My take on the Retro Batman line so far

[The Bat]

FIRST!I TOTALLY agree with Chad. I will in no way defend FTC for botching the quality issues with bodies a 2ND time around! There's just NO EXCUSE! That said, it won't stop me from buying the figures and replacing the bodies on the figures that need it.. I just bought my first two figures, ROBIN & The RIDDLER. My review:

The Riddler: My only issue with this figure is of course a body issue. He stands, but his right leg points inward and can not be adjusted. So I'll replace the body for $5.00 and bring the cost of the figure up to $29.99. To me that's not bad. I don't own an original Riddler...so to get a MINT condition one for $29.99 makes me very happy.

Robin: No issues at all. He stands just fine and another missing figure is added to my collection. Very happy!

So...out of two figures bought, that's a 50-50 percent chance of getting a body from FTC that isn't messed up. Not good odds.

[JediJaida]

Very well put.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[noelani72]

The lines are blurred here - paying a weekend-warrior-garage-cook $50 for a custom-hand-crafted-Mego is nothing like paying premium prices of $25 to FTC for a busted figure.
The $50 is being paid for a unique hand crafted item from an artist with attention to detail.
The $25 premium price is being paid to a corporate entity for an item being made mostly by machines in mass production. Mass produced by machines, these bodies shouldn't have any guess work left in them - it's called engineering. The PVC has a formula, that in 2013 you'd think they'd gotten it figured out by now. There is zero doubt in my mind that quality control in China has its issues, I get that. But also in that zero shadow of doubt is the notion that FTC had seen production samples - in their own hands during the course of this year for this particular run of figures. You'd have thought they'd seen the bicep connectors stretched and went "whoa", got on the phone, called China and said "hey, lets look at a different rubber band. It's not got enough stretch and is damaging the product". Or, the other side of that I reckon could be they DID see issues much worse and those got fixed but not everything. Stemming from their horrific track record of poorly made bodies going all the way back to their factories in India, you'd think the breakage rate would be much lower. Either FTC are sitting in their office FURIOUS that not only did their factories in India drop the ball, the factories in China are too.....or, from a business model, they are paying for inferior materials to make their product to save a buck.

All of these quality issues, coupled with their classic bait-and-switch photo campaign...and the CAT stolen molds we collectively flat out didn't boycott them in the first place...it all adds up.

You spend $25 on a toaster - it should work.
You spend $4 on a gallon of milk - it should not be spoiled.
You spend $500 on an iPad - it should work.
You spend $25 on a FTC action figure - it should not have such glaring manufacturing flaws such as ripped PVC bicep connectors.

It's no wonder FTC doesn't participate on the boards or attend major conventions....

I really like Megos and the retro world that has become of it.
When Doc and Marty paired up, well, I thought that was just one of the coolest things we could have had in our world.

I'm not a giddy-fan-boy.
I don't have every single thing FTC has produced..or BBP, or Neca, or CAT, or even Mattel for that matter..
I expect when I had over that hard cold cash on a mass produced item - no matter what it is - it lasts me more than five minutes. It doesn't require me to modify it out-of-the-box.
I'll go as far to suspect they are having a breakage rate right now on these batman figures in excess of 30% - no proof of that, just a number my gut tossed out based on all the word of mouth...and if complaints continue, then the license holder will save-face and kill any further bad mouthing because quality issues such as this damage a Brand....and NONE of us want that.

So if these lines and FTC are to continue, and I know we all want more lines or the issues would be moot - FTC needs to squash this **** RIGHT FREAKING NOW or at the very least make a statement, make up some bs jargin story that will pacify license shareholders and offer a promise to improve their quality standards...it's simple business.

[Iron Mego]

And you can't put together any of these figures for under $25 using repro parts.

[MegoSteve]

I might pick up one or two when I see them at the local comic shop.

I don't think the people that are complaining are wrong at all. I don't begrudge anyone who wants to get fair value for their money.

However, I remember a time back in the 1990s when I was excited to be able to pay something like $50 to get a custom Mego Flash kit consisting of red hand-sewn Flash tights, a nicely cut yellow craft-foam belt, and a pre-cut emblem (and I think it also came with craft-foam bolts for his head, too). I tend to look at things through that lens and see how far we as Mego collectors have come since then. That I can walk into my local comic shop and buy a complete reproduction Mego for about half of what I paid in 1990s dollars for just a suit is pretty great, even with the quality control issues.

[megocrazy]

I don't know if you have a New England comics close but they had the set for $115.95. Almost the same as from Figures with the shipping. Newbury is way overpriced on most things. NE is usually very reasonable.

Thanks. I am familiar with NEC. Getting them really isn't the issue. I have several routes in town that could get them. I really had no interest in getting dead knock offs of original figures. I would be interested in unproduced figures that Mego never made. If the early lines fail, the chance of that is fairly slim.

[ODBJBG]

Case in point ...

[ATTACH]9445[/ATTACH]

Don't think this kinda thing is worth more than the Universal Monsters. Especially if you factor in the cost if a new body.

I have popped all my heads and coloured hands on the FTC white bodies I have lying around and all is good.

But I am still expecting a tonne of folks with busted arms shortly.

- Marty

I've had this happen with EMCE bodies from BBP. It's not an FTC exclusive problem. China just strings them too tight it seems.

[jimsmegos]

The sick part for me is despite my previous disappointment with the FTC figures such as Robin Hood, Monsters, Knights etc... I'm still chomping at the bit for these. I really, really, really want to get a set or two or three. It's crazy but something about seeing the pics of them all new and shiny on the card is just killing me. And I really believe that if I had them on the rack at the Toys R Us I'm working at I could sell the hell out of 'em.

Considering the retail of $24.99 I don't see them being a tough sell really. Considering the price of other toys on the shelf now it's a comparable price point. Add to that they are Batman I think retail would serve this line well. Especially with a die hard like me behind the pitch. But then again I could be blinded by nostalgia (which is probably the case). I do believe though that if you could put them in the hands of a potential consumer versus pictures on the net and or online stores the sales would come.

On a side note, at my particular store I have noticed that the Star Wars 6 inch "Black" series figures are getting dusty at a $19.99 price point.

[Wasimhosen]

I wasnt planning on opening my set but Im a little concerned after reading all these posts, from what I see they look perfect....

Mine did too.

[rjm118]

I wasnt planning on opening my set but Im a little concerned after reading all these posts, from what I see they look perfect....

[Astronut]

What I think will do real well is the PARTS themselves. Theres alot of original figures missing pieces here and there and in the future FTC's own figures will need pieces replaced.

I totally disagree. For every 1 person who buys parts there must be several "non-customizer" people who just want the figures based on nostalgia alone.

[Figuremod73]

What do you think FTC's production runs are, generally speaking...? Have they ever stated? Like, the Batman Series 1 assortment... I would think they would have at least produced 5,000 of each figure, no?

No telling. At first I think they most likely will do a smaller run to see how they do, then go back and make extras if they are assured sells will be good. What I think will do real well is the PARTS themselves. Theres alot of original figures missing pieces here and there and in the future FTC's own figures will need pieces replaced.

[Wasimhosen]

Call me Sally Sunshine.

[EMCE Hammer]

3 Out of 4 of mine were fine and they're making good on the 1. I wouldn't say they were crap just needs improvement.

[Wasimhosen]

If this line fails the odds of another company trying this is very small. Lets hope they get it together. They paid a lot for the license and its in their best interest to get a return on their investment. I'm hopeful anyways. This is very likely the last chance we will see.