shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 (edited) Hello all, Sadly my first post (ever) will have to be a request for assistance. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I might be able to save my Toynami Masterpiece Lancer Alpha? The fingers just broke off from the palm of the hand (see pic - sorry about the large size, but I thought more detail would be helpful). I have all the parts still, but gluing has proved to be rather futile. I've tried both Krazy Glue and Tamiya Plastic Cement, but both have yielded negative results. I'd appreciate any and all help - thanks very much. I am *this* close to buying a new one. :| Cheers, Sze Edited February 10, 2005 by shiyao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 Here are the parts that came off (fingers, metal hinge and little plastic @(&*$*#@ bit). Once again, sorry for the gigantic size - I'm trying to furnish as much detail as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zentrandude Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 looks bad. repairing the knuckle would be hard. if you glue it back on it will break if you closed the grip and its too small to drill a hole and use a metal pin. Best bet is ask one of the recasters on the board to make you a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 thanks mate. that was fast. any idea how i might contact these "recasters"? i'm based in new york right now - are there any in the states? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Mine broke the same way. Youre pretty much screwed. You can try contacting Toynami. They'd probably send you some new hands. I super glued mine in a fixed pose and pull them off for fighter mode. The arms close up better without them in there which is how I think I broke mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 thanks opus - did you not try to contact toynami yourself? why did you opt to glue it instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 thanks opus - did you not try to contact toynami yourself? why did you opt to glue it instead? I dunno. I've been procrastinating. I've already replaced the whole toy once and I kinda don't care anymore. I just leave it in fighter mode. Another idea I had was to use the hands from the super poseable alphas but I never actually got aroung to doing it. I'm a lazy sod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenius Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 I've sent a few MPCs back to Toynami and, if you have a receipt or can get a copy of your credit card statement they will ship you replacements super quick. I sent A VFA-6H in for the same problem you have and had a replacement less than a week later. You basically have to learn to almost never touch the hands on these things. Shipping will cost you $10 but i'd rather do that then make some effort at a repair... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 thanks max. that was very helpful. i take it, then, that toynami doesn't send out spare replacement parts? i suppose i could print out my credit card statement and ship it with the Lancer Alpha to them. it seems weird though: why would they care -how- we obtained the toys? it's such a pity, because toynami nearly got it right with the Alphas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 they do send replacment parts, mine broke the same way and they sent me the hands for it, just ask if you cn get a replacment parts from them. and they should give it to you.i did not have to send it back or provide any sort of statement that i bought it. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Try emailing them first. Maybe they'll send out parts. You need to get a reference nuber for a return anyway. nfo@toynami.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 thanks chris. that was very reassuring! did you have to wait long for a response from toynami? well to summarize my remaining questions: 1. who are "recasters", and where might i find them? ctrl-f the forum? 2. what is toynami's replacement policy? 3. when are they going to release a YF-19 FP? (just kidding.) cheers, sze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Rohby is the king of the recasters. Toynami's return policy is basically a receipt and you have to be in the US, I think. No there will never be a 19FP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 About the large images... Try cropping them. There's a lot of excess stuff in there, and you could quarter the size by cropping it out(doable with virtually anything that can open the image, all the way down to MS Paint). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 it did not take long for them to send the parts about 2 weeks, because they did not have them in stock at the time, but when they did get them they email me and said it has been shipped, it only took about 3 days from the time they emailed me until i recived them in the mail chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 that's great. thanks mate. JBO, i hear you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiriyu Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 I think that Opus is on to something, with regard to one of his earlier posts in this thread. I believe that the leading cause for damage to the hands is peoples' tendency to try to compress the arms with the hands already folded up inside - the inner arm is pretty crowded, and this may lead to breakage. I've had good luck with compressing the arm first, and then folding the hand in last. None of mine have broken yet, at any rate. Good luck to the original poster on obtaining a replacement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 recasting parts for the MPC Alpha is pretty much impossible becuase to get a good piece you'd have to tear other parts apart. Everything is glued together and is not accesile by screws. I have an Alpha which arm missile compartment is glued shut instead of repaired. I wish I knew that Toynami was good about replacement parts before I shut it permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 i hate the fact that it is glued shut it was a bitch to take apart, i broke mine taking the gun out of the hand, I accidently pushed the hand a little to far back and it simply snapped, i kid you not it did not take much at all. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 bugger - there goes one option flying out the window then. i thought about using super-poseable hands as replacements as well - until i saw the size of those mothers. man, the super poseables have some really unscaled hands. they look fit to go on a 1/48. i guess i'll have to wait for info@toynami.com to get back to me. let's hope toynami is big on customer service, if not anything else. (ok i'll give them packaging.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 hi toynamis customer service for me has been quite good so i do not think you will have any problems with them. