|
Community Links |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Tag Search |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
05-12-2011, 03:04 PM | #1 |
Looking for toy-tacos
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Posts: 80
|
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! |
05-12-2011, 04:41 PM | #2 |
independent toy maker
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 489
|
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.
__________________
http://sabretoothsworkshop.blogspot.com/ |
05-12-2011, 08:44 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 728
|
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.
|
05-12-2011, 09:42 PM | #4 |
OPTIMUS GUINNESS
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,542
|
THIS guy can be my wingman.
__________________
The Transformers! Knowing Is Half The Battle! Thunder, Thunder, Hoooooooo!!!!! Tokusatsu all day everyday! CHECK OUT OUR RESOURCES SECTIONS HERE!: Transformers Database GI Joe Database |
05-12-2011, 10:13 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 928
|
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.
|
05-12-2011, 10:20 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 112
|
|
05-13-2011, 03:45 AM | #7 |
Scale Police
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Louisville
Posts: 820
|
Quote:
Quote:
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. |
05-13-2011, 08:45 AM | #8 |
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8
|
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
|
05-13-2011, 09:05 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 842
|
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. Last edited by hrothgars; 05-13-2011 at 09:16 AM.. |
05-13-2011, 09:31 AM | #10 |
Dark Lord of the 'Ark
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 8,224
|
Quote:
Quote:
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.
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. Quote:
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.
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.
__________________
|
05-13-2011, 11:55 AM | #11 |
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,238
|
Quote:
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 |
05-13-2011, 12:09 PM | #12 |
Goodfella
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Philly
Posts: 4,924
|
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.
__________________
|
05-13-2011, 02:07 PM | #13 |
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TN
Posts: 2,012
|
|
05-15-2011, 12:37 AM | #14 |
Life Between the Panels
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Midwest
Posts: 3,900
|
Quote:
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 |
05-15-2011, 06:10 PM | #15 |
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,003
|
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.
|
05-15-2011, 06:42 PM | #16 |
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,238
|
Quote:
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.
Again, like everyone its a case of, 'we know you can so why don't you (do better on manufacturing toys)' |
05-15-2011, 08:11 PM | #17 |
OPTIMUS GUINNESS
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,542
|
Shin Densetsu agrees
__________________
The Transformers! Knowing Is Half The Battle! Thunder, Thunder, Hoooooooo!!!!! Tokusatsu all day everyday! CHECK OUT OUR RESOURCES SECTIONS HERE!: Transformers Database GI Joe Database |
05-15-2011, 08:28 PM | #18 |
Looking for toy-tacos
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Panama
Posts: 80
|
Quote:
Quote:
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.
|
07-18-2011, 06:44 AM | #19 |
Etherian Panty Inspector
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: the Frozen North
Posts: 2,156
|
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. |
07-18-2011, 11:11 AM | #20 |
WINGNUT & SCREWLOOSE!
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Dallas
Posts: 2,172
|
Quote:
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. 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?)
__________________
|
07-21-2011, 04:31 PM | #21 |
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 111
|
Quote:
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?) |
07-28-2011, 01:01 PM | #22 |
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CobraIsland
Posts: 215
|
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.
__________________
CobraIsland |
07-28-2011, 02:18 PM | #23 |
Guardian of Gotham
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Newmarket, ONT
Posts: 728
|
^^ Damn straight!
|
07-28-2011, 09:04 PM | #24 |
Culinary Mandalorian
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Washington
Posts: 1,397
|
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. |
07-29-2011, 01:25 AM | #25 |
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 5
|
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!
|
Tags |
4 inch, dc universe, jla, jlu, young justice |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Mattel Stores | Runamuck | Toy and Action Figure General Discussion | 14 | 07-27-2011 08:34 PM |
Mattel Voltron 1st Look | Shin Densetsu | Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors | 9 | 04-29-2011 04:36 PM |
Mattel SDCC Q&A | Joe Moore | Toy and Action Figure General Discussion | 0 | 04-20-2010 04:53 AM |
Mattel Q&A from around the Web | Ghost Story | Toy and Action Figure General Discussion | 2 | 04-01-2010 06:46 AM |
|
|
Latest Marvel Discussion |
New Marvel Legends/6" Appreciation Thread |
Marvel Select Appreciation Thread |
New Marvel 3.75" Appreciation Thread |
Who Did Marvel Legends Better? |
Latest Customs and Fan Art |
3D printed Jak and Daxter |
Bluey Funko Pop |
DC Phantasm - 6" ML Style |
DC Batman - 6" ML Style |
Dravenheart's Custom Figures! |
Latest Collection Pics |
My Rotating Figure Display |
Spastic for Plastic |
My Mixed Collection |
DarkToyLord's Collection-uh-Thangs... |