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Mattels Retro figures......

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  • figureaddicted
    Member
    • Jun 29, 2014
    • 91

    Mattels Retro figures......

    So I'm very late to this party. But im interested in adding to my Mego/ReMego collection. Bolstering the ranks of the DC side with some of Mattels offerings. Ive been checking out various online reviews to gather some info, but it seems that collectors were/are divided into 2 camps on these. Either they loved them or despised them. So for those of you who bought these, with the benefiet of a few years to look back, were these as bad, quality wise, as some are making them out to have been? A few of the reviews seem to gear their seething toward Mattels general mismanagement of the line.....which is understandable. But as far as the figures themselves go, its pretty much been a matter of them being non functional from the waist down. Was there a major QC issue with the legs? Or just a few people who got a bad batch? Most of them seem to be affordable ,with a few exceptions. Taking the plunge probably wouldnt break my wallet, but there are several other Mego and related items i am collecting and dont want to waste the money if they are indeed as bad as some indicated. Any info would be appreciated.
  • TomStrong
    Persistent Member
    • Jul 22, 2011
    • 1635

    #2
    For my part I liked the figures. I agree that there were some posability issues and Mattel didn't do their marketing very well but I'm really not going to be playing with them. My nine year old girl does play with hers and it somehow doesn't seem to matter. At the time they were the newest mego thing going and as far as I knew were gong to be simply a flash in the pan. Now that a Figures toy company is doing their remegos it's a great time to be a mego fan/collector. With regards to the Mattel figures I say if you like them get them. That's really all that matters in the end.

    Comment

    • jimsmegos
      Mego Dork
      • Nov 9, 2008
      • 4519

      #3
      Ah the line that was loved and hated for so many different reasons...

      Comment

      • TRDouble
        Permanent Member
        • Jul 10, 2012
        • 2525

        #4
        They were okay. I liked the overall look of them. Most of the head sculpts were good. Logos on Superman and Batman were badly done. I saw a Superman in the store whose logo was falling off. My Batman's logo was falling off only days after opening and came off for good when I took his costume off... and the legs fell off while I was doing that. He never stood right anyway because of the looseness of the legs. That body has the torso & arms, two legs and the mid section, all in pieces. It was bad.

        On the other hand, the only other one of these that I opened, Green Arrow, was just fine. The body was great, he stands well... the only problem is his costume's stitching came loose on one of his lower legs.

        I am not a fan of the body and the thick legs. The costumes were nice though, although the boots are quite thick. They look a bit silly on Superman, but fine on others, like Batman and Green Arrow.

        If you can grab them at a good price, they are not bad to have. But with the Mego repros and just the idea of new, modern versions coming from FTC, I don't know that I would track them down if I didn't already have them.

        Comment

        • MIB41
          Eloquent Member
          • Sep 25, 2005
          • 15631

          #5
          I think if you're looking for why the Mattel line has been so divisive, you need look no further than the current success of the FTC series for comparison. FTC's success is not an accident. It's the result of someone paying close attention to what frustrated fans said about Mattel and other past efforts in the mix. While Mattel had it's share of quality control issues that hurt perception of the series, what ultimately divided this line for collectors was quite frankly what all companies have done prior to Mattel and that's try to make it their own.

          There's been this kind of arrogance companies have brought to the table in trying to reintroduce these lines. Instead of making the figures as we had them as kids, each company has tried to make "improvements" to the Mego idea or re-conceptualize them entirely by changing the scale (like Hasbro and Toybiz did). Mattel in particular did a number of things taboo to the concept - They made them so if you wanted to switch out the body, you had to practically destroy the body to get the head off. This in effect rendered the Mattel body worthless. Not that it was any prize to begin with. All the figures had wobbly legs plus the first two waves were designed so they didn't even stand up straight. The outfits had plenty of issues too.

          The insignias on just about all the figures will peel or crack off over time because of the feather light material used to adhere them to the costumes. Some of the heads are translucent so the molds are questionable. And the boots on many are too thick for the skinny bodies, so they look out of proportion. Add to that the head sculpts which are hit and miss and you have a line that was plagued with problems throughout it's run. The line did try to introduce characters Mego missed and did an admirable job in trying to instill that retro feel in the packaging. But unfortunately the good will of those designing these figures were ultimately undone by the thick heads at Mattel for all the reasons mentioned. So it was a line full of good intentions, but ultimately it made the same mistakes as others by trying too hard to be it's own animal.

          FTC has figured it out. Collectors want those originals figures as best as they can be made with today's manufacturing and materials. No "conceptualizing", no "improvements", and no changes in scales. They want exactly what they remember. If I had to sum up Mattel in one line it would be, "Lost potential due to corporate interference." If you pick up any figures, just be aware there are some posing issues and eventual problems you might see in the emblems. You can thank Mattel for those problems too.

