TG Blog #6 Faker - I Hardly knew her!

[SCB]

Yeah, I wonder what he thinks of 200x Fisto as Teela's father. He obviously didn't use that in MOTUC (unless their shipping together in the same month was some amazingly complex scheme),

Sorceress was delayed. She was originally intended to be the January figure. It's a nice coincidence that she shipped with Fisto.

[oulala]

Frankly, yes he is. He doesn't have to post answers to anything at all, but he does, snarky or not.



Really? So you're saying you would rather have some Mattel big wig that doesn't give two cents about the line? Yeah that makes sense.



Seriously? Who cares?!? This is about toys, not ending world hunger. Give me a break.

My thoughts exactly, Danielsan. It's nice to read someone who thinks what I think.

[flaming_knob]

this was awesome. so good to read.

[lorde trooper]

Thanks TG for doing these blogs in your spare time, im looking for to blog number #7. Also i would be happy to recieve a battle damaged faker take up a monthly variant slot maybe with a few new accessories from Tri-Klops.

[Crusader]

Guys, let's please get this thread back on track. It's meant to be about the blog and the history of Faker, not about the author.

Thanks!

... but TG kinda made it about himself by writing about all the hardships he had to endure for the benefit of the line and all the undeserved backlash he gets from us, unappreciative fans. If this is a thread about the whole article, how come we are not allowed to discuss certain paragraphs? Wouldn't it be best that these paragraphs were removed from the article then?

Really? So you're saying you would rather have some Mattel big wig that doesn't give two cents about the line? Yeah that makes sense.

Sooooo, what toyline has a brandmanager that does communicate well to fans?
Oh wait, what toyline has a brandmanager that communicates at all to fans?
Why should a brandmanager communicate to fans? None of the others do?
Apparently it is not part of the "generic brand manager" job since the others are not doing it.
So why is Scott doing it?
Because he cares about the fans or because he likes being in the spotlight?
Maybe a bit of both?
So it that a bad thing?
What would you all prefer? What we have now or the absent brand manager/ communication other lines have?
It is clear that this is (the most of) what we expect of Scott as it how he will play his role.

Just wondering

Like I said earlier, yes, I'd rather have a manager that isn't a fan himself and doesn't communicate towards the fanbase. A manager is there to delegate and make sure the best man's on the job, not to do a mediocre job himself because he wants to be involved at all costs.

[phantom1592]

Sorceress was delayed. She was originally intended to be the January figure. It's a nice coincidence that she shipped with Fisto.

Gonna apologize for this one in advance.....


So what your saying is that Sorceress was 'Late?'

Wonder how Fisto took the news

[TheFallen]

All I have to say is...

NO RIO, WE RIOT!

^ This guy gets it

[GozzoMan]

Mumble, can anyone illuminate me about which mini-comic is "Glut's mini-comic" (about giants helping to build Castle Grayskull), please? :.

[a-star]

Gonna apologize for this one in advance.....


So what your saying is that Sorceress was 'Late?'

Wonder how Fisto took the news

Ha! Bravo!

[Crusader]

Mumble, can anyone illuminate me about which mini-comic is "Glut's mini-comic" (about giants helping to build Castle Grayskull), please? :.

It's from "King of Castle Grayskull", first page. It doesn't say anything about giants, it says "built by unknown hands".

[scott metzger]

So TG isn't allowed to "loose his cool" as you call it, but you are? Cut the guy some slack, he is entitled to be "snarky" once in a while after having to view some of the antics of people on the forums.

When I loose my cool with a student, I'm rightly called to task for it and to answer for it, because I'm representing the organization as long as I'm working for it. I'm just holding TG to the same professional standard.

The point is: TG is an employee of Mattel, and anything he writes in association with his job becomes a reflection on that company, whether it's an official press release, a blog, or an answer to an online question. As such, folks who take affront at being told that "This is their Hiss" and "Moss Man is not a bath toy" have every reason and right to talk about it. And any professional would look at that criticism, realize that some of what he is doing and some of his favorite phrases are ticking off part of his already small customer base, and make some changes. You can't please everyone all the time, and some folks will gripe just to gripe. But you and others often attack anyone who questions TG or points out his failings, which is just as bad as those who attack anything he says regardless.

