[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dolemite

BTW, can someone relay the story behind why NECA decided to re-make some of their earlier Pacific Rim figures? Didn't it have something to do with cheapening the line down for a possible Walmart retail release that got pulled at the last second or something? Because there's a huge increase in quality in the later waves.

It was the first wave of figures (Gypsy, Striker, and Typhoon) that was re-released, and the line was stamped as "2nd Deployment" on the packaging so that it would not kill the MIB values for those who managed to get their hands on the originals. I've heard a number of reasons for the re-release, ranging from NECA trying to fix distribution woes that happened with the first wave, to attempting to appease fans who were not able to get their hands on the original waves and were complaining about the extravagant second hand market prices. Make no mistake though, there was absolutely no difference in the quality of the figures, as I picked up one of those with the intention of replacing a certain figure on my shelf that I loathe, and ended up returning it as it had even worse QC issues than my original figure.

I would also go as far as to say that while I'm not sure if it was an actual trend, but in my opinion, the paint apps were worse on the 2nd deployment as well, as many of the figures I saw in the wild lacked the precision and crispness of the original wave 1 figures.

You know...I just checked on my pre-order at BBTS wondering if this had been cancelled...and then this story hits. Good to know it's still coming, cause I hate my first release Striker Eureka. I ended up grabbing him on the secondary market when it first came out, and I can tell you, while I don't regret many purchases, that one disgusts me so much that I want to throw it at a wall. This one will be replacing him on my shelf. I'm hoping that this is not a one shot, and that we eventually get a retooled Crimson with his saw weapons and perhaps some ratchets joints in his legs, so I can finally replace my original with one that can stand on it's own. The newer Gypsies have actually been pretty good, so I don't really think we need an ultimate version of her...

With the exception of the last few Gypsy releases and repaints, I have all of the Jaegers released thus far, and with the exception of Romeo Blue and Horizon Brave, I've never had so many issues with a toy line. Loose joints right out of the packaging, warped limbs that never reset when heated, accessories that break, stuck joints that won't unstick, improperly assembled joints where the pegs aren't pushed through properly or are broken altogether, you name it. I love the film though, and when you get a figure that finally works in your hand, this line is like a ex-girlfriend that you hate, but just can't seem to stay away from.

My fave Jaeger that actually appeared in the film for longer than three seconds was easily Crimson, I really dug the triplet concept, and it looked almost as intricate as the Kaiju themselves. Toy wise however, it's easily Horizon Brave, as he was one of the only two figures I had no issues with out of the package, and feels the most like an honest to goodness toy in your hands. The fact that the huge missile pack on it's back is removeable is a huge plus as well, allowing it to strike some awesome poses. Romeo Blue (the only other one I managed to find without QC issues) was also amazing and one hell of a fun figure to pose around when you get a working one.