About those bodies...

[BlackKnight]

I remember seeing someones Flash custom recently and there were so many comments about " I sure hope Mattel makes theirs look like this one!" and I disagreed completely. The head was too modern with an angry expression, giant chin, and somewhat out of scale with the body.

I think that was Mine ..., and No it's not Angry, The Chin is Not Giant, nore was it out of scale with any body. Look at the Retro Green Lantern head, if you wish to see what out of Scale looks like. But any of this makes no Difference, because it's all Opinions.

So the new heads have a bit of generic Mego style to them, and I'm ok with that.

And this is Fine, If you like them . It's fine if this guy likes them, it's fine if anyone likes them. That's really not the Point .
Fact . Why do People Complain about Retro Hero Headsculpts .
Answer . The Generic interpritations of Iconic Characters.
It's really not a Debate, it's the Answer to the Question , and Idea. That is Reality.
Look at Green Arrow for Exzample. He looks like Neil Adams Drew Him.

[stabilio]

But any of this makes no Difference, because it's all Opinions.

I think you might want to apply this to your statement below.

Fact . Why do People Complain about Retro Hero Headsculpts .
Answer . The Generic interpritations of Iconic Characters.
It's really not a Debate, it's the Answer to the Question , and Idea. That is Reality.

I wouldn't classify this as any sort of fact. What it is is the opinion of people who view these figures as you do. People looking for the best representation of a character they can have. I certainly don't fall into that category. I personally want generic looking sculpts that fit in with the figures made in the 70s. And thats only my opinion, certainly not a fact. Is this a smaller group of people who feel that way? Maybe, I don't know. But its certainly relevant, even if the people supporting more realistic figures is more vocal or numerous.

I've heard the opinion before that figures today should be made in the style that Mego would be making if they were still around. Well thats just one point of view. From my take, I'd like to see the figures that would have been made had more characters been introduced in the 70s. I might be in a minority, or maybe just a less vocal group.

Either way, complaints will come no matter what direction is taken. Unless there is a major effect on sales, I doubt its gonna come into play one way or the other.

[Jerry68]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrimsonGhost
I remember seeing someones Flash custom recently and there were so many comments about " I sure hope Mattel makes theirs look like this one!" and I disagreed completely. The head was too modern with an angry expression, giant chin, and somewhat out of scale with the body

When I saw this quote I thought he was talking about mine. I went back and read my thread and BK's thread. the closest that the quote comes close to is BK's. I have to honestly say mine has a larger chin and more determined expresion. The beauty about making a custom is the only person you have to please is yourself. Just my opinion.

Jerry

[BlackKnight]

I think you might want to apply this to your statement below.

I did. If it didn't come off as such, I meant it to.

I wouldn't classify this as any sort of fact. What it is is the opinion of people who view these figures as you do.

The point I was trying to make, was if you read The Actual Complaints on this Forum about the Sculpts, it's what people did write, and posted in complaints. I'm not trying to argue , or debate . It's what was written. I was just responding to the Statement of Not understanding Why someone didn't like a head Sculpt.

I read alot of Complaints about the Aquaman head. I like it myself. I think He's the Best Re-Mego yet.

Either way, complaints will come no matter what direction is taken. Unless there is a major effect on sales, I doubt its gonna come into play one way or the other.

I agree with this too.

[BlackKnight]

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrimsonGhost
I remember seeing someones Flash custom recently and there were so many comments about " I sure hope Mattel makes theirs look like this one!" and I disagreed completely. The head was too modern with an angry expression, giant chin, and somewhat out of scale with the body

When I saw this quote I thought he was talking about mine. I went back and read my thread and BK's thread. the closest that the quote comes close to is BK's. I have to honestly say mine has a larger chin and more determined expresion. The beauty about making a custom is the only person you have to please is yourself. Just my opinion.

Jerry

Maybe it was ..., and It was poor of Me to even respond to a loose based comment on that, before I had my Morning Coffee.