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 You guys know that the hands pop right off don't you? You don't need to take the arm apart. They're kinda tight but they do come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 i could not get mine off at all when i tried to pull it out it almost snapped the peg that holds it in ( no real problem the hand was broke anyway) i had to take the arm apart to get to it and that was not easy. chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechaninac Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Shiyao, send the hand back to Toynami. If the rest of the toy is intact and you're happy with the overall QC, just contact Toynami and arrange to send back just the busted hand; this is much less expensive than sending back the whole toy, and saves you from getting a replacement with some other, maybe worse, issue. Like many have said, Toynami's customer service is very accommodating; all you'll need is some proof of purchase and they will replace the hand within a week or two...they did for me when the left forward winglet that folds around the cockpit on my Rook broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feyd-Rautha Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 Shiyao, send the hand back to Toynami. If the rest of the toy is intact and you're happy with the overall QC, just contact Toynami and arrange to send back just the busted hand; this is much less expensive than sending back the whole toy, and saves you from getting a replacement with some other, maybe worse, issue. Like many have said, Toynami's customer service is very accommodating; all you'll need is some proof of purchase and they will replace the hand within a week or two...they did for me when the left forward winglet that folds around the cockpit on my Rook broke. well put ...this is really the best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share Posted February 10, 2005 Wow, thanks you guys. The MW Community is really quite something. I should've joined sooner. Just wondering - do you guys have any similar problems with your Yamatos? Or is it just Toynami? And anyone know how Yamato customer service is, if there is any at all (given that the Yamato that produces Valks is based in Japan)? My Yamato 1/60 Super Ostrich was kind of a disaster. The chest panel would not slide down and when I finally managed to get it down, the metal undercasing of the chest plate got warped out of shape. In the end the joint in the middle of the metal undercasing ripped into 2 - so now I can't really put the head of my Super Ostrich down properly. I'm gonna bend it back some day, but for now the Ostrich looks pretty good in fighter mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feyd-Rautha Posted February 10, 2005 Share Posted February 10, 2005 (edited) that's a dragg, man. No, dispite what some member here might say ...Yamato's Q.C. is nothing too write home about!!! my first 1/60 has messy, and even DIRTY paint on it...yuck! + one severly loose arm(dangling off) .....and many of the expensive 1/48's are plauged with q.c. problems! it's certainly no night and day difference between yamato and toynami...sorry die-hard yamato freeeks..your out of luck on this issue! good luk trying too get the japanese Yamato company too replace/repair items from them ...may be next too impossible Edited February 10, 2005 by Feyd-Rautha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechafan Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 It seams now I have the same issue. The bottom piece of the right hand now broke off. I guess I will be contacting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 To all who've been following this thread: Toynami came through!!!! Here's the original email they sent back: Dear Sze Tan, We are sorry to hear that you received a defective Alpha MPC. Although every measure was taken to prevent this unseen event, occurrences are expected to happen. However we would be more than happy to replace this item. Please forward us your address so that we may send you two sets of replacement hands. Best regards, Customer Service Toynami Inc ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sze Tan" <st2206@columbia.edu> To: <info@toynami.com> Cc: <sales@toynami.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2005 8:59 PM Subject: Alpha Masterpiece - Broken Hands Replacement Parts > Hello there, > > I recently purchased 3 of your Alpha Masterpiece Collections (Scott, Rook > and Lancer). 2 of these came with defective hands - they had very large > stress joints and after I transformed the toys twice, the fingers just > broke > off from the main portion of the hand. > > Gluing has proven to be futile and the hands are so small that drilling is > simply out of the question. Is there any possibility that I might acquire > some hands (2 x right hand) direct from Toynami? > > I have attached a photo of one of the broken hands for reference. > > Thank you for your time, > > Sze Tan And look what arrived in my mailbox today: not just TWO pairs of hands in bubble-wrap, but also a helpful set of instructions! (They must get these complaints a lot.) Go Toynami! Now go make us some variable Cyclones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 they did not send me a instruction for mine, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 haha maybe yours was one of the first ... note to all: BE CAREFUL when removing the hands! don't pry the arm too far apart ... i pulled the arm clean into half by accident!!!! i've glued everything back now ... but structurally, the toy is weaker there now ... in short: it's not worth losing an arm to save a hand! also: might be a good idea to paint the bottom of the replacement hand before putting it on ... the replacement hands have orange-reddish bases (instead of the standard off-white). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kin Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 (edited) What the hell.. Never knew there was light in hell. Toynami... Edited February 22, 2005 by Kin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeo-mare Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 (edited) also: might be a good idea to paint the bottom of the replacement hand before putting it on ... the replacement hands have orange-reddish bases (instead of the standard off-white). that is because they probably sent you the wrong hands they sent the red (Rook?) alphas hands instaed of the blue (Scott Bernards) alpha ones. if you broke it to bad, i would say just send the entire thing back. chris Edited February 22, 2005 by zeo-mare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 haha maybe yours was one of the first ...note to all: BE CAREFUL when removing the hands! don't pry the arm too far apart ... i pulled the arm clean into half by accident!!!! i've glued everything back now ... but structurally, the toy is weaker there now ... in short: it's not worth losing an arm to save a hand! also: might be a good idea to paint the bottom of the replacement hand before putting it on ... the replacement hands have orange-reddish bases (instead of the standard off-white). Is that how Toynami told you to put on the replacements? The hands attach to the rotating piece by little pegs. You shouldn't need to take the arm apart at all. I took a pic but my antique digi-cam doesn't do macro very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiyao Posted February 22, 2005 Author Share Posted February 22, 2005 yeah, toynami recommended removing the entire hand, and not just the fingers bit (like you did). i tried doing what you did, but it didn't seem to want to pop off. did you have to exert lots of strength? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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