In this article, TG's snarkiness and tendency to blame fans is starting to come through again in the opinion of a lot of the posters. Defending your belief that's not the case is one thing, but several of the posts here come dang close to attacking fellow fans, calling them haters and generalizing the rants of a few to anyone who says anything bad about Scott. And that's crossing the line as much as calling TG the devil incarnate regardless of what he does.

Folks are frustrated with the numerous problems they've been having simply getting their figures, and some of TG's answers to those problems have been borderline clueless. He's the face of the line and, by default, Matty, and is the first target when things go wrong. In this article, he goes a little too much into blaming that on fans who will never be satisfied with anything. Bad timing for the above reasons, and this really left a bad taste in my and other mouths. And since this is a discussion of this blog, that came out. This article doesn't exist in a vacuum, it touches on a lot of things that have been problematic for a long time, and folks are naturally bringing up those things while discussing it. Talking about the article without bringing up those issues would be like talking about America landing on the moon and ignoring Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, and the cold war in the discussion. It's impossible not to talk about past things when we see the same problems right here.

Heck, if I ever met TG in person, I wouldn't take back anything I've said, but I would be happy to buy the guy a drink for helping bring the line into being. Not everyone criticizing TG hates the man's guts or hauls him up for every word that comes out of his mouth. Just remember that, okay. folks, and just try to have a civil discussion where we respect some differing opinions?

My last word on that for this thread.

[Crusader]

When I loose my cool with a student, I'm rightly called to task for it and to answer for it, because I'm representing the organization as long as I'm working for it. I'm just holding TG to the same professional standard.

The point is: TG is an employee of Mattel, and anything he writes in association with his job becomes a reflection on that company, whether it's an official press release, a blog, or an answer to an online question. As such, folks who take affront at being told that "This is their Hiss" and "Moss Man is not a bath toy" have every reason and right to talk about it. And any professional would look at that criticism, realize that some of what he is doing and some of his favorite phrases are ticking off part of his already small customer base, and make some changes. You can't please everyone all the time, and some folks will gripe just to gripe. But you and others often attack anyone who questions TG or points out his failings, which is just as bad as those who attack anything he says regardless.

In this article, TG's snarkiness and tendency to blame fans is starting to come through again in the opinion of a lot of the posters. Defending your belief that's not the case is one thing, but several of the posts here come dang close to attacking fellow fans, calling them haters and generalizing the rants of a few to anyone who says anything bad about Scott. And that's crossing the line as much as calling TG the devil incarnate regardless of what he does.

Folks are frustrated with the numerous problems they've been having simply getting their figures, and some of TG's answers to those problems have been borderline clueless. He's the face of the line and, by default, Matty, and is the first target when things go wrong. In this article, he goes a little too much into blaming that on fans who will never be satisfied with anything. Bad timing for the above reasons, and this really left a bad taste in my and other mouths. And since this is a discussion of this blog, that came out. This article doesn't exist in a vacuum, it touches on a lot of things that have been problematic for a long time, and folks are naturally bringing up those things while discussing it. Talking about the article without bringing up those issues would be like talking about America landing on the moon and ignoring Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, and the cold war in the discussion. It's impossible not to talk about past things when we see the same problems right here.

Heck, if I ever met TG in person, I wouldn't take back anything I've said, but I would be happy to buy the guy a drink for helping bring the line into being. Not everyone criticizing TG hates the man's guts or hauls him up for every word that comes out of his mouth. Just remember that, okay. folks, and just try to have a civil discussion where we respect some differing opinions?

My last word on that for this thread.

Well said, sir !!!

[GozzoMan]

It's from "King of Castle Grayskull", first page. It doesn't say anything about giants, it says "built by unknown hands".

Thanks a bunch!

[Mr_Yuck]

When I loose my cool with a student, I'm rightly called to task for it and to answer for it, because I'm representing the organization as long as I'm working for it. I'm just holding TG to the same professional standard.

