What's up with Mattel?
 

I've got a question, one I would love that you could answer.

Why does Mattel still use 90's articulation on their 3 inch figures?

I mean, I know more complex figures cost a lot more, but, you just can't compare a Iron man 2 toy with a GL movie toy.

Thanks for answering!

mattel makes no sense. it seems like there are two major camps fighting for control, one being from 1983 and the other from 1996. neither have a clue what they are doing and it shows with how they handle movie licenses.

I often wonder this myself. I think they think they've got collectors covered with DCUC, Movie Masters, and MOTUC, and just target kids with cheap crap. What they're having a hard time learning is that kids aren't stupid and don't want cheap crap.

THIS guy can be my wingman.

Maybe they'll up their game in a few years...nah, what am I saying. Seriously, they've had the same type of figures for so many years that I doubt it'll change. At least on the smaller size figs.

Exactly. And a lot of today's kids are OUR kids, so they definitely know when their toys aren't what they could be.

In Mattel's defense, they do make the two best 1/12th scale action figure lines on the market today.

This statement does seem true until you think about what kids really want. Cheap crap? Yes and no. They want video games (not cheap), and Bakugan/Yu-gi-oh/Pokemon (definitely cheap crap). The majority action figure kids play with nowadays is Wrasslin'. Matty owns that monopoly and they seem to be selling pretty well. Mattel knows what the kiddies like.

The true statement that everyone wants to make here, yet no one has; "I wish they made DC 1/18th figs as cool as Marvel 1/18th figs." In a perfect world, my friends. In a perfect world.

i think Mattel's contact in china aint the same as hasbro and therefore those guys over there dont know how to put the same articulation points LOL #imo

Regarding current product lines only, Mattel / Four Horseman Studios are producing some great 6"-7" inch figures. Yes, there are some QC issues with an occasional sculpt, paint app, or joint, but on the whole this line is solid.

Diamond Select Toys (the Marvel Select Line) are fine. They have great paint apps and joints, but their sculpts and plastic quality seem to me to be inferior.

Hasbro's 3.75 inch lines are obviously indeed far superior to Mattel's in articulation, though the paint apps seem dull across the Marvel lines, but perhaps this is an attempt at realism vs. the alternative which many might consider "cartoony." This is common in DC toys versus Marvel toys in general. DC characters are usually depicted in primary color shades while Marvel uses a darker color palette, so I can't say this is anything more than a personal preference.

I don't collect 3.75" scale figs so I am otherwise a big Mattel fan (I am sure no one is surprised). I love the DCUC & DCSH figure lines. The Marvel Select / Diamond Select Iron Man 2 toys (Mark IV, Mark VI, & War Machine) were very impressive. I am very hopeful for the upcoming Marvel figs from Diamond Select as well, but I still believe that Mattel is doing better than the competition at the 6"-7" (1/12th) scale.

Certainly, Mattel makes several really good (and really popular) product lines: Movie Masters, MOTUC, Hot Wheels, Barbie. But we're not talking about those - we're talking about the 3.75" scale.

The thing is, those other examples of cheap crap do exactly what they're expected to do: Bakugan toys go from a ball to a monster once activated and return to a ball form whenever the owner so chooses. Pokemon is the same way, although that line also taps into the "set" collector mentality ("Gotta catch 'em all!") and can get away with cheap crap on a different level.

WWE figures are very articulated and well-done, but they're also 6"-scale, which we've already agreed Mattel is good at making.

My issue is I cannot understand why they can't translate that level of design, quality and success into the 3.75"-scale market.

Oh, they've tried. But the problem is they always seem to stop just short of where they need to be. I'd even be fine with taking the design of Movie Masters and downscaling them. At least it would be a step in the right direction.

China just has the factories where the toys are assembled. With MU and DCIH, the designs of the figures are handled by their respective R&D teams at Mattel or Hasbro. And at least with Hasbro, each line has its own design team, budget, marketing, etc.

This is the heart of the problem. This is what I call the Mattel paradox.

I own DCUC, great figures. Today I bought GL 3.75 because thats the scale I collect. The articulation is soooo horrid. The sculpt however is pretty decent.

WE KNOW YOU CAN DO BETTER MATTEL!!!!! Yet..they don't.

The Mattel paradox

I think the real answer here is "because they're doo-doo heads."

I wish they'd get on the ball with the 3.75" stuff, but it's almost like they threw in the towel in that area.

for the life of me, i can't think of anything i've read this week that i agree with more than this simple statement.

If they look like they suck, don't buy them. Let them rot on toy shelves and if a kid comes along and finds it discounted and decides that they want to buy it just so it gets killed off and they bury the damn thing in their back yard, then so be it. That was the way things worked when I was little, and I don't regret it.

Both Hasbro an Mattel movies lines have problems. With Mattel theres a variety of charecters but the figures are terrible. Hasbro prodcuts have great figures of two or three charecters, by the time you see second tier figures the line has been discontinued.

Well see theres more to a toy to me then articulation. I like the figures, I just wish they had more articulation.

Again, like everyone its a case of, 'we know you can so why don't you (do better on manufacturing toys)'

Shin Densetsu agrees

Agree.
BUT THEY ARE SO PRETTY D:

DCIH wasn't that bad. I have every figure except Trickster and Heatwave. I wish they got to some of the other guys instead of doing battle damage variants. At least we got Earth 2 Superman. Would've liked to have seen Hourman, Golden Age Atom, Sandman, Alan Scott's Green Lantern, Pariah, Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E, female Dr.Light, Hawk, Dove, Clayface, Brainiac, Superboy Prime, Darkseid, Huntress, Starman and the Crime Syndicate...

I mean we BARELY got Aquaman... That's worse than Hasbro still skimping us on Beast.

I'm inclined to agree with your basic statement. IH wasn't as godaweful as everyone accuses it of being. My only real complaint over it was the lack of accessories, and the extreme price.
Articulation wise, it's pretty much what I ask for in such a small line (MU and the late redesigned IH are so fragile they're worthless).
The female sculpts could have used more work, but that's true with DCUC, ML, and MU as well (Seriously, why are Mattel and Hasbro both so inept at making a girl?)

maybe cause they've never seen any haha

If theres one thing Mattel has proved over and over again when it comes to their retail carried product lines ... If it's not Hot Wheels or Barbie they know how to completely F it up.

^^ Damn straight!

The question of the ages. I bought a Black Canary 3 3/4 to put with all my Star Wars and Marvel... and then took it down. it was awful. no elbows, no knees, horrible head, bad torso sculpt... got a Green Lantern movie figure. Sculpt is awesome. Articulation inexcusable. So I'm currently in the middle of hacking him up and splicing in joints.

I'm done with DC 3 3/4. If I need any characters, I'll make them myself with MU stock sculpts.

Exactly! I don't know if you've gotten any of the 4" Captain America movie toys, but that WWII Cap is so loaded with articulation, it's unbelievable. The 4" just might be more articulated than the 6" Marvel Legends one!