[EMCEtoys]

Maybe it was ..., and It was poor of Me to even respond to a loose based comment on that, before I had my Morning Coffee.

Been right there with you, brother.

[CrimsonGhost]

Haha!! Look at me, starting a fire and running for it!
None of what I said was meant as an insult to whomever made the Flash custom, which I honestly have no idea who made it. There were a number of them up at the same time. The point, however, was that I felt it was a more modern version of the character and would look obviously different than original Megos if they were on display together.
In the end, it's so subjective that it's impossible to make everyone happy. Maybe I'm wrong thinking the majority wants "Mego-like".

[wonderfan32]

I guess I misinterpreted what the idea was behind these figures. I thought it was about making them as if Mego never went out of business. I didn't realize that you all were sort of starting back in 1982..hehe

Seriously though, while I am very appreciative of all your efforts in getting Mattel to mass produce these, I was under the impression that they wouldn't be as generic looking, that if Mego was doing them during current times, they would make them more realistic.

I guess for some it is about the nostalgia, having them look very innocent. For me, I'm no longer that innocent kid (heck, I don't think I was even then). As I've stated here the few times I've commented, Charlee Flatt took these Megos to a whole other level for me. I know a lot of people here have said those aren't Mego. I get that but Charlee gave me what I thought Mego should be IMO. It was Mego realized. Some customizers here are on that same page.

Toybiz followed this approach with Famous Covers although they weren't quite at the right scale. That was not an issue for me as I thought Megos should be taller, on the scale of Mattel's Big Jim. I liked the fact that the men had moveable neck joints, not just side to side like original Megos. Hasbro followed suit but still not quite Megos. Then came DC direct with the scale not even being 12", let alone 8". With the exception of the silly hands, the molded hair on the female figures, and no wrist joints, DC direct came pretty close to that idea of realism for me.

I say all this to say that I hope perhaps in the near future that this can be realized for those who want their figures to have that particular look about them. In the meantime, I'm content to have these and can't wait to add all of them to my growing collection.

[wonderfan32]

Haha!! Look at me, starting a fire and running for it!
None of what I said was meant as an insult to whomever made the Flash custom, which I honestly have no idea who made it. There were a number of them up at the same time. The point, however, was that I felt it was a more modern version of the character and would look obviously different than original Megos if they were on display together.
In the end, it's so subjective that it's impossible to make everyone happy. Maybe I'm wrong thinking the majority wants "Mego-like".

I guess it depends on what you call "Mego-like". Everyone has their interpretation of what that means. For me, in short, it is simply a cloth costumed superhero/character with mulit-articulation scaled at 8 inches.

As I just stated, in my opinion, even when I had megos back in the day, I thought they could have been executed better. My dream of that was realized through Charlee Flatt and others who I've seen customs of right here. Again, for some, it's not a Mego because they're too real! That's my point. I like realism. The cutesy-innocent thing was not for me but there was no other company producing figures at this scale with cloth costumes and multi-articulation during those times. This is what we had and I certainly got some joy out of them despite that fact.

Still years later, I thought maybe one day we'll see these figures with major improvements. I think a lot has been accomplished and I believe for the most part that a few of these have a good look to them. I'm still hoping one day for characters with that realism just short of being anatomically- correct

[The Bat]

I guess for some it is about the nostalgia, having them look very innocent. For me, I'm no longer that innocent kid (heck, I don't think I was even then).

You bring up a good point. Some Children have a very discriminating Eye. Like you, as a Kid I was the same way. I wasn't happy with the silly looking molded Cowl Batman, or the way the Lizard's Eyes were in a weird place on his Head, and staring at the Ceiling. So it's safe to say a little more resemblance to the Comic Book likeness's wouldn't be "un-Mego like". Because some of Mego's Sculpts were dead on!

[Audiorij]

Yeah, correct me if I am wrong but didnt you guys at EMCE state back when all of this was started that the vision was to make figures as if Mego never went out of business?

