Most Disappointing Figures of 2018

[ssjgoku22]

I'll start off with this one. Takara's God Ginrai, in my experience with it, was abysmal. God Bomber kept falling apart on his own, and in combined mode, I could not get the figure to stand up on it's own for the life of me. I eventually purchased the Perfect Effects PC-18 kit, which addresses the weak legs, but still, the combined mode feels wobbly. The figure itself is a perfect example of a great idea executed terribly. The real issue is that the entire figure from the legs down has absolutely no heft (the legs are pretty much a bunch of flimsy panels that barely tab together). I love the way the figure looks, but Takara really rushed this one without fully thinking it through.

Also imagine the price of this figure plus having to purchase all of the Perfect Effect kits to make it feel complete (well over $300).

[alternatorfan]

Yeah its engineering is wonky.

[justprime]

There almost all disappointing due to one or more things ...QC issues are more apparent, the hollows in the plastic definatly size and price point (before anyone jumps here the price of oil is at an all time low plastics being the main consumer of.. moving there production from China to cheaper wages in Vietnam should have stabilized prices not increased )to name a few the fact that they have reverted to g1 designs and reissues (prime without a trailer for 3x original price
.(no engineering or development cost here) really) tells me that the collectors they ignored for years are needed now for there profit margins.


In my humble opinion..

[Pascal]

The entire Cyberverse line.

[MapleMegatron]

I'll start off with this one. Takara's God Ginrai, in my experience with it, was abysmal. God Bomber kept falling apart on his own, and in combined mode, I could not get the figure to stand up on it's own for the life of me. I eventually purchased the Perfect Effects PC-18 kit, which addresses the weak legs, but still, the combined mode feels wobbly. The figure itself is a perfect example of a great idea executed terribly. The real issue is that the entire figure from the legs down has absolutely no heft (the legs are pretty much a bunch of flimsy panels that barely tab together). I love the way the figure looks, but Takara really rushed this one without fully thinking it through.


I agree, I really didnt like that toy and how it turned out. I havent touched it since I combined him the first time. Although that's a 2017 toy.

[Alexander Quinn]

Studio Series VW Bumblebee. Not screen accurate, floppy, flimsy, small, overly fiddly, and pricey. Plus mine at least absolutely refuses to tab together securely. His car mode looks like it got hit by a truck and repaired on the cheap.

[Marcotron]

The $10 price jump for deluxes has effectively ended my willingness to purchase them. I am not impressed by a box, over a bubble pack.

The only figure I'm looking forward to is Reflector, which will cost 3 x $30, totaling $90! I might as well look into 3P versions.

[ssjgoku22]

There almost all disappointing due to one or more things ...QC issues are more apparent, the hollows in the plastic definatly size and price point (before anyone jumps here the price of oil is at an all time low plastics being the main consumer of.. moving there production from China to cheaper wages in Vietnam should have stabilized prices not increased )to name a few the fact that they have reverted to g1 designs and reissues (prime without a trailer for 3x original price
.(no engineering or development cost here) really) tells me that the collectors they ignored for years are needed now for there profit margins.


In my humble opinion..

Agreed. And yes, there is tons of hollow space in God Ginrai. I have him next to Armada leader Prime, and the quality was night and day. Armada Prime felt Prime felt like an MP in terms of plastic quality and heft when compared to God Ginrai. Super disappointing.

[ssjgoku22]

The entire Cyberverse line.

Yup, nothing but crap.

[ssjgoku22]

I agree, I really didnt like that toy and how it turned out. I havent touched it since I combined him the first time. Although that's a 2017 toy.

I got him in 2018. I guess for this thread if you want to mention a Transformer that was purchased in 2018 (even if it's not from 2018), that's fine.

[TRUCKvsGUN]

I can honestly say I don't recall having bought any disappointing figures in 2018. I bought some that were less than stellar, but in every case I knew what I was buying ahead of time and getting into. A little research goes a long way.

[Whisky Tango Foxtrot]

All the Siege figures that have great moulds but are ruined by being painted so that they look like they've been rolling in shit.

