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So I called FTC and asked about the oversized heads...
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...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.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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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?
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.Expectation is the death of discovery.Comment
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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!Last edited by invisiblelad; Nov 22, '14, 12:49 PM.Comment
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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...Last edited by scott metzger; Dec 5, '14, 9:18 AM.Comment
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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.MY GODS ARE SMALL...... AND PLASTIC!Comment
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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.My posts were needlessly deleted ...Comment
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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.Last edited by scott metzger; Dec 5, '14, 3:43 PM.Comment
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