Comments on: Ya Dun Goofed, Mattel.

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:03:28 +0000

So if the packaging is bigger which could theoretically lead to bigger BAF parts, what’s going to be the 2011 excuse for the 10″ BAF cap? I call logistics!

I agree, this line was pure gold to me at the start but after wave 16 which I have pre-ordered I’m pretty much out until a Doomsday BAF crops up.

By: Jason Geyer

Jason Geyer — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:50:05 +0000

Two things:

One, I added in the stuff about the bicep debacle; I meant to have it originally and forgot it while I was typing, so thanks all for the reminders.

Two, voting with your dollars doesn’t work with this type of line. *Someone* will buy that figure if not you, because Mattel does not make enough quantities for incremental sales loss to result in noticeable peg hangers (most of the peg hangers people see are regional, not national). And even if collectors shunned the line en masse it would just lead to cancellation, not a “lesson learned” by Mattel. It’s not like JLU’s decline in sales led to better plastic/legs/sculpts/distribution.

By: Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:34:42 +0000

Great post, but if you’re not voting with you dollars all you’re doing is incentivising Mattel selling you crap. I.e. they sold you a busted figure and got your 17 bucks twice!

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Tweets that mention Ottertorials Ya Dun Goofed, Mattel. -- Topsy.com — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:50:46 +0000

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By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:48:37 +0000

I just received a couple of the Green Lantern Classics figures from Big Bad Toy Store today. My understanding, and it appears to be so from the wave 16 packaged pics, is that the package design is basically the same for the GL Classics as it is for the DCUC line. While I do agree completely with Toy Otter that the packaging is larger than it needs to be and isn’t particularly eco-friendly, I have to say they really did a nice job on the design. I think these figures are really going to “pop” on the pegs or shelves. Additionally, the two figures I received are posed “generically” in their respective packages, so I’m hoping that is a trend that continues and we won’t see as many warped body parts, but even in their generic poses, they still look great due to the package design.

By: Tony C

Tony C — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:39:41 +0000

That sucks about Tyr, man. It’s hard enough to find these figures, let alone having to worry about the Quality Control issues once you manage to snag one. I’ll stand there in the store, nose pressed against the package, checking to make sure the paint app is alright and the joints and limbs don’t look too warped. And I can feel how insane this must look, but y’know, it beats spending $15-$17 on something that’s gonna pi$$ me off when I get home and open it. And yeah, $15 is a ridiculous amount to spend per figure. And some guy posted he buys 2 of these things?! Yikes.
And I am dreading the new articulation. I think it’s going to hurt the overall aesthetics of the figure, mainly. All the added lines and cuts in the plastic might end up looking unattractive for display reasons. I mean, that Robin’s legs look kind of weird. One of the major draws of this line for me was admiring the sculpting work of the 4 Horsemen.
I miss the days of my youth when I would just buy the thing and not worry about every last detail. Maybe if they would put some more effort into their product, I wouldn’t have to.

By: ®ustymustdie

®ustymustdie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:30:07 +0000

Unfortunately when you ask toyguru about any of this, as with his monthly Q&A you get a series of “non-answers” or the blanket we’re working on improving quality. Mattel has never been good at gauging fan interest & this is another prime example. Exclusives that cannot be found are the retailers fault though mattel has had a history of poor distribution. TRU has had JLU up until december, but instead of giving them a varied wave of figure to increase interest & sales it’s one wave (don’t count on it showing back up there folks). At some point someone needs to be held accountable for the crap they’re putting out. Softer rubber on their figures means that the over articulated figures will be a nightmare to display for anyone who takes their stuff out of package. Boy am I pissed right now.

By: StarkRavingMantis

StarkRavingMantis — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:12:38 +0000

I agree that the Quality Control is pretty hit or miss
these days-with far too many misses’. Add to that the
fact that this line vastly overpriced for a mass market
line. Fifteen dollars at mass is absurd and I’ve refused
to pay it-which means I’ve had to abandon collecting DCUC
unless I happen upon a batch on Clearance. Just how does
one justify paying well over $15 per figure once tax is
included? Insane.

By: j1h15233

j1h15233 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:49:54 +0000

Just getting rid of the stupid poses in the package would solve so many problems we have with these figures once we open them. We don’t need some minimum wage factory worker shoving our figures into unnatural poses where they will then sit for months until we open them.

By: Lt. Clutch

Lt. Clutch — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:26:03 +0000

I’ve gotten most of Wave 14 loose through eBay sans Ultie parts since I was tired of waiting since freaking August. Hourman, Green Lantern, Obsidian, and Zatanna have since arrived and the plastic does feel cheaper. It’s heavy and rubbery, like some of the worst DC Direct stuff we’ve gotten. Now Tyr is on his way here and Jason has me worried. I thought it was just me becoming more and more burned out on toy collecting. Not looking forward to those added joints at all.

By: ®ustymustdie

®ustymustdie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:00:10 +0000

hmmmmmm…does this mean that mattel will x you out of their monthly 5 questions? Seems like toyguru is more interested in interviews & photo ops than being the geek that he professes himself to be & checking the quality control. The guy is too full of himself to care about the product hitting retail.

By: TRDouble

TRDouble — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:25:33 +0000

LOL! Good article, but nothing really new here for the long time DCUC fan, is it? I had the Obsidian deformed arm thing (and a broken leg on my first one); I saw a Jemm at Target with the larger arms & biceps, but his arm and leg were so deformed from the package pose, I left him; I picked up a second GL 5-Pack (just in case) and the GL symbol was completely different than those in my first set! And by ‘just in case,’ I mean that I try to buy at least two of every DCUC when I can because you never know what you will actually get when you open the first one (see: Obsidian). The double joints with the plastic quality scare me the most and we got an early preview of what to expect with Blue Beetle III (I am really scared that I will be reliving some of my Toy Biz ML nightmares), and it is past time the stupid dynamic poses go the way of the dinosaur. I don’t like having three boxes ready when I open my toys: 1. Deformed Limbs. Heat & Fix. 2. Broken. Replace & Return. 3. Good (enough). Find place for on shelf.

By: red Ricky

red Ricky — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:51:36 +0000

Good Luck! And thanks for the post. By the way, you thought you had a bad day… My Parasite’s hip joint broke within within 5 minutes of being out of the package (his right leg fell off while I was trying to find his center of gravity). Anyways, I honestly didn’t know I was dealing with a stuck peg, plus I also thought that the days of boiling and freezing… or freezing and boiling your figures before you moved them, where gone. Trust me, buying Tyr twice isn’t as bad as spending $60 plus dollars on ONE Parasite. Now go hunt yourself a new Tyr. And good luck, again.

By: vancleef9000

vancleef9000 — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 02:05:12 +0000

I agree with everything in this post. I’m not really sure why they went with double elbows, they add just enough length to the arm that they make humans look like they have monkey arms. Used sparingly and on the right character they work great, but Robin is not someone who should have had them. Riddler is easily my favorite figure of this batch and is the most DCUCesque. I can only hope the larger package means a larger cnc figure but somehow I doubt it. I also liked it better when these were $10-$12 and aimed at everyone instead of $16 and aimed at adults.

By: demoncat

demoncat — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:30:45 +0000

this latest pit with the Tyre and robin just shows how when it comes to super hero boy toys other then motu Mattel should have stayed out of the game till they could figure out how to not make the figures wind up like they are better suited for dollar stores

By: Angry man

Angry man — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:56:17 +0000

GO HAVE A PICNIC, MATTEL!