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

[invisiblelad]

There's one head here that's consistently too big. Sadly, dunking in acetone is not an option.

Bwahahahaha!

[PNGwynne]

...If the the new WGH heads were as in-scale as the 66 Batman heads, I probably wouldn't have said a word, and when FTC corrects the issue, I will be among the first to applaud its efforts.

FTC does a lot of things right. I love how the company continues to expand its line of custom parts. The clothing on the 66 line and Alfred are top notch and the sculpts on its new heads have been very good to excellent. FTC has improved the card designs by leaps and bounds over the first two WGH Batman waves. FTC's bodies are no longer brittle.

But big heads, translucent belts and tightly strung bodies are issues the company needs to correct.

Many collectors here feel this way and it's a reasonable position.

[CrimsonGhost]

It's pretty clear what's happened. The first run of new WGH was Alfred and the Conan line. Those are all bald figures before flocking. If you shave a Mego Conan/Thor head, the features are suddenly too small for the amount of facial space, creating a giant forehead/cranium look.

So somebody modeled/cast something based off a bald head. Kull and Kane look to be remodeled off the original Conan, and I think that started the snowball. It can't be a simple factory issue, or else the repro WGSH heads would be huge, too. But they're not. In fact, none of the reproed Mego heads by FTC have been disproportionate for nearly a decade.

So what's the process, Crimson? Farrow makes a mold, then it's casted for roto?

Well, I'm pretty sure that Farrow sculpts at 1/6th scale and then the sculpt is probably reduced at the factory. That's why the repro heads of the original Megos are the correct size because they don't need to be reduced. Actually, because the vinyl shrinks 6%, they have to be scaled up first so they end up the right size after shrinking.
So I assume Alfred, Kane, and '66 Batman were all sculpted 1/6 scale. I guess they were all done by Farrow so the same shrinking percentage should apply to all of them. Maybe his sizes aren't consistent, or maybe the '66 figures are done at a different factory than DC, I have no idea.

[invisiblelad]

according to invisible lad they are, they looks close enough to Mego for me.

Actually T-Bolt is right for the most part. I was using EC's FTC pics where the FTC WGH BRUCE Wayne head is dwarfed by the 66 Batman, 66 Bruce & 66 Dick Grayson heads next to them. I completely forgot that the WGH Bruce Wayne head is much smaller than the other repro Mego heads, presumably because it was sculpted by Mego to accommodate the Removable Cowl for the 1972 Batman Figure & only used later for the Montgomery Wards Mego Secret Identity heads/clothes pack.

Now I took a FTC SUPERMAN & compared it to Batman 1966 wave 1 & indeed his head in almost scaled perfectly. It also seemed the Batman wave 1 heads seem bigger because the features on the faces are bigger, but not the heads themselves. It is probably due to the 66 heads being scultpted using Modern techniques & basing the sculpts on real actors/people, whereas the repro's heads were based on Mego's comic inspired designs.

So T-Bolt is right so I'm glad he posted the side-by-side pic. FTC WAVE 2 1966 figures are a little different. Some are only very slightly bigger (even comparing FTC 66 Robin to Dick Grayson), whereas EGG HEAD next to FTC Superman shows just how HUGE EGG HEAD's head is. It's unfortunate, because the scult is great, but icy blue eyes are distractingly absent, his HEAD is way too large.....but that could work for the character if his HUGE facial feautures were scaled down to previous 66 FTC figures. But again that's only 1 way out of scale head out of 8 figures in waves 1 & 2. So I efinitely stand corrected, they are 7/8 in an acceptable scale! I'm hoping SHAME & MAD HATTER look perfectly scaled as well!

[JediJaida]

I sent them an email about the heads, bodies and other things I was curious about.

Haven't heard a peep from them, but it's early yet.

[scott metzger]

Wait, so now the Batman 66 heads are too large as well?

THe slight oversize on the Bat '66 heads has been mentioned NUMEROUS times in the discussion, as has the comment that they are only slightly oversized, save for Egghead. And the mitigating thing is, they are a pretty consistent scale, so they at least blend together in the same display. The WGSH figures are where the problem becomes very noticable. When you have Batman and Alfred or Superman and Bizarro standing by each other, the difference is siginificant. Lay Supes and the Backwards One side by side like the Spidey/Bats pic and the difference is stunning.

That said, the man in charge himself saying they are trying to fix the problem is encouraging, though the proof is still in seeing an actual new WGSH head made in proper scale. I really, really hope that happens, because I will actually cut down on other lines I collect to buy more of these figures if the heads are done correctly. Nothing would make me happier than to be looking back at this in 6 months and talknig about how FTC came through on their promises...

[D!n0-M@n]

I totally get why people are upset with out of scale heads, but isn't it a good thing that at least there's the choice for people to purchase(or not to purchase) these figures? To suspend production would take away (for me and I assume others as well) all the excitement of seeing what's coming next? When I was a kid in the 70's I always wanted a Hawkman Mego and in 2014 to be this close to getting one is pretty cool IMO. I appreciate people's passion on this issue, but I appreciate the option to be able to buy these figures more. No offense to anyone here.

True, but deformed figures destroy the excitement you mention far faster than any anticipation inherent in a delay. I believe that's the general consensus being displayed here and that if the product isn't correct, then it's simply wrong. "Correct" consistency is all that's being asked for.

[jayraytee]

People vote with their money. If the people that stop buying the figures for the quality issues outnumbers the people that will continue buying them anyway, then FTC (or any company for that matter) would probably suspend production or delay to get the quality fixed. And the revearse is also true.

I am not going to buy screwed up product just to make sure other people get to keep buying, likewise you won't stop buying the product to help me get them to up the quality. So again it all comes down to sales.

Feedback/complaints and praise have an effect too, but less so than the money, unless the word of mouth starts effecting the money in a positive or negative way.

[scott metzger]

In fairness, I've seen smaller companies like FTC go above and beyond moreso than I've seen it from the big guns. I recall when a set of Seventh Kingdom figures from the Four Horsemen arrived and the joints were way too loose, they offered the folks who got them a free replacement from a second batch from a different, more competent factory. THey didn't have to do that, but they realized that, as a small enterprise without the resources of Hasbro or Mattel, keeping good relations with their customer base was good marketing. The same is true here; they may keep selling figures with huge heads and people may buy them, but they are building up some problems and resentments with part of their very small customer base in the process. Long run, fixing the problems even if they aren't getting left with unsold product right now is good for future business; if they wait until they see sales drop, it would likely be too late, because it's a whole lot harder to bring customers back than it is to keep them in the first place. It shows they are listening to their customers and will actually do something about problems, and that's important for a small business like this. I've often praised the Horsemen for doing what they did, and I'd like to be able to praise FTC in the same way.

People vote with their money. If the people that stop buying the figures for the quality issues outnumbers the people that will continue buying them anyway, then FTC (or any company for that matter) would probably suspend production or delay to get the quality fixed. And the revearse is also true.

I am not going to buy screwed up product just to make sure other people get to keep buying, likewise you won't stop buying the product to help me get them to up the quality. So again it all comes down to sales.

Feedback/complaints and praise have an effect too, but less so than the money, unless the word of mouth starts effecting the money in a positive or negative way.