A thing of beauty

[generic]

So, with all respect, I humbly ask you to indulge me with what's the real "hook" of these particular figures for you personally?

I wasn't excited about these at first, but the Wonder Woman figure looks great to me. Despite looking very different from the 1970s 12" Mego, she still has a very Mego / Retro look. Although I think I'd prefer them in a 12" scale (just so that they'd be in scale with my other 12" figures), Wonder Woman really does look nice. Every time I see that one at a Target, I get one step closer to starting a 14" collection.

When I saw the Superman, he has a similar retro feel to me, so that just added to the temptation. The problem is that I know if I get Wonder Woman and Superman, I'll eventually want all of the figures in the line and I really can't afford it. If I start, I know I'll just have to Collect 'em All! -Haha!

If they end up making more Justice League / Super Friends characters, I might have to give in. The idea of a traditional blue and gray Batman in Wave 3 might be what pushes me over into collecting these...and if that's the case, I'd better pick up Wonder Woman now while I can get her at retail price, right?

[pmwasson]

I think they are great and I have 6 of them so far. I still haven't found Superman or Batgirl.

I generally only collect 8" scale figures, but I bought Zod to support Mego and for a custom. But after seeing them all lined up and had to go back and get the others in wave 1. Now I want them all.

[TRDouble]

I found the 14" scale interesting and I love the style, whether it's 8", 12" or 14", but Wave One didn't have a WOW factor for me. I'm not a Harley fan, I didn't need Zod, Batman's head was too small and Wonder Woman looked okay.

I picked up Wonder Woman, and despite a large head, I thought it was well done and a great 70s version of the character. Very Super Friends.

After seeing the Zod threads, and with the lack of figures I wanted in the 8" scale, I picked him up. Besides the floppy waist, he is a fantastic figure. Better than I ever anticipated. I think the head scale is good too, which along with the clothes, helps the neck issue on the Wave One males.

I resorted to Target.com to get Batman. Despite the fixes posted, the small head still bothers me, especially next to Zod. It's not a bad figure, but it has the flaw that bothers me the most.

So Wave One was better than I expected, and having them all lined up together makes them even more appealing. Wave two looks even better, especially with the male neck improvement.

The "hook" for me is that I like the style (cloth clothing), I think they are great looking toys and I can build a group; group building is important to me. That is a great help in starting a new scale.

[huedell]

^Then why post something negative in a thread titled "A Thing of Beauty"? Why not START your own thread, and bash away there?

As I said, I did think about that...

...but then I thought that if I do my best to explain why my budget's focused on other scales, and my priority when buying cloth goods figures are more retro headsculpts, and if I explain that, I too, think the line-up is a thing of beauty to behold for me as a classic DC fan (but that's it), then I've (IMHO) cleared the way to ask this burning question that's been building since I saw these 14 inchers debut.

And its a question that piqued in this very thread, when I saw that indeed SO many Museum posters are ga-ga over this sub-line--- as opposed to my take on it which is:

"Thank goodness there aren't an abundance of retro sculpts in this line, and that FTC is making something in a smaller scale, cause at THIS price-point AND this Target store accessibility, I'd be risking a "buyers remorse" situation, something which happens less and less as I mature (as a toy-buyer/collector at least!)".

Obviously Marty et al strategized and concluded on making this scale choice, a choice I would've thought would've had a tepid response, if not bombed... yet its getting a highly warm response here, so I posted in this thread which appears to be the lightning rod thread celebrating its entrance into a full blown second wave, as I could see that it'd be quite visible to the people whose take would be most valuable.

Other than thinking the male heads look a little small (and that's last I'll mention that, as its the exception to the rule that these are cool figs)... and Batman's costume (which isn't my preferred blue with yellow oval---but that doesn't detract from the quality of the figs), I think the line is quite perfect...

....but even with that high "almost perfect" rating, I still am taking into account FTC's 18s released before this--- and I'm considering their MANY 12s that are announced as upcoming, within (I think I'm overrating the style nostalgia nuance, actually) -----and then I compare with these new 14 inch scale being neither the nostalgic 8 nor even 12 (only Zod with the identical retro sculpt), and I have to wonder how the wallets would skew so much toward this....

