Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC News Thread February 2013

[GFunny]

Frankly on some level, I wish that some rich fan would hire a lawyer and take Mattel to task on this. We entered into a contract with Mattel when we preordered this castle based on everything we were being told. Now they aren't fullfilling THEIR end of the contract, and are acting like they are doing us a favor by letting us 'back out' of the contract. Instead, it is the fans who shouldn't let THEM back out on their end of the contract. They promised us a castle that was AT LEAST of the size that we were shown with the foam mock up, and that's what we SHOULD be getting.
It's going to cost too much to make at that size and the $250 that they charged for the original preorder isn't going to be enough to cover it? Oh well! Then they should have planned their **** out better before promising us more than they can afford to make. Deliver what was promised!

"If you dont like it, CANCEL" ... ARGGG!!!

[He-Kal]

I refuse to believe that they make this project suddenly so much more expensive. And worse, the thing I thought was best about the castle was how solid it looked, and now he is like, "oh and it will be with thinner plastic".

Oh wow, they could make it thinner? I thought maybe he meant the walls inside would not stick out so far to accomodate features inside and also have more sculpting on the walls themselves. But, we could also see the thickness of the shell itself decreased? I love CG as it is, but if they keep taking things awsy, I may have to reevaluate depending on what we see at SDCC. I still think it'll be ok--but some of these recent statements are bothersome, at best......

[PPC]

From the way Scott was talking it looks like they may very well cut items that he showed to Dan in the walk through. They cut items from the B sheet and now it is possible that they are going to cut more items from the Toy fair reveal. What's going to be left when all is said and done, a shell? The man will say anything to make a sale and once that is locked in he reneges left and right.

I also find it disturbing that they are going to make the plastic thinner. This may be the first Castle Grayskull to have a "cave in" action feature.

[evenflow]

From the way Scott was talking it looks like they may very well cut items that he showed to Dan in the walk through. They cut items from the B sheet and now it is possible that they are going to cut more items from the Toy fair reveal. What's going to be left when all is said and done, a shell? The man will say anything to make a sale and once that is locked in he reneges left and right.

I also find it disturbing that they are going to make the plastic thinner. This may be the first Castle Grayskull to have a "cave in" action feature.

Watched the video and my 90% cancel went to 100% cancel.

[cbomb23]

From the way Scott was talking it looks like they may very well cut items that he showed to Dan in the walk through. They cut items from the B sheet and now it is possible that they are going to cut more items from the Toy fair reveal. What's going to be left when all is said and done, a shell? The man will say anything to make a sale and once that is locked in he reneges left and right.

I also find it disturbing that they are going to make the plastic thinner. This may be the first Castle Grayskull to have a "cave in" action feature.

Funny since it has yet to be made in plastic? Did you have the original Castle Grayskull? And if so did it cave in?

[PPC]

Nope it didn't cave in, but then again we didn't have "geniuses" like Scott, Ruben, etc. running the show back then.

[Stygian360]

I respect the prevailing opinion that Castle Grayskull isn't turning out the way some hoped it would, but we were given a fairly robust disclaimer before, during, and after the pre-orders that things might change. This includes things being dropped, the proto not 100% matching the B sheet, etc.

I am 100% convinced that some of the people here are the same kids who used to know their presents BEFORE x-mas morning. Perhaps some might consider this an apples to oranges comparison, since what does opening presents early have to do with mis-matched expectations for this Castle, but hear me out. In our youth things just came out. We got what we got and we were either happy or not. Now that we are grown and essentially the controlling interest in most of MattyCollectors offerings, we feel this gives us carte blanche' to control every aspect of a toy the minute its announced. Stuff happens folks. Costs demand items be cut, downgraded, changed, simply to make this playset a reality. I for one am fine with this- even given the price tag. I respect that I've never been cruelly disappointed by Matty's offerings and that no one on the design team is deliberately trying to screw me in the creation of this toy. What I get in the end may not be the best toy ever created, but I know the effort put into its construction- from soup to nuts- will be the best it can be.