The point is: TG is an employee of Mattel, and anything he writes in association with his job becomes a reflection on that company, whether it's an official press release, a blog, or an answer to an online question. As such, folks who take affront at being told that "This is their Hiss" and "Moss Man is not a bath toy" have every reason and right to talk about it. And any professional would look at that criticism, realize that some of what he is doing and some of his favorite phrases are ticking off part of his already small customer base, and make some changes. You can't please everyone all the time, and some folks will gripe just to gripe. But you and others often attack anyone who questions TG or points out his failings, which is just as bad as those who attack anything he says regardless.

In this article, TG's snarkiness and tendency to blame fans is starting to come through again in the opinion of a lot of the posters. Defending your belief that's not the case is one thing, but several of the posts here come dang close to attacking fellow fans, calling them haters and generalizing the rants of a few to anyone who says anything bad about Scott. And that's crossing the line as much as calling TG the devil incarnate regardless of what he does.

Folks are frustrated with the numerous problems they've been having simply getting their figures, and some of TG's answers to those problems have been borderline clueless. He's the face of the line and, by default, Matty, and is the first target when things go wrong. In this article, he goes a little too much into blaming that on fans who will never be satisfied with anything. Bad timing for the above reasons, and this really left a bad taste in my and other mouths. And since this is a discussion of this blog, that came out. This article doesn't exist in a vacuum, it touches on a lot of things that have been problematic for a long time, and folks are naturally bringing up those things while discussing it. Talking about the article without bringing up those issues would be like talking about America landing on the moon and ignoring Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, and the cold war in the discussion. It's impossible not to talk about past things when we see the same problems right here.

Heck, if I ever met TG in person, I wouldn't take back anything I've said, but I would be happy to buy the guy a drink for helping bring the line into being. Not everyone criticizing TG hates the man's guts or hauls him up for every word that comes out of his mouth. Just remember that, okay. folks, and just try to have a civil discussion where we respect some differing opinions?

My last word on that for this thread.

As usual, very well put. I too, don't have a hatred for the guy personally. I just don't think he's very adept at dealing with the PR aspect of his job. When things are great, Scott is good and shows his enthusiasm for his job. When things are bad, he routinely demonstrates he doesn't know how to craft responses that don't come across as snarky or accusatory.

I tend to think people give him a pass due to the nature of the situation. I think there is a fear associated that if Scott gets too much criticism, he will stop communicating with us at all. The problem with that is that he is just like anyone else and has opportunities to do his job better. He needs to hear that people don't like the veiled jabs in what should be a fun and informative blog about the history of the Classics line.

Furthermore, if this was any other product or service, would people really be this tolerant? If you went to Starbucks and you placed a complaint about your coffee to the manager, would you honestly tolerate a "This is your coffee, folks" kind of answer? Of course you wouldn't. You wouldn't put up with it then, and it shouldn't be tolerated now. He has a tendency of making these kind of statements, and it needs to stop. It doesn't do him any favors in doing what is an essential function of his job, which is maintaining a relationship with Mattel's clients.

[JonWes]

It's funny, but I can see both sides of this. I do think there seems to be a part of Scott's personality that, when he gets defensive, he can come off as slightly dismissive or "snarky." But, on the other side, there are posters here who CLEARLY have some sort of (odd) agenda when it comes to Scott. Their entire posting lives (or certainly a large percentage on this particular subforum) are devoted to nothing but taking little swipes at Mattel or Scott. Clearly, for them, they simply just don't like Scott (or, at the very least, his public persona) and feel some wrong (perceived or real) has been done to them. And they aren't going to let any of us forget it. But, I think that might be three or four posters I can list off the top of my head. And no, I won't list them. We all know who they are. They might not see it themselves, but we do. The thing is, they are a VERY tiny minority whose opinion—no matter how biased it seems—must be accepted in the spirit of open communication. If they step over the line into being downright abusive, I trust the mods will do their work.