[Collectingtoys]

This disappointment has already been brought up in other threads already, but the vehicle mode of Moonracer, Novastar...eventually Chromia, Greenlight, Lancer and whatever future characters they can milk from that mold.

I am happy with the robot mode.

[OptimusB38]

Garbage

[Yonoid]

I haven't opened all the POTP figures yet but I have to say most of the deluxes and voyagers felt like a big step back in terms of quality and design.

[steamwhistle]

:primelaugh: The most disappointing figure is the dollar figure of MP-44 :scalper:

[ssjgoku22]

:primelaugh: The most disappointing figure is the dollar figure of MP-44 :scalper:

Good one, but I still hope the actual figure is a pleasent surprise.

[Deception]

The $10 price jump for deluxes has effectively ended my willingness to purchase them. I am not impressed by a box, over a bubble pack.

The only figure I'm looking forward to is Reflector, which will cost 3 x $30, totaling $90! I might as well look into 3P versions.

Get the perfect effect ones if you can find them.

[Nocturn]

I can honestly say I don't recall having bought any disappointing figures in 2018. I bought some that were less than stellar, but in every case I knew what I was buying ahead of time and getting into. A little research goes a long way.


This. I can't say I bought anything disappointing, in part because there was so much that I avoided.

[ssjgoku22]

This. I can't say I bought anything disappointing, in part because there was so much that I avoided.

Lol, fair enough. But was there anything from what you did buy that wasn't quite up to your expectations?

[Nocturn]

RID Warrior Starscream I guess was the most underwhelming, was the only real impulse purchase I made. Even then, it cost like $8, I'm far from disappointed.

There's many I didn't buy after disappointment handling other's copies, though. (cough)VOLCANICUS(cough)RODIMUS PRIME(cough)

[Zenith27]

PotP Inferno was my most disappointing fig this year. Tons of stickers, STILL buggered leg assembly, and that old mould recycled AGAIN!

The worst part is that now I don't expect a new, proper Inferno and Grapple any time soon. Of course we DID get two Starscreams in consecutive lines so you never know.

[Jove]

The $10 price jump for deluxes has effectively ended my willingness to purchase them. I am not impressed by a box, over a bubble pack.

The only figure I'm looking forward to is Reflector, which will cost 3 x $30, totaling $90! I might as well look into 3P versions.

Depending on how you feel about KOs, I have heard EXCELLENT things about papa-toys version of the perfect effect not-Reflector.

[Jove]

RID Warrior Starscream I guess was the most underwhelming, was the only real impulse purchase I made. Even then, it cost like $8, I'm far from disappointed.


IMO, the mold itself wasn't so bad. The fact that it was 1/2 price may have blinded me to its flaws, but I wouldn't say that it was a bad toy.

[Nocturn]

IMO, the mold itself wasn't so bad. The fact that it was 1/2 price may have blinded me to its flaws, but I wouldn't say that it was a bad toy.


I still like it, but it was just the meh-est TF I got last year. Not a bad toy at all.

[ssjgoku22]

PotP Inferno was my most disappointing fig this year. Tons of stickers, STILL buggered leg assembly, and that old mould recycled AGAIN!

The worst part is that now I don't expect a new, proper Inferno and Grapple any time soon. Of course we DID get two Starscreams in consecutive lines so you never know.

Yeah, the sticker thing is always an eyesore. Thank goodness they don't seem to be using them in the Seige line so far.

[choomama]

I'll start off with this one. Takara's God Ginrai, in my experience with it, was abysmal. God Bomber kept falling apart on his own, and in combined mode, I could not get the figure to stand up on it's own for the life of me. I eventually purchased the Perfect Effects PC-18 kit, which addresses the weak legs, but still, the combined mode feels wobbly. The figure itself is a perfect example of a great idea executed terribly. The real issue is that the entire figure from the legs down has absolutely no heft (the legs are pretty much a bunch of flimsy panels that barely tab together). I love the way the figure looks, but Takara really rushed this one without fully thinking it through.

Also imagine the price of this figure plus having to purchase all of the Perfect Effect kits to make it feel complete (well over $300).

