Why is Mattel giving us black plastic and painting over it?

I avoided this thread because I figured it would be nothing but a mud slinging contest between 'angry fans' and 'Mattel apologists', but I would be curious to know just how much money Mattel is saving on black painted plastic vs colored plastic. One is a 2 step process. Are we talking pennies per unit? 50 cents? 1 dollar?

Regardless of the strong feelings either side has, this line has proven 1 thing to me. Mattel will make it, and orgers will buy it. That is why you are here. If you're willing to drop $25 on an action figure (in a line that has been plagued with issues since inception) you know what you are getting into. Loose joints, improperly assembled, painted over plastic that wears at joints. At the end of the day, they are just toys. Poorly made toys. Don't expect any earth shattering changes on Mattel's end. They are about the bottom dollar.

If anything, this thread has made me glad I kept my MOTUC mint on card, and I'm no longer torn up about missing the sub. I have better things to spend my money on. This will be my last investment into Mattel's products, and when I'm done, I'll go back to searching for vintage figures.

Call me crazy but I for one really dig that they are painting over the black plastic. For me it reminds me of neca paint. Just looks better in my opinion

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Originally Posted by undeadplastic2711

Call me crazy but I for one really dig that they are painting over the black plastic. For me it reminds me of neca paint. Just looks better in my opinion

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You're crazy.

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Originally Posted by undeadplastic2711

Call me crazy but I for one really dig that they are painting over the black plastic. For me it reminds me of neca paint. Just looks better in my opinion

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.... :hmshift:...Scott?

:hmlol:


I actually got a Marvel legends Bucky Captain America figure the other day, Turns out his arm was Red Plastic painted Black!!! what are the action figure gods doing?

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Originally Posted by undeadplastic2711

Call me crazy but I for one really dig that they are painting over the black plastic. For me it reminds me of neca paint. Just looks better in my opinion

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Wrap him up boys....white jackets all around!!!

Problem is, the paint chips and flakes....might look good to some, but don't dare move your figure much....eventually, he'll get Blasticitis, and his skin color will come off.

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Originally Posted by eddie3429

.... :hmshift:...Scott?

:hmlol:


I actually got a Marvel legends Bucky Captain America figure the other day, Turns out his arm was Red Plastic painted Black!!! what are the action figure gods doing?

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I bought my son an Iron Man 2 Power Assault Armor...4", and the plastic is metallic red, and in places white, painted red....thing is, none of the paint over the white is coming off, and the painted metallic red and the plastic metallic red, looks identical (other than the plastic has swirls and the paint doesn't) , and a 3 year old is playing with it....Adults are simply posing the new MOTUC figures, and the paint is chipping and peeling off....something is wrong there, and it's much more than paint drying techiques....it's bad, to **** poor design and cost cutting *********gery....and we as the fans, supporters, customers even....are getting the ****** end of the dirty stick.

What a shame hat the Rattlor Body Snakeman has been painted over. His sculpt would have been amazing if molded in its own color.

Are you ready to raise your flag in victory?
Pixel Dan didn't discovered black plastic in Dekker or King Randor!!! :hmgrin:
Maybe... maybe... the Black Plastic Morbo is finally dead?
I hope so!!!

What about Castle Grayskull Man?

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What about Castle Grayskull Man?

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You don't need to be a genius to notice that some parts of Castle Grayskullman are made with plack plastic covered with paint. Take a look at Pixel Dan's preview, and look at the arms elbow articulation and peg : they're clearly made with "blastic" !

Given Castle Grayskullman's colours are quite dark, it's not really a surprise. The real question is to know whether the next vibrant figures will still use the black plastic morbo or not... This will take us to the beginning of 2013, since December's Mosquitor is mainly black. Still, the question of the blastic use is left hanging for Granamyr... We'll have to see with Ram-Man and Netossa in January what Mattel did (or didn't do) to solve the problem.

Unlukily all the attention on the "blastic" case seems ceased in favour of CG preorder and speculations. The Blastic case will bounce back soon though, as I fear Dekker won't be the last one.

Apparently more 2012 figures have had black materials used and then painted over - Starla! I just noticed that she had black pins on her feets, I checked my buddies, and his has yellow plastic pins!

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Well it looks good to me since I open them and put them on the shelf. After that I hardly ever touch them unless I'm making room for new figs. But yeah I could see where it could be problematic

I ended up opening almost all of mine, including reluctantly DB Skeletor, Mek & Rattlor, just not Spikor....and aside from some unfinished painted areas which are very minor, and a few tiny pin sized spots in various places, I have to say mine are fine, but I feel for the ones who have the figures where the paint just rubbed, peeled & chipped right off....I would be immensely ****** if that happened to mine....

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What about Castle Grayskull Man?

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I would say CGm was made months ago, so the figure could be shot out to the winner, therefore he was likely made in the prime of the Blastic issue.....

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What about Castle Grayskull Man?

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no black plastic. atleast not on mine that came from danny's case of cgmen.

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Originally Posted by CanadaClassics

Apparently more 2012 figures have had black materials used and then painted over - Starla! I just noticed that she had black pins on her feets, I checked my buddies, and his has yellow plastic pins!

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I had a Skeletor reissue (from the first time he was reissued) that had one black elbow peg. I didn't notice it for a while because it was painted blue but the paint eventually wore off making it visible. Weird thing is the other elbow peg and both knee pegs were blue plastic.

