Thrilled with how the selection and quality of the WGSH is improving

[thunderbolt]

I have a feeling EMCE won't rush them out, that they will take their time and make sure all the details and quality is there, especially after Mattel goofing up the retroAction line with their crappy bodies.

Thats the thing, we want these figures and are glad they are being made, but that doesn't mean we don't want them done right and with the care and attention they deserve. You don't want some company to step in and flood the market with dime store Megos so that the idea of an 8" mego-like figure becomes synonymous with crap and then sit back and say, well at least they got made. No, I think everyone wants to see them done and done right. If FTC needs some time to fix the quality issues they should slow down and take the time. I would be the first to sing their praises if they delayed the next couple of lines and put them out without any body issues, costume issues, proportion issues or packaging issues. (And I am not talking small asthetic differences like the difference in the sheen or color of cloth, I mean no floppy arms, no tight bands, assembled correctly, no cheap capes, etc.) They do have control over this stuff, unlike EMCE and RetroAction which was ultimately controlled by Mattel. Which again is why I think EMCE and DST will do everything they can to make sure the Marvel figures are done right, it's their reputation that's on the line.

EMCE better work on its bodies too then. I just got a BBP Sontaran and its on par with the current FTC bodies. The same arm splay and they seem too tight, too. The Monsters were better.

[JediJaida]

Hey JediJaida, you seem to be the one & only person I have ever heard of saying she (or they) rec'd a FTC BATGIRL w/ a correctly asse,bled neck. Could you shoot a pic of her sometime for us?

*So JediJaida, I know out of the whole Megomuseum, you'd be the one to ask.....I want to make a whole team of HEROINES & Villainesses for Dinah-Mite, would you happen to have a head or full figures of BLAC/k Dinah-Mite? I've been lurking for 15 years, & for many I've wanted to ask you for a BLACK Dinah-Mite head or figure ever since I saw your famous Avatar you use! Let me know! Thanks!

*ZICA / Castaway:

(Hey Casta-Way/Zica I have character designs, names, bios & costumes planned using re-use as a staple so HMU if you want to do a line of female & male Dinah-Mite & friends for your Action Jackson line...Had these planned for 5-6 years)

Never mind heads, I've got three of the little darlings to my name. And none of them is going ANYWHERE! I got them off of ebay, before the prices became ridiculous.

They're gorgeous little darlings, and are still in good shape at their age.

[jayraytee]

I have a feeling EMCE won't rush them out, that they will take their time and make sure all the details and quality is there, especially after Mattel goofing up the retroAction line with their crappy bodies.

Thats the thing, we want these figures and are glad they are being made, but that doesn't mean we don't want them done right and with the care and attention they deserve. You don't want some company to step in and flood the market with dime store Megos so that the idea of an 8" mego-like figure becomes synonymous with crap and then sit back and say, well at least they got made. No, I think everyone wants to see them done and done right. If FTC needs some time to fix the quality issues they should slow down and take the time. I would be the first to sing their praises if they delayed the next couple of lines and put them out without any body issues, costume issues, proportion issues or packaging issues. (And I am not talking small asthetic differences like the difference in the sheen or color of cloth, I mean no floppy arms, no tight bands, assembled correctly, no cheap capes, etc.) They do have control over this stuff, unlike EMCE and RetroAction which was ultimately controlled by Mattel. Which again is why I think EMCE and DST will do everything they can to make sure the Marvel figures are done right, it's their reputation that's on the line.

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

I try to remain positive on this topic, cause mostly this is all good stuff happening. Imagine your 2008 self sitting in front of you computer posting on the MM. Would that version of you EVER have thought we'd be seeing what we are today? And yet, here we are a mere six years later with all of this product and all of these choices. Not all have been great and some have been terrible, but the fact we actually got to see, even for a few year time span, our childhoods reimagined and recreated is a miraculous thing. Reality and responsibility don't allow me to purchase a lot of these figures, but I have a deep-seeded appreciation for the efforts made by FTC in this venture.

I agree with the sentiment that they need to slow down. Consumers are not prepared for pre-orders, orders shipping, orders delayed and other monetary factors each and every month. It's way too much for most to keep up with and I'm betting it's too much for FTC to completely keep under reign. It's almost as if they are thinking they better get all of this product to the masses now before the trend is over and flooding the market with all of these characters and repackages. The far better business model is to limit the waves, get them right and extend the life of this trend by quality, not quantity.

Bottom line, even if some of these figures are disappointing in the final production, it's still pretty freakin cool that we even have the opportunity to purchase them again and feel the excitement of opening the card or checking the mailbox daily. I don't want people to blindly accept an inferior product, they should always voice their opinions freely with their words here or their wallets. Just remember how lucky we are to have this opportunity come around twice in a lifetime. Even if the figure isn't an exact replica, has some issues or is just not good execution it still has the spirit of MEGO running through it, and I find that to be rather comforting.