How do you feel about LG-35 Ginrai itself, separate from LG-EX God Ginrai? Is that an ok figure?

[imfallenangel]

Trypticon for me...

He looked great, but it broke as I was assembling it.. the leg/hip issue.

For something of this size, this price, it's just ridiculous for it to have such a massive engineering and quality issue.

[ssjgoku22]

How do you feel about LG-35 Ginrai itself, separate from LG-EX God Ginrai? Is that an ok figure?

No, that was one of the main problems with the set. Super Ginrai, on his own, felt very underwhelming. The figure is very hollow for the price. The legs are literally just a bunch of panels folded up onto each other. Plus the awkward feet design makes him a bit hard to stand. After getting so many well designed Prime figures in the past (Armada, Cybertron, Classics, etc.) this one just doesn't cut it (especially at the $100+ price tag). Thunder Manus + the Divine suit, made by Maketoys, is a much better Ginrai experience (also have heard lots of good things about Fans Hobby Power Baser).

If you didn't get Takara's Super Ginrai or the LG-EX set, you really aren't missing much at all. Look into the 3rd party options instead for a better figure (not to mention that you pretty much have to buy the Perfect Effects kits to add to the Takara in order for it to be "complete" ---> these kits are WAY too pricey in my opinion, which pushes the overall price of Ginrai close to $400!).

[Undrave]

I gotta say Blackwing was a tad dissapointing, mostly because a lot of tolerences weren't there in the whole wingpack/headstalk assembly and mine had somewhat loose hips. He still look nice next to his brother but he's really floppy in hand.



Biggest dissapointed has to be when I impulsed-bought Cyberverse Windblade during a sale. Her robot mode looks good in packaging but the plastic quality is horrendous, the hips on mine are ragdoll loose, her knees are way too tight compared to the transformation joint beneath it (that doesn't lock into place properly), the feet don't lock in satisfyingly in jet mode, the idiotic decision to prevent her head from moving even thought it's a separate piece (yet it wobbles?!), the left arm on mine keeps popping off at the bicep swivel when ever I try to use it and the gimmick is so stupidly designed... there's a giant SPIKE of sharp plastic just where you'd want to holder her to activate the gimmick with one hand! HORRIBLE design oversight!



WHY is it so hard to make a decent Windblade?! Iron Factory made a perfectly adorable one for like 20 USD! Windsaber is still my best Windblade!


EDIT: Oh and my Moonracer has an assembly defect where one of her leg is slightly longer than the other >< DANGIT!! And there was a pair of them when I picked her up ><

[alternatorfan]

My siege megatron doesnt seem to transform properly into vehicle mode so that is my kinda disappointment.

[imfallenangel]

My siege megatron doesnt seem to transform properly into vehicle mode so that is my kinda disappointment.

What's the problem?

I do know that getting the legs to snap in correctly can be a pain... same with the top part...

The worse of Megatron, his head on a flopping panel that doesn't snap on anything and just flaps there...

[imfallenangel]

Biggest dissapointed has to be when I impulsed-bought Cyberverse Windblade during a sale. Her robot mode looks good in packaging but the plastic quality is horrendous, the hips on mine are ragdoll loose, her knees are way too tight compared to the transformation joint beneath it (that doesn't lock into place properly), the feet don't lock in satisfyingly in jet mode, the idiotic decision to prevent her head from moving even thought it's a separate piece (yet it wobbles?!), the left arm on mine keeps popping off at the bicep swivel when ever I try to use it and the gimmick is so stupidly designed... there's a giant SPIKE of sharp plastic just where you'd want to holder her to activate the gimmick with one hand! HORRIBLE design oversight!

WHY is it so hard to make a decent Windblade?! Iron Factory made a perfectly adorable one for like 20 USD! Windsaber is still my best Windblade!

<

Oh wow, that one slipped my mind as it's so bad that I wanted to forget it altogether...

Same here, impulse buy as I saw it for the first time... then realized that she had no weapon, then the transformation is pretty bad, then the ubber loose joints and terrible connection points... the mechanism that barely works.