I can understand some of the criticism leveled at Scott. There are times when I do think he comes off as kind of awkward with the way he phrases things and certainly there seems to be some tension/weirdness elsewhere that I'm not even going go into but that I will say is, frankly, disappointing. Also, there are other times where I think what he is posting is pretty much innocent but I just know the wording will set SOMEONE off here. The thing is, I don't know that not everyone is terribly objective when it comes to him. They are more than willing to dish it out, but if he comes back at them with even the mildest swipe they run behind the protective curtain of "but I'm a fan! You can't talk to me that way Mr. Brand Manager." But to me, just as Scott is not some superhuman brand computer that makes no mistakes, I understand that not every poster here is going to be some superhuman fan computer that always interprets everything as it is intended. In the same vein, even though I don't understand why some people seem to make their relationship with Scott so weirdly (to me) personal, I accept that this sometimes happens.

Communication is a two-way street. The thing is, even if the relationship between Scott and some fans has been bungled, it doesn't have to be permanent. But for anything to move forward, then fans have to let go of their past annoyances and quit bringing them up every two seconds. Also, it'd help if they didn't spin elaborate conspiracy theories all the time. It's good to be questioning. It's counterproductive to be cynical. And at the same time, it would be good for Scott to perhaps rethink some phrasing as some of it can come off as being defensive. I understand his determination to get out there the work he has done on the line and to get fans to fully appreciate the hard work he has put in. I think he has done TONS of it. I think he's a huge MOTU fan and that we owe him a TON of thanks for that work. In fact, when I "met" him at PowerCon (for all of two seconds, he gave me the mini-comic and signed it) that's what I said to him. I said thanks for his work. But the truth of the matter is, there will probably be some people who won't ever acknowledge that. He should accept that and move on. If I were in his shoes, I would have told some of you off a long time ago, and it would have been the wrong thing to do. I already feel bad for being brusque sometimes with some people no here. That's why I'm a creative manager and not a brand manager, though. Also, from Mattel's side (and I say Mattel, as I'm not sure this is COMPLETELY down to Scott) there really does need to be some major changes with Digital River. Like, we need to be able to change our shipping from the horrible Newgistics to UPS, for instance. I think shaping that section of it up and making it more customer focused would solve a lot of issues.

But I think it behooves EVERYONE to let go of the past and move forward, understanding that neither fans nor Scott nor the 4H nor Mattel nor He-man.org nor ANYONE is going to get it all right all the time. We should all acknowledge that we're human and not let that take away from our shared love of MOTU. I love these commentaries. I just started reading them, and they are a fascinating look behind the scenes and I do think there are some very reasonable explanations for some of the stuff we've perceived as being odd as fans over the years. I also love the look into the creative process. I hope these continue on and on.

[NorthCoast]

Well said, JonWes.

[mekaneckpain]

Sooooo, what toyline has a brandmanager that does communicate well to fans?
Oh wait, what toyline has a brandmanager that communicates at all to fans?
Why should a brandmanager communicate to fans? None of the others do?
Apparently it is not part of the "generic brand manager" job since the others are not doing it.
So why is Scott doing it?
Because he cares about the fans or because he likes being in the spotlight?
Maybe a bit of both?
So it that a bad thing?
What would you all prefer? What we have now or the absent brand manager/ communication other lines have?
It is clear that this is (the most of) what we expect of Scott as it how he will play his role.

Just wondering

To answer one of your questions and since you asked, I'd rather TG didn't communicate at all with us... Then there would be no snarkyness, thus no bashing etc. besides... with the exception of all the little factoids in his blogs about the figures, he doesn't really have anything too constructive to add to the forums.

Seriously? Who cares?!? This is about toys, not ending world hunger. Give me a break.

I care! If he's going to take the time to type this out, he should at least proof read it before submitting it. It's only proffesional.

