Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC news thread--November 2010

[customcrazy]

I know I am going to get heat for this, but I am going to play Devils advocate for out sourcing.

The logical fallacy is that not using American Factories means American's lose jobs. That is not always true. By getting cheaper production, thus increasing profits, companies like Mattel create a demand for more corporate jobs which are higher paying, and can sell the product cheaper which boosts the economy at the retail level and wholesale level, both of which create jobs as well. Most of these jobs are more desirable than a factory job with much less safety risk. It's also keeping more money in consumers pockets to spend on other items. If you have more you spend more, and the economy grows creating more jobs.

Also, to say Toy companies specifically could make a killing producing in the states is totally incorrect, unless of course you wanted to pay a fortune. I remember one year at Toy Fair when I was chatting with the CEO of MCA toys about the Brats Doll line and outsourcing, he had said to merely break even he would have to sell the dolls for $120 retail if he used American factories due to the high wages demanded by the Unions. Do we need to bring up the American auto industry?

Obviously there are bad companies out there and this isn't always the case but it's important to see the whole picture. Nike for example gets vilified often for it's outsourcing to Mexico and only paying $2.00 US to some factory workers. What you don't hear is that $2.00 US an hour is one of the best paying jobs they can get, and the benefits are good and Nike does great things in the community. People line up trying to get that job.

I can also tell you that 3 years ago I left the Toy industry and started a chain of clothing stores. If we couldn't get our in house brands from Sri Lanka and China, we would not be in business in this economy. I employee 30 people who make a fair wage above the industry average and who get benefits.

Anyway, this is such a complicated issue, and I don't always agree with anybody, but I wanted to throw my experience into the discussion so the other side is looked at as well. I'm not advocating sweat shop labor and a lot of the terrible things that really do happen out there. It's just important not to put everyone in the same boat.

[Swanmarsh]

Figure titles

Just two things about figure titles, some German fans are curious about:

1. Some days ago, the rights for the Snake King's title were reserved: "Disguised Leader of the Snake Man". German fans are wondering why the word "dreadful" from the 80s title is missing. Will it be missing on the final packaging of the figure, too?

2. Why did Mattel pick the 80s advert slogan "Ferocious Figure with Fur" as a new title for 'Grizzlor'? It used to be "Hairy Henchman of the Evil Horde" during the 80s.

Thanks.

If a figure had a different title on the front. vs. the Cross Sell we used the front of package name. (for the most part, exceptions can be made).

Huh??
The front of the cards ALWAYS had the cross-sell phrases as far as I know. "Ferocious figure with fur" was an additional blurb tacked onto the front in addition to the "Hairy Henchman of the Evil Horde" (which appeared under the name).... so where is is this logic coming from?

I dont think some people are doing their research properly...

Glad I'm not the only one who cannot follow this logic.

Much prefer 'Hairy henchman ..." tag line.

In my canon, Hordak's still ruthless and King Hiss is still dreadful.

[MegaGearMax]

A few new answers are up.

[Sandman]

Hope someone can give me a difinitive answer to my question. I never know how much International Shipping is going to be until I've reached the checkout page. Now, since I use a prepaid $ card to buy from Mattycollector each month I have to work out how much I'm going to need to load the card with and, as I never know how much shipping will be, there's always the chance I'll put too little on it and, thus, the card will be refused and I won't be able to place my order.

So, can someone let me know how much shipping actually is? E.g: I bought three figres in September and the shipping was $15.55, but I bought two figures last month and it was $9.95, so is there a limit to how many figures one can get for a certain shipping price? Can I get 4 6" figures for $15.55? Or 5 figures, or 6?

Also, how much is it to ship large scale items and MOTUC beasts? Is it $15.55 per beast, or would $15.55 get me two beasts shipped together?

It would really help international customers if we knew, in advance, how much we need to put aside for shipping. Perhaps if there were a table of charges somewhere on the site?

I did ask DR's Customer Service team this question months ago and I never got an answer so I'd really appreciate one now!

