Lessons learned from buying knock-offs

What is pictured below is a product called "Faith Leader" by a company called iGear.  iGear is known as one of the more popular companies producing knock-off Transformers action figures.  In fact the "Faith Leader" figure is actually a scaled down version of Hasbro / Takara's Masterpiece Optimus Prime.  This 8.5 inch high action figure is a faithful copy of its original taller counterpart.

There are probably a number of reviews for this product out there on the web.  I'm not really doing a full review here today.  However, I just wanted to share some bad experiences I had with this figure. That's the price you pay for buying knock off products.

First off, I noticed there are that a lot of loose ball joints in this figure.  The figure's head keeps on popping off and additionally the ankle joints are not exactly tight either.  It will take some effort balancing the figure just to make it stand, action poses are more challenging.

Next I'd like to note that the chest panels don't seem to lock in place in robot mode.  It does however close properly in truck mode.

Finally, my worst peeve with this figure is that the plastic used for it seems to be quite brittle.  In fact I've managed to break a panel off its arm already.  Well, this is probably a failure on my part. I was definitely mistaken when I assumed this would be a sturdy action figure.  I wonder if the original Masterpiece Prime owners do encounter the same problems with their arm panels.  I am assuming that Hasbro or Takara would stress test their products before they hit the market.  Unfortunately since I don't own an original Masterpiece Optimus, I can't make any fair comparison on this matter.

Yup, I broke it...

Now for those who are still thinking of picking up this product I would like to share some advice.  When revealing or storing the hands DO NOT use the arm panels as a lever to push or pull the hand component in and out of the forearm.  That is how I ended up breaking my figure.  It's advisable to push in the hand itself to store and try to find some other way to get the hand out without using the arm panels. 

Instructions seemed simple enough... Flip panel up, push hand component in, flip panel down.

In conclusion,  although this product may have been a good replica of the Masterpiece Optimus Prime action figure.  People who consider buying this product should treat it with great care and understand that it is a real fragile item.  Extreme caution may need to be exercised during the transformation process.  This collectible figure is definitely not suitable for younger children.  (Well the box did say 18 and above)

Oh well, since it's already broken and have already lost its collector's value, I'll probably try some DIY repair work on it sometime in the future.  That's all for now, signing off...