So, given that we can't always know what 'presents' will be waiting for us under the tree when this play set actually drops, perhaps we can all just simmah down about it for awhile and in the mean time let Matty do what it does best.

[belmont]

"If you dont like it, CANCEL" ... ARGGG!!!

I'll stick to my CG order but sheesh, why don't you leave ppl their opinion? ... not everyone likes to willingly bend over, y'know ...

AND he has a point. We are not getting what we were promised, so I can understand the frustration - after all those ****-ups in all those years, ppl tend to get angry and disappointed

I respect the prevailing opinion that Castle Grayskull isn't turning out the way some hoped it would, but we were given a fairly robust disclaimer before, during, and after the pre-orders that things might change. This includes things being dropped, the proto not 100% matching the B sheet, etc.

I am 100% convinced some of the people here are the same kids who used to know their presents BEFORE x-mas morning. Perhaps some might consider this an apples to oranges comparison, since what does opening presents early have to do with mis-matched expectations for this Castle, but hear me out. In our youth things just came out. We got what we got and we were either happy or not. Now that we are grown and essentially the controlling interest in most of MattyCollectors offerings, we feel this gives us carte blanche' to control every aspect of a toy the minute its announced. Stuff happens folks. Costs demand items be cut, downgraded, changed, simply to make this playset a reality. I for one am fine with this- even given the price tag. I respect that I've never been cruelly disappointed by Matty's offerings and that no one on the design team is deliberately trying to screw me in the creation of this toy. What I get in the end may not be the best toy ever created, but I know the effort put into its construction- from soup to nuts- will be the best it can be.

So, given that we can't always know what 'presents' will be waiting for us under the tree when this play set actually drops, perhaps we can all just simmah down about it for awhile and in the mean time let Matty do what it does best.

sounds like resignation to me -and this assumption is also incorrect. If you pay a for Burger and are promised a real juicy one and then you get a dried out meat loaf inbetween two old breads, even you would complain, wouldn't you?

So why the hesitation? Because it's Mattel, that small toy-company next door or what?

[PPC]

So, given that we can't always know what 'presents' will be waiting for us under the tree when this play set actually drops, perhaps we can all just simmah down about it for awhile and in the mean time let Matty do what it does best.

Wow, scary thought.

[cbomb23]

Nope it didn't cave in, but then again we didn't have "geniuses" like Scott, Ruben, etc. running the show back then.

Nope we have "geniuses" like the Four Horsemen and Mattel making a much better more sophisticated/detailed/articulated line than the original.

I'll stick to my CG order but sheesh, why don't you leave ppl their opinion? ... not everyone likes to willingly bend over, y'know ...

AND he has a point. We are not getting what we were promised, so I can understand the frustration - after all those ****-ups in all those years, ppl tend to get angry and disappointed

Well in response he seemed to be quoting what Scott had been saying? and in response to the rich person sueing Mattel "wish", I'm pretty sure Mattel would be legally fine in this situation.

[Stygian360]

Wow, scary thought.

I said Matty... not Digital River. I realize the prevailing opinion is to simply combine DR and Matty into one bungled ball of crap, but Mattel design is a lot different than DR. I put zero stock in trusting DR. There's the difference as I see it.

[PPC]

Nope we have "geniuses" like the Four Horsemen and Mattel making a much better more sophisticated/detailed/articulated line than the original.

But we have "geniuses" like the Matty design team who often ruin what the Horsemen worked so hard to create with bad engineering, design decisions, and paint apps. Just look at Frosta, Stinkor, and any figure that was made with black plastic and you'll see why I'm concerned. The Four Horsemen are geniuses, but once the sculpts are out of their hands it's a crap shoot on whether the figure, or the Castle in this case, will turn out to be an acceptable item for the price we pay.

[uaxuctum]

New entry in the Mattyspeak Dictionary:

B-sheet n. Bait-and-switch sheet.

