Hasbro Made-to-Order Figures

I also adore Mephisto.
He’s not gonna be my figure of the year, because come on I collect Classified, but he’s really great even without the throne, which is of course awesome. I’m just so chuffed he’s even in my house! It’s been a crazy week so I haven’t really been able to enjoy the bajillion figures that landed on my doorstep in the past several days, but he’s been the main attraction for yesterday and today, anyway.
But Professor Hulk shows up tonight . . .
 
NORM said:
@TheSameIdiot Really? I think he’s fine; it’s the price tag that has me wanting more from him and the set.
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I don't really see how he's $80 worth of figure, but I can't think of anything more I'd want from the set. Maybe a wired cape? That's all I can really think of. I'm happy with the heads, hands, sword, and base.

Limited production runs and niche characters mean we'll pay more than we should for these MTO figures. If we don't have to deal with the social media circus that comes with HasLab campaigns, stretch goals that drive up the price or decrease the perceived value, and ginormous figures that I can't fit in my collection, well, sign me up.

Sadly, I'm somewhat numb to overpriced toys these days. I literally can't purchase anything for less than $25. I just paid $41 shipped for third-party Daredevil accessories. Whenever I buy something, I assume it's going to cost me at least $35 after tax and shipping. I justify it by buying a lot less with the same budget.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
I don't really see how he's $80 worth of figure, but I can't think of anything more I'd want from the set. Maybe a wired cape? That's all I can really think of. I'm happy with the heads, hands, sword, and base.
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Agreed. A wired cape and ball-joined waist instead of the square one are about the only things I think are missing from this. Otherwise I'm also pretty happy with the release.
 
I think if he had a wired cape, I wouldn’t even have a need for the solid plastic one.

A ball/socket waist in addition to the rib articulation would be welcome. And in general, they need to fix/increase forward/upward ankle articulation. This would have been a good start.

I just broke out Odin for some photos with Thor. What an incredible figure, that wound up being heavily discounted. I look at him next to Mephisto, and the effort definitely seems lopsided. Not that Mephisto’s simpler design can really compare to Odin’s more ornate design. But based on what you get for your money? I guess that budget evens out with the throne, but that thing has no articulation. Odin comes with two weapons, three options for hair and helmets, alternate hands… I donno. Maybe it all evens out? I still feel like Mephisto needs something more, small demons or arcane weapons or artifacts?
 
That forward ankle articulation SERIOUSLY needs to be dealt with. it seems like I'm constantly popping off feet and removing a sliver of plastic to fix that reoccurring issue.

Regarding value, or perceived value, while the throne is grotesquely beautiful, it is just a cast prop accessory for the most part that doesn't cost nearly as much to manufacture as it does to manufacture a fully articulated figure. It always rubs me the wrong way when they pack a motorcycle in with a Black Widow or a Wolverine and then ask double the price for the set. Same goes for Mephisto and his throne; I can't help but calculate the value split in my mind. And when I do, the cost-to-value balance is especially confounding.
Is Mephisto a $40.00 figure with a $40.00 throne? Is he a $50.00 figure with a $30.00 throne? He SHOULD be more like say, a $35.00 figure (max) with maybe a $20-to-$25.00 throne in my mind.

But hey, nevermind me; I'm an excessively frugal bastard.
 
NORM said:
And in general, they need to fix/increase forward/upward ankle articulation. This would have been a good start.
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The ankle range flies under the radar, but it's a chronic issue. For Joe collectors, is that a problem with Classified figures as well?
Lucid Silverback said:
Is Mephisto a $40.00 figure with a $40.00 throne? Is he a $50.00 figure with a $30.00 throne? He SHOULD be more like say, a $35.00 figure (max) with maybe a $20-to-$25.00 throne in my mind.
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That's an entirely reasonable way to look at it. I'd say it's a $40 figure with a $25 throne. Long gone are the days of getting a unique sculpt and a base for $7 (Marvel Legends) or $25 (Marvel Select). Sigh.

The only defense is that these MTO characters wouldn't happen otherwise. Or so Hasbro says. Could they have released this Mephisto as a single-carded Fan Channel exclusive? I don't see why not. They didn't, though, so they get to pocket the extra $15.

Again, I'm not excusing it, but that's happening with nearly every company I buy from. Of the 15 or 20 new figures I purchased this year, I wouldn't call any of them a good value. Your mass-market figures are $40, and your high-end toys are $100. It's a luxury hobby now.

Is it labor? Tariffs? Inflation? Material? Greed? All of the above? Whatever it is, I'm getting less for my dollar across the board.
 
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Came home from my vacation to a big box of Mephisto. I picked this up for the base since I don't think I can have a Danzig memorabilia collection and not have this in it so the figure is kind of like a bonus. And that base is pretty rad. Do I pose Crystar above it? Put a Super7 Danzig in it? Just let Mephisto keep it? I don't know yet.

Mephisto as a figure is a pretty typical Legend release. The only thing making him special is that he comes with extra stuff most Legends releases wouldn't come with in the bonus soft goods parts. The waist thing does suck and the diaphragm joint on mine feels like it's binding when I try to rotate him. I might try to get a little silicon in there to see if that helps. He's fine though. The value is pretty poor, but I think most of us knew that going in. They probably could have sold this as a fan channel thing, but then it wouldn't have a cool Michael Golden base so I guess I shouldn't complain.
 
Anyone else unhappy with the range of his butterflies? They don't go back nearly enough. Trying to pose him and they just don't move like they should - especially for newly-sculpted.
 
I don't know that I'd say unhappy, but it's not great. His body is just so narrow that I don't think there was any more room for range at that joint. Now, if they had wanted to make him a bit more broad in the chest to accommodate such that would have been okay with me.
 
I like the figure, but still underwhelmed. He's a little smaller and thinner than I'd expected. Mine also won't stay snapped together at the waist now.
 
We cannot rely on Haslabs, which is why I favor a Made-To-Order Fin Fang Foom or Ultimo in the same size as the Made-To-Order Sentinel.
 
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Reno said:
I like the figure, but still underwhelmed. He's a little smaller and thinner than I'd expected. Mine also won't stay snapped together at the waist now.
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The more I mess with Mephisto the more apparent it becomes that there's really nothing separating this figure from any other Legends release in my collection. The only thing special here is the base and accompanying soft goods needed to accommodate said base. As such, it's definitely overpriced at $80 which is what Hasbro is still charging for it as opposed to the increases tacked onto Dragon Man and the Sentinel. Maybe that's because this guy didn't get hit with a tariff, but I think it's also because Hasbro knows it can't possibly ask for more money for what is a pretty basic figure. The base is cool and all, but is it $45-50 cool? To a Danzig collector like me accustomed to paying hundreds of dollars for some really stupid ephemera, it's fine, but I can definitely see why a typical Legends collector would not see much value here.
 
They probably are sitting on a shit ton of product from all their MTO items thanks to people canceling last minute when they realize they either don't want it anymore, or don't have the funds.

Honestly all of their MTO items seems to linger a long time. Dragon Man did seem to sell quickly once they put the extra stock online. Although he is still available on Pulse UK. Otherwise everything else is either still available, or was put on sale before selling out (Boba Fett's Throne Room).

It will start to become a problem once they starting selling them at a discount during one of their sales. Then people will start to question why they should bother ordering a MTO item.

So between limiting the number of cancellations and saving themselves space/money down the road, it is probably a good thing. I wonder if they'll reconsider Haslabs now if they are putting this cancellation policy in place for MTO items.
 
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