Are paint errors like this common for MPs?

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:23 am

I ordered my first Takara MP, Wheeljack, and it's got some pretty annoying paint errors for a figure that costs 3 times what a normal Voyager size toy goes for. First, is the paint on the passenger side window. It's not a lot, but enough to screw up the continuity of the white stripe and the symmetry of the bot chest. It shows up more from the side, and stands out from across the room.

Plus, there's a couple spots where the red or black paint has a gap and the white shows through. They aren't big, but white is bright enough that they're pretty noticeable. The gap in the red on the roof was the first thing I noticed when I slid him out of the box.

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:33 am

Some ol' red circles might help to show exactly what you're referring to.

Post by **Warcry** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:28 pm

It's not super uncommon. Even though they aim for a higher quality of finish on the MP figures, they're still made in the same factories as the retail stuff, and the finished products aren't always up to par. I've had pretty good luck with most of mine, but my Blue Bluestreak was a bit of a mess paint-wise with some globs of blue paint dribbled on the silver parts (in low-visibility areas, thankfully!)

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:36 pm

Yeah it happens. It's usually a combination of an area painted on in more than one colour, with the strongest colour coming on top, or paint applied too thickly in an area, causing such globs.

My Sideswipe has both globby, splotchy paint in places and paint applied too thinly in others.

To be fair the best painted figure I got from Takara in the recent years was the special Age of Extinction Prime they made. Paint apps were absolutely top-notch, even if the figure's plastic was not.

Takara has got more success when painting over areas with the same colour as the base plastic, more or less [see MP Tracks and Ironhide]. Though my MP Smokescreen has got much better paint than my monotone MP Sideswipe.

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 1:23 am

Thanks for the feedback. That's dissappointing to hear, especially for a figure like Blue Bluestreak, whose whole reason to exist is to have a blue paint job. What about other Takara figures? I was thinking of getting Unite Warriors Computron, but am now rethinking it.

Wheeljack has a higher gloss paint than my Hasbro figures. Is that because he's Takara, or because he's MP? It seems like the higher gloss makes errors more noticeable.