Ok. So there isn’t a modern line of toys out there today that doesn’t have flaws, something for the average collector and/or fan to be aggrieved about when they inspect their new purchase.
I know I’ve found them. Loose joints, bad paint masks, bad tampo printing, oversprays, mold marks, splatters, frozen joints, scuffs, nicks, and on and on.
These things used to really bother me. I mean, really, really bother me, in an OCD/can’t stop fixating on them way. But now, today, they don’t anymore. Because I’ve come to a realization: flaws are inherent in the manufacturing process. They’ve always been there. The toys haven’t changed…I’VE changed. And it’s not just me.
When did this happen? When did we, as collectors, start expecting perfection in a cheap, mass produced item? When did toys stop being toys, and start being "works of art"? Was it when McFarlane pushed the boundaries of sculpting and modling in the late 90s? Was it when toy companies stopped targeting kids and started catering coley to adult fans? Was it the advances in molding technologies that allowed sculpts to be incredibly intricate while the painting and manufacting processes haven’t changed as much? I don’t know. But I do know my memories of always being this demanding are faulty.
Now, before I go further, let me clarify the difference between "flaws" and "bad decisions". I’m not talking about figures that look like bootlegs, or that can’t stand due to engineering mistakes, or ones that have clear mistakes, like two left legs. Those are problems. Scale differences are not flaws. Painted detailsinstead of sculpted details are not flaws. $5 figures priced at $10 are not flaws.
That said, it took Cantina Dan’s awesome blog that compared old figures to new figures to really open my eyes that figures have been far, far worse in general in the past few decades than they are now. I think when we have such high standards now for sculpts and articulation, when there are flaws it is that much more glaring to the critical eye. I’m not caring too much if Bob the Goon has a lazy eye, but the Riddler better damn well have multiple crisp, clean question marks on his jacket!
But you know what? I’ve been focusing on things that just don’t matter, even at my nerdy collector level. I’ve now realized that once these guys are displayed on a shelf, especially if they overlap each other in a tight group, I can’t see those flaws, even if I look hard. Yeah, my Metallo’s legs didn’t fit in the sockets. But superglue fixed that real quick. Yeah, the Eradicator’s goggles aren’t clear. But his eyes don’t really work, do they? Yeah, Shazam’s ankles have a bright red overspray. but who is looking at his ankles?!? I look back at my Toy Biz figures from the 90s, and wonder why I wasn’t enraged when those were out of scale, or badly painted, or had crazy articulation that didn’t make sense. I dunno, I just liked that I got a Swarm, and a Stegron, and Spat & Grovel (well, maybe not the Spat & Grovel!).
So look closely at the picture above and tell me what you really see: is it a bunch of figures that just aren’t as cool as they possibly could be, or is it sheer amazement that we have figures of all of these characters in the same year? I know what my answer is, and I’m all the happier for it.
Well, said! I love that photo and the fact that out of all the DCUC figures you have displayed there are really only three/four that the average person could name (and it really points out to me that I have *got* to find a better way to display my figures…)
Thank you.
The title for this blog is brilliant, btw. I, like you, have read countless messages online…going back to our rec.toys.misc days…from folks complaining about this or that perceived problem with one action figure or another. Most of the time the problem lies, I believe, not with the toy but with the end consumers expecations.
Like you said, no toy is perfect. But that is not to say a toy possession imperfections cannot be enjoyed.
We’ve had someone here at AFi who’s posted things along the line of “I had to go through 30 DCUC Batman figures to find one painted right!”
Really? Seriously? I grabbed the first one I saw on the pegs and it was just fine. After seeing that post, or similiar ones, I started looking at the other figures on the pegs. They all looked fine to me. They looked like mass market toys.
I think some folks need to unclench. I’m glad you’ve seen the light. It’ll make collecting a lot more enjoyable.
Great blog…I just wish I had started on this line early enough to track down that Walmart wave. Black Lightning, Eradicator and that last Metallo leg will probably never grace my shelf.
This piece basically encapsulates my feelings on the subject as well. Little flaws used to bug the *crap* out of me, but I’ve gotten much better about it of late.
A big part of that is I just think it’s a waste to own two of the same figure. Unless the flaw can’t be reasonably ignored, like two left biceps or a broken leg, I’m satisfied.
