New universe opinions

[Hobbes-timus Prime]

I like these guys a lot, although I did have to do a bit of surgery to get Sunstreaker's chestplate lined up right. Whomever assembled him had the teeth of the gears off by one position.

I think mine has this problem. How complex a mechanism is it to fix?

[Lord Madhammer]

Don't tell anyone I said this, but Universe isn't the main TF line and we shouldn't expect it to be treated as such. In terms of development, engineering, $$ spent per figure, you name it. Just a hunch.

I thought that was common knowledge?

:shrug

[Athenor]

I like these guys a lot, although I did have to do a bit of surgery to get Sunstreaker's chestplate lined up right. Whomever assembled him had the teeth of the gears off by one position.

I think mine has this problem. How complex a mechanism is it to fix?

 

 

Fairly simple. It works like an elevator, basically.

 

Lets's see if I can explain this.

 

The biggest problem is that the cavity is too tightly engineered to allow slippage of the gears and teeth.

 

The cavity is shaped like [], held together really tight by five screws -- four small ones and one slightly larger one. The clear parts that hold the hood/arms are locked in place via tabs, so they aren't a problem to get positioned right. The hip swivel fits into the gray piece, so when you take it apart the bottom half is likely to fall out.

 

The head piece has the gears on it. The swiveling chest (take off the chestplate first) just has a very simple, tight gear.

 

With the cavity off, just move the head piece. After all, there's nothing locking it in place without the gray piece.

 

So how do you know you have the teeth lined up? When the swivel chest is pointing straight upwards, place the head into position so that it pokes just slightly above the black part. Then dry-place the cavity on the back. See, the gray piece has a little tab that will fit 100% flush with the head when it's in the right place. This is what was keeping the mechanism from rotating properly if it is assembled wrong.

 

Once you get the head placed right (and test the mechanism holding the black piece and the gray cavity together by your hands, to make sure it goes smoothly up and down), place the legs back into place and the clear pieces into their tabs, making sure that when you remove the cavity you don't bump the head position. Again, dry-fit once all the parts are in place, and then screw it back in.

 

 

I know this sounds complicated, but it really isn't. It took me all of 5 minutes, including fiddling to see how the mechanism worked. And it makes Sunstreaker look 1000x better and more professional.

[madman1366]

All I know is that so far the Universe figs I got have all been decent in the QC department.

 

I agree Prowl does look like a deluxe Alternator. He's one of my favorite among the Classicsverse figs.

 

Same goes for Sunstreaker. He's every bit as awesome as the first drawings we saw of him looked.

 

Tankor is the dud of this wave though. It's just wrong on so many levels.

 

 

All I can at this point is that I've had WAY more problems with the Animated line so far. Most of the figures I got from this line have had multiple issues (and I've got all of them released thus far). I've gotten the odd problem from time to time in the past but never so many in one line. That's why Animated will continue take it's lumps from me.

[GigantoR]

Wanted to follow up a little. In playing around with Prowl some more, I've fixed/figured out the balance/posture issues, but the paint issues are till there. The paint on his door/fender pieces is tacksy and I smudges and smears whenever he is handled. I also have an arm that likes to come flying off where the shoulder assembly connects under the hood of the car.

 

Sunstreaker is great. I'm probably going to do the gear fix mentioned earlier in this thread because my roof doesn't quite line up vertically in robot mode but other than that, I have no real complaints.

[count-zackula]

Just got mine this morning (along with the Animated Leaders and the new GI JOE vehicle packs!), and finished playing with 'em. I haven't experienced any paint app problems yet...we'll see. All in all, both Prowl and Sunstreaker are great in my opinion. Admittedly, Tankor/Octane does look a little wonky in 'bot mode, but I made peace with that fact since first seeing photos way back when. He ended up not being as bad as I feared...he is a triple changer, and a deluxe to boot, so I don't expect him to be flawless. Can't wait to get Onslaught and Powerglide!

[Hobbes-timus Prime]

*friendly advice*

Thanks! He's all fixed. And a much cooler figure now.

[Pun-3X]

I'd heard about the chest being a bit off once transformed, but mine was nice and straight. It sounds like it's a hit-or-miss issue, but I'm glad to hear there is a fix for it.

 

So far only have Sunstreaker and Prowl, and both are quite nice. Sunstreaker is, surprisingly, my new favorite of the entire classics line. Once you get his robot components clicked in place, he's a solid toy. Can't wait for Sideswipe!

[gojira77]

My greatest hope is that Classics 2.0 will have better paint aps that aren't as likely to chip as soon as you take them out of the box. I understand that Classics was just supposed to be a filler line and that Hasbro had to really watch costs, but it just seems wrong to put cheap paint on a great mold!

 

Next greatest hope for Universe Classics-- Powermaster Optimus Prime w/ more than 2 POINTS of articulation! Ahhh, it's nice to dream, isn't it...?

 

Weird, I haven't had a single issue with mine and I play with them constantly.

 

The tendancy to chip paint has been called "The Curse of the Classics" on some message boards... Though really, the worst offenders for me were the silver and bright yellow highlights on Classics Prime-- two colors that aren't really known for their resilience.

[gojira77]

Wanted to follow up a little. In playing around with Prowl some more, I've fixed/figured out the balance/posture issues, but the paint issues are till there. The paint on his door/fender pieces is tacksy and I smudges and smears whenever he is handled. I also have an arm that likes to come flying off where the shoulder assembly connects under the hood of the car.

 

I just picked up a Prowl from Target tonight and he has the exact same problems. I have a few Alternators so the 'flying arm' thing isn't a big deal, and I was expecting thin paint after reading some more reviews, but the tacky, smudging paint... I just hate buying a brand new figure that feels like somebody's first custom. I'm really trying to be less nitpicky, understanding that none of my toys are perfect, but I might have to draw the line at "sticky". It kinda ruins the whole tactile experience of transforming them, you know? I'm thinking about taking him back tomorrow, if I get the chance before going out to see "Dark Knight". Maybe I'll return him Saturday... Do other Prowls suck this bad? Would it help to exchange him?