a universal issue with a toy and not just like...the luck of the draw with a mass produced figure.

 

[Exatron]

It's always been like that. I've lost track of how many figures I've had for years, or decades even, that I've been told will inevitably destroy themselves in no time. Random mass production flaws get magnified into critical design errors, while legitimate systemic issues get magnified into every-copy-is-DOOMED mega failures.

These days, whenever I hear about some issue on a figure I have, I just take a quick look at it and decide whether it's something I should take some sort of corrective action on, take note of to keep in mind when handling, or just disregard as doom mongering. I find the latter category to be the most common.

 

[lastmaximal]

To be fair, I would like to be informed of the possibility so I can remember to try and take some care. Some detail would be appreciated, of course, rather than some vague mention of it. Because I'm a moron who also can't afford to replace things, I'd rather avoid creating a need to do so.

I don't think it's really a case of the wiki inflating the severity of things in most cases (not even to try and be funny; the toy descriptions tend to be more sober). It's almost as likely that the otherwise-just-accurate "some owners have stated __" (as opposed to "many", even) sounds concerning all on its own.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

On the other hand, when it was found that there was a truly widespread issue with ROTF era rubber melting plastic, TFWiki was strangely slow to mention it on any affected toy's page.

 

[MrBlud]

I’ve been using Neo Randy to prop up the leg of a 1,200 pound coffee table for decades. Still going strong with nary a crack*

*none of this is true.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Poor Randy. I've seen one in a comic shop still on the card but completely destroyed. Springs and GPS do not mix.

 

[lastmaximal]

And then on top of that every third Transformer he gets has two left hands. And an incomplete var mode.

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

The wiki states OP's thigh swivels are "extraordinarily tight." This is not true. I didn't even know the toy had thigh swivels until I read that, so I tried them out, and they're totally fine...

However, just because it hasn't happened to you, didn't mean that it's not a (widespread) issue.

 

[Princess Viola]

IDK I've seen multiple videos reviewing Missing Link Convoy and the only universal 'be careful' thing I see them mention was the ab crunch being hella difficult to engage lol.

Surely if the thigh swivels were 'extraordinarily tight' was a universal issue at least one of these reviews would have mentioned it?