I haven't bought one in a while. Mostly because they haven't been available, but the costs and the chase had really kind of ruined it for me. Mix that in with bad QC and I thought I'd be done.


Well today I'm out at Target and I see the Batman Unlimited and DC Unlimted cases being unpacked. 16 bucks is still more than I wanted to spend, but I'm a Superman nerd so I broke down and got him and Hawkman.

I get home, open up Superman, and BAM...stuck hip joint let breaks right off.

SERIOUSLY MATTEL! WE AREN'T FREAKING PAST THIS!!

I'll be honest...I don't know why, but this has me really pissed off. I think it's because I had basically given up on the figures, and I got suckered back in because I actually found them.

I'll call them, see if I can get a voucher, but I don't know if I even care.

If you do get one, by the time it arrives you won't be able to find the figure anymore.

CCC.

I don't know. It just pissed me off. I was hoping we were past that. On top of the fact I now live in the middle of nowhere, I was kind of excited that I walked into a target and watched a guy unpack two boxes of figures. I haven't seen that in years.

I'm afraid to open hawkman.

12 Mattel figures = 1 Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece figure

3 Mattel figures = 1 Square Enix Batman

2 Mattel figures = 1 Medicom Miracle Action Figure

Don't believe me? Here is a 6" figure Medicom is offering for $40

http://toynewsi.com/news.php?itemid=19200

At some point I had to ask myself the question, am I trying to collect really great figures, or trying to fill up massive amounts of space on shelves and in boxes? Once you add tax and gas money, the choice becomes easier. Mattel is forcing their fans into the welcoming arms of the competition.

Mattel still has me with Movie Masters. I gave up on DCUC and Batman Unlimited. Hopefully they will step up their game for future lines. The Man of Steel MM Superman figure gives me hope.

As I stated elsewhere, the new 4" Man of Steel figures look like the 4" Green Lantern figures with elbow joints added. What that means for the bigger ones......

CCC.

I stopped collecting everything the day they dropped JLU.

Quality on all the DC toys suck,
Prices are off the wall,
and I'm sick of the errors and remakes.

Get it right the first time Mattel.

Im getting a bit burned out too if im honest. Quality control has always been shoddy, but now the price is a big issue. After Ram Man and Jitsu come out, there'll only be the odd character here and there that I'll want from MOTUC and I'll be done. I'm picking and choosing now with the DCUC retail offerings, and will continue to get the DC sub until they stop offering it. But with JLU gone, I see Mattel getting less and less of my cash unless they make what we ask or rather than what they dictate we should want.

Can't you just return it to the store?

The last couple recent figures I've purchased had those stuck legs too! Superboy Prime, Red Robin, and New 52 Superman had it really bad and I'm lucky they didn't snap off because I can see the plastic turning white from where I'm trying to gently twist it and get it loose. I put them in the freezer for a few hours and I feel really lucky they didn't snap off when I took them out, but they did finally give after the freezing.

I'm on my way out the door with Mattel's DC stuff as well. No more subscription figures for me except for Huntress. I've already passed on Larfleeze and Saint Walker so that was the first test, haha. At retail, I'm just getting Penguin, and the Wonder Woman (if they actually follow through with getting her in a store this time) so far this year and passing on every thing else. I'll probably get a few TV show figures if they're nice.

I just wish my Targets would stock these and not 2 weeks after the rest of the world. I'm embarrassed to say I paid $22 for Superman at a specialty toy store but distribution is so sluggish, I just saw him and jumped at it. i like the figure though.

Ummm ... Bunger....

If ... Um. ... If, uh, yeah, ...

If you decide you don't want to keep the Hawkman . ...

Ummm....

I'll take him ...



Sorry to hear about the bad QC issues still persisting. I completely understand the frustration. Especially when I can buy an item from a smaller company, producing small quantities at a sometimes comparable price and not have to deal with the same QC issues.

This post definitely puts things in perspective. They've got me for another year with the DCUIC Matty sub, but I think I'm out. I was actually looking forward to seeing the new Hawkman thanks to Captain Collectors gorgeous pics on his DC Facebook page. However, between hearing that they were $22 at my lcbs and finding a wave on the shelf for $18 it took whatever wind I had out of my sails

When I say I live in the middle of no where, I really mean I live in the middle of no where.

Can I return it? Sure, but driving up just to do it would cost me more in gas than it's worth it.


The big point here is I shouldn't have to return it. For what they cost, it shouldn't happen. And it happens, a lot.

I'd venture to say through the first 19 waves of DCUC (I got each figure in each wave)...in 14 of the waves I had issues with QC to some level, broken and stuck joints a lot, and in some waves multiple issues.

I'll let you know. The figure actually looks wonderful. I'm just afraid to open it.

Not trying to cause trouble or open a can of worms... but how much longer does Mattel have the DC License for again? lol.
Seriously though Mattel is just so lame now... then again so is DC right now, the last Mattel product I bought was the Mongul 3-pack. Though, I may get their Russel Crow and Henry Cavill "Man of Steel" MM figures... maybe, if the movie isn't as bad as it looks right now... Jenny Olsen, (better be a rumor.) lol


D.

I believe that action figures run in cycles, or waves, and we are coming to the end of this one. There should be a dry spell of about a decade, then another wave. I feel the smart money is the small independent like Gonativetoys making customizable figures to fill the gap for hardcore collectors in the interim. If these people can grab a big enough slice of the pie, big manufacturers may try to break the cycle in order to try and hold on to what they misguidedly think they are entitled to.

CCC.

How many toy company executives does it take to screw in a light bulb?