There is no one set rate. It differs country by country based on local taxes and tarifs. Something we have no control over.

How can local taxes and tarifs, which you pay upon RECEIVING the item, affect what Mattel charges for SHIPPING the item to you?

[lofftap]

Camo Kobra Khan would be so freakin awesome as a MOTUC! Yes! Please make the Original now, so we can get to the variant soon! Sorry guys! Just had to get that out! Feel better now!

[MegaGearMax]

A bunch of New answers are up!

[Tallstar]

That Poe Ghostal fan art is

[radrcks]

Nope. It has zero to do with "translucent plastic". The same issue with broken legs happened with Wave 4 and 5 of DCUC and those did not use translucent plastic at all. It was a vendor error with assembly that caused the plastic to break and we changed this.

Soo.. the ONLY TWO (not counting Spirit of Grayskull since they only made 2) figures with translucent parts both shatter (when they're sold almost a year a part) and it's got nothing to do with the plastic? Uhh... okay. It's a 'vendor error' alright okay.. well what are you going to say the third time we get a translucent figure that arrives broken?

[TheFallen]

Got my Roboto figure and it has "the original" logo on package. Why????

Just a question I need help with.

I bought 2 of the Roboto figures the day they came out. When they arrived at my house they had "the original" logo on it. I know they put this on when Matty reissues a figure, But Roboto was the club eternia figure for the month and not a reissue.

Can anyone out there tell me why this happened? I bought within the first 10 minutes the figures went on sale. I should have a first issue figure, not reissue.

We run (create) both the first run and second run insert file at the same time. The vendor made an error and actually produced a portion of Robotos in "second run package". We managed to stop most from shipping.

If you did receive one, please do contact customer service and we can replace it. We will likely sell off the very few remaining "first run Robotos" in "second run package" in the near future and then look at doing a legitimate second run and make some corrections to the figure in the future.

This answer almost sounds like they are trying to create a "rare" variant with the Original burst logo Roboto to make people keep theirs instead of asking for a replacement

[scott metzger]

Soo.. the ONLY TWO (not counting Spirit of Grayskull since they only made 2) figures with translucent parts both shatter (when they're sold almost a year a part) and it's got nothing to do with the plastic? Uhh... okay. It's a 'vendor error' alright okay.. well what are you going to say the third time we get a translucent figure that arrives broken?

I've had some doubts about that too, but, since my Godess is still in one piece (knock on wood), I can't tell one thing: is the part that is actually breaking made out of the transparent plastic? THat could say a lot about the credibility of the answer.

[phantom1592]

Soo.. the ONLY TWO (not counting Spirit of Grayskull since they only made 2) figures with translucent parts both shatter (when they're sold almost a year a part) and it's got nothing to do with the plastic? Uhh... okay. It's a 'vendor error' alright okay.. well what are you going to say the third time we get a translucent figure that arrives broken?

While I havent' taken any figures apart... are the 'standard' MOTUC bucks as 'hollow' as Roboto needed to be for the gears?? I think the Roboto cracking and the crumbling of Goddess... SOUND like two completely different issues.


Honestly... I don't know WHAT is up with toy companies these days... I think they need to go back and find the guys who made toys in the 80's. I put my stuff through a LOT of abuse!!!

Now days toys fall off a shelf and shatter... Everything's marked 'Adult Collector' because kids COULDn'T play with them

[scott metzger]

I know I am going to get heat for this, but I am going to play Devils advocate for out sourcing.

You actually present a pretty rational argument here, and the reality of the situation. THere are some really dark sides with the horror stories (many true) about worker conditions overseas, but sometimes we forget the alternative could be no jobs at all for those folks.

Sounds odd coming from a 60's liberal, but there are two sides to this story. Add in that the folks overseas who have jobs start buying products, and some of those are imported American products. An increase in the standard of living in another country can help this one by increasing demand for American imports in those far off lands.

It's not an easy issue, and there are a lot gray areas.

[bcrduke]

I've had some doubts about that too, but, since my Godess is still in one piece (knock on wood), I can't tell one thing: is the part that is actually breaking made out of the transparent plastic? THat could say a lot about the credibility of the answer.

