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So I called FTC and asked about the oversized heads...

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  • Krypt0nite
    Radioactive!
    • Feb 13, 2010
    • 950

    So I called FTC and asked about the oversized heads...

    Earlier today I called FTC to ask about plans for addressing the issue of the oversized heads. Here's how the conversation went:

    Me: Hi, I'd like to ask you a question about your action figures.

    FTC: Okay.

    Me: I'm a big fan of your DC Comics action figures that are done in the old Mego style, but I've noticed that several of them have oversized heads compared to the others. Do you have any plans to change this?

    FTC: No, there are no plans to change this.

    Me: I'm not referring to figures that have already been produced, I'm referring to future figures.

    FTC: There are no plans to make the heads smaller.

    Me: So the large heads are how they are supposed to look?

    FTC: Yes.

    Me: Thank you for your time. I appreciate the information.

    The conversation was brief but cordial on both sides. In fairness, The person I talked to was whoever answered their phone, so it's possible that they were simply not privy to plans to address the head scale issue.

    However, this conversation does not bode well for those of us that want the giant noggins corrected. Make of it what you will.
  • Iron Mego
    Wake Up Heavy
    • Jan 31, 2010
    • 3532

    #2
    This contradicts what they have said elsewhere. I think a couple people have posted that they responded to this on Facebook and said they were taking steps to correct the problem for future figures. Who knows though.
    Wake Up Heavy Podcast

    Find me on Twitter

    Comment

    • invisiblelad
      Veteran Member
      • Jul 6, 2014
      • 461

      #3
      Well I'd love to hear what 1 of the top 2 guys are saying about this BIG issue. If they are NOT addressing this, I'll get Clark Kent, Tarzan & then I'll be done. If Poison Ivy has the regular red-haired Mego head I'll get her. (I'd prefer Ivy gets a similarly scaled but updated head sculpt though).

      So If this was 100% TRUE, myself & several good friends of mine are going to save HUNDREDS of dollars each wave, subsequently FTC will be losing a few thousand dollar a year just from my best friend & I in a year.

      Hopefully the megomuseum can get an interview askig about this BIG Head issue on NEW characters, QC on bodies & Paint apps & if & when FTC plans on addressing these problems.

      Comment

      • JediJaida
        Talkative Member
        • Jun 14, 2008
        • 5671

        #4
        I'm getting the Jane figure from the Tarzan line, purely for the head. The body will more than likely suffer from the usual deficiencies.
        JediJaida

        Comment

        • Astronut
          Veteran Member
          • Sep 21, 2010
          • 360

          #5
          Originally posted by Krypt0nite
          Earlier today I called FTC to ask about plans for addressing the issue of the oversized heads. Here's how the conversation went:

          Me: Hi, I'd like to ask you a question about your action figures.

          FTC: Okay.

          Me: I'm a big fan of your DC Comics action figures that are done in the old Mego style, but I've noticed that several of them have oversized heads compared to the others. Do you have any plans to change this?

          FTC: No, there are no plans to change this.

          Me: I'm not referring to figures that have already been produced, I'm referring to future figures.

          FTC: There are no plans to make the heads smaller.

          Me: So the large heads are how they are supposed to look?

          FTC: Yes.

          Me: Thank you for your time. I appreciate the information.

          The conversation was brief but cordial on both sides. In fairness, The person I talked to was whoever answered their phone, so it's possible that they were simply not privy to plans to address the head scale issue.

          However, this conversation does not bode well for those of us that want the giant noggins corrected. Make of it what you will.
          Was it a man? Older? The person who usually answers the phone is one of the owners. I stress the word * usually *

          He's a nice enough guy, although strangely he doesn't seem to want to grow the company much. Long story.

          That's a strange response though. You'd think they would want to address the issue. Me, personally? I literally won't buy any of the "big head" figures from them. Again... their loss.