So I completely agree on that figure, she stays in jet mode and in the background...

But for decent Windblade, I actually love the RID one, especially the masked version.. very "Macross" type in every way (all modes), including one of the best full Gerwalk mode for any Transformer figure, her scabbard is a fantastic gun. If they could make the "backpack" be integrated and have a rotating or such joint for the hands, she'd be pretty perfect.

http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/picture.php?albumid=405&pictureid=3978

[Undrave]

Oh wow, that one slipped my mind as it's so bad that I wanted to forget it altogether...

Same here, impulse buy as I saw it for the first time... then realized that she had no weapon, then the transformation is pretty bad, then the ubber loose joints and terrible connection points... the mechanism that barely works.

So I completely agree on that figure, she stays in jet mode and in the background...

But for decent Windblade, I actually love the RID one, especially the masked version.. very "Macross" type in every way (all modes), including one of the best full Gerwalk mode for any Transformer figure, her scabbard is a fantastic gun. If they could make the "backpack" be integrated and have a rotating or such joint for the hands, she'd be pretty perfect.

http://www.cybertron.ca/boards/picture.php?albumid=405&pictureid=3978


I regret not getting RiD Windblade now... Also I wish they had done an Artic Camo verson of her too, like they did Optimus...



Also, I just took a screwdriver to Cyberverse Windblade, out of curiousity, and took off her wingpack. It's almost her entire alt mode... The part with the spinning fans are just held into place by the wingpack so you can at least give yourself a LITTLE bit of clearance and it reduces the weight of the backpack.



It's crazy how TIGHT her shoulders are though, but it's red on red so I think the black plastic is the culprit for the loose hips (and waist). I don't even mind the smple transformation, I just wish she could just be posed without falling appart!!

[alternatorfan]

What's the problem?

I do know that getting the legs to snap in correctly can be a pain... same with the top part...

The worse of Megatron, his head on a flopping panel that doesn't snap on anything and just flaps there...

The head thing too.
But yeah my megatron when the arms are folded in tank position they dont align properly and to me feels like im forcing them together imo so i dont like it for the price im paying.

[GotBot]

The head thing too.
But yeah my megatron when the arms are folded in tank position they dont align properly and to me feels like im forcing them together imo so i dont like it for the price im paying.

This might be a silly question, but are you making sure to flip up the top pieces on the shoulders? I forgot to do that the first couple times and the result was a problem very much like what you are describing.

[imfallenangel]

The head thing too.
But yeah my megatron when the arms are folded in tank position they dont align properly and to me feels like im forcing them together imo so i dont like it for the price im paying.

Just transformed mine to try and see where your issues might be, and can't get anything to misaligned once I get everything in place...
Possibilities..?

Are you leaving the Plasma cannon (the old range of the gun that's Meg's arm cannon) in the right location and simply rotating it or are you moving it to another socket?

Are you flipping the small bits on the top of the shoulders?

Here's some pictures of mine, if it can help you.

[imfallenangel]

I regret not getting RiD Windblade now...

She's the only figure that I went and got multiples.. (masked version)

I did modify the one you see here in gerwalk mode.. I clipped the tabs that would "connect" the cockpit to the shoulders as they are 100% useless and in the way, and I flipped the wings around... and I did snip the tip of the protruding part on the sword to fit the gun's handle in the hand better/all the way down.

[Undrave]

She's the only figure that I went and got multiples.. (masked version)

I did modify the one you see here in gerwalk mode.. I clipped the tabs that would "connect" the cockpit to the shoulders as they are 100% useless and in the way, and I flipped the wings around... and I did snip the tip of the protruding part on the sword to fit the gun's handle in the hand better/all the way down.


Looking cool!

[alternatorfan]

Im an idiot. I recant my dissapointment with siege megs.
I didnt flip up the things on his shoulders up.
Grrr....

[ssjgoku22]

Let's just all agree that anything Cyberverse was a disappointment.

[Tonestar]

Let's just all agree that anything Cyberverse was a disappointment.

Totally agree with you there PLUS I'd like to add TLK Deluxe Steelbane...what a floppy mess he is in Dragon/Wyvern mode, mine stays in bot mode which isn't a whole lot better.

