After doing research I recently purchased the 360 version Collector's Edition (brand new) and I was OK with the cheap base, I was OK with the very detailed dragon being fifteen glued together pieces and I was OK with knowing that the soundtrack was not included, an oversight IMO.

What I'm not OK with, is when I received it today and went to assemble the dragon & base to showcase, the dragon statue would not properly rest on the base as clearly indicated by the included picture, two claws near the top and two talons, one on each side of the base hanging over the front.

It seems the right-wing talon meant to hang over the front of the wall is not at the correct angle to do such while keeping the claws near the top and the left-wing talon where it should be, too. Really? The whole point of the base is to allow the dragon to be perched on top and we're even given instruction on how to best do that and we can't follow them!

To top it off and here's what's led to me registering an account and making this post: The bottom plate of the base, is not flush with the actual base, leading to a rocking/wobbling motion. The left side is about 3/16 inch and the right 1/4 inch off the surface, very noticeable. Looks worse, if weight is added to make one side kinda flush. Six screws attach the bottom plate and before I even touched them the front-middle and front-right where already on their way to being stripped. After removal, the same two basically stripped screws have threads in the plastic that were not accurate AND one of those is visibly stressed, plastic is white and cracked.

If it weren't for the above issue with the base, I might be able to accept the dragon not perching correctly, but now I have to worry about either adding additional stress to the wings/claws to ensure the dragon will NOT fall over the base, or not use the base and have it resting on its wings, which looks stupid. That's what the base is for and why I bought the CE!!

At this point I'm just shaking my head. I cannot speak highly enough about the game, of course. The art book? Wonderful. I've not actually opened the game included with the CE yet, so I've not checked out the map or anything else included in that. This is my second purchase of Skyrim, the original is being given to my GF, the Collector Edition was my own replacement and my way of showing Bethesda appreciation for such an awesome game.

Has anyone else seen this? I watched a dozen video reviews and only one of them mentioned it, all the others just placed the dragon on top and didn't even bother checking.

I'm honestly aghast at this, very disappointed.

Man at least you can have the special edition. In my country there aren't and never had the special edition. Consider yourself lucky

I consider myself lucky every day to be alive and also shake my head at our country as we happily continue to run it into the ground. I sympathize with your situation, but also suggest possibly asking a friend to ship you one if you desire it that bad? Or to possibly take a trip into Spain, if available, or through Spain to get one in France or again through France to Germany! They gotta have one in Germany, right? Getting one shipped to you, if legal, is most likely the most effective.

At this point, I'd happily ship you mine if legal and you wanted to cover the costs, it would of course arrive as per descrived in OP.

The Collector's/Pre-Order Edition for FO3 came with a cheap Pip-Boy. As in, you-look-at-it-and-it-breaks cheap. This isn't opinion, it's fact.

If the dragon statue is actually that poorly made (and not a case of you just getting what should've been rejected) it seems like whoever gamesas sends their work orders for on anything other than books and CDs, but they must not be known for doing a good job.

Best thing you can do is either take it back to the store you got it from for a replacement as its a defective product and should be replaced at the point of sale. That is your right under UK law, and do not let anyone fob you off with "store policy" nonsense, the law is clear. Or you can try and contact bethesda support yourself via an email and see if they will be willing to offer a solution.

Mine was exactly the same. I kept playing with the dragon placement until I finally got it to lock.

My dragon is also not glued together properly and so does not attach to base as shown in the picture. however, the base is level and I am able to have the dragon sitting on the base. Again, not as the picture is shown. Most likeley Beth had these produced in china for slave salary to cut costs.