Jason “ToyOtter” Geyer has a great editorial over on his blog about accepting the little flaws in our action figures. His experience is very similar to my own–little paint imperfections and loose joints used to bug me a lot, but I’ve come to accept them as a part of being an action figure collector. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I love them, but I accept them.
(Note: the above photo is actually a bad example, because I did decide to replace this Sinestro when the opportunity arose, but it was the best photo of a flaw I could find.)
domu
I think some people are missing that the title of ToyOtter's blog post is a play on "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," and are taking things a bit to literally based only on the title.
The basic idea of the piece was just that if you try to relax a bit, you can enjoy things (toys, life, whatever) more.
Jim
@Newton: "ENJOY YOUR MATTEL "BONUS" FEATURES"
LMAO LMAO LMAO!!!!!!!
And the award to funniest toy related picture goes to NEWTON GIMMICK!
I'm setting this article on my favorites list.
I just wish i didn't have to sign up a google account to post a reply to praise the article. Too lazy. lol
EVERY statement ….EVERY sentence I agree with. From the playmates comment to your comments about the better technology of figures…it's like you're reading my mind man! 😀
Jim
@newton: Dude, u are a GOD! lOL I'm halfway reading through your article and I'm savoring each word. Best part I love so far: the PICS DUDE! The Pics! u got illustrations of every HISTORIC MATTEL FUDGE UP! BWHHAHAHAHAHAH love it!!!!!
Jim
@Newton: "If he’s just talking about tiny minor things that no one notices, more power to him. But if he’s defending the rest, he’s crazy."
exactly
Jim
*******"I think even IF marvel legends was worse than that of dcuc…dcuc beats ML in general bad qc due to switched parts and the stuck joints*********
**Edit**** I meant that even if ML had worse paint apps than dcuc, I'd still think ML was a lot better QC wise. Dcuc has a higher level of stuck joints more than ml from my experience and ESPECIALLY the switched parts….A LOT MORE>>>WAAAAY more than ML having switched parts.
PLUS ANOTHER NOTE/QUESTION:
DC SUPERHEROES seemed to be made a lot better than BOTH ML TOYBIZ and MATTEL's DCUC. That's my exprience so I'm very confused why dcuc had so many issues. I'm guessing they switched factories when dcuc began?
Newton Gimmick
Meh, my take: http://infinitehollywood.blogspot.com/2009/05/do-…
I don't get what he's saying we should enjoy. Obviously little tiny things here or there we all accept. But like I said before, his post seems like an insincere defense of Mattel's bunk product.
If he's just talking about tiny minor things that no one notices, more power to him. But if he's defending the rest, he's crazy.
Jim
@ Poe: yeah..that part I read. I started skimming towards the middle. lol
As for Marvel Legends…my expereinces are different. I used to collect the toybiz marvel legends and yes…they had a lof of QC problems but for MY experience, i think DCUC was way worst.
I think even IF marvel legends was worse than that of dcuc…dcuc beats ML in general bad qc due to switched parts and the stuck joints.
I read a WHOLE HUGE list of people from other sites regarding the stuck joints issue. I think the worst was the TRUS figures.
People were actually asking…is there ANY TRUS not without qc issues? It was that bad.
I think the unfreezing method is genious Poe, but your smarts aside….I don't feel like I should be doing such an inventive method just so i can free my newly purchased figure from "joint paralysis".
I agree that it is worth noting that Wave 8 has been a DRASTIC improvement.
However admitting such an improvement goes against what the article is say…"stop complaining".
The complainers are one of the biggest if not the SINGLE reason for DCUC wave 8's improvement.
Will I return to dcuc due to such improvements? No, because it's too late in the game for me to start in the middle and i've already sold my dcuc figures.
I just think that give Mattel praise for improvement is fine but I wouldn't suggest saying "Don't worry about the flaws"
If we had that mindset to begin and said…Lets not fret over these qc issues… Wave 8 would've never had improvments.
Poe
I think it's important to be fair here and point out that Mattel has at least improved–I had no significant QC issues at all with Wave 8 aside from some loose joints, and loose joints were a much bigger problem with Marvel Legends than they've been for DCUC.