I gave Starla another look and her legs are black plastic painted - her knee cap has black plastic coming through. So was black plastic used all throughout 2012?

One thing I have been thinking about concerning the blastic: I can see it being a cost saver on some parts on some 6" figures, but I don't think it would be cost effective on Grayskull (a blastic castle being an oft raised fear). Having to paint some parts on a small figure is one thing; having to fully paint a huge playset inside and out would be another. I think the cost of all the paint opps there might well be greater than any savings using recycled black plastic.

Anyone with more knowledge of the procedures here have any insight on this?

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Originally Posted by scott metzger

One thing I have been thinking about concerning the blastic: I can see it being a cost saver on some parts on some 6" figures, but I don't think it would be cost effective on Grayskull (a blastic castle being an oft raised fear). Having to paint some parts on a small figure is one thing; having to fully paint a huge playset inside and out would be another. I think the cost of all the paint opps there might well be greater than any savings using recycled black plastic.

Anyone with more knowledge of the procedures here have any insight on this?

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I would say that the most cost effective way to make Grayskull would be to mold it in a darker green and lighten it up with drybrushing, or lighter green and wash it darker....but to paint the entire thing, then do shading, washing or lightening through many coats would be more costly than just molding it in the green. It's not a figure, and even cost saving like the ton of Blastic the castle would require, the painting would be well more labor intensive than to mold it in color in this case, I would think. I mean if it's supposed to be detailed for the money you'd spend on it, I would assume it would be well detailed, so....molding in green would be the best way.

But it is Mattel, so....I also think that paint flaking off of a $250 castle ******* people off would be a bad move on their part, I mean it could spell the end of things if it wasn't done right, this will be the most expensive MOTUC item ever, I don't think they want to foul it up....but who knows....it is Mattel....

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Originally Posted by undeadplastic2711

Call me crazy but I for one really dig that they are painting over the black plastic. For me it reminds me of neca paint. Just looks better in my opinion

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I agree with you completely. I was very happy with it until my db skeletors both showed up with big chips of paint missing... The paint looks a ton better, but not happy with the chipping...

What about Eternos King Palace Randor?

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What about Eternos King Palace Randor?

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No black plastic. But his arms are cast in blue plastic with the red part being painted. So the elbows may eventually see wear but the shoulders will be fine. I guess either way they did it you'd have either the elbows or the shoulders to worry about. Personally, I think the shoulders are worse for wearing out so I think it was the right choice. Though they could have given him a bicep swivel and cast the shoulders blue and the arms red and that would have been perfect.

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What about Castle Grayskull Man?

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Originally Posted by stprime

no black plastic. atleast not on mine that came from danny's case of cgmen.

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Castle Grayskullman is made from Black plastic, the same as the others, and I knew that to be a possibility because in order to get him out to the winner, he was made likely back with Spikor and Vykron, back when it all began....so even though his release date was then months away, they still already had his stock made. I had a few pieces chip off, they were little painted over ****** of something, on his arms and legs, I color matched him, so you don't see them, but he is.

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Originally Posted by CanadaClassics

Apparently more 2012 figures have had black materials used and then painted over - Starla! I just noticed that she had black pins on her feets, I checked my buddies, and his has yellow plastic pins!

Attachment 80363

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Originally Posted by CanadaClassics

I gave Starla another look and her legs are black plastic painted - her knee cap has black plastic coming through. So was black plastic used all throughout 2012?

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Originally Posted by FAKER II

I had a Skeletor reissue (from the first time he was reissued) that had one black elbow peg. I didn't notice it for a while because it was painted blue but the paint eventually wore off making it visible. Weird thing is the other elbow peg and both knee pegs were blue plastic.

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Can't really base anything on that, we have different color plastics in quite a few figures, but the thing is, a whole figure has never been 90% entirely made from another color other than the figures main base color. But it does look as if, it has stopped with Randor....

Tri-Klops has a green forearm, Fisto has a redish brown Bi-Cep...etc, I know the black plastic thing yes, but it had not been widely used until July....I have over half of the figures, and with that a wide cross section of every year....and I don't have any of those issues....maybe the Star Sisters were a test since there were 3 of them to test costs....I don't know....but I do know my Skeletor pics are fine, they likely had leftover or ran out of the correct parts and instead of doing it right, they half assed them at the factory.

I have used a black light when playing with mine, and observed the difference in colors produced when shining it on something painted vs something molded, even if the colors appear identical....under black light they are very noticeable. And neither of my Skeletor bodies, re-issue & Mo-Larr, have painted pins.

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What about Eternos King Palace Randor?

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No Randor is molded in reds and blues.

But here's a real kicker.....Mosquitor has black plastic again!!! What are they thinking? :hmwink: :hmgrin: :hmlol:

After seeing Netossa, it appears that they are now giving us coloured plastic and spraying black over it :hmlol:

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Originally Posted by Mamblo

What a shame hat the Rattlor Body Snakeman has been painted over. His sculpt would have been amazing if molded in its own color.

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discovering rattlor was a black plastic figure was a huge bummer.
actually mekanek hurt the worst then rattlor then spikor

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Originally Posted by manic mailman

discovering rattlor was a black plastic figure was a huge bummer.
actually mekanek hurt the worst then rattlor then spikor

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Yeah. My Mekanek Has a 4mm flake off of it that they tried to paint over, but you can still see it's there. Really disappointed, it throws off the flow of the figure. Could be worse compared to other peoples blastic problems.