Stop worrying and love the flaws…
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……
Hear that Mattel! WE LOVE FLAWS! Keep doing what you’re doing!
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.
Fantastic post. Personally, I’ve never been too hung up on the flaws in action figures. In fact, most of them just make me chuckle. Even the two left lower legs/feet on my DC Direct Comedian figure didn’t bother me too much. Of course, I’d prefer to have something that doesn’t look ridiculous, like a figure with its eye painted on the cheek, but some of the posts I’ve seen online lead me to believe I’m not one of the more picky collectors out there. I try to really just enjoy the hobby, and getting all worked up about these things would detract from that.
I’m not super anal about my toys. However I usually give them a once over in the store, because of one company… Mattel.
I really wasn’t aware that toy quality had went down so much in the past few years. I collected toys through the 80s-90s and never ever bought a bum toy. NEVER. I gave up collecting for several years and eventually came back.
At first I had no issues, but then I started to notice in packages, that if I wasn’t careful, certain Mattel toys were very poorly painted. This seemed to be a JLU exclusive problem for a bit and not one that was too bad so I never gave it much thought.
Now I currently buy a lot of toys. I mean a lot. I but Hasbro toys, I buy Mattel toys, I buy Playmates toys, I buy Character Options toys, I buy import toys, movie toys, you name it, I’ve bought one in the past few years. And do you know how many times I’ve had to put a toy back on the shelf because it looks utterly ridiculous? A lot.
But you know what I’ve never had to do? I’ve never had to put a Hasbro, CO, Playmates, etc, etc toy back on the shelf because I couldn’t find a decent version. That distinction goes to one company only… Mattel.
I’ve bought some GI Joes with minor paint flaws, but out of the hundreds of GI Joes I’ve bought, I probably own 2 with flaws. Not bad. Just last week I had to buy a flawed JLU figure because he was the only available in town. Either I have a poorly painted JLU or no JLU at all.
Sorry, but all toy flaws are not created equal and Mattel’s toy blunders are not something to be accepted or by god, even praised.
I’ve waited years to have a decent Captain Marvel mass market figure and apparently I’m still waiting, because every time I’ve seen one in store it looks terrible. I’m not talking minor issues, I’m talking paint all over the chest, cape nearly ripped off…
It’s just not acceptable. And you know what? That didn’t happen on vintage toys. The idea that this “always” happened is just plain false. Sure, there have probably always been examples of flaws in the manufacturing process but QC used to kick those toys out. Now they make it to the shelf.
And there is something fundamentally wrong with that. Technology has gotten better. Prices have went up. And yet the toys now are worse. You constantly hear companies complain about how they have to live up to new saftey standards, but the QC has went into the dumper. The sad thing is, I’ve seen it permeate all of Mattel’s lines. DCIH figures that look like they’ve been ran over with a forklift and then put into the package. The aforementioned DCUC. The new JLU figures all look like they were painted by watercolors (Cept the ones from Matty’s website, naturally).
This is a NEW problem and it’s almost a one company exclusive problem. Minro flws, little errors can have some charm. A slightly loose joint sucks, but life goes on. Toys that have exploding butts right out of the package are NOT acceptable. Figures that look like they’ve been painted by Helen Keller are NOT acceptable.
Would you buy a CD with a scratch in it? Would you buy a shovel with no spade? Would you buy a car that’s got four drivers side doors? Would you buy a telephone that’s missing the #2?
If toys are for kids, (which clearly several of Mattel’s lines are not) then shouldn’t are kids deserve more? No wonder kids want to play video games instead of toys. Toys from my youth can STILL endure hours of play and the new toys can’t. At least the video games don’t fall to pieces when we take them out of the package.
Apologies for the long rant, and I’m a fan Jason, but I think you opened up Pandora’s box.
At $12, I expect to have the correct parts put in the correct places. Rising costs + cost-cutting measures in production = me wondering where my extra money is going. The economy is bad, I get it; but it’s just as bad for most of us reading this as for the company making these things.
And, oh, your Booster Gold has two right arms…
“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”
Go back and reread my article. These all fall under the category of mistakes and/or bad design decisions. I do not blanket forgive these. Being a former toy designer myself, nothing makes me madder than seeing things not thought through in the beginning.
