First I could not find a Booster Gold that wouldn't break. Now I bought the Public Enemies 6 pack from Target for $17.48. First the Major Force leg snapped off, then Superman's arm and leg broke and Batman's ankle is about to fall off. This is 2 sets in a row that just fell apart. I was wanting to like these but I just cannot do it. I'll stick to the 6 in comic figures and keep my 4 in figures to GI Joes only. Mattel just can't make good figures in the 4 in size.

I feel your pain, bro. They do suck. I hope you return them, and when Mattel get's boatloads of broken figures back from stores, they will realize they need to fix this. Sure, there will be people who say their figures didn't break, but way too many people have had this new style of articulation prove too fragile.

I finally found a Firestorm and his right foot broke off when I was pivoting it side to side.

I will now only buy anything with a version 1 body that comes out. Anything else can stay on the pegs for all I care.

Man, I hate to hear stories like this, but it seems a quality issue that needs to be addressed, my question to you is.......have you contacted Mattel's Customer Support?

The head broke off of my first Major Force from the 6-pack. This is when the sets first came out. I took it back, exchanged it for a new one...and went back the next day to see that my broken one was put back on the shelf. :| Good work, Target!

The new articulation really is nerve-wracking. I opened a bunch of new figures last night, and spent over a half hour just loosening joints with a thumb tack before I moved them.

Even then, my Martian Manhunter's knee (my SECOND Martian Manhunter's knee) looks like it really wants to break.

quote:

Originally posted by Bildar76:
First I could not find a Booster Gold that wouldn't break. Now I bought the Public Enemies 6 pack from Target for $17.48. First the Major Force leg snapped off, then Superman's arm and leg broke and Batman's ankle is about to fall off. This is 2 sets in a row that just fell apart. I was wanting to like these but I just cannot do it. I'll stick to the 6 in comic figures and keep my 4 in figures to GI Joes only. Mattel just can't make good figures in the 4 in size.

I lost the gold guy Major Force same way, he was not all the way out of the plastic when he broke. I called Mattel and they replaced what I had purchased.
They sent out a coupon. If they break, don't take back to the store, call Mattel's 1-800 number on the bottom of the package. They do stand by their product.
I had a few in the 6" line break (almost always the leg) and called and they replaced with a coupon for same amount. That is the reason I keep coming back.

quote:

Originally posted by Bildar76:
First I could not find a Booster Gold that wouldn't break. Now I bought the Public Enemies 6 pack from Target for $17.48. First the Major Force leg snapped off, then Superman's arm and leg broke and Batman's ankle is about to fall off. This is 2 sets in a row that just fell apart. I was wanting to like these but I just cannot do it. I'll stick to the 6 in comic figures and keep my 4 in figures to GI Joes only. Mattel just can't make good figures in the 4 in size.

In my experience, most of the action figures Mattel puts out today are junk. I have collected figures form MOTUC, DCUC and DCIH -- and every line has figures with severe quality-control issues. I've pretty much stopped collecting Mattel for that reason. For the money they charge for a figure, they should be perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by Invisiboy:
For the money they charge for a figure, they should be perfect.

word.

Yeah. It's frustrating. Once the new bodies came out, I was so excited, that practically decided to trow away my 6" collection, and switch back to a cohesive scale for all of my figures. When my first Public Enemies six pack arrived, the newest victim of Mattel's legendary poor quality control was Superman, who lost a leg at the knee with but a small twist of the articulation... I decided to boil some water, and dip the other figures until the soft plastic 'released' the hard plastic component of the articulations... The problem did not present again, and ever since, after releasing the figures from packages, I do the same thing to avoid more attacks of frustration... I simply LOVE the concept, the scale, and the new sculpted bodies, because they are so much more accurate and current, but the issues with quality and the fact Mattel's practically stopped new figures --other than that SDCC multi-pack-- tells me the line is doomed. Such a shame...

