I Am Starting to Get Jaded With FTC a.k.a. I Just Opened JLA Series 1

[wise guy]

I think one really cool Neil Adams sculpted head, with big pointy ears, can be used several times over ( similar to Mezco Batman) blue comic book 70's version
dark blue modern, Black 89 movie version etc. At least do this version for the variants because big ears and white eyes are a must

[hedrap]

Awhile back I tossed out my constructive criticism to make everything BAF, with pre-assembled carded figures either a few bucks cheaper or free ship.

BAF parts was alway FTC's sweet spot. They could follow the Mattycollector model of doing pre-orders with a discount for quarterly group shipping over itemized and hold pledges for which items to be made.

Maybe it's contractual. Maybe their just milking the cow. I don't know how they justify a lot of the First Appearance decisions other than its close to pure profit to cover the costs of new designs.

[jayraytee]

Their quality has always been pretty low, it has improved but that's not saying much when it used to be the bottom anyway. And I have already decided not to buy another figure from them until I see Green lanturn, Flash, etc. And then they better look good or I will just be done with them all together.

[TRDouble]

I was hoping to stay away from starting a FTC gripe fest, but I did post this in the FTC forum, so I guess it was bound to happen.

My original point was about quality and that it's been across the board; it's been DST, it's been Mattel, it's Bif! Bang! Pow! (from what I have read) and some of my Doc Mego bodies haven't been all that great either. It seems to be more of an issue with the Mego style of figure than that of just one company. My EMCE Star Trek figures have been the best across the board for quality.

This is probably better for another forum, but let me pose this question:

To improve quality on the Mego style 1/9 scale figure, how far are you willing to go away from the Mego style?

I know some people are just 1/9 collectors of this style; some are unwilling to let go of the Mego style period.

NECA seems to be ReMego only in its' ideology of 1/9 scale figures with cloth clothing.

ZICA & Castaway's Type S body seems to be the closest to making a major upgrade while staying true to the roots of the original Mego body. But even they are pushing forward and further away with their upcoming Upgrade Kit which makes the Type S closer in kin to the 1/6 Sideshow, Hot Toys type body.

Mego themselves moved away from the oven mitts. FTC and NECA seems to have improved the clothing designs on new figures, like the '66 boots and gloves, and the changes seem to be well received.

None of that addresses basic QC on the outfits; that is just something that the companies have to get fixed.

It seems like enough people here are ready for the next step in the evolution of these figures. It would be nice to at least see the bandless body become the norm. That would fix a lot of issues of this style.

[jayraytee]

I would be happy if they were to try and match the quality of the 1970s megos, I don't think they have gotten there yet. Since this is the FTC section, I direct my comments here toward s them. As for the other companies, I will voice my opinion of their products in their sections.

FTC's bodies are so far still in the knock off area, the costumes are not too bad, with the exception of the bassackwards cuffs on a few of the Justice League figures. We all know the issue with the heads. I still say they churn out repackages, slight variations of existing products, etc. because sales are lower than they were originally. A lot of people dove in head first at the beginning and preordered everything, that is happening less and less as people actually recieve the product and open it up to find all the defects. I believe if the quality had been great from the start, or at least up to 1970s quality, I think they would of continued to consistantly sell out. If they would of continued to sell out, I think we would of seen a bigger focus on getting new figures out with new tooling.

It's like a resteraunt opening with massive amount of hype, if the food is not up to par people will stop coming. Even if the opening was huge, if the business drops you will start seeing a lot of promotions and sales to try and get business back. I think thats what all the FTC rehashes and exclusive are. Even if thats wnot what they are, it's what they seem to be which is just as bad since it's all about your customers perceptions.

[MIB41]

With regards to quality I think I've been either fairly lucky or perhaps I accept what I get as the commonality of the science involved with tension strung figures. If I have ever received a figure that had a error in the outfit I contacted FTC and they were all too happy to replace it. Their customer service with me has always been excellent. I purchased Fist fighters for my grandson and they have held up exceptionally well given he has no regard for their limits. He pulls them, beats them, and otherwise places them in yoga positions you and I would not survive. The outfits and bodies are intact and can be placed back in their cards with little signs of wear. For myself I have purchased scores of figures from FTC since they expanded into the big licensing game starting with KISS. I have ALL the 12 inch and 8 inch figures from that series but was only disappointed with the Series One eight inch line. I have all the 12 and 8 inch Dukes and their quite nice. The Jessie figure is a little tight in the legs but that may be because of the body style. He's like that in the 12 inch format as well. With regards to all of the superheroes I have purchased, they've all been perfect except for one Riddler figure who did have his arm break where the metal hook connects. I melted the pieces back together with a match and reinforced it with superglue for an outer shell to give it some reinforcement. FTC wanted me to send it back. I declined and did the fix and he's fine. So I've got a pretty extensive sampling of their current product. No real issues and I would absolutely say so if there were. That's too much money spent to give them false support if the product wasn't holding up.

I think somewhere down the line everyone will be going to the bandless system. Craig really solved the problem and it seems reasonable that eventually everyone will fall into line as they figure out how to do it without infringing on his original design. So I believe that will be the ultimate direction everyone takes. Because as long as they stay in the tensioning band technology, there will always be flaws that are simply unavoidable. It's the nature of the beast and no amount of quality control can solve what is inherently built into that idea. (IMO) So there's nothing from the quality side that has me down on the company. I think it's pretty clear they are conscious of the process and make some very cool figures and outfits that really exceed most other companies. They're not afraid to try new ideas and really seem to be the forerunner in that category in terms of outfits, accessories, and packaging. My previous comments were really directed at the only place where I do feel a bit of a drain and that's the huge repurposing of heads that, over time, would be more agreeable, but not lumped all together as they're doing it right now. That's really my only criticism that keeps my wallet closed on those specific lines.

[SpaceAgent]

I haven't really experienced any duds yet, but I will say that I would be angry if the assumption was that we'd simply switch the figures out to better bodies. The figures should always come with good bodies.

[madmarva]

I don't think FTC or any of the other reMego companies are intentionally making wonky bodies or ill-fitting costumes, but rather I'm guessing their operation isn't big enough to have a QC person(s) on site with the manufacturers to demand the product come out properly. And their orders to the manufacturers probably aren't large enough for the manufacturer to their orders a major priority. If work is not held to a standard, then it's far more likely inferior work will pass through production.

[jayraytee]

FTC certainly leads the way in packaging and quantity of product, but they fall way behind on quality. Every figure I have recieved from FTC has had body issues. I just replace them with Type S bodies. But thats kind of the point, if we didn't have to replace their bodies, then yeah they would be doing really good work. Other than the rehashing and repackaging, which I will not buy.

[jacoblb]

I've no major problems with any of my FTC products. I too only started buying their product when they got in to the licensing game so I was lucky to avoid all their inferior India-made product. I'd nitpick my Mxy figure has one floppy leg and I didn't think the gloves for the Teen Titans (left arm I think) weren't as thick with material as the opposite glove. But everything I got from Toycade (my most common supplier) has been top notch from Batman 66 and retro Fist fighters. I'm eagerly awaiting prototype images of Scooby and the gang as well as more DC figures.

[tllgn]

With all the FTC figures i have bought to date minus the early stuff that i have ,but from 2013 to present ,three small problems,easy fixs .i think
the product is very good consdering that i had a lot more problems with Bif bang pow figures,which were nice ,but some very annoying issues
through a few of their lines .I just hope Penny from big bang theroy wont have the same problems i had with amy and bernie .As to date
The FTC figures are the most mego like to date ,that and emce/diamond star trek and apes ,love them.oh and the legendary marvel superhero
repros also.