Well said on all points. It will be interesting to see what the reaction is to EMCE's 3-packs when they come out, and how they compare to FTC's product.

[Random Axe]

I try to remain positive on this topic, cause mostly this is all good stuff happening. Imagine your 2008 self sitting in front of you computer posting on the MM. Would that version of you EVER have thought we'd be seeing what we are today? And yet, here we are a mere six years later with all of this product and all of these choices. Not all have been great and some have been terrible, but the fact we actually got to see, even for a few year time span, our childhoods reimagined and recreated is a miraculous thing. Reality and responsibility don't allow me to purchase a lot of these figures, but I have a deep-seeded appreciation for the efforts made by FTC in this venture.

I agree with the sentiment that they need to slow down. Consumers are not prepared for pre-orders, orders shipping, orders delayed and other monetary factors each and every month. It's way too much for most to keep up with and I'm betting it's too much for FTC to completely keep under reign. It's almost as if they are thinking they better get all of this product to the masses now before the trend is over and flooding the market with all of these characters and repackages. The far better business model is to limit the waves, get them right and extend the life of this trend by quality, not quantity.

Bottom line, even if some of these figures are disappointing in the final production, it's still pretty freakin cool that we even have the opportunity to purchase them again and feel the excitement of opening the card or checking the mailbox daily. I don't want people to blindly accept an inferior product, they should always voice their opinions freely with their words here or their wallets. Just remember how lucky we are to have this opportunity come around twice in a lifetime. Even if the figure isn't an exact replica, has some issues or is just not good execution it still has the spirit of MEGO running through it, and I find that to be rather comforting.

[PNGwynne]

I think it would be much better to slow releases, improve QC, and even delay waves to fix problems.

Look at all the damage control they do after the fact in customer service--resulting in increased labor costs & loss of inventory.

[jayraytee]

Based on the 2-packs not even being tied down it seems like FTC wants to err on the side of getting the figures out on time if at all possible. Either way there will be complaints, so they might as well get them right and then ship. And yes, even if they do that there will still be some complaints about them not shipping when they said they would. The issue that this will create for FTC is it will hurt pre-orders because people will wait to see what the figures actually look like before ordering.

And later on no one will remember which figures were late, but their quality issues will be there forever haunting their reputation. Look at the Mego figures, I have no idea if any were released on time, were early or were late... but I know which ones I thought were designed and presented the best. That's all that anyone will remember. To this day everyone knows that the Mego 12" captain america has a massive huge noggin, does anyone know if he was released on time?

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

Exactly. Which means the product should be seen by the company that ordered the manufacturing run before the decision is made to accept them and send them out. Then they have two choices, accept the flaws and say send them to the consumer or they can make the manufacturer do them right and delay the release. People will swallow a delay if you tell them the manufacturer goofed up and you want the product right. They get ticked off more if you accept the goofed up product and ship them to people on time or early.

Based on the 2-packs not even being tied down it seems like FTC wants to err on the side of getting the figures out on time if at all possible. Either way there will be complaints, so they might as well get them right and then ship. And yes, even if they do that there will still be some complaints about them not shipping when they said they would. The issue that this will create for FTC is it will hurt pre-orders because people will wait to see what the figures actually look like before ordering.

[invisiblelad]

I haven't bought the Supergirl figure. I managed to kitbash one from original parts a couple of years ago, and I am fairly happy with her.

The neck issue sounds like it really, REALLY needs to be addressed by FTC. The Catwoman and Batgirl figures I purchased don't have that problem, so why do some of the others? Poor Quality Control in China; someone not paying attention to the stringing process? Inflexible elastic (and doesn't THAT sound like an oxymoron!)?

I've had fairly good luck with the FTC female bodies; no real issues with the neck or the elastic to complain about (although I HATE that nubby texture on the hip ball!), and while
not as solid as Doc's female figures, or Craig's it will do in a pinch.

Hey JediJaida, you seem to be the one & only person I have ever heard of saying she (or they) rec'd a FTC BATGIRL w/ a correctly asse,bled neck. Could you shoot a pic of her sometime for us?

*So JediJaida, I know out of the whole Megomuseum, you'd be the one to ask.....I want to make a whole team of HEROINES & Villainesses for Dinah-Mite, would you happen to have a head or full figures of BLAC/k Dinah-Mite? I've been lurking for 15 years, & for many I've wanted to ask you for a BLACK Dinah-Mite head or figure ever since I saw your famous Avatar you use! Let me know! Thanks!