[PPC]

I said Matty... not Digital River. I realize the prevailing opinion is to simply combine DR and Matty into one bungled ball of crap, but Mattel design is a lot different than DR. I put zero stock in trusting DR. There's the difference as I see it.

I not combining them. They both have their own share of incompetence. You can thank Matty design for black plastic, Frosta's paint apps & forearms, Stinkor's forearms, and many other examples that would take too long to list. The only difference between them is that one is in charge of manufacturing and other with shipping, but the incompetence is across the board.

[nato]

I respect the prevailing opinion that Castle Grayskull isn't turning out the way some hoped it would, but we were given a fairly robust disclaimer before, during, and after the pre-orders that things might change. This includes things being dropped, the proto not 100% matching the B sheet, etc.

I am 100% convinced that some of the people here are the same kids who used to know their presents BEFORE x-mas morning. Perhaps some might consider this an apples to oranges comparison, since what does opening presents early have to do with mis-matched expectations for this Castle, but hear me out. In our youth things just came out. We got what we got and we were either happy or not. Now that we are grown and essentially the controlling interest in most of MattyCollectors offerings, we feel this gives us carte blanche' to control every aspect of a toy the minute its announced. Stuff happens folks. Costs demand items be cut, downgraded, changed, simply to make this playset a reality. I for one am fine with this- even given the price tag. I respect that I've never been cruelly disappointed by Matty's offerings and that no one on the design team is deliberately trying to screw me in the creation of this toy. What I get in the end may not be the best toy ever created, but I know the effort put into its construction- from soup to nuts- will be the best it can be.

So, given that we can't always know what 'presents' will be waiting for us under the tree when this play set actually drops, perhaps we can all just simmah down about it for awhile and in the mean time let Matty do what it does best.

It's ok if it's a $20 figure that we're talking about. I've been unhappy about some of the figures, and the way Mattel handled the situation by selling the Goddess and Snout Spout figures even after they knew they were defective.

When people start spending hundreds of dollars....it's a different story. When you buy anything expensive, you want to know what you are going to get. When I purchase any electronics, I read the box or the sale tag to find out exactly what I'm getting and how much I'm paying for it.

Mattel laid out the dimensions for us to preorder/purchase. Many people looked at the numbers of the height and width of what they were purchasing and determined if $250 was worth those numbers. I thought they were, so I preordered one. Now we find out that those numbers are less than what they announced during the preorder. Mattel either should have played it safe and posted smaller height/width numbers and then if it was possible, they could have made it bigger, making customers happy they were getting more than they bargained for. Or they simply should not have posted the numbers at all.

And as far as the Christmas presents go......if everybody already knew what they were getting, then the return lines at stores the next day after Christmas would be a lot shorter.

[EtherianChronicles]

I respect the prevailing opinion that Castle Grayskull isn't turning out the way some hoped it would, but we were given a fairly robust disclaimer before, during, and after the pre-orders that things might change. This includes things being dropped, the proto not 100% matching the B sheet, etc.

I'm sorry but that is a patently false statement. It was explicitly stated that "what is included in the B-sheet would be the minimum, things may be added but nothing will be removed".

I'm on my iPad right now and can't go hunting for it, but either earlier in this thread or in one of the other current threads discussing ths a direct link to this statement was posted.

- - - Updated - - -

... in the mean time let Matty do what it does best.

Oh the responses I could see to this one in a less censored forum.

- - - Updated - - -

New entry in the Mattyspeak Dictionary:

B-sheet n. Bait-and-switch sheet.

The Hoverboard guys would love that one.

Lets hope the same thing that happened with that don't happen here, when in a few years after they are no longer working on the line we hear mea culpas from the 4H apologizing for the product that Mattel finally delivers.

I never had a problem with any figure design wise in this line until Rueben showed up, and ever since Sorceress it's been one huge disappointment after another, where something is so good - but would be amazing if they hadn't made some stupid decision (making Frosta gray, reversing arms to make them "pop", etc). I truly fear how Mattel design finds a way to muck this up further than it already has been.

