I just got this e-mail from Tim (text put in bold by me):

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

Wonder what they'll do if all the rifles are 'defective'.

SAS

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Alan T. Alien
1st Lt Smith, SA "Sidewinder"
A13/TQ1.4.19720EX CMA
Founder of UKCM 13th Regt. 1st Batt. Freebooters
Founder of Special Armaments Section (Heavy Weapons)
"People don't understand. people like me"

I'd be very interested to see if they do flag them or not.

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I am keeping a VERY close eye on this thread along with the one over on RPF. Someone has just posted to say that they have spoken to HCG who have confirmed that the droop is MEANT to be there! It's gonna be interesting to see what happens here.
I am gonna wait and see what unfolds over the next few days.....like most (prob all) of you I am not happy about this and won't be paying all that money for a wonky PR.

but the pulse rifle never had that drop

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I'm the one they warned you about

Willie's pics of the SU ones shows that the spas cage did, but the barrel didn't, as that was part of the Thompson, so couldn't be out of alignment with the receiver:



I wouldn't mind the GL dropping as shown in that pic, but the barrel should be level.

The HCG PR seems to indicate that the barrel is not connected to the receiver, possibly only fixed inside the front of the shroud, making a slight droop possible.

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

Just had this reply back from Tim:

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

I don't think the GL is drooping so much as at an angle

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Rob Slater
A08/TQ2.0.42136E1

Quite, although droop can mean to sag, sink, bend, or hang down, as from weakness, exhaustion, or lack of support, so depending on why it's at an angle, it could be said to droop.

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

very true, but to me it looks more, Slapdash, than bent

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Rob Slater
A08/TQ2.0.42136E1

so if they are going to checxk them all and make sure they are tip top does tyhat mean they are gonna send them back or fix the problem?

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I'm the one they warned you about

kept an eye on this all day, i think that despite the huge debate that's been running over on the RPF it's pretty safe to say that this droopage issue HAS GOT to be a manufacturing error. I hope that it turns out to be something that can be easily fixed......we have all waited SO LONG for this!

Ripley "what's this?"
Hicks "Er....thats the grenade launcher, I don't think you wanna mess with that"
Ripley "You started this! show me EVERYTHING!....I can handle myself"
Hicks "yeah, I noticed"
Ripley" ......HANG ON A BLOODY MINUTE!...why's it DROOPING??!!?"
Hicks "oh....it's supposed to do that!...just ignore it!"
Ripley "Are you kidding?....what's the sense in a drooping grenade launcher? I mean yeah it'll come in pretty handy if I spot a rabid chipmunk giving me the finger while we're here tryin to kill Aliens but....."
Hicks "Just get over it!.....it's SUPPOSED to be like that!!!" (walks away muttering under his breath)
Ripley is still holding the gun in front of her and is now squinting at it
Ripley: "Bitch...it looks weird.....Hey hicks!....does anyone have a spirit level?"

edit: just for the record...i too have paid money on this and am as anxious as anyone. fingers crossed eh?

I doubt Prop Store will touch them. They'll just send them back I guess.

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

if they are saying the droop is suppose to be there , why are some people getting them with very little or no droop ? are the straighter ones defective ?

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"I am the ULTIMATE BADASS , state of the badass art"
Alpha squad. Burton's Bandits

At geo71:

ROFLMAO!!!! The situation sucks, of course, but that was damn funny

I posted this on the thread on RPF, but I'll post it here too. I'm actually glad I was out of the loop and un-employed when the pre-order went up. Otherwise I'm damn sure I would've dropped the cash for it and been mighty pi$$ed off when it arrived limp.

Jesse

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Pvt J. DeGraff, C.M.D.
A14/TQ3.0.65090E2

I live in Los Angeles, and UPS just dropped it off. This is a Brown Bess Rifle, #24 out of 1000:

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The UPS guys appear to have been busy this afternoon...



Number 123 of 1000 in Brown Bess. I am sooo glad I went with this version -- the color is awesome!

Here is a shot of my HCG pulse rifle (counter showing 95) and my Tokyo Marui M41-A kit with real SPAS 12 cage not quite finished (counter showing 00)...



Unfortunately, after a mere 10 minutes I managed to knock the battery case out of the magazine (it was simply hot-glued in), and the on/off switch for the ammo counter got pushed into the shroud so I can no longer turn it on or off. That also appears to have been only hot-glued in, so BE CAREFUL with yours!

Mine also suffers from the factory barrel/SPAS cage droopage everyone is talking about. Sadly, for $900 I really didn't want to have to completely disassemble, fix, and reassemble mine... but what else can I do? Also, there are several paint chips all over mine, some on metal parts, some on white resin parts.

I don't know what their source was for the Brown Bess paint mix, but I would be seriously interested in purchasing Brown Bess touch-up paint if they offered it.