...and, on that note, then I have to wonder would ANY scale work with Mego, and is it only because of the low Target price.

You have guys like Brian saying regardless of 8 inch scale, they're gonna be a completist with these 14 inch figures---so obviously its something more special than lower price with that reaction/mindset.

I mean 12 fourteen inch figures with more to come means that even IF someone was completist and that choice DOES have to do with a lower price, being a completist in a 14 inch line is setting yourself up for a LOT of shelf space spoken for. This aint no 8 or less inch line.

And that truly says something powerful about the appeal of the 14 inch line.

And thanks to all who commented... most notably Steve whose thread this is.... GREAT PICS.

I appreciate the effort by all, and I probably have a bit more post acknowledging to do... I just wanted to address any negativity first.

[MRP]

My take on it is this-there was no audience for an 8 inch scale line before Mego introduced it in the 70s-they essentially created the scale and the demand for it by introducing it into the marketplace and doing a good job with it. They are doing the same with the 14 inch scale now. There was no demand for an 8 inch cloth toy line before Mego launched it, if they only produced what people said they wanted, there never would have been Mego 8 inch figures, WGSH, Trek, etc. Mego gave folks something they didn't know they wanted and it worked. It was something new and innovative then, and it didn't rely on a pre-existing audience for its success. The 14 inch line is to the modern marketplace what the 8 inch line was then-something on a new scale that people didn't know they wanted, but if done right it will build an audience and create demand for the product. It's (somewhat) breaking new ground and carving out a place in the marketplace for itself based on the quality of the product and the strength of the characters produced, exactly what the 8 inch Mego line did back in the day. It's not reliant on nostalgia, Mego as a thriving business never was, it is reliant on people discovering and liking the product they are making and then wanting more of it.

The 14 inch line appealed to me because a) I like the DC characters and b) it was something I could get in on at the ground floor and not be tied into nostalgia. I love the 8 inch stuff too, but I am only getting a few here and there based on the characters and needs for customizing, not on the strength fo nostalgia and/or the scale. With the 14 inch stuff though, I am all in, since I am in at the ground floor and it stands on its own as a product line.

-M

[TrekStar]

I don't mean to sound stupid, but new mego obviously has the license for DC characters, so why did they decide on 14" DC heroes, and just didn't go the 8" way? or perhaps they will down the road?

[PNGwynne]

I think Mego Corp. can only do figures that don't compete in scale with FTC and Mattel efforts. Thus, 14" but not 4, 8, or 12-inch.

[EmergencyIan]

^ In an interview I watched with Marty, he indicated that Mego would be focusing on DC, Star Trek. Sounded like they were going to go very deep into Star Trek and do as much as possible with DC, which sounded like they could do quite a bit. I’m not sure how far they’ll go into the monsters. But if they continue to sell well, one would assume they’ll keep going until they run out of monsters to do.

- Ian

[TrekStar]

^ In an interview I watched with Marty, he indicated that Mego would be focusing on DC, Star Trek. Sounded like they were going to go very deep into Star Trek and do as much as possible with DC, which sounded like they could do quite a bit. I’m not sure how far they’ll go into the monsters. But if they continue to sell well, one would assume they’ll keep going until they run out of monsters to do.

- Ian

That is some great information to know, I can't wait to see what more they come out with regarding Star Trek.
For the monsters line, I'll be happy with Wolfman, Mummy (Chaney) and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

[TrekStar]

I think Mego Corp. can only do figures that don't compete in scale with FTC and Mattel efforts. Thus, 14" but not 4, 8, or 12-inch.

How ironic since Mego started the 8" craz of action figures, thanks for the info.

[Mary Canary]

^ In an interview I watched with Marty, he indicated that Mego would be focusing on DC, Star Trek. Sounded like they were going to go very deep into Star Trek and do as much as possible with DC, which sounded like they could do quite a bit. I’m not sure how far they’ll go into the monsters. But if they continue to sell well, one would assume they’ll keep going until they run out of monsters to do.

