FTC confirms on its FB page that it is working to shrink 'big head'

[fallensaviour]

I don't understand how this happens really?
I mean you have existing heads already in perfect size.
I would send that to the factory and say any future heads must be this size or don't bother sending it out!!!
If only it was that easy...lol
Big head syndrome is a disease and it still seems to be rampant.
But everybody has suffered from it even mego.
Just look at the awful ponch and Jon figures.(I have the heads are big enough to rival Rudy)
BBP's had a few Rudy wells being the worst followed by Apollo and Starbuck.(again I have)
And now FTC with Alfred ( I opted out of this one fool me once,fool me twice)
I am glad that they are going to work on this with future waves.
I do believe that they have hit it out of the park with the 66 line and hope future figures come out just as good if not better.

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

I don't understand how this happens really?
I mean you have existing heads already in perfect size.
I would send that to the factory and say any future heads must be this size or don't bother sending it out!!!
If only it was that easy...lol
Big head syndrome is a disease and it still seems to be rampant.
But everybody has suffered from it even mego.
Just look at the awful ponch and Jon figures.(I have the heads are big enough to rival Rudy)
BBP's had a few Rudy wells being the worst followed by Apollo and Starbuck.(again I have)
And now FTC with Alfred ( I opted out of this one fool me once,fool me twice)
I am glad that they are going to work on this with future waves.
I do believe that they have hit it out of the park with the 66 line and hope future figures come out just as good if not better.

I would be curious to know if the production process differed any for the 66 figures versus the others like Alfred.

[scott metzger]

I would be curious to know if the production process differed any for the 66 figures versus the others like Alfred.

The '66 heads are just a tad oversized, with Bats especially, but just a tad. With those, based as they are on actual human beings, it isn't as noticeable. With comic book heroes, it is moreso, as most heroes are traditionally drawn as a bit bigger than a normal human (as I recall, the rule of thumb is to use head size as a unit of measure for the height of a person, with a normal man proportioned about 6 heads tall and a hero proportioned about 7). So honestly, if anything, the comic heads should be a tad smaller than the norm, if anything.

All that said, it's good to hear that they are aware of the trouble and are apparently looking at ways to address it. Now, admittedly, that's a familiar line from a toy company (in Mattelspeak, it usually translates into "we have no intention of doing anything but saying we're looking into it), but we did see the tight body problem eased in subsequent waves, which gives some genuine reason to think that they do actually try to address the concerns brought up (not to mention the vastly improved bodies being used now compared to the horrid things we got on things like Space 1999). We shall see, but the preponderance of the evidence points to them giving a bit more than just lip service to dealing with QC problems right now. A small company like this has a lot of good reason to listen to their customers, especially when the majority of said customers are making it clear they want the company to succeed so they can buy more of its product.

I really hope they do fix the problem, as I would definitely buy multiples of figures that would make good custom fodder; that only works, though, if the heads are proportionate. I've already pre-ordered and extra Korak for that reason alone, and might grab another if possible. I don't know when or if there will ever be another Mego rebirth like we are seeing now, so I'm ready to stock up if the pickings are good.

[dr_cyclops]

FTC may not be an active poster here, but it's more than obvious, they know what's going on here at the Mego Museum Forum.

I hope FTC is heading at this problem with everything they got. After all, they're trying to take over the 'ReMego World' here. That's a lot of love to earn.

Thank you to every member here, who voiced your concerns about these oversize heads! You are all heroes to this hobby.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

The '66 heads are just a tad oversized, with Bats especially, but just a tad. With those, based as they are on actual human beings, it isn't as noticeable. With comic book heroes, it is moreso, as most heroes are traditionally drawn as a bit bigger than a normal human (as I recall, the rule of thumb is to use head size as a unit of measure for the height of a person, with a normal man proportioned about 6 heads tall and a hero proportioned about 7). So honestly, if anything, the comic heads should be a tad smaller than the norm, if anything.

All that said, it's good to hear that they are aware of the trouble and are apparently looking at ways to address it. Now, admittedly, that's a familiar line from a toy company (in Mattelspeak, it usually translates into "we have no intention of doing anything but saying we're looking into it), but we did see the tight body problem eased in subsequent waves, which gives some genuine reason to think that they do actually try to address the concerns brought up (not to mention the vastly improved bodies being used now compared to the horrid things we got on things like Space 1999). We shall see, but the preponderance of the evidence points to them giving a bit more than just lip service to dealing with QC problems right now. A small company like this has a lot of good reason to listen to their customers, especially when the majority of said customers are making it clear they want the company to succeed so they can buy more of its product.

I really hope they do fix the problem, as I would definitely buy multiples of figures that would make good custom fodder; that only works, though, if the heads are proportionate. I've already pre-ordered and extra Korak for that reason alone, and might grab another if possible. I don't know when or if there will ever be another Mego rebirth like we are seeing now, so I'm ready to stock up if the pickings are good.