[phantom1592]

The point is: TG is an employee of Mattel, and anything he writes in association with his job becomes a reflection on that company, whether it's an official press release, a blog, or an answer to an online question. As such, folks who take affront at being told that "This is their Hiss" and "Moss Man is not a bath toy" have every reason and right to talk about it. And any professional would look at that criticism, realize that some of what he is doing and some of his favorite phrases are ticking off part of his already small customer base, and make some changes. You can't please everyone all the time, and some folks will gripe just to gripe. But you and others often attack anyone who questions TG or points out his failings, which is just as bad as those who attack anything he says regardless.

Moss Man is not a bath toy WAS a Horrible thing to say... That whole situation was a bit of a joke. I know for a fact that I used to take the original in the pool with me and fight mer-man...

However, 'This is your King Hiss' is EXACTLY the right thing to say. Remember this was after the Panthor flocked/no Flocked fiasco. In order to placate fans, he admitted that a 'flocked' Panthor was possible in the future...

But reallly... just because it's possible, didn't mean they have it planned or will happen anytime soon. Just not happening.

So when people started screaming about how they were gonna skip Hiss and wait for the rerelease,refresh,v2,200x version... it was absolutely right of him to come out and say 'guys, we don't have one planned... it's not gonna happen. If you want a Hiss... This is the only one we're making.'

If he'd just gone with the stock answer of 'Anything is possible, that's be a great refresh'.. then people would be upset by THAT 'dismissive' answer too...

Myself, I pick Candid truth over corporate babble any day

Furthermore, if this was any other product or service, would people really be this tolerant? If you went to Starbucks and you placed a complaint about your coffee to the manager, would you honestly tolerate a "This is your coffee, folks" kind of answer? Of course you wouldn't. You wouldn't put up with it then, and it shouldn't be tolerated now. He has a tendency of making these kind of statements, and it needs to stop. It doesn't do him any favors in doing what is an essential function of his job, which is maintaining a relationship with Mattel's clients.

Apples and Oranges.

If you don't like you coffee, Starbucks would give you another one. Same as Mattel does. Try going to Starbucks and telling them you don't like the shape of this cup. You want another one. Or you don't like the taste of these beans... you want a different kind of beans...

See what they say.

We're not talking about replacing a broken toy... they DO that... King Hiss, Snout spout... we're talking about going back to the factory making drastic changes to the molds and starting up production again...

Should they do it, probably... Will they? Not a chance.

[danielsan52]

To answer one of your questions and since you asked, I'd rather TG didn't communicate at all with us... Then there would be no snarkyness, thus no bashing etc. besides... with the exception of all the little factoids in his blogs about the figures, he doesn't really have anything too constructive to add to the forums.



I care! If he's going to take the time to type this out, he should at least proof read it before submitting it. It's only proffesional.

Do you mean professional?? Lol

[fireball13z]

I care! If he's going to take the time to type this out, he should at least proof read it before submitting it. It's only proffesional.

Yes people should proof read or at least use spell check lol

[JonWes]

One thing about the blog specifically - the idea of having Faker's hair be removable and showing circuits in the t-slot is REALLY cool. I would have loved that. Even if they can't do a Terminator-like head down the road something like this would be neat if they ever re-release him or redo him.

[SCB]

Dc Direct did that with Amazo

[VZX]

Another interesting blog.

Y'know, it's interesting, and a bit ironic, that Scott wanted to write these blog's in a similar fashion to the behind-the-scenes segments on DVDs. What always bothered me about those DVD segments was how they are always patting themselves on the back on what a good job they did, even if the movie was crap. Now, Scott's blog has that same "I did a great job!" theme. Just like a DVD extra.

Anyway, I do appreciate the time he takes to write it and give us a look, albeit small, into the "making of a figure."

Lastly, I really don't care about the bios. I read them all, but don't care how well done they are. The actual names of the characters all suck, so whatevs. I think some fans care too much about them. But to each his own.

[gbagok]

Sorceress was delayed. She was originally intended to be the January figure. It's a nice coincidence that she shipped with Fisto.

That's why I said if it was an intentional scheme then it was "amazingly complex."

[mekaneckpain]

Yes people should proof read or at least use spell check lol

Yeah, that was the gag... but of course you guys will twist it around to make me the hypocrite.