          Comment

          • PNGwynne
            Master of Fowl Play
            • Jun 5, 2008
            • 19444

            #6
            ^ These are points well-made. Most here really wanted to like Matty "Megoes" and in fact collected despite misgivings. I know I did. But for the most part, those figure were only about 70% "there" and the body was a big draw-back. Conversely, FTC is nailing the Mego vibe "we" want at 90-95% IMO.
            WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

            Comment

            • TRDouble
              Permanent Member
              • Jul 10, 2012
              • 2525

              #7
              And the real shame is that Mattel had Dr. Mego, an expert, working with them. And then chose to ignore much of his input. No excuse for that.

              Comment

              • Timothy2251
                Jerks beef with Ten Bears
                • Mar 15, 2008
                • 1959

                #8
                We did get a great female body for customizing, though, thanks to Wonder Woman and Cheetah, and later Janine from the Ghostbusters line.
                "It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life... or death. It shall be life."

                Comment

                • madmarva
                  Talkative Member
                  • Jul 7, 2007
                  • 6445

                  #9
                  If you are not opening the figures, buy the ones that look attractive to you in the packaging. If you are going to open them, there are issues with the bodies in the first two waves that are improved in the third and fourth waves, but not greatly improved.


                  I know many wanted Mattel to do exact duplicates of Mego figures, but that's not what I wanted. I wanted better than what mego produced 40 years ago combined with the best of what mego did - it's 8" type 2 figure.

                  I wanted better head sculpts, more accurate clothing, no oven mitts on a body that was at least as good as the type 2.

                  Mattel botched the body in the first two waves. The bodies were better in the second two waves, but still not up to the 40-year-old type 2. The head sculpts varied from very nice to terrible. The costumes were overall very well done, but the logos did not stand up to posing or play.

                  It's come to light that the marketing and distribution problems, which had more to do with the line's discontinuation than quality, was because of a lack of internal support within Mattel.

                  I really like what FTC is doing with the 66 line, and I really like the new Alfred figure, other than the head being too large. I hope the new heroes receive the same more comic-accurate improvements.

                  I really don't want to see oven mitts on any more figures like GL and Flash, and I would like to own revised Batman, Robin and Aquaman figures with gloves similar to the ones used on the 66 Batman and Robin figures. I think the sculpts on Gordon, Ras al Ghul and Scarecrow looked very nice and has my hopes high for subsequent figures.
                  Last edited by madmarva; Jul 13, '14, 9:51 PM.

                  Comment

                  • monitor_ep
                    Talkative Member
                    • May 11, 2013
                    • 7362

                    #10
                    I have the complete lineup and I have replace most the bodies. I do keep buying Cheetah and Janine from the Ghostbuster for that great body she comes with. It really does make the female bodies look great.

                    * Green Lanterns we got. Those came out great.

                    * Aquaman outfit is nice and I have replace one of my figures with it.

                    * Martian Manhunter & Darkseid both are great figures that look great on shelves.
                    Visit my wiki site:

                    Comic Books in the Media

                    To view my custom works of both JLU and Megos go to:

                    Monitor_EP Deviantart page

                    Action Jackson Road Trip log

                    Comment

                    • figureaddicted
                      Member
                      • Jun 29, 2014
                      • 91

                      #11
                      Manhunter and Darkseid were two of the main ones I've been tempted by. Two Face and Manta are on the list, but those would be in the early waves right? Meaning theyre not of as good a quality. But yeah i think i am sold on thw Darkseid and Manhunter figures if nothing else.

                      Comment

                      • thunderbolt
                        Hi Ernie!!!
                        • Feb 15, 2004
                        • 34211

                        #12
                        no waves of the bodies were improved, that seems to be an urban myth. I have all of them and they are all floppy.
                        You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

                        Comment

                        • madmarva
                          Talkative Member
                          • Jul 7, 2007
                          • 6445

                          #13
                          Thunderbolt, I differ with you. My wave 3 and 4 figures do not have the problem with the pelvis that my wave 1 and 2 figures had. But you are right, they still are all floppy and do not stand or hold a pose at the hips very well. So to me, Wave 3 and 4 are improved, but not greatly.

                          Now, your Wave 3 and 4 figures may have the pelvis issue (or jerk-off action as Black Knight dubbed it), but mine don't.
                          Last edited by madmarva; Jul 14, '14, 10:57 AM.

                          Comment

                          • thunderbolt
                            Hi Ernie!!!
                            • Feb 15, 2004
                            • 34211

                            #14
                            Isee no difference in them from one wave to the next, still really **** poor design on Mattel's part.
                            You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

                            Comment

                            • PNGwynne
                              Master of Fowl Play
                              • Jun 5, 2008
                              • 19444

                              #15
                              Weirdly, I recall some comparing retro-action bodies to Mattel's earlier Big Jim. We could only hope--despite rubbery arms, BJ was a great figure. If Matty had combined their new figure's upper body with a ("traditional waist") BJ-style lower body, the retro figure would have been much better IMO.

                              Mattel proved they could do well sculpted, fully poseable figures over a decade ago with Max Steel--so I was mystified by how retro-action turned out.
                              WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

                              Comment

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