Durability concerns

[claw guy 3]

I'm hoping that Mattel are going to make these guys better than KG. There are plenty of broken ones.

Mattels response to the broken KG's was this:

7. Many fans received King Grayskull figures that were damaged, or that became damaged when they tried to pose the figures. Mattel has no replacements for these figures. Will Mattel eventually offer replacements for King Grayskull, and will Mattel produce enough of upcoming MOTUC figures to insure replacements if this happens again?
If fans received a damaged product they can return it for a replacement through MattyCollector.com. The website has full instructions for this.

There was no mention of upcoming figures being made any better, which is concerning.

I assume the DC Superheroes are made in a different factory? I have a few of these guys and they seem super durable. KG stands alone on my table, I'm too worried to do much with him after his foot broke off I've pulled apart a Bizzaro and I wouldn't be able to break the ankle joint peice of his if I wanted to!

I think mine had somthing to do with the paint sticking but there is no paint sticking on any of my DC figures.

[cronosred]

Considering the price is going to be double of a normal figure I would expect the quality to be no less than superb, I don't intend to pay 20.00 for a bad quality made figure.

[Brian Ozone]

Considering the price is going to be double of a normal figure I would expect the quality to be no less than superb, I don't intend to pay 20.00 for a bad quality made figure.

You hit it right on man.

[Multibot]

Exactly!!!

if they want this toyline to live, at the current price point, they should be as durable as a toy made for a small child. I don't feel there is any excuse for poor quality in this day & age. A new figure at $30 should never break, just by moving the joint that was meant to move. the fact there are so many boken KG's is inexcusible IMO.

[hhhelmsley]

Yes,and I may add that KG have the hair glue to the cape, so you can't turn the head.

[Multibot]

Yes,and I may add that KG have the hair glue to the cape, so you can't turn the head.

wow, really? I don't have that problem with mine. His head turns, but the neck joint is very tight and his long hair & cape make it that much harder to move.
My KG just has a broken 'o ring' part on the left ankle. I'll probably just super glue both ankles to elliminate that problem. But i don't want to have that happen wiht the rest of the figures. I hate having to glue a joint together, but if it's broken what can you do?

[JimPansen]

Mine was already broken before i took him out

[Beastman_Power]

My cape was poorly glued on so that is a "fully removable" action feature on my figure now...other than that, I think these figures should be pretty durable. Hopefully the damage is few and far between.

[Jussi]

WOW! There sure seems to be a lot of different problems with KG. Hopefully he is an exception in this line. Considering the the figures cost $20 (+international shipping for me), it would be horrible to return broken ones back to Mattel. In fact in most cases it wouldn't be reasonable I guess.

Somehow I still believe that Mattel will pull thru...

[chuc98]

Seems as if the problem with King Grayskull was the one ankle. To me, that was a packaging problem. The way the figure was posed, the leg was in an awkward position in relation to the plastic thing the foot was stuck in. That was the problem. Barring anything like that with the standard packaging, I don't think there'll be an issue.

[jerec350]

Seems as if the problem with King Grayskull was the one ankle. To me, that was a packaging problem. The way the figure was posed, the leg was in an awkward position in relation to the plastic thing the foot was stuck in. That was the problem. Barring anything like that with the standard packaging, I don't think there'll be an issue.

I don't believe the packaging was the issue by itself. I think the ankles are a weak design or either a weak grade of plastic was used. That combined with the awkwardness of the packaging I believe led to all the broken ankles. I've seen right ones that are broken too which is why I believe this.

[Baena]

There are all kinds of reasons as to why one figure breaks and another doesn't.

From what I've seen and read about online with various KG figures, the breakage is simply due to some inconsistencies in the paint apps and putting the figure together when it was in production.

For example. Heavy paint gobs in a joint can cause that joint to be frozen up upon delivery to the customer. The customer torks the joint, and breaks the joint.
Another example of bad parts. In an ankle joint, I've seen both online and in my own standard KG, flashing that was not removed before the joint was put together. That extra plastic in there can cause added stress on the joint that wasn't design to support extra stuffings so to speak. And the ankle can break. That is actually, again, from what I've seen and heard online, a common issue amongst many that were "broken".

If the paint apps are clean, and the parts are put together correctly, the figure is actually quite sturdy, moreso I would say than the 200X line. The plastic on the figure strikes me as more giving that the plastic on the 200X line.

So what should Mattel do? I'm sure what they will always do their best to do and that's ensure good quality assurance. They are aware of these issues. But it's important to us to know that when you mass produce a figure in these quantities, there are bound to be some inconsistencies here and there, and they may or may not result in broken figures. It's gonna happen.

I think Mattel HAS addressed this issue beautifully and correctly by giving out replacements for broken figures.

They are looking into the Q and A of their figures constantly. (The recent upgrades on the DCUC series four figures should show you that.) And they do kindly offer replacements for broken KGs. What more should they do? I think they're doing fabulously!

[claw guy 3]

Seems as if the problem with King Grayskull was the one ankle. To me, that was a packaging problem. The way the figure was posed, the leg was in an awkward position in relation to the plastic thing the foot was stuck in. That was the problem. Barring anything like that with the standard packaging, I don't think there'll be an issue.

Nope. Mine broke out of the packaging.

I don't believe the packaging was the issue by itself. I think the ankles are a weak design or either a weak grade of plastic was used. That combined with the awkwardness of the packaging I believe led to all the broken ankles.

Yep.

There are all kinds of reasons as to why one figure breaks and another doesn't.

From what I've seen and read about online with various KG figures, the breakage is simply due to some inconsistencies in the paint apps and putting the figure together when it was in production.

For example. Heavy paint gobs in a joint can cause that joint to be frozen up upon delivery to the customer. The customer torks the joint, and breaks the joint.
Another example of bad parts. In an ankle joint, I've seen both online and in my own standard KG, flashing that was not removed before the joint was put together. That extra plastic in there can cause added stress on the joint that wasn't design to support extra stuffings so to speak. And the ankle can break. That is actually, again, from what I've seen and heard online, a common issue amongst many that were "broken".

If the paint apps are clean, and the parts are put together correctly, the figure is actually quite sturdy, moreso I would say than the 200X line. The plastic on the figure strikes me as more giving that the plastic on the 200X line.

So what should Mattel do? I'm sure what they will always do their best to do and that's ensure good quality assurance. They are aware of these issues. But it's important to us to know that when you mass produce a figure in these quantities, there are bound to be some inconsistencies here and there, and they may or may not result in broken figures. It's gonna happen.

I think Mattel HAS addressed this issue beautifully and correctly by giving out replacements for broken figures.

They are looking into the Q and A of their figures constantly. (The recent upgrades on the DCUC series four figures should show you that.) And they do kindly offer replacements for broken KGs. What more should they do? I think they're doing fabulously!

Thanks for the insight into the figure stuff
BUT If you're not an American you're stuck with a broken figure, nothing beautiful about that, IMO. I wonder what their policy will be on the future figures that they ship internationly?

Unless you work for Matell, I would think that the "they are looking into the QA stuff" is just an assumption, hopefully a correct assumption. I really worry what will happen if an international fan, like myself, gets a broken Beast-Man?