TFC Heavy Labor

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Clay
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TFC Heavy Labor

Post by Clay »

Pictures!
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oth_herc_heavylabor_waist.jpg
oth_herc_heavylabor_robot.jpg
oth_herc_heavylabor_posed.jpg
oth_herc_heavylabor_alt.jpg
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

For ****'s sake do NOT move the hips forward-backward at all!!!! There's 100% certainty that the tips of the ratchet joints will break.

You'll hear a stressing, a squeeking sound and after a while it will be friction joints and NOT ratchets.

I'm still waiting on a say on this matter by the manufacturer or if they'll accept returns.:down:

-Widespread issue, if yours didn't come broken, it WILL be with forward and backward movement very soon. If it was something minor like his arms I wouldn't mind, but those parts will be Devastator's hips. :(
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Rookwise
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Post by Rookwise »

From what I've read. Heavy Labour's and Exgraver's problems are a non returnable issue. Most online stores are telling people to take the matter up with TFC themselves.

Apparently Exgraver's replacement shovel should be packaged with Heavy Labour.


TFC's email address for handling replacement parts is tfctoys-sales@hotmail.com
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Mine came in today. Out of the box, both legs were misaligned and the right one creaked when I moved it [broken ratchet]. First TFC release isn't doing much for me...:down:
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Opened up Heavy Labor and did a little surgery. I think I've mostly fixed it, but time will tell.

According to the big thread on TFW about it, TFC Toys should be posting something in the next few days about a fix for him to be included with a later figure (like Exgraver's new shovel).

I think I have the thesis of my review.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Expensive toys to be so poorly made...

So what's that? Two out of two TFC figures with significant issues? Not encouraging me to buy any!

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Name: Heavy Labor
Function: Long Hauling

Heavy Labor is the second release of the six-piece TFC Toys Devastator Hercules. He comes packaged in robot mode and transforms into a dump truck and Hercules' waist. Heavy Labor's first production run has a couple of problems, so read on.

Robot mode:

Heavy Labor's robot mode is looks much like a Classics-ified Long Haul. He's broad shouldered and thick, reinforcing his name. Despite the bulky appearance he's incredibly well articulated, featuring a wide range of movement in his arms and double-jointed knees. Unlike his inspiration, his legs are formed by the undercarriage of the truck instead of the bed, and the arms emerge from the sides of the bed instead of underneath the cab. Even though, at a glance, Heavy Labor appears just green and purple, he actually has a great deal of painted detail. Red and yellow lights on the truck cab, silver pipes on the legs, and serial numbers along the sides reading H-S-18-C-21-L-5-19.

He really is fun to look at and play with on his own, and is suitably robust to compare well to the many deluxe-sized Classics toys.

Alternate mode:

Heavy Labor turns into a dump truck. The bed can't tilt to actually dump anything, but given the great robot mode and ability to form part of Hercules, I think it's forgivable. It's a solid block, seemingly not much larger in volume than a deluxe, but Heavy Labor is tellingly heavier as this mode is perhaps the smallest space a Voyager-class's worth of plastic can be contorted into. The hands aren't terribly well hidden, but the do give a good alternative to storing the two guns than just clipping them onto the sides.

Issues:

Heavy Labor, unlike Exgraver, seems to suffer some unanimous problems across all examples produced. The problems are twofold - one minor and one major.

The minor problem is a simple fix. Heavy Labor's legs don't want to align perfectly straight to tab into the truck bed. This is because of a misaligned gear in the hips. Fixing this is as simple as unscrewing the legs, turning the gear 90 degrees, and screwing them back together.

The major problem is the gears within the waist. The gear catch isn't made with a spring, but rather a solid piece of plastic meant to 'give' to keep the thighs locked into place. Unfortunately, the plastic used for the production run must be much stouter than what TFC Toys were using for prototypes because it strips the teeth off the opposing gear instead. Naturally, this is a problem since this becomes Hercules' waist and is required to work so it doesn't fall over. The only way to fix this is with some upcoming replacement parts from TFC Toys, who have promised to include them with either Mad Blender or not-Bonecrusher, which leads me to an interesting consideration.

TFC Toys, have produced an expensive, premium figure with a major defect. Their solution is to include free replacement parts with an upcoming figure within the same set. Takara, in contrast, released Masterpiece Rodimus with many, many defects, and their solution was to fix them and make everyone that purchased the first version buy it again with no program for reimbursement, because people are suckers.

This of course does not assume any altruism on TFC Toys' part, no. They are a small company who need to deal with any problems like these swiftly and directly, lest they persuade their small customer base to not buy their future products. Takara, on the other hand, knows some people will buy their stuff no matter how half-assed it is.

I did not buy Masterpiece Rodimus, but I did buy Megatron several ago. Given both experiences, I believe I will complete Hercules without too much fear or hesitation.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

numbat wrote:Expensive toys to be so poorly made...

So what's that? Two out of two TFC figures with significant issues? Not encouraging me to buy any!
My Exgraver had no issues. <shrugs>
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

I'm beginning to worry about Mixmaster or Bonecrusher suffering from any flaws. There won't be any releases to ship their replacement parts with.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

New Heavy Labor hips included with Neckbreaker.

I like this company's addresses to problems more than Takara's.

Will have have the last two Monday. Will probably rewrite the whole review and just put them all in one essay.
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