[alternatorfan]

Just transformed mine to try and see where your issues might be, and can't get anything to misaligned once I get everything in place...
Possibilities..?

Are you leaving the Plasma cannon (the old range of the gun that's Meg's arm cannon) in the right location and simply rotating it or are you moving it to another socket?

Are you flipping the small bits on the top of the shoulders?

Here's some pictures of mine, if it can help you.

Thanks for your detailed pics awesome.

[ssjgoku22]

Totally agree with you there PLUS I'd like to add TLK Deluxe Steelbane...what a floppy mess he is in Dragon/Wyvern mode, mine stays in bot mode which isn't a whole lot better.

Yes, Steelbane was an absolute mess. Mine is floppy all around and does not tab together really at all in bot mode. I regret buying him and now I have no idea what to do with him, lol.

[alternatorfan]

Yes, Steelbane was an absolute mess. Mine is floppy all around and does tab together really at all in bot mode. I regret buying him and now I have no idea what to do with him, lol.
Yes steelbane and skullitron both floppy messes.

[OldOfflineMan]

No, that was one of the main problems with the set. Super Ginrai, on his own, felt very underwhelming. The figure is very hollow for the price...

...If you didn't get Takara's Super Ginrai or the LG-EX set, you really aren't missing much at all.

LG-EX did fix many of the issues in LG-35/42 and it did have Cab and Minerva plus shiny plastic, but I agree with you that the price was outrageous. In principle having Cab and Minerva was nice, but they spent their entire time I had them sitting in Godbomber. The shiny plastic was a good tribute to the toy, but they're the only ones in the Generations line that use it. They stick out like sore thumbs on display. The annoyances that were fixed weren't really that annoying to me to begin with.

One good thing LG-EX did was drive the price for LG-35/42 into the ground. My set only cost less than $100 (had multiple sets offered) and I get to realize my childhood fantasy of having an official PM Prime + Apex Armour that wasn't a big brick with an over-sized head and puny arms.

[OldOfflineMan]

Trypticon for me...

He looked great, but it broke as I was assembling it.. the leg/hip issue.

For something of this size, this price, it's just ridiculous for it to have such a massive engineering and quality issue.

I agree. As luck would have it, mine had the whole catalogue of problems - stiff hip, weak tail, warped chest door, even the less reported warped side panel. I paid less than a $100 for it and if I knew the seriousness of these issues I'd pay only half.

There was no way to avoid these problems as it was all pure luck. Mine was from a batch reported to be issue free yet it came with all of them.

What a bummer.

[ssjgoku22]

LG-EX did fix many of the issues in LG-35/42 and it did have Cab and Minerva plus shiny plastic, but I agree with you that the price was outrageous. In principle having Cab and Minerva was nice, but they spent their entire time I had them sitting in Godbomber. The shiny plastic was a good tribute to the toy, but they're the only ones in the Generations line that use it. They stick out like sore thumbs on display. The annoyances that were fixed weren't really that annoying to me to begin with.

One good thing LG-EX did was drive the price for LG-35/42 into the ground. My set only cost less than $100 (had multiple sets offered) and I get to realize my childhood fantasy of having an official PM Prime + Apex Armour that wasn't a big brick with an over-sized head and puny arms.

What I've noticed recently is how flimsy the plastic is on both Ginrai and Godbomber. The majority of the figures in Titans Return and Legends were built pretty solid, but the plastic on both of these figures felt quite thin. I've actually sold both and am extremely happy with that decision.

[evenstaves]

In principle having Cab and Minerva was nice, but they spent their entire time I had them sitting in Godbomber.

If/when I manage to pinch a God Ginrai set, I'm gonna keep the Juniors in little TM vehicles

Goshooter can drive LG Highbrow's car
Minerva can drive TR Loudmouth's car
Cab can drive (uh) maybe TR Brawn's "treaded jeep" thing, closest to a truck I suppose

[Pascal]

Let's just all agree that anything Cyberverse was a disappointment.

This, especially Legion and Warrior class figures.