You are bang on. I cant remember (and I tried to find the comparison picture online the other night), but by John Buscema a regular guy is drawn as 6 heads high and a Superhero as 8, but here is a picture I did find..
prop_var.jpg

[megomania]

i would be curious to know if the production process differed any for the 66 figures versus the others like alfred.

ask mickey.

[mickeymoosemego]

Before I post a long winded answer does everyone know how they actually make the Head sculpts for these figures?

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

Before I post a long winded answer does everyone know how they actually make the Head sculpts for these figures?

I was unaware that you had to know what you were talking about here before posting

I have no idea, what's the secret?

[EmergencyIan]

Before I post a long winded answer does everyone know how they actually make the Head sculpts for these figures?

Sculpt the head (the size should be correct, at this point), make a mold and then cast the head. Is that incorrect?

Several years ago, I commissioned some sculptors, who specialized in 1:6 scale, to sculpt, mold and cast several heads in 1:6 scale (a few copies of each head sculpt) and that's how they did it. Additionally, the sculptor was provided with (if they didn't already possess it) the type of 1:6 scale body that I planned to use with the head sculpt (for proper sizing and because all of the brands of bodies had different neck "posts"). Once the head sculpt was "ready", the sculptor would photograph the head on the 1:6 scale body from all angles and take several close-up photographs. He/she would submit those photographs to me for approval prior to taking the subsequent steps of making a mold and then cast the head sculpt.

Of course, that is on a much smaller scale than what FTC produces.

- Ian

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

I don't know the process! Would be good to know the steps.

[Confessional]

^^ Inaccurate industrial injection mold shrinkage… this isn't one-shot studio casting in a retail resin.

Typically, the scale problem isn't the prototype sculpt (which are often larger than the casts - some studios proto at 200%) or the molds (which can have their own quality control issues), it tends to be the low quality casting materials and inconsistent blends resulting in too much shrinkage or not enough. I've been talking with a production studio chemist and you'd be amazed what's being mixed and cast in Asian factories, and it's not good for anyone.

[EmergencyIan]

^^ Inaccurate industrial injection mold shrinkage… this isn't one-shot studio casting in a retail resin.

Typically, the scale problem isn't the prototype sculpt (which are often larger than the casts - some studios proto at 200%) or the molds (which can have their own quality control issues), it tends to be the low quality casting materials and inconsistent blends resulting in too much shrinkage or not enough. I've been talking with a production studio chemist and you'd be amazed what's being mixed and cast in Asian factories, and it's not good for anyone.

You're probably absolutely correct. I don't have any in depth knowledge of casting materials and/or shrinkage.

However, out of the four head sculpts I commissioned (and, this may be of little to no consequence in this case), two were cast in vinyl. And, I had 10 copies cast of each head. I do know that those heads were sculpted in 1:6 scale. The other two head sculpts were cast in resin. I had five or six copies cast of each of those.

- Ian

[scott metzger]

From what I know of the process, these heads are rotocast (there are a few other terms I've seen, as well). Basically, they are hollow because the mold itself is spun around to get the melted plastic to the outside of the mold, leaving the center hollow. It's a bit different than standard injection molding we see in most action figures, but it's still subject to the kinds of shrinkage any plastic will go through as it cools. If the shrinkage is miscalculated, you could wind up with a mold being made too big or too small to produce a properly proportioned part, and different mixes of plastic will have different shrink rates. But it's hard to see how that could be the problem here. As far as I can tell, all the heads are made of the same type of plastic/vinyl, so the shrinkage should be the same on all of them. Thus, if the new head sculpts the molds are made from are the same size as the re-dos of the vintage heads, both should come basically out the same size. If the process is the same for all the heads (and I can't see why it wouldn't be), ALL the heads should be oversized if the problem is a shrinkage mistake. It seems unlikely that the new heads are produced by a different factory than the old ones, or that they are made from different plastic formulations, either of which could cause a difference in the results. Add the fact that while the heads are too big, the neck plugs are apparently not, and you're left with the possibility the heads are initially made too big in the prototype phase, and that carries through to the end. I'm really perplexed at that possibility; it seems unlikely, as well, unless I'm missing something in the process here.

[mickeymoosemego]

^^ Inaccurate industrial injection mold shrinkage… this isn't one-shot studio casting in a retail resin.

Typically, the scale problem isn't the prototype sculpt (which are often larger than the casts - some studios proto at 200%) or the molds (which can have their own quality control issues), it tends to be the low quality casting materials and inconsistent blends resulting in too much shrinkage or not enough. I've been talking with a production studio chemist and you'd be amazed what's being mixed and cast in Asian factories, and it's not good for anyone.

Looks like we do have some good folks here with some great knowledge. I can't list all the exact details but just to let everyone know on the all new figures the Proto's are sculpted in larger scale.

[megomania]

Looks like we do have some good folks here with some great knowledge. I can't list all the exact details but just to let everyone know on the all new figures the Proto's are sculpted in larger scale.

This leads me to believe a) you don't have any details or b) you don't have any details but like us to think you do.

I'll go with a and b.