[orionpax636]

It's always a knife-twisting activity reading peoples' reactions to the Play Arts QC gamble. I've been notoriously lucky with the ones I own, stories like Kaz' are just really unfortunate. My only similar gripe would have been with my Chun Li figure, whose shoulder hinge snapped clean off.

Most of the recent PAKs I've bought have been solid, with the only problems being the occasional balancing issues that come with PVC figures of this height and weight. My most recent buy, the Halo 4 Spartan Warrior, is actually OUTSTANDING in finish and build quality.

The only advice I can give with these things is 1) to order from a dealer that gets their stock from Diamond, 2) BE VERY GENTLE when manipulating the articulation for the first time, 3) NEVER use the freezing technique to free stuck joints and 4) to use the warm water method to loosen stuck joints instead of freezing. Local comic shops and dealers that order from Diamond Distributing can at least call Diamond to arrange for a replacement for a defective figure, it's how I got a replacement Chun Li free of charge. I caution against the freeze technique because of how brittle it makes thin plastic (which is often the cause of PAK breakage). The warm water method may soften plastic temporarily, which is preferable to hardening thin plastic since there's the chance it will bend instead of breaking during joint loosening.