I dont know if the line is doomed. In a recent Q&A with Mattel they said they were going to reveal some new info on the 3 3/4 inch line. I dont know if they will continue the line that is out, or just completely start over.

But i hope they can fix these problems. I honestly have not had any trouble with this line. But i hate it for those who are having trouble. Theres nothing i hate more than getting a figure (Especially in an expensive set), opening it, and then it breaks, or its paint app is so screwed you would rather throw it away than keep it.

I have had trouble with the DCUC line, and it really drives me crazy knowing I have to find these figures again. But like i said in another thread today. When you open figures you win some and lose some.

Hopefully if 3 inch figures continue, they are made with better quality.

quote:

Originally posted by Cringer:
But like i said in another thread today. When you open figures you win some and lose some.

Hopefully if 3 inch figures continue, they are made with better quality.

I hope you're right about the future of the line, since I really like smaller figures, and the whole scene got interesting as the big companies decided to switch back from the scale McFarlane imposed to the market two decades ago.

What really gave me the creeps in your entry is the fact that somehow we've grown accustomed to 'win some and lose some' when opening our figures... In all respect, that is something that somehow Mattel's got us into in the first place... In my thirty or so years at collecting I don't remember faulty figures but in scarce, extraordinary times (i.e.: In my near five hundred Star Wars figures, ONE imperial officer with two right hands) but the situation becomes repetitive with the newer lines Mattel carries: JLU heroes that cannot stand on their own, DCUC articulations that break off when attempting to move them, inverted limbs for MOTUC (Thank the Lord I haven't experienced that in first person: I'd go nuts having a faulty figure $20.00 dollars worth) and, what we've been reading in these entries about the Infinite Heroes line...

Don't get me wrong, I love the recent amount of work Mattel is putting into its multiple offerings, specially since they seem to be one of the few big companies that care so much for us, collectors, but at the prices they are placing themselves and their figures, I believe the company has to seriously evaluate their quality controls; otherwise, this sensation of being 'taken advantage of', from quite a few collectors around here, will persist and become 'fact', faster than we can imagine.

Thanks for taking the time.

The main reason that there is a problem is the fact that most/everyone keeps referring to the toy-lines that they want to be in 3.75-inch scale when in fact the current toy-line standard these days is 4-inch or 1/18th scale. The most popular toy-lines on the market are all in scale at 4-inches. The thing is that companies like Mattel and Playmates think that the fans really want 3.75 as everyone says so, but the fans mean that they really want 4-inch. However, that scale is not in scale with the rest of the toys. People want to be able to mix their toys in a collection with other toys. That is what makes the Marvel Universe, Star Wars, G.I. Joe so popular as they can co-mingle with one another and are proportionate to one another. DCIH will not be successful until it is redone in the 4-inch/1:18th scale as the 3 3/4 is a thing of the past (cir. 1980s) and that is a fact. If it is done in 1/18th scale like the rest, it will be more popular than the Marvel Universe stuff IMHO. I am just saying.

I really haven't seen many people complaining that DCIH isn't in the same scale as STAR WARS, G.I. JOE, or Marvel Universe. I personally don't care one way or the other about that. I avoided DCIH when it first launched because the figures looked terrible. Now that they've released characters without giant hands, I've been buying quite a few of them. I have no interest in mixing them with my G.I. JOE or Marvel Universe displays. I just want fun action figures that look good in this smaller scale.

Actually, most Star Wars figures are still measuring 3.75", and they have no disadvantages when mixed with any 4" lines out there. Also, the DCIH figures' type 3 bodies are already 4 inchers, and articulation and sculpting on those versions is superior to what the line offered at its beginnings. The subject here is quality control: While DCIH figures have a proven history of articulation breakage, other companies' lines give you a reassurance feeling when you're spending your money, since you know you're purchasing a product that will not collapse once you try to move its joints...

What I'm saying is: Now that Mattel has found the proper way to represent heroes in this scale, and an adequate focus for the line, it'd be a shame to loose it due to poor manufacturing conditions, and bad consumers' experiences when buying the product...