And two left legs, etc. is a mistake, and one I’m not happy with. And I do have a lot of Toy Biz figures with mismatched parts, too. None of them I’m overjoyed with. But that’s not what I’m talking about. As for using a buck vs unique sculpt, that’s just the reality of today’s business in addition to Mattel’s business model. If you want it to change then stop buying toys until it goes to another company, because Mattel has done that for all of it’s lines for decades (ever look at Barbie?)
And while this was DCUC specific in the pics, this is not a Mattel apology, any more than it is a Shocker apology or Playmates apology. MU has weak joints, and sloppy paint too on the ones I’ve seen (those Wolverine movie figs are not nice). But expectations of what a mass produced toy is are way out of whack.
There is a universal law that seems to govern every online communite I’ve ever seen- bitching = cool. It could be a movie, a toy, whatever, unless you pick it appart and deride anyone who likes it as an idiot, you’re not cool. It gets so bad on some boards, you wonder why they’re even keeping track of whatever it is. They start throwing around terms like “true fan” and that who ever is making product X hates the people watching/buying that product, and want to lose money and fail. It’s sad. If something brings you that little joy, please quit the hobby, whatever it is.
I see a shelf full of figures in the wrong scale. (For this collector, at least.)
Glad you’re happy with your toys. The hobby should be fun rather than frustrating and a lot of that comes down to state of mind, just like you said.
Copy and pasted from a post I made regarding this.
Articles like Jason’s give too much slack to Mattel. Its enough to note improvements but if you make Mattel think you’re ok with SETTLING…then you loose that protective “cushion” for Mattel to set high standards for their figures.
Look at DCUC Wave 8. Improvements were made because of the complainers. I think people SHOULD worry, SHOULD comment on their feelings.
If you’re referring to the MINOR flaws then why make an issue about something so minor that no one cared about it in the first place.
I think examples need to be made so that your agrument is a bit more vivid.
As for you thinking people have HIGH EXPECTATIONS for DCUC. I’ve been collecting for almost 20 years and ofcourse there are always going to be QC issues but Mattel was pretty ridiculous. I have NEVER had that hard of a time collecting a line more than I have with dcuc. However to be fair, don’t use me as an example. I’ll just say that during my nearly 20 years of collecting I’ve never seen so many mistakes from a single toy company.
What’s interesting to note is that DCSH had a lot better Quality Control. There were problems equivalent to every other toy line out there. Then when DCUC came around…it was an explosion of QC chaos.
After attacking the so called “complainers” realize how wave 8 is an improvement over the past few waves. Hence the reason why we should ALWAYS worry or state our comments if we feel like it. We all want to get the best figures possible especially in an economy like this.
I found no less than 6 flaws in your spelling and sentence structure, and I’m PISSED OFF.
Great blog, man…as usual.
Peace,
Chip
Well said Jason.
I think the movie The Jerk said it best…
“Harry We don’t have defective cans, we have a defective person out there!”
Seriously I think the whole point of this post gets missed. Don’t worry about the little things. It’s the big things, like two left feet or two right arms that should be a concern. And please don’t bust out the Hasbro and Playmates are better line!
Hasbro?
I have been burned quite a few times with worse than any DCUC. I could send you some pictures of Star Wars figures that look like they were painted by the Hulk. Stretched out hands from weapons. Two left hands etc. How about some of those paint apps on the new Indy figures? Yeah quality!! GI Joe? Many in my collection look terrible. Marvel Legends? Better but not enough to be a Holy Grail of toy line perfection. I don’t think Hasbro can make a decent removable helmet for the Joe or Star Wars line! Oh and Marvel Universe… Do I need to say more?
Playmates?
Sweet Mother? Which figure line? TMNT? Nope flaws abundant in every incarnation of the line since the squishy headed turtles to the new movie figures with “real” articulation! Missing weapons to paint that I could have done better blind folded with a spray can! Please tell me it’s not Terminator Salvation toys!! The old Trek line? I had collection on the wall that was just flaws!! The new Trek toys? I passed on these do to crappy sculpts thats a huge flaw in my mind.
There is no toy company that is better than another. It’s always a good idea to inspect a toy before it goes home with you. But what happens if you missed something?