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Rick "Ripstick"
A03/TQ3.0.12142E1

Just remember that any "self repairs" will void your warranty should you decide to send it back.

And IIRC their returns policy only allows you THREE DAYS to decide if you want to keep or return it.

You're also not alone with complaints of paint chips revealing white resin under black paint Rick. And I'm not sure if it was the same person, but someone said they did the same thing of knocking the battery comparment out because it was only hot glued in.

This "cockeyed" SPAS cage problem is pretty hit or miss. Pics have been popping up on the RPF and some rifles go from being nearly straight, to having a noticable angle with the cage.

And I think the problem is more so the cage and not so much the barrel.

Things are going pretty haywire in the thread over there!

I for one don't buy the explanation from HCG that "They are supposed to look like that". I agree with what Travis said- does this mean the "straight" rifles are defective? The prototype that Matt had a couple of months back was pretty straight wasn't it?

What a crazy situation.

Kevin

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

the more i see this the more i want to cancel again ,im sure the alumiunum shrouds are nice but, crappy paint , i would have thought they would have molded this in black ,scratches , hotglue , barrel pitch , my matsu looks perfect up on that wall , and i already own it .man what a dilema ( I have to sell my matsu to get this ,and i dont think i want to anymore )attached is a pic of mine , someone tell me why i would want the hcg on in place of mine , and i built mine so it has sentimantel value

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"I am the ULTIMATE BADASS , state of the badass art"
Alpha squad. Burton's Bandits

Here's the latest set of pics from the RPF thread:

(I'm not going to repost Hirohawa's pics without his permission so I'm just linking to his post)

http://www.therpf.com/f9/licensed-pulse ... ost1334260

Check out the OD one!

Hate to say it but it's one of the worst ones I've seen yet!

And is it just me... or do the BB ones seem to have fared better than the OD ones in "straightness"?

Kevin

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I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?!

did you see the scratches and the paint on thegreenmachine's pr ( we need o vomiting emoticon )

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"I am the ULTIMATE BADASS , state of the badass art"
Alpha squad. Burton's Bandits

Thanks Kevin... I'll send HCG an e-mail with my issues and wait to see what the options are. It's just too pretty to start ripping apart just yet.

OMFG!

I just finished spending (or would that be 'wasting'?) the past hour and a half catching up on that RPF thread! Crikey!

I am sooooo glad that angry mob and witch hunt didn't form here. Freaking unbelievable.

Selfishly, I feel this piece was not built for Mr. Joe Blow Casual Prop Collector, but rather for us diehard super-critical pulse rifle builders with only one purpose in mind -- making affordable cast aluminum fairings/shrouds. In my opinion, these shrouds alone are worth the $900 -- especially after personally looking into having them made, and after speaking with MAA regarding his personal project to get these made as well.

Sadly, Mr. Joe Blow Casual Prop Collector won't care as much about aluminum shrouds as we do and HGC should have probably made a "stunt" version with the shrouds cast in resin which I'm guessing would have cut the retail price of the final piece nearly in half for those 'casual' fans. However, I know that HGC is running a business, and I'm sure it was much more profitable for them to basically offer only one ultimate version at a premium price. However, those who bought the HGC pulse rifle as a complete package to be the end-all-be-all are now finding flaws and issues (some rightly so) with this expensive collectible and are practically screaming for blood. It's a tough spot to be in for both parties, and again, although I've got some issues with the quality of this piece as well it was never about anything but finally having a pulse rifle with real aluminum fairings/shrouds for me -- the rest can be fixed one way or another.

I do wish that once HGC sells out of their pulse rifles, that they would offer cast aluminum fairings/shrouds separately for those of us who wish to do real parts builds. Why not? The molds and hard work have already been done -- just pour 'em and sell 'em.

Put me down for two sets.

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Rick "Ripstick"
A03/TQ3.0.12142E1

Not just you... I was noticing the very same thing.

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Rick "Ripstick"
A03/TQ3.0.12142E1

As I pointed out above, it's really all about the aluminum shrouds. If you don't care about that, or if it's just a wall hanger for you, then I'd say the HGC is not for you. If you're into the 'collectible' or 'investment' thing along with the whole 'low number' and 'exclusive color' thing, then you might be more inclined to get one.

Although I don't have one of Matt's (Matsuo) pulse rifles, these appear to be basically the same thing as best as I can tell. The only main difference being that the shrouds are made of cast aluminum instead of cast resin or cast resin with aluminum powder. Well, that and the fact that Matt puts a lot more time and care into his kits and build-ups than a Chinese factory line ever will.

$900 is a decent chunk of change for most people, especially now with the economy in a downward spiral. If I had not pre-ordered this piece last year, I would be having serious reservations about dropping that sort of cash right now. I was in a much better financial position last year at this time. Now, I don't have nearly the recreational cash as I used to have.

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Rick "Ripstick"
A03/TQ3.0.12142E1