Yes, oddly enough, the pelvis piece IS made of the transluscent, more brittle plastic, but it is painted green.

TG is totally out of touch on this. He's using the wave 4 & 5 dcuc figures as a comparative example, but many of those broke because the joints were too tight, and "frozen" causing the leg and arm pegs to twist off.

The Goddess's clear plastic pelvis piece crumbles. Her neck also crumbles (the torso is also painted clear plastic).

This is not some kind of vendor error. It's cheap garbage plastic used to save a buck.

[radrcks]

I've had some doubts about that too, but, since my Godess is still in one piece (knock on wood), I can't tell one thing: is the part that is actually breaking made out of the transparent plastic? THat could say a lot about the credibility of the answer.

All I know is that *my* Roboto's chest wasn't cracked and my G.G. is fine (breakage wise) but I'm scared to move her around. I'll repose her arms and the ankle rocker joint but that's it.

Yes, oddly enough, the pelvis piece IS made of the transluscent, more brittle plastic, but it is painted green.

TG is totally out of touch on this. He's using the wave 4 & 5 dcuc figures as a comparative example, but many of those broke because the joints were too tight, and "frozen" causing the leg and arm pegs to twist off.

The Goddess's clear plastic pelvis piece crumbles. Her neck also crumbles (the torso is also painted clear plastic).

This is not some kind of vendor error. It's cheap garbage plastic used to save a buck.

I'm so proud of myself that I caught this before you (the Matty spin factory thing, not the actual problem, usually by the time I read the answer you've had multiple debates on it already )

Anyway..

I can see the second set of answers the next time we get a clear figure (which out of those that are left it really is just Jewelstar that's left right?) and s/he breaks..

Factory error! We made the orb for K.GS and that was fine... The 'gems' for Adora/She-Ra's swords are fine... She-Ra's shield is fine... Marzo's gem is fine... Orko is fine.. We didn't catch the cracked Roboto's or GGs, but no one is mentioning that we caught breakage errors with those figures.

The differences with them is they are much smaller.. there's less of a chance of a clear piece of plastic attached and secured within something of breaking than there is something like the size of a body part cast in clear plastic breaking. SDCCs Orko is a different story too, to get the color change feature the plastic obviously had to be treated (or however they do it to obtain that feature) but put that all aside Orko isn't much bigger than Roboto's chest, but the difference is it is multiple pieces that have been connected.. not one entire piece.

And correct me if I'm wrong but didn't TG or someone affiliated with Mattel say that there were left over Goddess'? And we all know how the official stance on GG was that she sold 'poorly.' So if the left overs were either pulled to make it look like she sold faster than she did, a portion of the stock withheld because they knew there would be a quality control issue with the plastic breaking, or they were unopened ones that people exchanged because of QC issues so they're broken themselves.

Roboto aside (because he's got the shoulder issues anyway) I really wish Mattel would just come clean and say that they screwed up when it came to Goddess' run. It would be the one figure that they don't need to do any standard company line that eliminates their responsibility for faulty products because almost EVERYONE who owns her HAS to rebuy her anyway... They know they will make a lot of money by reissuing her, so just admit they messed up and do another production run already.

[AnnnaMot]

BTW something off topic, how made would you be if you spent all that money to buy the Spirit of Grayskull and it crumbles on you

[SunDevil]

Regarding the two MEF color schemes - I love the Orange, hate the skin tone. It always seemed obvious to me that the orange was some sort of underarmor/body suit, much like Man-At-Arms green under color. No one thinks that's his skin!

The skin tone MEF looks like he has the armor equivalent of aswimsuit - it shows way too much skin! The inner thighs, the ribs/stomach, all that skin tone makes him look like he's wearing bondage gear or something.

As a third option, I always thought a light blue undertone would look cool with his dark blue armor.

[MegaGearMax]

A few new answers are up!
And he's still answering questions, so I'll put those up too.