*ZICA / Castaway:

(Hey Casta-Way/Zica I have character designs, names, bios & costumes planned using re-use as a staple so HMU if you want to do a line of female & male Dinah-Mite & friends for your Action Jackson line...Had these planned for 5-6 years)

[jayraytee]

The Action Jackson line is a joint project between my company and Castaway, and yes, when the heads weren't right we had the issue corrected.

The factory should always send production samples for approval, it's pretty much standard procedure.

Exactly. Which means the product should be seen by the company that ordered the manufacturing run before the decision is made to accept them and send them out. Then they have two choices, accept the flaws and say send them to the consumer or they can make the manufacturer do them right and delay the release. People will swallow a delay if you tell them the manufacturer goofed up and you want the product right. They get ticked off more if you accept the goofed up product and ship them to people on time or early.

[ZICA]

Wasn't it Castaway that did the Action Jackson kickstarter? When the heads were produced incorrectly, they delayed the product until the heads were remade. That is good quality control, it's a strict adherence to making sure the consumer gets exactly what they paid for.

The Action Jackson line is a joint project between my company and Castaway, and yes, when the heads weren't right we had the issue corrected.

The factory should always send production samples for approval, it's pretty much standard procedure.

[jayraytee]

Wasn't it Castaway that did the Action Jackson kickstarter? When the heads were produced incorrectly, they delayed the product until the heads were remade. That is good quality control, it's a strict adherence to making sure the consumer gets exactly what they paid for. A good company doesn't get them in and say, oops they are wrong, lets go ahead and ship them out that way. One of the bands I work for had CDs produced by a certain company, they came in flawed with 2 second gaps between songs that were supposed to be connected, they threw out thousands of CDs instead of selling them, they were defective and they were not about to charge their fans for a defective product.

The female bodies being incorrectly assembled is not a matter of taste, it's a fact. The neck is supposed to be outside the body, Mego always did it that way, so the neck can be posed. Every remego company does it that way, up until these. I realize some people won't care that what they bought is incorrectly assembled, but that doesn't change the fact that they are assembled incorrectly or that FTC has decided to go ahead and ship them out that way.

[JediJaida]

I haven't bought the Supergirl figure. I managed to kitbash one from original parts a couple of years ago, and I am fairly happy with her.

The neck issue sounds like it really, REALLY needs to be addressed by FTC. The Catwoman and Batgirl figures I purchased don't have that problem, so why do some of the others? Poor Quality Control in China; someone not paying attention to the stringing process? Inflexible elastic (and doesn't THAT sound like an oxymoron!)?

I've had fairly good luck with the FTC female bodies; no real issues with the neck or the elastic to complain about (although I HATE that nubby texture on the hip ball!), and while not as solid as Doc's female figures, or Craig's it will do in a pinch.

[PNGwynne]

This is a great example of what I was talking about earlier, some people see this as errors that FTC made, some think it looks fine. Personally, I think the straight sleeves look BETTER than the poofy original ones, and the part doesn't bother me at all. Then again I never had an original Mego Supergirl so I am probably more tolerant of minor changes.

I think this shows why some members here are frustrated & see you as dismissive. Although you stated early-on that you were a purist, you have often made allowances for changes you like or can tolerate, while at the same time downplaying other's concerns as obsessing over minutiae.

Supergirl is a good example of this, because as an example of FTC's mission to 1. produce "exact"--even exacting--high-quality Mego reproductions, and 2. to accurately depict DC characters, she does not succeed.

That said, she can still be a fun toy, or desired as a collectible--just not defensible as a business model. I for one cannot help but feel disappointed when FTC doesn't deliver on its promises--especially when they can easily do so.

In the aggregate, with body & head issues, incorrect accessories, paint problems, and disregard for costume quality & details, I feel there is legitimate cause for concern. I say all this as an early, ardent supporter of WGH.

I believe that if you had indicated how idiosyncratic your appreciation for FTCs offerings would be, especially in light of your rebuttal of others' posts, you would have been met here as just another new member with his own opinion to share. I post this without enmity.

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

Add in things like Kara's hair and sleeves not mimicking the original as closely as the first few waves of figures did, and I'm seeing an overall decline, not an improvement.

This is a great example of what I was talking about earlier, some people see this as errors that FTC made, some think it looks fine. Personally, I think the straight sleeves look BETTER than the poofy original ones, and the part doesn't bother me at all. Then again I never had an original Mego Supergirl so I am probably more tolerant of minor changes.

End result is you can look at Supergirl and see QC issues, I look at the same figure and think it looks wonderful. In fact both SuperGirl and BatGirl are two of my favorite figures so far from FTC, even with a sunken neck, which doesn't bother me at all on either figure. You see the figures getting worse, I think they are getting better.

Guess there will be more of the same with every wave.