          Comment

          • invisiblelad
            Veteran Member
            • Jul 6, 2014
            • 461

            #6
            Originally posted by JediJaida
            I'm getting the Jane figure from the Tarzan line, purely for the head. The body will more than likely suffer from the usual deficiencies.
            I forgot about Jane. I like that her head is a hybrid of the Mego Dinah-Mite SPA playset Dinah's head & the Rood Supergirl figure (foreign version Mego Dinah-Mite). I'm confused though as to why the FTC Jane figure is supposed to have a New rooting job (straight backwards hair), but FTC's Supergirl did not benefit from a different hair rooting to mirror her Mego counterpart. Still like her though, just would have LOVED the Mego costume & Head on the FTC repro.

            EMCE_HAMMER, or Scott - Founding Member), Can you guys reach out to FTC & find out if:

            1.) FTC will or will NOT be addressing their New character's heads which are out of scale & too BIG?
            2.) IF FTC is addressing the BIG Heads issue, when about (time frame/fig. Wave) should we see a New commitment to making new character's Heads in Mego scale. (Superman)
            3.) If FTC has decided to NOT even try to try to make future New character's heads in scale, do they think their figure lines will prosper despite this common complaint?

            Thanks! If not, Thanks anyways for your efforts runnin the megomuseum!

            Comment

            • Krypt0nite
              Radioactive!
              • Feb 13, 2010
              • 950

              #7
              It was definitely a man who answered the phone---not sure if he was older though.

              I thought the answer was odd as well. I purposefully asked my questions in a neutral way, with an upbeat tone of voice: I thought that if they received a call complaining, they'd just blow me off. I suspect the answer FTC gave is probably closer to the mark than their online response to criticism.

              Comment

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

                #8
                If this is true, it's a flipped finger to Mego fans and FTC customers IMO.

                Tastes of course vary, but concern over head scale is not isolated. Nor should it be easily dismissed--there are reasonable aesthetic standards with collectible toys and sculpting in general. A slightly-large head can be compensated by soft goods, but these over-large FTC new sculpts are even more obtrusive on the smaller-than-vintage FTC body and also in relation to the smaller FTC copies of vintage Mego heads.

                We can upgrade bodies, restyle hair, retouch shoddy paint jobs, create custom backer cards--we're basically a tolerant, enterprising lot here and we want these figures to fit into our collections in various ways. But head-scale impacts that "fit" more than any other issue: resizing & recasting a head, let alone rerooting one--is the zenith of customizing. Should "we" really have to do that because FTC doesn't care to? Did FTC need to release dozens of figures in just a year with ongoing quality issues? I've said before and will again: it's an embarrassment if it's true. It is, to bring up an old concern, sloppy. FTC has the advantage of both vintage hindsight and the foresight of modern production--shouldn't they use it?

                I'm one of the guilty that will buy some FTC even with defects, so I doubt I'm contributing to any pressure for FTC to improve. I will not deny that I value consistency within a collection. I cannot see why a company with such grand intentions would not strive to improve head scales. My gut feeling is that we're still seeing releases of earlier sculpts. That may even be the case with Batman Wave 4.

                The upcoming releases of fan-favorites Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman may be the true indication of weather FTC is laughing all the way to the bank or truly gives a damn about its customers. Krypto, I sincerely hope the FTC employee was mistaken and I've been unfair in my assessment.
                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

                • Brown Bear
                  Still Old School
                  • Feb 14, 2008
                  • 7057

                  #9
                  I may reach out to Anthony tomorrow to see what he has to say about the large heads. In the past he DID say they were working to correct going forward but some heads it was too late to correct.
                  Check out my website: Megozine Covers - Home

                  Comment

                  • Krypt0nite
                    Radioactive!
                    • Feb 13, 2010
                    • 950

                    #10
                    That sounds great Brown Bear!

                    I hope Anthony has some good news! Even if the answer is that it'll be 2016 before we see results, just knowing exactly where we stand will go a long way.