[Neutro]

I really enjoyed the Pre-ternia He-man answer – very curious to read that bio now!

[Swanmarsh]

Why Pre-Eternia Disguise He-Man?

Out of all the possible figures to do, why was Pre-Eternia Disguise He-Man chosen? Why that particular figure?

Good question!

Part of the reason for doing this figure is we wanted to tell the story that was intended for parts 2 and 3 of the "Powers of Grayskull" mini comic. The bios was a great way to do that! (for the record, parts 2 and 3 were never made but an typed outline was created for all three stories).

If Preternia Disguise He-Man is a sub exclusive for the loyal all-in fans, why is the bio all we get of parts 2 & 3 of the vintage POG storyline? Why don't Mattel consider as an extra bonus to subscribers, distributing a nicely packaged copy of the typed outline of those last, never produced mini-comics.

This would be an awesome "secret" to print on the back of the Etheria map provided to subscribers.

If the typed outline story is to be used for the MOTUC bio-canon, I don't see why Mattel cannot release in full the text of the original outline.

[flitzi]

Maybe they will?

[phantom1592]

Regarding the two MEF color schemes - I love the Orange, hate the skin tone. It always seemed obvious to me that the orange was some sort of underarmor/body suit, much like Man-At-Arms green under color. No one thinks that's his skin!

The skin tone MEF looks like he has the armor equivalent of aswimsuit - it shows way too much skin! The inner thighs, the ribs/stomach, all that skin tone makes him look like he's wearing bondage gear or something.

As a third option, I always thought a light blue undertone would look cool with his dark blue armor.

Agree 100%

NEVER did I look at the figure and assume the orange part was supposed to be skin. No matter HOW I look at it, it looks like it's part of the armor to me. from the way the Helmet is connected to the robot legs.

[MegaGearMax]

If Preternia Disguise He-Man is a sub exclusive for the loyal all-in fans, why is the bio all we get of parts 2 & 3 of the vintage POG storyline? Why don't Mattel consider as an extra bonus to subscribers, distributing a nicely packaged copy of the typed outline of those last, never produced mini-comics.

This would be an awesome "secret" to print on the back of the Etheria map provided to subscribers.

If the typed outline story is to be used for the MOTUC bio-canon, I don't see why Mattel cannot release in full the text of the original outline.

The parts 2 and 3 are great ways to keep fans reading the bios. We're already getting "seasons 3 and 4 of MYP", so even more long lost adventures of MOTU would be great for bio fodder.

[Toymaker]

The skin tone MEF looks like he has the armor equivalent of aswimsuit - it shows way too much skin! The inner thighs, the ribs/stomach, all that skin tone makes him look like he's wearing bondage gear or something.

You do realise this is from a toyline where the main hero and villian run around in a harness and their pants?

I love the cross sell Man-E, and would love to see him done this way!

[Lookie]

Regarding the two MEF color schemes - I love the Orange, hate the skin tone. It always seemed obvious to me that the orange was some sort of underarmor/body suit, much like Man-At-Arms green under color. No one thinks that's his skin!

The skin tone MEF looks like he has the armor equivalent of aswimsuit - it shows way too much skin! The inner thighs, the ribs/stomach, all that skin tone makes him look like he's wearing bondage gear or something.

As a third option, I always thought a light blue undertone would look cool with his dark blue armor.

So a see-through orange skin-tight outfit with blue armor makes it less bondage? Not really seeing your point.

[RocketPunch]

Agree 100%

NEVER did I look at the figure and assume the orange part was supposed to be skin. No matter HOW I look at it, it looks like it's part of the armor to me. from the way the Helmet is connected to the robot legs.

My problem with the way they painted the vintage figure is the parts that are skin (biceps, abs, thighs), and parts that are mechanical (the lower section of his helmet) are all painted the same colour. It's almost looks like the painter had trouble staying inside the lines.

Plus if it was supposed to be armour it wouldn't be the same colour as his face.

I really hope they do the Classic figure in prototype/cardback colours first, and the vintage toy version in a DC two pack later on.