Wasn't Marvel Legends notorious for its flawed paint applications? I remember stories of collectors searching through dozens of figures for one with a good paint job.
And finally, I'd like to reiterate I don't think Jason is talking about stuff like swapped biceps or smeared tampo symbols. What he's talking about are scuffs, scrapes, small bits of paint slop, flash–things you might not even think about, but can drive a particularly OCD collector mad. It's not an editorial about figures, it's an editorial about collectors and their occasionally obsessive mentality.
Since your nausea caused you to skim the article, Jim, you might have missed this paragraph:
Megatherium
The only flaw a figure can have that really bugs me is STUCK JOINTS. Especially STUCK JOINTS THAT WILL NOT BECOME UN-STUCK. This bugs the crap out of me!!!!! And i will never accept it as the norm. NEVER!!!! I run into this problem alot with DCUC and TOy Biz Marvel Legends. That is one problem Hasbro seemed to fix with their legends, and now they aren't going to make many more. Imagine that?
Jim
@Pete: Understood that mistakes happen but Mattel is OVER the CHARTS in mistakes compared to past companies.
If fans were to be easy on Mattel and NOT be ANAL…then QC would probably be worse!
Look at the current DCUC Giganta wave….I've been hearing the QC has improved greatly.
I believe the COMPLAINERS are the people to thank. The Complainers keep toy companies in line.
Jim
@ Newton Gimmick and Dead Man Walking: Well said.
@ Poe: Yes…your right you did mention that Sinestro wasn't a good example. Sorry! 🙂
Although still…things like the mismatched biceps are the worst.
My Bottom Line Opinion:
Who cares if ppl complain about QC? Most of us the collects probably only make a little over an hour what the cost of a single dcuc figure is at our jobs (just a guess). And if you make more…still you have to get your moneys worth.
Also…Toybiz's Marvel Legends had a few qc problems but they weren't as bad as DCUC.
Again, I KID YOU NOT! lol
I bought ALL 4 TRU 2Pk Exclusives and ALL OF THEM HAD STUCK JOINTS except batgirl.
If they'd put a camera on me while opening these guys, a ton of ppl would get a kick out of me pulling the figure out and moving the waist only to have it break in half.
A paint smudge her and there is fine but seriously it's all subjective.
If there was a paint smudge on shazam's nose would that buy you guys? It would bother me.
A paint smudge on his wrist band…not really a bad thing but depends how bad it is.
Point is if you compare Mattel to Toybiz Marvel legends with joints and same paint quality..etc etc….You'd see that such similar products are not so similar QC-wise. Mattel definitely hires some crappy factories OR they're doing this on purpose to have ppl get multiple figures or replacements.
Pete
For me, there are three stages of toy flaws; those I can ignore, those I can fix, and those that have to be replaced.
Honestly, MOST paint issues don't really bug me unless they're severe (Poe's Sinestro example is a great one–my Sinestro only had a little bit of black slop on the yellow arm band, but had mine had his problems, I'd have replaced it too).
Things I can fix fall in the slop area, and the occasional switching of limbs (which I actually sort of enjoy in a weird way, the DIY aspect makes the figure feel more like it's "mine"). Replacements are things like taffy joints that tear; obviously, a broken figure is completely unacceptable.
The fact is, toy companies DO work hard to ensure quality control, but there are always going to be mistakes. It's unrealistic to expect a perfect figure every time, mass production being what it is. Do you call the government every time you get a deformed penny? No; it happens. What about a comic book with a typo or a misprint? Do we then complain to the publishers about this egregious error in our recreational pasttime? No, because it's not a realistic attitude.
Action figures are made by companies. Companies are staffed by people. People are flawed creatures who make mistakes. We all do our best.
Newton Gimmick
Although I like Toy Otter, I can't help but feel this blog post of his comes off as insincere. He uses nothing but Mattel toys as an example. He's a Mattel fan. He runs arguably a Mattel fan website. And he's saying that all figures have issues.
But the reality is, 95% of the figures on the market DO NOT have the issues that Mattel's toys do. Give Playmates all the crap you want, but I have YET to buy a defective Playmates toy. (Granted some look like poop to begin with)
A little error here and there are okay. My MU's Hulk has a slightly wonky eye.