                    Comment

                    • invisiblelad
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jul 6, 2014
                      • 461

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Brown Bear
                      I may reach out to Anthony tomorrow to see what he has to say about the large heads. In the past he DID say they were working to correct going forward but some heads it was too late to correct.
                      Brown Bear, THANK YOU Very Much for reaching out to Anthony! I'm just hoping the guy who answered the phone was really just a person who works at FTC/CTVT, & NOT the actual management. I had a great FTC rep answer the phone to take my Teen Titans/Batgirl order & they did indeed send me MANNY replacement bodies for my Wave 1 Batman retro figures.......BUT the rep had to "ask his manager to approve that many replacement bodies being sent out", that would infer that many times the worker answering the phone could be just a worker for FTC & not privy to FTC's plan for future releases. I'm hoping so badly this was an unfortunate relaying of misinformation by the rep!

                      Thanks Again Brown_Bear! *I appreciate you reaching out & getting some honest answers about this! - invisiblelad

                      Comment

                      • ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide
                        Guest
                        • Feb 27, 2014
                        • 1035

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Brown Bear
                        I may reach out to Anthony tomorrow to see what he has to say about the large heads. In the past he DID say they were working to correct going forward but some heads it was too late to correct.
                        Also it is curious that they haven't posted any production photos from the factory in months. I think most of us loved those, but I am guessing they got tired of the 'sweatshop' and 'I see a Robin going on the card missing an arm' comments.

                        Comment

                        • Brown Bear
                          Still Old School
                          • Feb 14, 2008
                          • 7057

                          #13
                          Originally posted by invisiblelad
                          Brown Bear, THANK YOU Very Much for reaching out to Anthony! I'm just hoping the guy who answered the phone was really just a person who works at FTC/CTVT, & NOT the actual management. I had a great FTC rep answer the phone to take my Teen Titans/Batgirl order & they did indeed send me MANNY replacement bodies for my Wave 1 Batman retro figures.......BUT the rep had to "ask his manager to approve that many replacement bodies being sent out", that would infer that many times the worker answering the phone could be just a worker for FTC & not privy to FTC's plan for future releases. I'm hoping so badly this was an unfortunate relaying of misinformation by the rep!

                          Thanks Again Brown_Bear! *I appreciate you reaching out & getting some honest answers about this! - invisiblelad
                          Hey no problem. If ya wanna thank me, lay off the bolded words and CAPSLOCK and type like the rest of your friends here. LOL Just teasing you pal.
                          Check out my website: Megozine Covers - Home

                          Comment

                          • invisiblelad
                            Veteran Member
                            • Jul 6, 2014
                            • 461

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Brown Bear
                            Hey no problem. If ya wanna thank me, lay off the bolded words and CAPSLOCK and type like the rest of your friends here. LOL Just teasing you pal.
                            This is DEAD serious.....You guys are just LUCKY I haven't figured out if there's a way to type in RAINBOW colors! LOL. I'm NOT kidding, my rainbow writing literally collected a mini cyber lynch mob on Action Figure Insider. It actually got pretty ugly for a minute, so I continued it for a few more hours (lol) & then put it to rest! After I took down the leader of the anti-rainbow mob, I just settled in to mono-colored text. But I'll be honest, when you are super expressive & can't express any inflection while typing, the bolding & CAPSLOCK is kind of addicting. But I'm gonna try to lay off, but baby steps Brown Bear. I can't go Cold Turkey!

                            #BabySteps.

                            Comment

                            • jayraytee
                              Career Member
                              • May 27, 2011
                              • 724

                              #15
                              Originally posted by ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide
                              Also it is curious that they haven't posted any production photos from the factory in months. I think most of us loved those, but I am guessing they got tired of the 'sweatshop' and 'I see a Robin going on the card missing an arm' comments.
                              Yeah you can either improve quality control or just stop posting pictures that show bad quality control.
                              My posts were needlessly deleted ...

                              Comment

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