Action Figure Review: S.W.A.T. Power Team Elite

This figure was purchased at Big Lots. I have never seen this line of figures anywhere else. This package consisted of 1 figure, 1 motorcycle, 2 weapons(guns), 4 large hand tools used for forced entry, a solid plastic tube with handles, and a flak vest. The figure has 18 points of articulation, ankles, knees, thighs, hips waist, wrists, elbows, upper arms, shoulders, and neck. Construction is solid. I consider it superior to Mattel's DCIH, DCUC, and JLU, Hasbro's Marvel AND G.I.Joe, and Playmate's Star Trek, and I paid $3.50 + tax for all of this, half of what you would pay for just a figure from Mattel or Hasbro. I would definitely give this 5 out of 5 of whatever rating system you care to use.

CCC.

So Mattel, are you capable of explaining how a generic product can be superior to anything you have to offer at half the price?

CCC.

No licensing fees and the same generic figures and accessories are used in dozens of sets over several years. Also the sets are designed, produced and manufactured by a Chinese company so there is no US overhead and I'm sure that Big Lots picks up the shipping tab instead of buying once the toys are in the states.

I would blindly accept your explanation if the product were of equal quality, not superior. This figure is twice as good as anything on the market now. I would gladly pay $7 for a licensed figure and never complain because I would never need to, this figure will not break when I move the joints.

CCC.

Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree on "superior" though I will give you that the figures are sturdy and nicely accessorized.

Thing is, when you factor in the expense of the licenses (though GI Joe wouldn't fall in that catagory), the approval processes for those licenses and the overhead of running a company the size of Mattel's or Hasbro's US offices and the salaries of the people that work for those companies (especially Mattel being in the Los Angeles area) you can't compare it to a line like Power Team Elite for costs. PTE is essentially the same two bodies and four or so heads along with (for the most part) the same accessories and vehicles that get reconfigured and repainted. The core pieces of the line have been on the market for at least six years and every holiday season that I can remember in that time has had Big Lots devoting a rather large section of the toy area to the line, much more space than any licensed, mass-market toy gets from any retailer without a major movie tie-in.

Huh?

M&C Toys produces some great accessories. I've purchased more than my share of them from Marauder Gun-Runners. Their PTE figures look like junk, though. I don't care how tough they are when they look that bad. If Mattel or Hasbro started taking lessons from M&C, I'd move on to collecting other things.

CCC.

I split this off and moved it to it's own topic as it was not appropriate for the "Ask Mattel" forum. Mattel will never comment on competitor product. If you;d like to continue talking about these here, feel free.

Nothing personal against you but you really need to stop defending them. They really need to defend themselves. That is why I called them on this important product quality/safety issue. Joints that break so easily as when they are being depackaged generate small parts that can cause a choking hazard. It IS important for them to address this.

CCC.

LM, please take what I'm saying as friendly advice. Daniel knows that Mattel isn't going to answer that sort of question in their fansite Q&As and he's not going to waste a question on it. If you really want to ask Mattel I suggest posting it on their forums and the Facebook page, sending it via snail-mail to the corporate offices. I honestly doubt that they'd be any more likely to answer it than via the Q&As here but at least you'd know that they'd been handed the question directly.

Where did anyone "defend" Mattel? Mattel and Hasbro don't even comment on one another's toy lines in their Q&As, so they're certainly not going to comment on anything from M&C Toys. Stating the obvious isn't any kind of defense.


You didn't even mention "safety" in your initial comment. Besides, Mattel is packing collectible buttons with action figures this year, toys that come with sharp pieces of metal. I don't see any objections to that. And not for nothin', but broken joints don't create any more of a "choking hazard" than the small accessories included with G.I. JOE, STAR WARS, Marvel Universe, and PTE toys.

There's a reason Big Lots is pretty much the only brick and mortar source for M&C Toys' products these days.

So you are saying forget giving them a chance to fix the problem and make the customer happy and just report them so we can all send our figures back?

CCC.

No, I didn't say anything like that. I said exactly what was in my posts.

Letting Mattel or Hasbro know when there are problems with their products is productive, constructive criticism. Attempting to suggest the PTE figures are "superior" in quality is... not. Mattel and Hasbro are constantly developing new construction methods, tooling new parts, and introducing innovations in design and articulation to the industry. There are going to be hiccups along the way. And things just happen sometimes in manufacturing. A few bad apples are going to get out of every factory, regardless of what the product is. It could be a toy, a game console, a vehicle, or an ink pen. M&C Toys is using the same junky sculpts over and over and over and over and over again. Even if there's little risk of joints snapping, that doesn't mean they're of higher quality. You'd have to take a blade (or maybe teeth) to an LJN Wrestling Superstars figure if you wanted to separate limbs, but that doesn't mean G.I. JOE or superhero figures need to be anything like them.

I would not call a figure junky when the ankle joint, for example, is on par in stregnth with the same joint on Mattel's Atom Smasher BaF, at 1/3 the size. I am saying if a better product can be made, and this figure is proof it can, isn't Mattel a big enough company to be making a better product? Do you feel you deserve a better product or do you prefer to buy inferior goods just because it has a name on it?

CCC.

But no one is accepting your premise that Mattel's goods are inferior in this example.

Then buy one and see for yourself. I have had generic figures before, so I know about inferior design and manufacturing to cut costs. I actually bought this package for the motorcycle and had no interest in the figure, so I was very surprised when I finally pulled it out to see how well made it is. I expected it to be what you think it is. It is not. The plastic is the same as the Mattel and the hip joint is the same ball and swivel as Hasbro's Joes. It is very durable and thicker that the Joe components. I was actually afraid I was going to break it the first time I moved it because of my experiences with Mattel product. As for choosing not to believe me, that could almost be the same as calling me a liar. I do not lie, for reasons I have explained in my swap meet thread, so if you say I am wrong, you better be able to prove it. Break out that wallet and go buy one. Test it yourself.

CCC.