Enjoy the little flaws… Aztecs thought little flaws were perfection in the gods eyes.
Never had a broken Playmates figure. NEVER. Just saying.
If your calling unpainted accessories flaws, then yeah, okay.
The first Playmates figures I’ve ever bought have been the Star Trek and Terminator movie figures. There were some problems. Stuck joints, no range of motion in joints, paint problems, etc. I’ve seen some terrible paint jobs on these figures. I wish I had bought the Pike I saw that had no eyes.
But, I like the figures.
I touched up some paint. I fixed some joints through the usual methods. One ankle was truly broken and couldn’t be repaired. I swapped it with an ankle from an extra Scotty from the Transporter set.
Any mass produced, cheap item has a chance of being flawed, regardless of the company that makes it. Try not to obsess over the small stuff, and you may end up enjoying life a bit more. That’s what I took away from ToyOtter’s blog post.
Toyotter said: “These things used to really bother me. I mean, really, really bother me, in an OCD/can’t stop fixating on them way.”
Yeah I was/kinda still am the same way, One of my biggest OCD’s was/is loose joints, they drove me crazy, (I used to wrap a string around an arm or head to tighten it a little, cause I couldn’t stand it, lol.) Paint on the other hand wasn’t much of an issue, (I still looked/look for the best I can see, but who doesn’t?
) anyways nice article ToyOtter, you have re-opened my eyes to the intolerance of “Flawed Toys”
Toys are people too! (very little people, and sometimes strange looking, but they have feelings too, just watch Toystory.)
I wish I had your internal fortitude. Just yesterday, I passed up an otherwise near-perfect Hal Jordan because I could tell the torso hinge was loose. I had never seen such a nice Hal Jordan and I STILL couldn’t pull the trigger. I am out of hand. I fix the soft-goods on my Star Wars figures so the cloaks drape naturally with Top Stick. You know, what people use to affix toupees to their head. I tighten screws on transformers. I tighten joints. I paint accessories so they are accurate. I go out of my way to find the perfect figure. I’m not satisfied with the bridge mat of the Playmates set so I’m BUILDING a bridge. I’m nuts.
The thing is, I look back on myself as a kid, and I was the run that broke out my orange crayon to paint He-Man’s gauntlets. I took a pencil and did the best I could to draw an “S” on my Mego Superman’s cape. I’ve always been crazy.
But I realize I have to start letting go and accepting some imperfections. I’m slowly getting there but it’s so… difficult!
Excellent post!
I think the big point that I realized wasn’t that I didn’t care about the flaws, but that I didn’t notice them once I had my figures arranged on a shelf behind glass. I mean, I can barely see who is in the back row, let alone if their ankles are painted correctly.
So while one on one, fresh out of the package I might get peeved at what I find, as a whole collection that I don’t physically touch for years I easily forget what is “flawed” about each figure.
Unless they can’t stand, like JLU, because at that point I’m looking at 50 figures all laying down.
Great post!
The more I traverse the various toyboards, I really feel that us toycollectors really suffer from a state of tunnel vision. We have this ideal that has never existed, but we keep comparing everything to it.
I keep an SP Dr. Fate on my desk and he had uneven paint lines just about everywhere. Nothing terrible, but nothing like the straight lines that today’s DCUC Dr. Fate sports. It doesn’t make me love the old one any less.
“Yeah, the Eradicator’s goggles aren’t clear. But his eyes don’t really work, do they?” -Toy Otter
Great line!
Great blog, Jason. I approach the hobby with a bit of resignation knowing that there are inherent disappointments that come with action figure collecting. The point you make about how minor flaws become inconsequential when seeing a collection all displayed together is right on.
I think it’s all part of growing up. I would often gripe about a loose joint on a G.I. Joe figure as a kid, but any paint loss or wear would occur from my own hours of intensive play. There were some of us out there who even blew them up with firecrackers.
We look back on toys as a part of our life that brought us comfort and a sense of everything being right with the world. It might have seemed perfect, so we need those standards applied to the stuff we collect as adults in order for this idealization to continue. That’s how it is for myself. I want the stuff I buy to be flawless because the most I’ll do nowadays is display it, so aesthetics take center stage instead of staging fantastic adventures on the floor as we all did once upon at time.