Hasbro's Transformers cheap plastic quality....

Voyager Class Optimus Prime - Age of Extinction...probably the only #transformers toy I'd get from the upcoming movie (though am pretty temp ted to get Grimlock to go with him )...his truck cab is a great homage to the G1 cartoon we all know and love!  #g

Seriously, I really had high expectations on this toy. This is probably THE only TF toy I'd get from the new Age of Extinction movie. I promise myself that I'd stay away from them movie toys but then the flat-nose cab mode really caught my attention. Having a G1-esque nod meant that Hasbro was gonna score big with the classic cartoon fanboys....right? Whatever it is, many 'classic cartoon series' collectors ended up getting this voyager class figure anyway...so Hasbro's marketing plan worked. I for one, was excited to see the G1 nod through the trailer so I managed to 'con'-vince myself into getting this voyager-class 'Evasion Mode' Optimus Prime for my collection. He wasn't cheap though....coming in at USD30 bucks equivalent here in Malaysia.

Evasion Mode Optimus Prime - Transformers: Age of Extinction

As you can probably see, I did some amateur custom painting on him to bring his otherwise drab grey-ish plastic to life...and added some realism (I think) to his blue parts by giving him scratch marks and what-nots.

Evasion Mode Optimus Prime - Transformers: Age of Extinction

I think it turned out pretty well. I even transformed him into the G1 truck mode once before I started my custom painting effort. This was how I was gonna display him irregardless of how my custom paint brought his robot mode to life. Turns out that it was gonna be the LAST time ever I was to be doing so as the plastic literally crumbled to pieces...starting from both hips. They just dropped of from where the hips swivel joints were (they broke off!)....and they 'disease' then quickly spread to his waist...the plastic disintegrated and his waist gave way. I had to super-glue both swivel hips (so long articulations) and worse of all, his waist too, rendering Optimus here virtually impossible to be transformed into his alternate mode. He now stands pretty on my display shelf....never to be converted into his alternate mode ever again.

I've read that some collectors faced the same problem and that the other characters from the same TF: AoE line had their plastic issues as well. Whatever it is, this should NOT have happened as we paid good money for it. Thank you Hasbro, you've really cheapened out big time this time around. I'd never buy a movie TF toy again. I don't think you have competent QC teams checking your products before they get shipped out to retailers around the globe.

Voyager Class Optimus Prime - Age of Extinction...probably the only #transformers toy I'd get from the upcoming movie (though am pretty temp ted to get Grimlock to go with him )...his truck cab is a great homage to the G1 cartoon we all know and love!  #g

Comments

Combo said…
i like the G1-ish design but it would have been a lot better if Hasbro used some good quality plastic.
desmond said…
Bro, your painting skills on those parts for weathering look great..Nice!!
^o^CORVUS^o^ said…
Sorry you ended up with a crap one, but I own 4 different examples of this mold, and none of them have had any breakage issues.
The Rebel said…
Hey there Corvus....lucky you... =) ...maybe it had something to do with our weather over here in South East Asia, who knows.