I mean a lot of the viewpoints and complaints expressed might be coming from people that didn't ever hear exactly what the vision is. I remember when you asked for head sculpting submissions, (I really wanted to submit some real bad but at the time recently had a baby and didn't have good time to work on anything), I remember the idea being to capture the look of the character with that old Mego innocent look.

A lot of care is being obviously taken to make the costumes mego-like, and look at the packaging... retro mego in all its glory.

Could you make more modern head sculpts with stronger expressions? Sure.
Could you make more modern packaging? Sure.
Could you make the style of the costume more modern? Sure.
But then you wouldn't have a return to mego world, you would have the famous covers series.

And if Mego had never went out of business, they would have made improvements to things eventually just as they did back then with different types of bodies and things, but even with their improvements the Mego look was still there.

I want the series to be exactly what it is, I love the figures, I would embrace a new body just like I did when Mego restructures theirs. But the vision I want to stay exactly the same.

[The Bat]

Could you make more modern head sculpts with stronger expressions? Sure.
Could you make more modern packaging? Sure.
Could you make the style of the costume more modern? Sure.
But then you wouldn't have a return to mego world, you would have the famous covers series.

I couldn't disagree more...FC Head Sculpts SUCKED!(Except for Magnito) And as I keep reiterating...some of Mego's Head Sculpts could easily pass for Modern(Mr.Fantastic, Green Goblin, Star Trek). Just because it's a good Head Sculpt...doesn't make it un-Mego like.

[sprytel]

I couldn't disagree more...FC Head Sculpts SUCKED!(Except for Magnito) And as I keep reiterating...some of Mego's Head Sculpts could easily pass for Modern(Mr.Fantastic, Green Goblin, Star Trek). Just because it's a good Head Sculpt...doesn't make it un-Mego like.

Yes! I agree 100%.

Mego started with Action Jackson (who is butt ugly by any standard). But their head sculpts improved by leaps and bounds. Most of the licensed properties-- like Star Trek or Ponch or Fonzie or any of those-- show an amazing attention to detail. If they are simplified at all, they still really capture the essence of the character.

That said... with a TV or movie character, it is pretty easy to tell whether or not you nailed it. The comic characters have so many different looks... some or which could never truly be done in a 3 dimensional medium. It is hard to come up with a sculpt that will satisfy everybody. But I don't think playing it safe and going more generic is the answer. You guys produce amazing figures. Have faith and swing for the fences!

[huedell]

.... But I don't think playing it safe and going more generic is the answer. You guys produce amazing figures. Have faith and swing for the fences!

Bingo.... um..... Right?

From what I can tell, muddying things up with terms like "generic" or "hyper-realism" is overkill on carrying out the process. I thought
it was as simple as making a sculpt based on style guides from that era.
Style guides aren't "hyper real", and they aren't "generic".

Add to that that Mego's Mr. Fantastic and Green Arrow sculpts evoke
their looks in the comics...and the fact that there's no debate there,
well. I thought it all should be simple on what the goals are.

Why EMCE doesn't shoot for that every time out baffles me (other than
the obvious thing in that there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen).

[wonderfan32]

I couldn't disagree more...FC Head Sculpts SUCKED!(Except for Magnito) And as I keep reiterating...some of Mego's Head Sculpts could easily pass for Modern(Mr.Fantastic, Green Goblin, Star Trek). Just because it's a good Head Sculpt...doesn't make it un-Mego like.

Thank you!! Couldn't have said it better! The idea of something not mego-like is hilarious to me. Anything scaled at 8" with cloth costumes with many points of articulation for super poseability is indeed "mego-like", at least for me it is. Heck, the stuff Toybiz and Hasbro did was mego-like. The word like is used, not replicas. They're mego-inspired.
As some have noted, Mego did step up the plate with Mr. Fantastic and a few others in terms of the sculpting. Were they not Mego because there was more detail to the character?
Oven mitts was a Mego signature but most of us can agree that those had to go. Does that make them less mego? I'm sure for some it does. Again, everyone's interpretation of what a mego is will vary. We're seeing that here.