Mattel MOTU Chronicles Movie Figures

I think what's gotta happen more often is a toy company needs to decide if they're making toys or 'collectibles.' No toy should require an engineering degree to figure out how to make it move without damaging it. With 'adult collectibles' it is easier to justify saying 'the joint is hard to move because we want it to stand on your shelf unaided for the next 10 years.' Sure.. makes sense. But, by the same logic, that product is no longer really intended -at all- for a kid or even a teenager to play with. It's now purely relegated to the place of an object bought only by adults that know exactly what they're getting into and how to deal with it.

It makes perfect sense that 'adult collectible' is not the direction Mattel would want to take MOTU product in a movie year.
 
Found He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and Tri-Klops at at Walmart (And a lone Man-At-Arms at Target). Picked up He-Man and Man-At-Arms for now. I have a couple of nitpicks (wish MAA had a trigger finger hand, He-Man's chest armor has a bit of a gap to the chest) but these are far and away the best Mattel figures I've ever experienced. Very excited to find Battle Cat and get more from this movie line.
 
spinc said:
Watching Pixel Dan's review, I noticed my He-man actually looks a bit different than his. The print on his face is different. I've also seen some that have a more translucent cross than others, mine is a bit cloudy.

Mine is on the right.


HcYyC5L.jpeg


I know the packaging is different on international versions, but this is a completely different design on that print work. I've noticed mine is made in Vietnam, I wonder is there is a version made in China? Vietnam usually has a bit lower quality production.
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That face print is too high, I think. Seen similar Saturday. It's easier to tell from a close up 3/4 because you can see the sculpt and where the paint should lie, where it really stands out. Sometimes.it looks good. Better even, because it can be expressive... Until you zoom in. I do this routinely with every figure I buy because OCD.

The other Man At Arms also had double face print which made his eyes hilarious.

Even one of my Kitty Colossus sets has a ponytail Kitty head where certain layers of the eyes and lips are too high and she looked stoned and sucking on a Warhead.
 
Are we really considering this to be digital face printing? Not the sculpt, but the added colors/paints. To me, these look like the previous tampography method. I honestly don't actually know the physical differences between the techniques, but these don't have the telltale dotted texture of the laser type printing you see on something like Marvel Legends MCU figures, and now more on all ML faces.
 
Damien said:
I think what's gotta happen more often is a toy company needs to decide if they're making toys or 'collectibles.' No toy should require an engineering degree to figure out how to make it move without damaging it. With 'adult collectibles' it is easier to justify saying 'the joint is hard to move because we want it to stand on your shelf unaided for the next 10 years.' Sure.. makes sense. But, by the same logic, that product is no longer really intended -at all- for a kid or even a teenager to play with. It's now purely relegated to the place of an object bought only by adults that know exactly what they're getting into and how to deal with it.

It makes perfect sense that 'adult collectible' is not the direction Mattel would want to take MOTU product in a movie year.
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As American collector figures creep closer to Japanese lines like S.H. Figuarts/MAFEX/Figma, one thing to keep an eye on is what sort of plastic is used for the figures. American companies are still using softer/cheaper plastics. I don't know if it's a cultural thing (Japanese collectors may expect a higher grade of product), a cost-saving measure, or something to do with child safety requirements - presumably it's a mix of these and other factors - but I'll be very interested to see if and when a mainstream American toy company produces an action figure line with those sort of plastics.

(That is not to say Figuarts/Figma etc. don't have issues with QC, especially on face-printing, eye-printing etc. - they clearly do - but the level of ambition for what they're trying to do with it is usually a level of difficulty or two higher as well.)
 
docsilence said:
I'm of two minds about the looseness of the joints honestly - on the one hand, the three Chronicles humanoid figures I have are almost eerily smooth around the joints, like there's zero ratcheting, and I wonder if they'll get... floppy? Over time. But on the other hand Man I am sick to the back teeth with having to boil my action figures. Smooth joints out of the box is a really nice change of pace. The knees and elbows remind me of the Storm Arena Ryu I just got, but with less... adult collector style wrists and ankles if that makes any sense.

Unrelated, BBTS shipped out my latest PoL and should be here Friday, so that'll net me Skeletor and Trap Jaw. I'm still really not wowed by Tri-Klops though, haven't pulled the trigger on him.
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Triklops is a decent figure, but the design of these just can’t two hand wield a rifle well unfortunately
 
I got Tri Klops to hold the rifle with two hands. Maybe I just don't know how actual humans are supposed to hold a rifle, so maybe it's wrong. I'll take a pic when I get home.
 
I didn't realize Ram Man and Fisto were shipping until I saw Aces post there about his arriving later today. I went and checked and my Ram Man and Fisto, as well as the Core Kids 4 pack will be here tomorrow. I might.....MIGHT get my BBTS order in today, but it might come tomorrow. I want these damn figures so much. In my anger/excitement "angcitement????" I went next door and called the old lady there a bitch and told her to get a f****** job!


Didn't mean to. it just sort of happened.
 
My Fisto/Ram Man set is still listed as May 15. Sad East Coast schedule.

EDIT: I just checked my order, and clicked the actual product link, which says it's in stock and can be delivered overnight. Needless to say, I ordered and canceled my stagnant original order. I don't get it, but hopefully my actions were not hasty.
 
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