But the fact of the matter is, Mattel by and by in large makes toys with tons of glaring errors on them. Arms on wrong. Huge paint smudges. Two left feet.
If Jason had provided some other examples other than Mattel toys in his post, than I'd believed he was being sincere. But I hate to break it to him, vintage toys did NOT have the QC problems that we have today. I never bought a GI Joe that was built wrong. None of my Super Powers figures had paint smudges. So no, we haven't "Come a long way" in terms of QC. Those poorly made toys wouldn't have hit shelves in the 80's or the 70's or the 60's.
I appreciate what he's trying to do here, but this article might has well be written by Matty Mattel for it's insincerity.
Dead Man Walking
Posted this on that site too:
Yeah, just what Mattel needed: more apologizing on behalf of its fans. I see this constantly with DCUC reviews.
“The paint doesn’t match, but it’s not a big deal.”
“The biceps are switched, but you can hardly notice.”
“The articulation is limited by the skirt, but I don’t mind”
Sorry, I’m not nearly as anal as you were at your anal-est, but I’m not going to sit here and act like everything is hunky-dory. Mattel uses cheap plastic, the paint work sucks, the figures are the same over and over, and the QC is awful.
Just yesterday I was lying in bed, marveling at how nice the Ultimate Rhino figure from Toybiz’s. It’s a completely unique sculpt, with little use as a “buck”, nice paint, and just a great figure overall. What a (negative) difference a few years makes.
Which isn’t to say that Mattel never hits it out of the park–just that it’s the exception, not the rule. Still, DCUC Ares has to be one of the best figures EVER.
Philip Reed
For me, it depends on the size of the company and the price of the piece. I expect more from a mass-run item _or_ a very expensive item. Not surprisingly, though, it appears to be the smaller companies — and the hand-made designer toys — that have the fewest flaws.
I'm usually happiest when a toy is durable and I can play with it without fear of breakage. I'm most unhappy when a toy is so fragile that playing with it results in a broken toy.
Poe
Again, I don't think the Sinestro mistake counts as an acceptable flaw, and I stated that in my post. It was just the only good photo of a flaw I could find at that short notice.
I didn't interpret the editorial as encouraging collectors to forgive Mattel for significant QC errors. I think we can all agree the paint errors and other QC problems Mattel was making–like the one at the top of this post–are worse than the sort of thing Jason's talking about.
He's more referring to minor things like loose joints, slight paint slop, loose grips and so forth. I think what he's doing is trying to encourage toy collectors not to obsess so much on little flaws and end up going broke trying to find that perfect, unspoiled figure. If you do, of course you're going to end up with mostly negative associations with the toys (and maybe question why you're a collector at all).
It really just boils down to the old glass half-empty/half-full argument.
Jim
I have a feeling this blog might be a lengthy one. In advance, let's just all agree to disagree in the end because it may get a bit hot in here. lol
I think Jason's blog is going to gather a bunch of ppl that say "stop complaining about your broken figures! Enjoy Mattel's Fu** ups! Let's give them our money for crappy made figs"
Jim
Seriously, isn't this article only ENCOURAGING Mattel's blunders?
Hate me for saying this, but I think that article was the WORST toy related article I've ever read (skimmed actually because it made me nauseous).
Granted, I am anal and I don't mind being bashed for being so picky but for example Poe's Yellow Sinestro Paint smudge….
…You're kidding right? I mean I think I just landed on Bizarro world if you're actually saying…."Hey Mattel, don't worry…it's cool! I'm totally fine with this." lol
Personally, I got out of dcuc BECAUSE of the QC issues. To encourage that (directly or indirectly) is the most mind boggling toy related issue I have ever read. ESPECIALLY when the economy is what it is today, we deserve to get our money's worth.
Mark
My Shazam had a few problems with his boot paint, but who cares, one hell of a good action figure.
Jim
What the…
(speechless)
I think i rebought and resold EIGHT Yellow Sinestros just to get TWO perfect loose ones with perfect paint and joints!
I looked throught about 50-60 for about a whole month.
So being super anal and believing that I should spend hard earn cash on crap quality figures, I'll have to respectfully disagree.
Honestly though, I wish I wasn't so picky. I'd have saved a lot of cash which is why i collect only one line at a time.