- Ian

My impression is whatever limits Mego has on DC are due to Mattel, not FTC. Because it is mass market, not collectible market. Like everyone assumed Mego couldnt do 8" DC because FTC has the license, but isn't that a different license since FTC figures aren't sold in mass market stores? Meanwhile, I have no idea what Mattel has going on anymore... I feel like they have DC figures in every scale they can, up to 12 inches, with all kinds of lines, from Barbie to DC Superhero Girls to the sophisticated action figures to the JLAction playline to the Imaginext stuff. Maybe 14 inch was the only window Mego had. Otherwise I think they would have made 8 inch figures for all of the diehards and so people on FB would quit saying "Why arent they making superheroes?"

I do like the 14 inch figures and for the price they are just amazing! I only planned to get Zod and Superman, then ended up with a Wonder Woman thanks to a friend and am so glad I have her because she is gorgeous! I'm trying to limit myself to just my favorites though, because as Brian said, I see this line being a hit and continuing... and I don't need or have space for every character in this size. It's hard to resist some of them, like Poison Ivy, because they look so good and because there's a rush of excitement about them right now. But I'm not a Batman collector. So characters like HQ and Joker are an easy pass for me. Just trying to ask myself "Will I love and have space for every one of these in a year?" before I go overboard. I may end up with that Batgirl though!

[Mary Canary]

Also, off topic but I was wondering about the monsters. In that video from Nerd News, Marty Abrams really seemed to stress Mego is not doing Universal Monsters. But one of those links, either the NN or Trek interview, has a picture of him holding a gaggle of Mego figures, one of which is the Bride of Frankenstein. I assume this is not an official Mego figure because I didn't think Mego ever made her. But I was wondering if they would be able to make her in the future, or if the Elsa Lanchester Bride likeness is off limits. Is she considered a Universal Monster?

[Werewolf]

Also, off topic but I was wondering about the monsters. In that video from Nerd News, Marty Abrams really seemed to stress Mego is not doing Universal Monsters. But one of those links, either the NN or Trek interview, has a picture of him holding a gaggle of Mego figures, one of which is the Bride of Frankenstein. I assume this is not an official Mego figure because I didn't think Mego ever made her. But I was wondering if they would be able to make her in the future, or if the Elsa Lanchester Bride likeness is off limits. Is she considered a Universal Monster?

The Bride figure was EMCE/Diamond Select. The Bride is a Universal Monster and Universal owns all rights to the character and make up design. Elsa didn't have any heirs so likeness rights reside with the Motion Picture and Television fund.

[generic]

That is some great information to know, I can't wait to see what more they come out with regarding Star Trek.
For the monsters line, I'll be happy with Wolfman, Mummy (Chaney) and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The Monsters and Star Trek are the two line's I'm mostly focused on with Monsters being my priority. I would love it if they made Wolfman, Mummy, and Creature from the Black Lagoon!

The Bride is a Universal Monster and Universal owns all rights to the character and make up design. Elsa didn't have any heirs so likeness rights reside with the Motion Picture and Television fund.

I didn't know that. That's some good trivia!

[drmego]

I wasn't excited about these at first, but the Wonder Woman figure looks great to me. Despite looking very different from the 1970s 12" Mego, she still has a very Mego / Retro look. Although I think I'd prefer them in a 12" scale (just so that they'd be in scale with my other 12" figures), Wonder Woman really does look nice. Every time I see that one at a Target, I get one step closer to starting a 14" collection.

When I saw the Superman, he has a similar retro feel to me, so that just added to the temptation. The problem is that I know if I get Wonder Woman and Superman, I'll eventually want all of the figures in the line and I really can't afford it. If I start, I know I'll just have to Collect 'em All! -Haha!

If they end up making more Justice League / Super Friends characters, I might have to give in. The idea of a traditional blue and gray Batman in Wave 3 might be what pushes me over into collecting these...and if that's the case, I'd better pick up Wonder Woman now while I can get her at retail price, right?

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