[MegaGearMax]

I've added a bunch of new answers!

[Slayor]

Sorry, but the response that the dungeon was never noted as being included is total bull. What is that on the B-sheet? I guess it's a sticker.

[IrrepressibleDH]

Another lie TG has been caught out with is him saying stuff like effects paks will never get sculpted because the 4H simply don't have time. So the dungeon piece lie about the 4H "Doing it for fun" falls flat on it's face.

[belmont]

wow, the new answers are as arrogant as it can get ... Matty's childlike behaviour is really unprofessional

[GFunny]

wow, the new answers are as arrogant as it can get ... Matty's childlike behaviour is really unprofessional

That's exactly my point. When you quoted me earlier, I was quoting TG ... I actually went on a little bit of a rant a few pages back and I was just mocking them. I wasn't try to be a butt head

[shadowfall1976]

....let Matty do what it does best.

Make poorly QC'd figures? Make figures with no need to, POP? Constantly since Ruben came in make very poor design choices?

Nope we have "geniuses" like the Four Horsemen and Mattel making a much better more sophisticated/detailed/articulated line than the original.

Yeah the 4H handle the sculpt, but....Mattel haven't been doing so well in the final design department lately, neither have the apparently blind factory workers. There are many defects in modern lines that never would have happened in the 80's lines..... Snout, Goddess....etc. There's a much more err of laziness and uncaring in modern production.

[Robzy]

"We are not cutting the dungeon. The dungeon was never offered or noted as being included at any point. You can't cut what wasn't offered."

THEN WHY WAS IT SHOWN DURING THE BIG "REVEAL" OF THE CASTLE?????

This is easily the most objectionable thing Scott has ever said. And since he's said so many objectionable things in the past, that is saying a LOT.

So basically the day after the big reveal they admit that they basically misrepresented the entire thing.

There are some pics floating around of all those pieces laying on a table, and I tell you - for $250+, what was on that table was the BARE minimum of what I'd expect to be included. MINIMUM.

Seems like the bit of humility Scott was showing after the sub sold so poorly last year has completely disappeared - now we are back to the blatant "to heck with the customers" mentality. I don't know how he does it, but this guy still has the ability to shock me with his anti-customer behavior.

Bravo! Your posts always sum up my exact feelings! Scott has been caught out AGAIN! He must be held responsible for this!!

This is the one we have all waited for. It is in scale with our 6” figures and chock full of every detail, crammed with accessories, and ideally will be sculpted to perfection soon (once we hit that minimum number of pre-orders on Nov 12th!). And for those a little unsure, it does include ALL of the items shown in the blueprints. We hope to add more, but there won’t be less.

I found it. This sentence from Toyguru in the following thread is what prompted me to put in a preorder for Grayskull. Maybe it's just meant to be for the accessories, but I read that as whatever is in the blueprints is the smallest anything will be. There won't be less, but now we find out that Grayskull itself, is less.

Here's the thread:
http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...rayskull+video

Well done! Glad you found it! Again, Scott has some explaining to do! Can't see him (or those who usually defend him) defending this one... I hope someone asks on the Matty site! I'm tired of this BS!

[belmont]

That's exactly my point. When you quoted me earlier, I was quoting TG ... I actually went on a little bit of a rant a few pages back and I was just mocking them. I wasn't try to be a butt head

sorry for the misunderstanding, my bad

[KUZEH]

TG's response...

Toyguru, since you stated the sculpted dungeon was never indicated to be included with Grayskull, could you please clarify what that is in the red area on the B-sheet? Many thanks!

Placement for a sticker apparently. You will also note the B-sheet did not show the space suit and you ARE getting that. Things will continued to evolve and change. We'll have the final Castle to show at SDCC. Even some of the accessories shown at NYTF may still change or get dropped. We just don't know as their are too many unknowns in the process. Part of the fun of doing this so early on (but really the only way we could!)

That is why we are giving customers ample time to cancel if they want. But we do hope we can include all that was shown at NYTF and maybe even more!